Wow. Solid Caption Contest this week, fans. Almost 50 replies, many of them great, is a step in the right direction. Your efforts made for a tough challenge here at Grey's Anatomy Insider HQ.

Props to Joss for what must be the first-ever Ellis Grey reference in Caption Contest history -- and to Justin and syatus for their timely Emmy Awards comments. We also enjoyed Bobert's effort and Kara's simple declaration. In the end, though, we had to pick Rebecca.

The lesson learned? Throw out 10 captions and you're bound to land a winner! The victorious reply appears below the image. Scroll down the page to view the complete list of responses! Thanks to all, good luck this week, and we appreciate you making us the top Grey's Anatomy site on the 'net!

This week's Caption Contest Image:

"Um, I know McDreamy loves ferry boats and all, but look at those boxers."

Oddsmakers are saying Grey's Anatomy is the heavy favorite to win the coveted award for Outstanding Drama Series award at Sunday's Emmy Awards.

If Grey's were to take home the crown, it would dethrone the newly-departed The West Wing in its bid for a record fifth term as prime time TV's best drama.

In addition to the classic presidential series, Grey's faces stiff competition from the critically acclaimed Fox network spy thriller, 24. Thus far, critics and fans like Grey's chances. The two remaining nominees are considered long shots in this year's Emmy drama race -- the Fox hospital show House and HBO's gangster hit and past Emmy winner, The Sopranos.

Sunday's Emmys are being closely watched by the TV industry as a test of new nomination rules designed to give newcomers, lesser-rated series and smaller networks a better shot at the major categories.

One group of TV critics taking part in an odds-making poll posted on the Los Angeles Times' entertainment site, The Envelope, picked Grey's Anatomy to narrowly edge out 24. The two shows lead the way in total nominations this year, with 24 snaring an even dozen and Grey's 11.

The most our beloved show could possibly win is nine, however, with Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson (left) both up for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and Grey's creator Shonda Rhimes going up against fellow writer Krista Vernoff for top scribe honors.

Adding an extra bit of drama to the show is the fact the ABC plans to air the blockbuster film Pirates of Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl opposite the NBC telecast, even as its medical drama looks poised to claim the top prize. Some have criticized the move, though ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson insists he scheduled the film before the Emmy nominees were revealed.

Not that we advocate you bet money on Grey's, but here are the official odds for the Outstanding Drama Series category, according to docsports.com:

• Grey's Anatomy -- 5/14
• 24 -- 4/1
• House -- 13/1
• The West Wing -- 33/1
• The Sopranos -- 33/1

According to this oddsmaker, a $10 bet on 24 would win you $40. You'd have to bet $14 just to win $5 on Grey's Anatomy, however, making it the prohibitive favorite. Here's hoping this prediction comes true -- maybe our poll isn't that far off the mark after all!

Patrick Dempsey is not simply hot in Hollywood, he's leaving quite the impression half a world away.

The man we have come to know as Derek "Dr. McDreamy" Shepherd in Grey's Anatomy is also a hit in Australia, where the country's best-selling newspaper, The Herald Sun, recently ran an interview with him.

It's staggering to think that, prior to landing the role of Dr. Shepherd, Dempsey's career appeared to have gone flat. He'd performed in a string of flops, including Crime & Punishment, There's No Fish Food in Heaven and Denial.

The actor, who felt like he was wallowing in mediocrity, says he kept telling himself: "I'm ugly, I'm no good, I'm a has-been."

Interestingly, as some fans may know, he auditioned for, but missed out on, the role on Fox' House M.D. Salvation for Dempsey came when he met Grey's Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, who offered him the chance to play the male lead in a drama that would focus on the intricate and often dysfunctional lives of a bunch of surgeons.

Dempsey's imagination was captured by Rhimes' promise that Grey's would dispense with the typical racial and gender stereotypes evident in many shows. After filming the pilot, however, the Grey's cast was left to wonder if the potential of the show would be realized.

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As we've reported previously, Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl has been filming a movie in which she plays as a journalist whose life quickly goes awry after a one-night stand with a goofball named Ben. Below, Katherine shares some of her impressions of Knocked Up, which is currently in post-production and slated for a 2007 release.

On the Tone of Knocked Up:

"What I like about [Director] Judd [Apatow] and his style is that he's taking stuff that everybody can relate to -- relationship issues and hormone issues -- and kind of exaggerating it enough to be funny, but it's still honest and realistic. It takes a very sort of hard look at what it's like to be in a situation like this and make it work and try to be responsible and try to do the right thing."

"And try to be a grown-up because you're about to have a baby, but still being a child in a lot of ways. I feel like it's going to be real funny. It's kind of right up my alley as far as the humor goes, but it's also very sort of poignant and honest."

On the Knocked Up Backstory:

"It's just a one-night stand. She goes out to celebrate her promotion because they made her an on-air interviewer and she's all excited about it. She goes out with her sister to celebrate at a club downtown and has too much to drink and she brings home Ben [played by Seth Rogen]. And then I have to [contact] Ben eight weeks later via his website. She doesn't even have his cell phone number. She just has to look him up on the web. It's bad."

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With the Emmy Awards coming up on Sunday, it's only appropriate that ABC show one of the best-known and critically acclaimed Grey's Anatomy episodes, "Into You Like a Train." As the surgeons fight to save the lives of two patients impaled on a metal pole, Meredith attempts to sort through the train wreck that her life became as soon as Addison Shepherd showed up.

This episode, which airs at 8 p.m. is at times funny, heartbreaking, dramatic and touching. Definitely one of the best, as evidenced by an Emmy nomination for its writer, Krista Vernoff. Check out our list of quotes and our image gallery, in addition to our complete episode guide (via the link above).

