The TV Zone

(D'Amico/ABC)

Yes, People has the story now.

Here are the various statements, all released exclusively to the mag:

“Leaving Grey’s Anatomy was not an easy decision for me to make,” Knight says. “I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much. I continue to wish them the very best, and wholeheartedly thank all of the fans who have supported me and the show with such passion and enthusiasm.”

Producer Shonda Rhimes: “I think I speak for the entire Grey’s Anatomy family when I say we wish T.R. Knight the best in his future endeavors. He is an incredibly talented actor and a person whose strength of character is admired by all of us.”

Here's the statement, now, from Verne Gay, writer of TVZone, and longtime "Grey's Anatomy" watcher: "Honestly, I can't understand why they even sent out dueling statements. I mean, come on! He lost his face in the finale episode. How the heck was he going to come back without a face? Maybe he would have come back with someone else's face - which, of course, would have meant that George would have been played by a different actor. They could have still dubbed in his voice, which, I suppose, means he could have half-returned. But obviously I'm way over-thinking this, and my statement is getting too long as it is, so cut to the chase: I'm glad George is gone. Shonda, quoted above, pretty much ruined this character by turning someone who was sweet and innocent into someone who was whiny, deeply annoying, and fundamentally a jerk. And after he double-timed Callie, that was IT!"

Tune in next week for a series of statements, also released to People, on Kat Heigl's fate.

Officially ghost on ghost.

How about last night?

I'm not sure where to begin on this one, except with a question, that now has an answer forming at the back of my head, taking shape, gathering energy, speed, momentum and now about to rush out my fingers in a mighty expression of eloquence and erudition...

....Sppplllllaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttt.

Good Lord.

So that was the end of George and Izzie?

I could have written a better end for George and Izzie. You could have written a better end for George and Izzie. Message to ABC: Next time send us the check (we'll split it up ourselves).

I mean really. George, as the hero though completely unrecognizable insofar as no one could recognize him following the meeting of face with bus. Didn't anyone think to check his pockets? Or did George, on the way to the Army recruiting station, throw his wallet down in the gutter, to be washed away by the Seattle rain along with his past identity?

Izzie: Dies two ticks before 11 p.m., and just about the same time dear George expires. And then we see their ghosts together; and let me say, two ghosts never looked so SMASHING. (Was that the same dress Izzie wore when she and Denny said their final goodbyes? I think so, but am not sure...)

Look, we all expected Izzie to die. That was indeed written - in the stars, in the contracts, in the need for her to do another movie with Seth Rogen. It was written, likewise, that George would move on too. But THIS WAY!?

[By the way, I see in the comments section that some readers have decided that they may not be dead. This is TV and sweeps and nonsense of the first order, so sure - I'll buy that.You may be right. In the meantime, I'm sticking with my dead-is-really-dead theory, until we're all suckered again next season. In fact, we're still being suckered the day after - I see that Shonda has an interview with Michael Ausiello, who asks, "Do you know which one of them lives and which one of them dies?" Said Rhimes, "Yes. And I don't know that you should be saying 'which one of them lives and which one of them dies.' I know what happens to the characters."]

How happy do you think Shonda Rhimes was with these two high-profile actors who hitched up an attitude last season, all huffy and haughty because they couldn't score better lines or scenes that had "Emmy, Baby, Emmy" written all over them? The last we see of Izz in this mortal coil, she is completely bald, absent makeup, lip-gloss or the other accoutrements and enhancers of Heigl-esque beauty. The last we see of George: A broccoli has had better close-ups.

What a disappointment.

No, on second thought, what a wonderful, hilarious, clever joke - as only a producer, who loves revenge served ice cold, could think up.

I think they'll come back anyway - next November, in sweeps. Denny, George, Izzie floating down the hallways of Seattle Grace, bickering, of course.

Denny: "Why's HE here?"

George: "I slept with her too, pal."

Izzie: "Now, boys, boys..."

I can hardly wait.

In fact, I can wait.

The big news out late today: Katherine Heigl musing about staying on "GA;" the story was based on an AP account from a 100 episode party. But I'm not so sure about this...My interpretation follows...

Here's the piece, as it ran in HuffPo::

"LOS ANGELES — Katherine Heigl said Friday she's ready to stay with "Grey's Anatomy" and the decision rests with the show.

Attending a studio party to mark the ABC medical drama's 100th episode, Heigl said it's premature to think her days as Dr. Izzie Stevens are numbered.

"I was assuming that at one point and I got a lot of shrugged shoulders and shakes of the head, so I don't know if that's a yes or a no. No one will tell me and I don't know how this is going to go," Heigl said, noting series creator Shonda Rhimes' passion for plot secrecy.

"I don't know if I live or die. I don't know how Izzie fares," said the actress, who's played the character since the show debuted in 2005.

"I'm there" if Izzie remains part of "Grey's Anatomy," Heigl said. She called the set "one of my favorite places to be" and said her colleagues are also friends.

She and fellow cast members, including Ellen Pompeo (Dr. Meredith Grey) and Patrick Dempsey (Dr. Derek Shepherd), were on hand for the celebration that included a cake decorated with scalpels and syringes made out of icing.

