After last week's terrific "Let the Angels Commit," Grey's Anatomy is back tonight with an all-new episode, "Where the Boys Are." We've found out a few spoilers regarding the episode... beginning with the fact that most of the boys are not at Seattle Grace Hospital.

Yes, the men of Grey's Anatomy go on a camping trip together, which should lead to many laughs, as well as some tension. Addison and Callie team up to work on a patient, a pregnant 25-year-old who slipped in the shower and doesn't want medicine for the pain.

Speaking of interesting medical scenarios, the doctors must take care of Daniel... or Donna. He recently had sexual reassignment surgery to become female, and his wife of 10 years somehow stayed by his side throughout the ordeal. Finally, a 9-year-old is admitted by the staff after swallowing Monopoly game pieces. Who hasn't done that, though?

With most of his male cohorts gone camping, Mark asks Meredith to assist with a procedure unlike any she has experienced. He also hits on her. At least it's a pretty safe bet. Perhaps most intriguingly, a suspicious Dr. Bailey confronts a power-crazed Cristina.

We'll have our comprehensive episode guide to "Where the Boys Are" up after the show, along with our list of quotes, gallery of images, and song selection with lyrics. We're looking forward to it already... and are feeling this strange urge to go fishing.

Okay, we're not really instituting a feature called that, but maybe we should. There have certainly been enough pictures of Kate Walsh going around lately. No Lucy today, however. Just the talented actress behind Addison Shepherd... or is it Addison Montgomery?

This one is a promotional shot from the film One Way to Valhalla, which is currently in post-production. Not sure what the movie is about, but we'll probably here more once it's ready to be released. We came across this picture and thought you'd enjoy seeing it as well. Go Kate.

This is the story of Grey's Anatomy and ER, both of which air tonight.

Grey's Anatomy has been watched by an average of 24 million viewers this season, garnering the highest ratings on TV. Before this, ABC hadn't had a No. 1 hit on Thursday in nearly 30 years. ER was TV's big dog from 1995-1998, and a top-10 staple for the better part of 13 seasons.

In terms of commercial potency, this has been one of the stellar hits in network history -- and remained so until senescence struck. With all of the original cast gone, ratings way down in 2005 and a prevailing sense that the show's creative arteries were sclerotic, this was expected to be the last season.

Now, take another look.

So far this season, ER is NBC's most-viewed scripted series (averaging 15 million viewers) and virtually tied with the network's hot Monday newcomer Heroes among younger viewers (both get 6.5 percent of adults ages of 18-49).

Once again, ER is winning its time period. Besides the fact that aging hits almost never reverse downward spirals, why is this unusual?

There are a couple of reasons. First, many believe ER is actually the best of the two Thursday hospital shows. Gone are last season's histrionics and violent nuttiness. The show has gotten back to doing what it always did best -- telling the stories of average people in extreme peril. The recent "Ames v. Kovac" episode with guest star Forest Whitaker was superb.

While the drama seems richer and sturdier than in recent seasons, the show has shrewdly added a stubble-faced counterpart to Grey's Anatomy's "Dr. McDreamy," played by Patrick Dempsey -- John Stamos (above) as Dr. Tony Gates. Stamos is the same vintage (43) as Dempsey (40), and both were late-'80s teen icons. Curiously, Grey's Anatomy is probably the key reason that ER is back on top.

"I didn't anticipate this. I was afraid that what the audience would feel is that if they saw one (hospital) show at 9, then they might not want to see another one at 10. I'm happy to say I was wrong," ER's executive producer, David Zabel, said.

What's happening is called "drafting" an audience from one show to another. If a program (Grey's Anatomy) on one network is a huge hit, then another following on a competing network gets viewers in its draft. ER appears to be as much a beneficiary as the ABC show that should be getting the assist, Six Degrees, which follows Grey's Anatomy at 10.

Networks don't like the draft effect, but the TV audience is fickle and uncontrollable, so they can't entirely eliminate it.

First, the San Diego Tribune's descriptions of the various Grey's Anatomy maladies devotees can contract. Now, it's the Boston Globe's turn -- only this column centers around the diseases it believes the show has caught.

Specifically, Shark-jump-itis, more commonly referred to as self-parody. And with November sweeps are heating up, the symptoms are bound to worsen.

In the opinion of the column's author, Matthew Gilbert, Grey's Anatomy needs early detection and behavior modification to live a healthy, happy, and, of course, humorously narcissistic life.

Otherwise, even as the ratings soar and the media buzz grows deafening, the product will become infected and compromised by its own fame. Desperate Housewives is a great example, he writes, having succumbed in record time as it lost its original vision amid the hype of his first season.

Now that bug is threatening Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes. Here are five prescriptions needed for Grey's to get its groove back.

1. Free Bailey!

Dr. Miranda Bailey should be ruling the roost, barking and biting. Not wallowing like her young doctors. The newbies on Grey's Anatomy are all about Seattle Grace gossip and their own sex lives, and that self-absorption is entertaining, particularly since it counteracts the heroic approach to doctoring on the likes of ER.