Following "Into You Like a Train," the network will be presenting an encore at 9 p.m.

"Yesterday," an episode from later in Season 2. This particular episode, in which Alex and Izzie flirt (a little) and Meredith and Cristina lament the men in their lives (more than a little), is perhaps remembered most for guest star Eric Dane, a.k.a. the dark, handsome Dr. Mark "McSteamy" Sloan.

Spoiler alert: Mark will be back in Season 3! In the meantime, don't miss his first appearance at Seattle Grace. Then be sure to give our episode guide, quote list and gallery of pictures a look!

Nine gay characters are depicted in network TV series scheduled for the 2006-07 season, a decrease from last year's 10, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said in a press release Monday.

That's roughly 1.3 percent of 679 lead or supporting characters on the six major broadcast networks in the new season, according to the group's annual study. The figure last year was 1.4 percent.

The nine gay or lesbian characters appear on eight series, one of which, not surprisingly, is Grey's Anatomy -- a show renowned for its diversity.

Fans are probably aware that Joe, the affable proprietor and bartender at the Emerald City Bar, where the doctors often go for a drink, is a gay man. The actor who portrays him, Steven W. Bailey (above), is large and often unassuming, in contrast to how gay men are often portrayed on television.

Joe plays a small but quality role on the Seattle-based show. In one episode, the surgeons removed a tumor from his brain. On another, he attended Thanksgiving at Meredith's house with his boyfriend, Walter. We're glad to hear that he will still be around when Season Three gets underway... in less than a month!

Other series with recurring gay, lesbian or bisexual characters include Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Big Day (all ABC), The Office (NBC), The Simpsons and The War at Home (both Fox).

Count ESPN's Bill Simmons, a.k.a. The Sports Guy, among the growing number of Grey's Anatomy fans. Sort of. In his recent mailbag, the popular sports and pop culture aficionado answered a bizarre e-mail from a fan who recently dreamt that he attended a Saved By the Bell fantasy camp. Really.

In this demented dream, campers got to act out their favorite episodes as the SBTB cast looked on. And we thought we were weird.

The reader proceeded to ask Simmons what TV show fantasy camp he wishes he could attend, and the writer opted for none other than Grey's Anatomy.

The reasoning? "So I could grab my fake girlfriend, look into her eyes, take a dramatic pause, then belt out a line like, 'I don't love you for who you are.... I love you for who you're not.'"

We think Bill is a closet fan of the show, at the very least. The guy is married, after all. He can kid all he wants... he's not turning it off!

Avon Products, Inc., has announced a collaboration with celebrity makeup artist Jillian Dempsey, a beauty industry icon and the wife of Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey.

Jillian, whose client roster includes some of Hollywood's freshest faces, will take on an enterprise-wide consulting role as Global Creative Color Director for the company, working to refresh and revitalize Avon and its flagship color brand.

The alliance with Dempsey represents the first time Avon has partnered with an outside makeup artist in a role of this kind. The cosmetics giant will collaborate closely with her in a campaign to refresh its shade palettes, launch limited-edition seasonal color collections, as well as new product concepts, beginning in Spring 2007.

"Avon was the only beauty brand in my house when I was growing up. I've always known it was a global beauty leader. As a makeup artist, I am passionate about helping women recognize their own beauty, and so it's an honor to collaborate with Avon and embrace their philosophy that every woman can have great style," Jillian said.

Mrs. Dempsey is well known within the cosmetics industry as one of the most talented, influential artists in the field. Jillian's career has taken her around the world -- from Hollywood to London, Paris and Tokyo -- and she has worked as a key makeup artist in films, TV and in the music industry.

Her work has been featured throughout the pages of countless beauty and fashion magazines, including Allure, Elle, Marie Claire and Vanity Fair. She resides in Los Angeles and Maine along with Patrick and their young daughter, Talula.

Back by popular demand -- and because we found and scanned an ad from a magazine in our office -- is another great picture of Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey from their photo shoot for a clothing retailer this summer.

As many Grey's Anatomy devotees probably know, New York & Company enlisted Ellen and Patrick to be the faces of its fall marketing campaign. Once we came across this ad today, we couldn't resist posting it. Click to see the enlarged version!

The New Zealand representative of an international nursing group is taking Grey's Anatomy to task over its portrayal of nurses.

Anita Bamford, Senior Lecturer at Auckland University of Technology, and a member of the U.S.-based Center for Nursing Advocacy, says that the show portrays nurses in a way that is damaging to the profession.

"Nurses in this series are nothing more than a pathetic foil to the god-like doctor heroes," she said. "They are typically presented as marginally-skilled physician subordinates, usually faceless and mute -- like wallpaper."

The series, which is up for 11 Emmy awards this year, including best drama, has been criticized by some for its inaccurate presentation of medical situations. In New Zealand, the Season 2 finale aired last night.

The nursing group is urging the producers of Grey's Anatomy to incorporate nurses as skilled professionals who play a central role in patient care.

"The show presents an inaccurate and damaging portrayal of nursing. You frequently see surgical interns performing key tasks normally done by nurses - like patient monitoring and psycho-social support. Mostly, the nursing characters are restricted to menial tasks," Bamford said.

The non-profit organization, which monitors the depiction of nursing in the news and entertainment, says research shows that Grey's Anatomy has a real effect on the public's healthcare views and actions. It is making similar cases against popular shows ER and House.

The Insider feels this criticism of Grey's Anatomy is overblown. Have these people seen the episode "Break on Through," in which George refuses to cross the picket line and helps the nurses campaign for better hours and wages? Of course, George also got syphilis from a nurse, Olivia (below), but that was all Alex's fault in the end. We're not sure what the problem is!