Rhimes, who's also an executive producer for the show, called the milestone a "huge accomplishment" and thanked the cast and crew for their efforts.

In an interview, she dropped a tantalizing clue about the episode airing May 7."

My interpretation: Honestly, what would anyone expect her to say? Heigl's been outspoken before and it got her nowhere; best to play the game, which is what she's doing here. But it's still intriguing. I've been thinking that the cancer plotline (surgery last week) may be a set-up for something else entirely; Shonda Rhimes is too smart to let this thing play out according to standard soap opera script, so maybe KH is being absolutely truthful - she has no clue how this'll play out, and would be happy to just keep on truckin'.

But still, it's a fair-to-solid bet she'll be gone by the end of the season, with POSSIBLE future cameos - and I don't mean ghost cameos either. Izzy may leave and return too...But the big screen career is the future...

(AP Photo/Chris Weeks)

Welcome to Clips Central, TV fanatics.

My wonderful and hugely talented colleague, Corris Little, has just given me a bunch of clips that should fill your next five minutes happily and profitably. Among these beauties - sneak peeks at this week's "Lost" and "Grey's" AND Carol Burnett's guesting role on "L&O;: SVU."

Plus, I believe the last one is "America's Next Top Gangbanger" ...errr, I think I mean, "Model."

Take it away!

Sorry, I've been a little out of touch... All that business about Melissa going to "DWTS" kind of took my breath away, and I've been contemplating the meaning of it all...

Contemplation over! There is no meaning...

In any event, I came across this nice sneak peak at this Thursday's "Grey's Anatomy." As you know, show's returning after a two (or was it three?) week absence. This is a big episode and I think may even set up the thread for the rest of this season:

1.) I'm pretty certain this is the episode where we learn Izzy has cancer...

2.) Derek quits. Walks out. It's over. (The ding on his nose? I'm pretty certain that's from the violent dust-up with Sloan...

Okay, this time Us Magazine means it.

If you haven't caught up with the sensational mag's sensational story on Kat Heigl and longtime pal, T.R. Knight, we'll throw it your way right now.

They're gone. That's what Us reports, after button-holing James Pickens Jr. - "Chief" - at a recent NAACP luncheon. "Wherever Katherine goes, I wish her nothing but the best." Of George, he says: "He just wanted to pursue other career paths."

Now, not known for carefully contextualizing the tidbits that get thrown its way, Us gives no indication about timing here. We all KNOW they're going...SOMEday. We all KNOW they've been unhappy. We all KNOW they're pals who like to bitch and moan about their career-making show and how it's frakked up their characters with insipid plotlines and outrageous stories about frisky and libidinous ghosts.

What we don't know is WHEN.

TVZone to Us Mag: Please go back to the luncheon, see if you can find Chief, and ask him, ..."ummm, when are they going?"

I've got an email into ABC; as soon as I get the "we don't comment on rumors or innuendos" statement, I'll relay immediately.

OK! I'm back. Just got the statement: "Neither the network or studio are confirming" the report.

What means this? Nothing! As I've said, we need a time frame here. We don't have that, we don't have a story.

(Pix: ABC, Scott Garfield, from Us.)

I love to pass on gossip - good, or bad, or malicious, or inaccurate, or accurate, or unsubstantiated - as much as the next guy, and this seems almost too intriguing to ignore.

It has an air - how does one say? - of authenticity to it. This comes via an LA blogger whose report has just been magnified a million times via Defamer. OK, enough with stringing you along: It claims that T.R.Knight has quit "Grey's Anatomy."

Do I believe this? I dunno. The last time a star staged a big time walkout on a big time show, his name was David Caruso (and he didn't exactly "walk out" but got out of his "NYPD Blue" contract to go to some big screen roles which...well, enough with David.) Point is, when you're getting paid a lotta money, you do not walk out on the show. Knight? He doesn't strike me as a prima donna. But who knows. Here's the report. I'm not vouching for this - just intrigued.

Anyway, to use the bad cliche, stay tuned. I'll get a denial from ABC and post it here tomorrow.

But here's my question: Was that REALLY a goodbye , like Jeffrey Dean Morgan's was a reasonably definite goodbye ("reasonably" - he WAS back last night after all.)

It was a turn-on-her-heels "I don't really know you at all" moment. And then, off into the shadows she went, presumably to...what? I'm not sure. But an absolute farewell?

Not really. In a way, it was a perfect ending, I suppose, for what was certainly was of the best "Grey's Anatomy" episodes ever put to film: That sense that it's not over until it's over, and even then... They saw dead people last night, lots of them, and the boundary between life and death wasn't much more than a very thin and mostly irrelevant line. (Unless, like that bereft man, trundling out the door after his wife's death, you were among the living. That scene inspired one of the most memorable lines ever written for this show: "We're born, live and die. Sometimes not in that order.")

But Erica Hahn's - and Brooke Smith's - departure was certainly well-done. Consider: She WAS in the right about Denny Duquette's transplant, and WAS right that it had been badly handled, and that Chief was as complicit as Izzy in the mess-up. It was a great closing scene, perfectly built to character - Erica Hahn's character - as a difficult, unyielding and uncompromising soul, AND someone who lately discovered her real sexuality. She was uncompromising about that too.