But we could always count on Dr. Bailey to burst the others' self-centered bubbles. This season, however, she has succumbed to the vacuum. Bailey has gone from telling George to stop looking at her "va-jay-jay" to moping guiltily with Izzie. Rhimes needs to make sure Chandra Wilson stays on course.

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Below is a review we came across in the Santa Barbara Independent of the second Grey's Anatomy music compilation. As many know, it's a terrific listen. And if you don't know that by now, visit our page devoted to the second Grey's Anatomy soundtrack and buy it, already!

Compilation CDs are perfect for non-committal music fans and this one is particularly great for the devoted Grey's Anatomy fan whose musical taste is eclectic.

The plaintive first track, “How to Save a Life,” by The Fray, illustrates an intervention, one painful step at a time, setting the tone for lots of reflecting, which is what the show’s narrator, Meredith Grey, is known for.

On the delightful “Miss Halfway,” Anya Marina sings about her own perceived imperfections while trying to warn others “I’m gonna burn a pie now and then / I’m gonna say the wrong things to your friends...”

Nevertheless, we are charmed.

A little Gomez never hurts and “How We Operate” is a clever inclusion, complicated in the best of ways. This is probably the only track that genuinely rocks, although others, like “Monster Hospital” by Metric and “Sexy Mistake” by the Chalets, certainly try.

The only track written specifically for the show (for last year’s season finale, "Losing My Religion"), is “Grace” by Kate Havnevik. Kate comes across as a breathy, sedated Bjork while singing about getting through tragedy while holding it together, turning her “grief to grace.” It's a great song.

Gran Bel Fisher’s “Bound by Love” is, as expected, a flat-out declaration of love. Not terribly notable except when it stands as stark contrast to the track following it, “I Hate Everyone” by Get Set Go, which is a simple, flat-out declaration of hate.

Overall, what we have here is a dreamy set of songs sure to make you wonder why you never went to medical school — or at least married Patrick Dempsey. Here's another link to the soundtrack in case you want to pick up this great compilation.

The nominations for the People's Choice Awards were announced Tuesday at the Peninsula Hotel by Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, and Grey's Anatomy stars Isaiah Washington and Kate Walsh (below).

Internet research firm Knowledge Networks called on pop culture fans to help determine the nominees. The public can help choose the winners online HERE. The awards presentation will be broadcast on CBS from the Shrine Auditorium on January 9.

The shows up for top TV drama are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, its Thursday rival, Grey's Anatomy, and Fox's hit House, M.D.

Nominated for top male star are our own Patrick Dempsey, Charlie Sheen, and Kiefer Sutherland. Don't forget to vote!

Yesterday, we showed you a picture of Grey's Anatomy star Kate Walsh and her cute dog, Lucy. Well, the canine news just keeps coming. We were sent this picture of Kate walking her pup Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles.

It looks as if she is holding an ice pack to her face... or shielding herself from the cameras with a piece of paper, possibly?

Yesterday we showed you some recent Katherine Heigl magazine shots. Today it's Kate Walsh's turn -- even if it's a magazine we didn't know existed before coming across this. Though we're not entirely shocked, either.

Yes, that's Kate and Lucy, her Basenji mix, on the cover of The Hollywood Dog. The holiday issue, no less! Click to enlarge the picture, and follow the link to the magazine's site if you want to order one!

Karla Peterson of the San Diego Union-Tribune has come up with a unique guide to Grey's Anatomy -- one she feels encompasses the pain mixed with the joy addicted viewers get from watching it.

She admits that Grey’s Anatomy is the most watchable show in TV, but thinks that even the most ardent fans will admit it is also likely to drive you insane in the process.

As a result, we're hooked. Diseased. Sicker than some of the patients who walk through the halls of Seattle Grace. Here's Peterson's guide to some of the more common Grey-related maladies:

HYPER-CARRIEOSIS

One cure for chronic Grey's Anatomy-itis? Give the bracing Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh, right) her own show.

THE SYMPTOMS: After being symptom-free since Sex and the City went off the air in 2004, we are once again haunted by breathy voice-over narration from a woman whose whimsical observations on life, love and shoes aren't nearly as clever as the writers think they are.

Yes, the ghost of Sex and the City-gal narrator Carrie Bradshaw has come back to TV in the form of the chipper, chatty Meredith Grey. And it takes more than a martini to keep her quiet.

THE CURE: Cover your ears and wait for George to appear. Suddenly, Meredith doesn't sound so bad!

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Two weeks ago, as we all know by now, T.R. Knight, one of the stars of Grey's Anatomy, one of the most popular shows on television, came out of the closet publicly to People magazine.

Knight's admission comes after, in his words, "a few questions about my sexuality." In a well-worded and brief press release, Knight (with Patrick Dempsey, left) added, "I hope the fact that I'm gay isn't the most interesting part of me."

Jordan Bartel of the Carroll County Times was happy Knight worded it in that way. In fact, there is no better way to say it. The sad fact is, though, and surely part of Knight realizes this, that now people will think that is the most interesting part of him.

Now, as in the case of whenever stars come out of the closet, people will forever focus on that aspect of their lives. The whole "publicly confirming that I'm gay" situation seems to be something that shouldn't ever happen.

Here's why: It's simply not news. It's simply not anyone's business. It's simply something that just shouldn't be an issue.

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