Debora Cahn News

Grey's Anatomy writer Debora Cahn, who authored last night's episode, has posted some thoughts on "Wish You Were Here" on the show's official writers' blog for the fans.

Below is an excerpt, with a link to the full column at the bottom ...

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Cristina and Meredith are fighting.

I hate it when they fight. They’re so damn miserable. You’d think maybe they’d enjoy it. Worthy opponents, squaring off. Throw down of the century. But no. Not even Cristina, who usually relishes the opportunity to tear anyone a new one, seems like this is just eating away at her soul. Where’s the sense of fun? Of sport? Can’t they try to get into the spirit of it? No. They both look kind of oxygen deprived. And that’s really what it’s like.

Owen... wouldn’t it be great if Cristina had Owen to turn to?

Sure, he would be like Derek - not a replacement for Meredith Grey, but still. He’d be something. Wouldn’t we all feel a little better? So why can’t he get his damn act together? Why is he so damn hot and cold all the time? Why? He’s big and strapping and gorgeous and brilliant and capable and strapping and gorgeous, why is he such a basket case? Cristina doesn’t trust people. She just doesn’t come to it naturally. But here he is, holding out a hand, or at least a cup of coffee. She decided to let him in... and every time she comes to him in a moment of need, he’s totally checked out. Don’t you want to just smack him upside the head?

And while we’re smacking people upside the head... Chief Richard Webber. I think that’s the real problem, for everyone, on this particular day. The Chief has checked out. He’s on strike. Gone. It’s like the center of gravity stopped pulling, and everyone’s about to slip off the face of the planet. Bailey, for a change, is the only one who really notices what’s going on.

And Derek. Saving the life of a serial killer. When all he can do is look in the guy’s eyes and imagine the face of the man who shot his dad.

And Mark Sloan. Mark Sloan who could always find happiness, or at least some brief gratification, in an on-call room, with pretty much anyone, but certainly with Callie, Mark Sloan is falling, hard, for the Littlest Grey.  And his conscience, which has always been buried pretty deep, won’t let him have her. He betrayed Derek once. It was a biggie. And he can’t do it again. Despite the fact that Lexie’s trotting around him like a happy puppy. He can’t go there. Won’t. Talk about lack of oxygen.

People are having a really crappy day.

Except Izzie. Who couldn’t really be happier.

Follow the link to continue reading Debora's blog ...

Grey's Anatomy writer Debora Cahn, who authored last night's episode, posted some thoughts on "Brave New World" on the writers' blog.

Here's her column, which you can find in its entirety here ...

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To the dermatologists of the world:

We love you. We really do. We think you do fine work. Important, difficult work. Life saving work. We all love you here at Grey’s Anatomy, and we’re a little concerned that you might not take tonight’s episode in the spirit it was intended.

Light-hearted! No lack of respect! We kid, and we kid from love!

I thought it was all going to be fine, and then I heard, one by one, that every Grey’s writer had made an appointment with their dermatologist this week, BEFORE the episode aired.

Everybody wanted everything checked before we pissed off every dermatologist in the land. When one writer did it, I thought it was cute, and a little paranoid.

But when the emails started pouring in.

“Going to be 10 minutes late this morning, have appt with my dermatologist,” well, then I started getting worried. We love you, dermatologists. Please don’t hurt us.  See, it’s Cristina Yang that thinks surgery is harder. Not us. CRISTINA. When the writers of “The Shield” portray junkies calling police officers “f-ing pigs,” it’s not the writers who think they’re f-ing pigs, it’s just the junkies. Right? Cristina. Yang. Don’t hate us.

A word about diaries. When you find your mother’s diary, don’t read it.  DON’T READ IT. I tell you this from experience. I found my mother’s diary.  Not really a diary, a suitcase full of stuff she wrote for a writing class, but one of the assignments was to keep a journal, and my sister said DON’T READ IT and I read it, and I’m telling you.

DO NOT READ THE DIARY.

Continue Reading...

You've heard from our staff in the Grey's Anatomy Insider round table, and you've exchanged views with other fans via comments and forum discussions. Now it's time to read what writer Debora Cahn says about the most recent episode.

On the official writers blog, Cahn posted some thoughts on "Love/Addiction." Follow the link at the bottom for her full column. Excerpts appear below.

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Addiction. Who doesn't love a good addiction? I do. You try something. You like it. You try it again. You build a little ritual around it, make it a special part of your day. You tell time by it. "Must be noon, cause I'm jonesing for another cup of English tea!" or "I know it's morning cause I'm awake and ready for a hit of crystal meth!"

DON'T DO METH, KIDS.

See, here's the thing: anything can be addictive. And it's not always easy to spot when something slips down that slippery slope from experiment to habit to addiction. Derek and Meredith thought they'd ended it. Cold turkey. White knuckle. Over. So over. Well, it wasn't totally over.

There was a bit of a hang-over. A little no-strings-attached sex. Just for old times sake. No harm, no foul. But the thing is, there is harm. Derek doesn't like it. He wants to talk. He wants to sleep over. He wants lunch, with the woman he loved, or loves, or has some impossible to define love related interaction with. He's settling for just sex, cause that's all she's willing to indulge. But that's hurting him. It's just enough of the drug to keep him hooked. Never enough to satisfy him, only enough to make him want more. He knows it, too. But he can't walk away.

Love. It's like crystal meth.

DON'T DO METH.

Even Callie's strung out. Callie Torres, who always seemed stronger than the rest. More together. Less at the mercy of her emotions George's on-again, off-again commitment made her kind of nuts, but she always seemed like she was handling it. Now she's walking around the hospital like a crazy person. Falling down on the job, which she NEVER does. Unable to concentrate on anything other than the sneaking suspicion that her husband's having an affair. She knows it, in her heart she can't deny it.

That's a pretty serious drug.

Follow the link to continue reading Debora Cahn's blog ...

Many fans have noted that throughout Season 3, a grieving Isobel Stevens has been without makeup, and wearing the same sweater.

While it hasn't been explicitly stated on any Grey's Anatomy episodes this fall, it is widely rumored that the sweater she's wearing belonged to Denny (one fan observes she said it smells like him), and represents a part of Izzie's life that is gone, but not forgotten.

It turns out this is true, according to one of the show's writers, Debora Cahn, who confirms it in the show's official blog. She also offers some anecdotes about the scenes in which Katherine Heigl (who plays Izzie) was forced to stand outside all day long.

In Seattle, this might not have been a big deal. But in Los Angeles, where most of Grey's Anatomy is filmed, it's considerably hotter. Below is Cahn's take on both the lovely Katherine and her struggling intern character:

"Izzie’s trying to get on with her life too, in an incredibly valiant way.  But she can’t. It was heartbreaking, watching her standing outside that hospital all day. It was 95 degrees out when we shot it, and she’s wearing Denny’s sweater, so on top of the emotional devastation, we were a little worried Katie Heigl was going to pass out.

Katie was fine. But Izzie was wrecked. She thought that she could take back her life, through sheer force of will, but it’s too much. We all wanted her to walk through that door. We all wanted to believe that she could bounce back. Still be a doctor. Be a superhero. Step out of the wreckage, brush herself off, and walk on. But she can’t."

At least not yet. Maybe after her empowering visit with Denny Duquette, Sr., during last week's "What I Am," she'll finally summon the courage needed to walk through those doors.