I'll miss Hahn - Brooke Smith - on this show. She was a hugely valuable addition when she arrived two seasons ago, and her character deserved better. Last night, as fine an episode as that was, felt incomplete, as though a vital character who suddenly added a whole new dimension was ripped from the screen. But that's death, TV-style.

What was so good about last night though? That "Grey's," which has struggled so badly and clumsily and foolishly at times last season (shortened though it was), re-located exactly the right voice and tone that made it a great show in the first place.

So, Mary McDonnell joins next week (and we'll have to pretend she's not Laura Roslin) and I guess all of this will explain who happens to Hahn...

Who is still, meanwhile, gone. So I guess this is what's meant by "bittersweet."

Grade: A

You, faithful reader, know that I've had my ups and downs with "Grey's Anatomy" - the latest down most recently Tuesday when Brooke Smith was fired (fired!) off the show because she played a lesbian character. Smith was fired but Shonda Rhimes pretended it was Just One of Those Things, but, hey, who wants to be known as a producer who KOW-TOWED to evil network overlords?

But in fact, Shonda has done at least one smart thing this season and that's add Kevin McKidd to the cast as the new surgeon who kills pigs and canoodles with Yang and gets into steely blue-eyed staring contests with Der and Sloan, or Mardere.

I like McKidd. I liked "Journeyman," too. And I thought he was great in "Rome" and (of course) "Trainspotting," which actually came out in the last century.

In any event, McKidd's people have got him talking to the press this week, and he - bless 'im - even consented to chat with little 'ol lowly 'Zone. Much to say about this fine new addition to "Grey's" - as you know, he's Scottish born and retains a nice, deep burr - but I'll let him do the talking.

Main points of our recent chat:

* There WILL be a "Rome" movie for theatrical release, which he's just confirmed with Bruno Heller. Heller, as "Rome" fans know, wrote much of the HBO series, but he's busy with a CBS hit right now, "The Mentalist," which he created. Says McKidd, there "will be a cinema release movie, and [we'll] bring back those [characters] together. He's been busy trying to work out the story and structure, [but] I talked to him and he's got the structure of the movie in his head...All the cast would come back [for it] in a heart beat." McKidd played Lucius Vorenus in "R," which ended its HBO run last year.

* McKidd's a busy guy - contracted for 13 episodes of "Grey" (just taped number 11) and he's in production on "Bunraku," with Demi Moore, Ron Perlman, Josh Hartnett, and Woody Harrelson.

* "Grey's" and ABC like his character so far, but hey! This is showbiz; they also liked Smith's. He doesn't REALLY kill pigs on "Grey's" - I jest - and the show did point out that those porcine stars from last week were in fact made of plastic and straw, so no animals were hurt.

Please go to the jump for more on McKidd...

Continue reading ""Grey's Anatomy:" Kevin McKidd" »

Well, I now see that Shonda Rhimes has released this statement to the press, which USA Today carried and where I've picked it up...

"Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian. Clearly it's not an issue, as we have a lesbian character on the show — Calliope Torres.

"Sara Ramirez," she added, is an "incredible" actress and she wants to "play up her magic. Unfortunately, we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run."

"I believe it belittles the relationship to simply replace Erica with 'another lesbian."

OK, dear reader, do you believe this? I don't. Foremost, Calliope - Calliope! - is bisexual and if she's strictly gay, than George - wouldn't HE be surprised?! - might have had a justification in his own mind to play footsies with Izzy; clearly he did not. In any event, that was never made clear to viewers, once - or at least that I can recall.

Second, of course it was an issue with the network. This sort of stuff is always an issue - just ask David Milch how many teeth he had to pull just to get the word "----hole" on "NYPD Blue." Networks are skittish. It's in their blood.

Third, if I were Shonda, I'd be the one to step up to the plate and take full blame for the ruination of this wonderful character. Erica Hahn, as I wrote below, is one of stellar characters in "Grey's" history, and the fact that the show drained her character of said magic and chemistry is the SHOW's fault, NOT, I repeat, NOT Brooke Smith's.

A shame.

The big TV news - besides that little thing called an "election" today - has to be what popped out of "EW" last night, where Brooke Smith announced that she had just been fired from "Grey's Anatomy."

Fired. Not just written out. But gone. Off the set. Good bye. Don't let the door hit you where doors hit people....

It was an amazing post, and here's what she told Michael Ausiello, who broke this: "I found out in mid-September soon after shooting the monologue that aired last week where Erica has the revelation that she's gay. They even came down and told me it was a great scene…one of the best they ever shot on the show. So I was really, really shocked. I was floored when they told me [I was being let go]. It was the last thing I expected. In fact, when they told me I asked, 'When is this happening?' And they said, 'The [next episode] is your last,' which is the one that airs this Thursday. So it was very sudden."

Now, which is the scene of which she speaks? You know - it was last week, where Erica and Callie are in bed, and Erica basically goes haywire, saying how that was the best, most awesome, most incredible, most -oh-my-GAWD,. flat out INSANE sex she ever had.

Then, she starts telling Callie about a time when she was a kid, and saw only green blobs,. went to the doctor, came back with glasses and realized - wow! - the green blobs were actually leaves on the trees. And Callie, oh, Calliecalliecalliecallie...YOU are my glasses. I am (she went to say) SO GAY SO GAY SO GAY.

You remember. How could you forget. Callie was embarrassed. She leaves. End of scene.

What was wrong with any of this - other than the fact that "Grey's" had suddenly morphed into "The L Word?" Smith, a very good actress, was fine. The scene was memorable. And, in fact, believable, rare for this show.

Then...about a million people wrote Disney and told the company that they will never, ever again take their children to Disneyworld EVER.

Oops. That's one little problem with graphic sex scenes and declarations of lesbian love on a show owned by a company which also owns huge family-oriented theme parks.

But WAIT, you say. "Desperate Housewives," "Brothers & Sisters" "Ugly Betty" "General Hospital" - to name four prominent ABC franchises that have or have had gay storylines. They didn't prompt cancellations. True, but...I submit that Callica had turned into something that even ABC had not bargained for, namely a highly charged sexual relationship between two women. This wasn't "The Ellen Show" or a quick lesbian smooch on "Roseanne."

This was sex, in a bed. Two women...

On American commercial TV, that's pure dynamite.

But I submit, there was a problem with Erica Hahn, and it's been the one I've had with her for the past season. When she joined full time back in '07 season - though I think she first came aboard in May of '06 - she was an amazing character and addition. Here was Dr. Erica Hahn - whom some of us remembered from "Silence of the Lambs:" This tough, brilliant, domineering woman. She was, for a singular moment, the only practicing adult in all of Seattle Grace. Her sexuality was, perhaps, ambiguous, but it was also irrelevant: While Meredere were doing their thing, and everyone else was an emotional basket case, here came Hahn: The one central figure who actually SEEMED like a surgeon, and BEHAVED like a surgeon. She abused Yang and Sloan with relish, and with that icy stare froze everyone in place.

Smith absolutely grounded the show the minute she came on screen, and she was a salvation for "Grey's," coming as she did in the wake of the Isaiah Washington fiasco.

(Irony alert! Washington is ousted because he slurs gays, and Brooke Smith is ousted because she PLAYS one...)

Then, Hahn grew a heart. She got soft. Like everyone else at Seattle Grace, she drank from the tainted water cooler, and got silly, fell in love, and became - just like everyone else - more intent on her personal life than her professional one.

It was a sad waste of a great character.

So...ABC may have ousted Smith because of the overt gay storyline. But the demolition of a once great character probably had something to do with this as well.

(Pix: Bob Damico/ ABC.)

Here's a stop-the-presses bulletin; Katherine Heigl has pulled herself out of Emmy contention because she thinks -- and I'm paraphrasing here -- she had bad material on "Grey's" Anatomy last season.

Now stop to consider that, and let's just add a few "!!!!'s" for good measure.

No one -- per my memory -- has ever pulled themselves outta Emmy because they blamed the writers. Ever. Sure -- Kelsey Grammer and others have pulled out (Candice Bergen, most notably) because they had the generosity of spirit to let someone else win for a change. But to pull yourself out because you hated the role??!!

Tom O'Neil, the guru of Emmyland and the Goldderby.com maestro -- has the scoop, and go there for the details. But Heigl tells him: "I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention. In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials."

Now my read: The next thing we hear is that Kate has, by mutual consent, decided to leave "Grey's" for a big screen career. It's a matter of time, friends. And out the door immediately after her: McDreamy.

Why did she claim to have bad material? Because she did. It was awful and "Grey's" and Shonda pretty near ruined her character last season. She actually has a point here.

We end the season on the subject of lips: Whose lips locked with whose, and why those lips locked and whether those lips will lock with someone else's next season or lock a little longer with the person whose lips they were already locked to.

Or whether, after the glow of finaletime wears off, the liplockers will wonder: What was the hell was I THINKING?

Lips on "Grey's" are no incidental characters, nosiree. This show is cast on the basis of lips and if your lips don't cut it, then try for some other show (say, "NCIS," where lip-locking is only incidental.) I'm not sure Hahn's lips necessarily cut the mustard, but they pretty much have to now, considering whose lips her lips are locked to.

Mer and Der, in the Dream House with A View of the World (still unbuilt, and I'm willing to bet, will remain unbuilt through next season too)? That's right - the most famous lips locked in the glow of perfectly arranged candles and (I don't know about you) but I'm glad there's never a drought in Seattle because (by God) I do believe Meredith would have been arrested for pulling the same stunt in (say) Los Angeles county.

Der had to run off to break the bad news to Rose. Here's the conversation: "Rose, I can't lock lips with you anymore because I just locked lips with Mer, and I can only lock lips with one woman at a time."

So can Torres - and what lockable lips she's got! Funny last scene, as the camera focuses onto Mark, his lips twitching. Here's what was going on in his mind: "I wonder what a three way lip lock would be like?"

Good old Mark. Always thinking about lips.

Lexie and George: They locked lips, though God knows whether Lexie was wondering whether she would have preferred to lock lips with Yang, who didn't force her to peel a banana. (Banana...hmmmmm.) Yang's suddenly being nice - and I honestly think she does "mean" better than "nice" - and so she deserves some lip-locking, but with who? (Miranda?)

Let's see...who else. Chief. Yes. Locked lips. Bailey? No locked lips. Dr. Wyatt. Ditto. Izzie and Karev? Locked, then unlocked.

I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait until next season. (Note to self: Buy chapstick.)

There was no bitterness when Isaiah Washington left "Grey's Anatomy" - and there's no water in the ocean and the moon is actually made of moldy green cheese. (Check it out...it's true..)

But still, viewers could be forgiven for doing a little doubletake a couple weeks ago when Cristina Yang walked by a bulletin board to glance at a pix of Preston Burke; I certainly did, and even backed up to take another look. Was it an obit? What WAS that? (Burke had been awarded something. He had the ol' characteristic blank look...)

It was all incredibly harmless, but now guess what? Washington has filed a complaint with the Screen Actors Guild over the shot! "They have the rights of the character to advance the story, but not the image," his lawyers told ABC's lawyers (according to the Hollywood Reporter.) Yes, IW wants a "financial settlement."

That's right - he deserves money for the emotional trauma this must have caused. May I suggest 34 cents?

After having, oh, 11 or so hours to sleep and think on it, I suppose I should be offering you some deep well-rubbed thoughts about the return of "Grey's Anatomy" - at least thoughts that should be at least as deep and well-rubbed as yours.

But the basic problem, I found, is that absence did not make the heart grow fonder. I think I hoped it would - that there would be some new-found poignancy in the sisterly ties of Meredith and Lexie, or that Derek and Rose would offer a new and intriguing wrinkle, or the bad taste of that misbegotten match of Izzie and George would be long gone, or that Cristina's profoundly comical neediness would be even more profoundly comical.

But no, absence did not make the heart grow fonder. Last night arrived with a tremendous load of backstory, though none of it particularly meaningful. We are all now required to care anew - and I don't know about you, but caring anew is gonna be hard work.

Again, after 11 (now nearly 12) hours, I think I've come to this conclusion: The magic's gone. It was a perfectly OK episode, but perfectly OK is hardly good enough - two months' absence should have offered something much much better. But the "Grey's" formula remains ironclad - that Meredith's inability to stitch her need for love with her need for career holds up a mirror to us (or at least 20 million female viewers), and the on-again/off-again with McDreamy is its reigning - and wrenching - metaphor.

But we know they're destined for each other's arms again, just as we know they're destined to separate again, or until he's off the show entirely for the big screen career. (Depends, I suppose, on how "Made of Honor" does.) It's an old story now. Terribly old. And I just...don't...care.

Yeah, sure, some funny "Housian" moments - when Mere throws up her arms like she's just scored one after diagnosing the guy's tumor. But of course, ultimately NOT funny. Even the humor of "the contest" seemed listless.

Something was missing before. Something still is. For want of a better word, let's just call it "heart."

Don't say we never did anything for you - although, after watching this video, you may come to the conclusion that we never did anything for you.

This is a strange video, but - depending on how desperate you are for diversion at this exact moment - maybe manna from heaven. (Thanks to tvtattle for locating.) Quick backstory: When the strike was in progress Shonda Rhimes got casts from her hit shows to agree to sing at a UCLA fundraiser (raising dough for struggling out-of-work writers.) An intriguing experiment, though (no surprise) Audra McDonald is probably the only one worth paying real money to see. (Sara Ramirez is a big stage talent, too, so, Sara as well.)

In any event, it took place Friday, and apparently someone in the audience held up their cell phone during the thing. Here it is, with fair warning: You haven't seen video this rocky since mom and dad took those old pictures of you jumping into the backyard pool.

“Lost” will have lots of company by April as new episodes return to ABC’s lineup for such faves as “Desperate Housewives” and “Ugly Betty.” In the midst of the post-strike shuffle, “Lost” will move back to 10 p.m. Thursday behind a returning “Grey’s Anatomy” – just in time for May’s Nielsen sweep (April 24 - May 21).

The network has announced the following fresh-episode dates:

“Samantha Who?” - Monday, April 7 at 9:30 p.m. (six new episodes)

“Boston Legal” - Tuesday, April 8 at 10 p.m. (six episodes)

“Desperate Housewives” - Sunday, April 13 at 9 p.m. (five episodes, plus two-hour finale)

“Brothers & Sisters” - Sunday, April 20 at 10 p.m. (four episodes)

“Ugly Betty” - Thursday, April 24 at 8 p.m. (five episodes)

“Grey’s Anatomy” - Thursday, April 24 at 9 p.m. (five episodes)

“Lost” - Thursday, April 24 move to 10 p.m. (five episodes)

Catch up to previous episodes at ABC's streaming media player.

What goes around comes around, and around...and around...and around...

Let's recap: Meredith and Derek are on the ropes again, Izzie's still dizzy, George still needs a back-bone, Sloan can't figure out Hahn who hates/loves him, while Yang desperately wants Hahn to like/love her (fat chance for either) and...

Take a deep breath...

Callie's got an issue with faith (after George, who wouldn't?) while Karev could be filling the space in Izzie's heart after the split with George, unless he ends up with Lexie, which is a distinct possibility, and...

another breath...

Derek and Rose are on again, and it's just a matter of time before Hahn and Sloan hit the hot sheets motel, proving that Hahn (in fact) is not gay (though perhaps bi-), and Miranda's marriage may or may not be on the rocks after her husband let the bookshelf fall on the baby.

Did I miss anything?

"Grey's Anatomy" returns after a longish strike-forced hiatus, and I'm left with the sense that the more things change around Seattle Grace, the more things remain the same. We've only got a few weeks left until the season is over for good, and the question now is - will the producers manage to tie things up by February sweeps?

Some possible plot twists cooked up in the confines of my fetid imagination:

Meredith: Pushes Derek off the hill where he was going to build their dream house, thus allowing Patrick Dempsey to finally pull a George Clooney and head off to a big screen career (adios, Mere!)

Derek: Builds dream house, Rose moves in, they live happily ever after...and then Patrick Dempsey pulls a George Clooney and...etc.

Izzie: Denny Duquette's ghost returns to the hospital and starts dating her again, and residents are concerned when they see her talking to thin air because she's the only one who can see him; Izzie finally goes off the deep end, thus allowing Katherine Heigl to pull a George Clooney...etc.

. George: Hitches up romantically with Yang because - what the hell - he's already been hitched to everyone else.

Miranda: Splits from loser house husband, and walks on wild side by hitching up with Callie, who's decided that gay's the way after George ditched her; show changes name to "Gay's Anatomy."

Sloan: Marries Hahn, who re-makes him into her house husband; stays at home, cooks dinner, tends to babies, and otherwise undergoes major character reversal.

Karev: Still trying to figure out what to do with him, but Webber's gotta figure in this some way. Happy to take suggestions (though don't forget - show has officially changed name to "Gay's Anatomy.")

And speaking of fourth party candidates, how about a fifth party one? For that, I nominate Patrick Dempsey, who's also making the morning talk show rounds to pump "Enchanted." He's not a Dobbsian word-mincer, best I can tell, and when Reeg asked him this morning about the Writers' Strike, he sure didn't look and sound like a guy who was whole-heartedly in the writers' corner, like most every other big name actor who's appeared on picket lines on the left and right
coasts in recent weeks. All the combatants - writers and Big Bad Studio chiefs - "need to come to an understanding and get their egos out of the way," he declared, because some staffers at shows like "Grey's Anatomy" are "living pay check to paycheck. They [writers] deserve something [but] they should resolve this as soon as possible."

What did we learn from last night's "Grey's Anatomy?"

Let's see. That: George pecks like a chicken, and Izzy is starting to have second thoughts, and that Chief's a slob and Shepherd's a neatnik, and Sloan has a thing for Hahn (figures) but that she doesn't for him (and to understand why, see an earlier blog entry), and that Torres really shouldn't be boss and that Bailey should (and now is), and - most shocking of all - Bailey cries! Who saw that coming?

But I think there's something else that we're - or at least I'm - starting to realize. With the strike five days old, and with months - conceivably - to go, who has time, energy or passion to become invested in all of this when you know that in just about four weeks, maybe less, the spigot will be turned off? As the LA Times reported yesterday, "Grey's" is now filming its last episode - though how even that's possible with Shonda Rhimes electing to become fellow travel with other striking writers is a mystery. Meanwhile, "The Office" is gone in two weeks, "The Big Bang Theory" is over this Monday, "Desperate Housewives" is outtahere in early December, and same with "Grey's." I'm sure there are others, many others too.

But serials like "Grey's" and "Desperate" - I suspect - are already feeling the cold shoulder of viewer indifference, either consciously or subconsciously. Who cares whether Lexie or Mere patch things up when we'll be in a "Groundhog Day" loop of endless re-runs, or endless fill-in reality shows? The passion for shows runs cold when you know they are about to be stuffed into the deep freeze, for weeks or maybe even - yes - months? The writers' strike is terrible business - especially for the writers and thousands of support personnel now on the streets too - but the franchises themselves stand to suffer in ways we are only now beginning to understand.

Good Lord, you don't wanna get sick in Seattle Grace. They leave chainsaws with fingers stuck in them, which are then grabbed by guys with crazy legs, who use them to cut off their unruly feet. And the residents are cool with that, because they've got a lot more important things to worry about.

Like, their sex lives.

Which is why I was personally glad to see Dr. Hahn back full time at SG last night. Dr. Hahn is played by the fabulous Brooke Smith (daughter of super-duper-power-flack, Lois), and lemme tell ya, this Brooke ain't no Shields. Why, she's so tough she makes Bo Dietl look like Little Bo Peep. That was a good scene - "good" as in "amusing" - where she goes in to tell the David Clennon-character to say goodbye to his daughter - quickly - because she's gonna cut her heart out. Clennon doesn't appreciate her abrupt bedside manner (who would?! Except maybe Jack the Ripper) and it's left to girly-man George to explain that he'd give HIS heart to HIS father. (Well, good for you, George - the old man's been dead and gone a season. Easy for you to be giving away your heart.)

Anyway, Erica Hahn brings a different dynamic to SG, and if my gaydar isn't broken, I would say this is a lesbian dynamic. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some lesbian lovin' on "GA" - and as Sloan would put it, it sounds REALLY dirty when you drop the "g." I'm sick and tired of all these whiny hetero homeboys and girls on "Grey's Anatomy." Why, Jane Doe (she calls herself Ava, I think) isn't back an hour, and Karev's off getting "re-acquainted" with her in some laundry closet. Enough! We need adults around here. We also need lesbian love affairs. We need Erica Hahn. The story possibilities are limitless: Yang, dispensed by Burke, gets back at him by throwing herself into the arms of his old nemesis. Or: Now that none of the nurses will have anything to do with him, Sloan tries to "cure" Hahn; we'll see how THAT turns out. Meredith - ashless and loveless - finds a need to explore her emotional torment in other ways.

And so on. Do you see where I'm going here? That's right. Another "GA" spin-off. I think the Logo network would be interested...

Old 'do but new-found dignity.

Me, I didn't mind last night's "Grey's Anatomy," but - as I think I just mentioned - that's me. You? You may be a different story, and please don't be shy about saying so. But I saw glimmers of hope, which suggested that whatever has ailed this show a few episodes in may be a passing phase, or a new-season rough patch.

The big issue - Izzie had turned into a complete dope, without compass bearing or focus or (most glaringly) dignity. Meanwhile, the show itself - which has seemed to struggle weekly on exactly what point of view it wants to take with certain characters - offered no clues and instead allowed Izzie to fall deeper into a post-Denny-Duquette funk that threw her into the arms of George, who (in turn) was also wrecked as a sympathetic core character.

Anyway, last night, "Grey's" tried to set matters straight. I actually liked the cafeteria scene, when Izzy put up her dukes, and then Callie deflated her with just one casual prick - "I came to talk..." Izzie, unattached balloon that she has become, visibly deflated right there on the spot. It was a good night for Callie, in a way, because she (as well she should) became the moral core that has eluded the show, and by so doing, gave true and much needed perspective on the George/Izzie fling. Callie reminded viewers what was so grievously wrong with it, and SHE reminded viewers what damage had been done - and, incidentally, the damage done to the show. (Even though Karev probably had the best observation, saying how pathetic she had become.) I say all this because it seems to me that at least "Grey's" is attempting to ground itself again, or (apologies for the mixed metaphors) trying to get that
damned compass working again.

That's good, but it's just a start.

Okay, "Grey's Anatomy:" You want truth. We'll give you the truth. The whole truth. The Nothing But the Whole Truth. So help me the-Big-Guy-Upstairs.

You need to get back on track. You need to relocate the center. You need to make us care about the characters again, or most of them, and make us feel that what's happening to them is worth feeling a little passionate about - not a little annoyed about. And most of all, you need to make Izzie whole again - not some cheap cardboard cutout who just can't get her emotions together, and seems, no is, increasingly like some pretty twitty snitty non-entity. "I'm blondie. I'm the other woman. I'm a bad fifties cliche." There: Izzie even gave you the truth herself.

Last night wasn't bad; it was simply forgettable, and three episodes in, that's not where you want to be. My feeling - and take it or leave it - is that "Grey's Anatomy" is currently one of the most important shows on television because it re-captured a vast audience when an army of pundits said that probably couldn't be done again with an ensemble drama; it (and "D Housewives" and "Lost," both of which also proved otherwise) turned around ABC, too, by turning around 20 million heads. But those heads are nodding off.

Last night, there were sparks, but sparks do not make a series; they simply serve to remind us what was once so good and now seems so lost. The writing, for example: Intermittently crisp (like that good scene between Mere and Cristina: "You surgery stealer," said Mere, "You owe me a surgery." "You owe me sex details," said C.) Cristina's false grief - that's good too, and she's good, as always. Miranda's windy put-down of Karev, concerning interns - good too. Plus Ed Herrmann, as the newest/oldest intern, Norm. This cameo has possibilities.

But this Izzy/George/Callie triangle? Not good. The dynamics are off-kilter, and it all feels as passionate as a wet noodle. George, with the puppy dog eyes and the quivering chin, may be a certain type of female fantasy figure - gentle, weak, and malleable, a doughboy, or a puppydog that can be house trained, or a bowl of warm milk. (I guess his nickname should be McCreamy.) But Izzy's willful disregard of Callie's feelings makes her (and him) increasingly unlikeable - and to a certain extent, shouldn't she be a sympathetic figure if we're to care about her and her feelings at ALL? We don't, or I don’t, and that's hurting Izzie - and hence, Katherine Heigl - as a vital Seattle Grace lifeforce.

The other relationships seem drained as well - even Mere and Lexie seem to be charging down the path of confrontation and revelation too quickly. It's palpably draining its dramatic possibilities, while the eventual hookup of Karev/Lexie is now becoming so foreshadowed that no one will be surprised, least of all us, when it's finally consummated.

Enough of today's gripe session. I will check back next week. I know you will too.

For a while - like two years - ABC declined to send review copies of "Grey's Anatomy" to TV scribes for the simple reason that it didn't HAVE to send review copies, which meant we had to watch like civilians. But guess what? Mindful of just how far out of favor this massive hit has fallen in some quarters (if last season's endless on-line gripe sessions were good indications) it's gone ahead and sent tonight's episode out for review.

So, from a long-standing "GA'" perspective, here's my quick assessment - good, but still, something's missing. Maybe this: After two and a half seasons of emotional triage among the character mainstays, one begins to ask, how much more triage can any mainstay undergo before that little heart monitor machine attached to 20 million viewers starts to flat-line? Let's count the numerous triages under way at the moment: Izzie loves George and George loves Izzie (but now Callie is starting to suspect.) Cristina has been abandoned by Burke and she's back to square one (and confronting the classic "GA" paradox - emotional fulfillment or career fulfillment?) Meredith's on-again off-again with Derek (and I've kinda lost count how many times this has gone on) has entered another phase, which we'll call Kinda On-gain (But The Clock is Ticking...) Her sister is here now, too, which is good because this at least gives Grey another emotional crisis, and "GA" another vein to tap. Webber's trying to repair things with his wife (still), and who knows WHAT gives with Miranda Bailey. Addison's gone of course and the only guy around here who isn't dripping with angst, anxiety, fear, loathing, paranoia, or love problems is Mark Sloan. (So what else is new?)

I'm not gonna get into plot points about tonight because I've learned that just bugs fans, but tonight's theme is "addiction," along with all its various manifestations. Again, it all feels like good old solid "Grey's," but somehow twice removed, or less-than-fresh, or a little worked over just one too many times. Therein lies the challenge of any major hit - keep the show firmly tethered to the mooring that made it so successful in the first place, yet strike out in new directions as well, and make fans fall in love with the object of their affection all over again. "GA's" trying - boy, it's trying - but still...

Meanwhile, I've buried my lead: Diahann Carroll is back as Jane Burke – Burke’s tough moma - and I hope it's not giving too much away to say she arrives unannounced in the waiting room where she dispenses wisdom, reprimands, tough love, and closure. I suspect this will be the last we see of dear Jane, but who knows…

She's back! She's alive! She's breathing! She said "ouch!" What would we do without one well-timed sweeps stunt that left us waiting breathlessly - no, wrong word - for one week?

Meredith Grey was revived last night at precisely 9:46: Eyes fluttered, pulse revived, skin turned from ghastly blue to ghastly white, and - most remarkable of all - Miranda Bailey almost smiled.

Amazing? Not really. Expected. We learned at least two main things from last night's "Grey's Anatomy." First of all, very few series continue - arguably none - when the character for which they are named is killed off. In TV terms, this just would not do. You'd have to re-name the series ("Grey's Ghost") or do a lot of flashbacks ("Grey's Anatomy: The Early Years.") Not that this couldn’t be done, it's just, what's the point? We also learned that the land of the dead in "GA" terms is not exactly a fun place to be: It's dark and sterile, still pretty much a hospital room best I could tell, and everyone there is cynical and louche. They've all given up - except Meredith, who whined incessantly about the need to go back to the land of the living; one reason, she explained, was that she still had "intimacy" issues. Funny line.

Last night's show was a classic sweeps weeper. Meredith passing Mom in the hallway - so to speak - of life: "You're anything but ordinary, Meredith..." Doc Webber telling Doc Ellis Grey - played by Kate Burton, who was pretty darned good during her dozen-or-so episodes - "I miss the sound of your voice, I miss talking to you, I miss you..."

Hold on a minute. I just have to grab a hankie...Okay, that's better...

And course, the piece de resistance: Denny passing Izzie Stevens and that fleeting moment when she knew - yes, she knew! - that he was right there by her side.

I wonder if he knows she's blown all his money already?

By the way, last night should finally settle one of the big questions of the season: Is Denny Duquette - Jeffrey Dean Morgan - ever coming back? Only if Izzie dies for a few episodes, but that's a stunt for next February.

She's feeling much better, and thanks for asking.

Maybe he'll be back next season - when Izzie's not feeling too well.

So we have a "death" on "Grey's Anatomy:" Meredith.

Who would have figured? You're the daughter of a surgeon, and aren't doctors the ones who are always telling parents to teach their kids how to swim? The lesson, obviously, was never passed on to Mere, unless - that is - this was all part of the disappearing act she's been flirting with this arc (insane mothers, I guess, can do that to some people.) Just to catch up, Grey - Ellen Pompeo - was accidentally knocked into the drink last week by someone she was helping after the ferry accident. The little girl looked on, then wandered away.... Then last night, Derek Shepherd started to wonder - where the heck is Meredith in all this mayhem, and (as luck would have it and always seem to in TV sweeps episodes), located the little girl who JUST happened to know Meredith's name was "Meredith." But don 't tally too long on details like this...He wonders, and asks. She points to the water, and during the commercial break, he finally gets it (and later her.)

By my count, Mere was under water about half the episode, which means when the team revives her next week, she should contact the Guiness Book of Records to get her own entry. Houdini would be jealous. David Blaine would call for advice. (Just think of this act? Meredith the Magnificent! She can't swim but she sure can hold her breath!)

Will Meredith really die? Does this question really need to be asked?