Friday, December 05, 2008

Grey's Anatomy, "All By Myself": Do you truly know what it is to feel? To... love?

Honestly, I don't know what to say about "Grey's Anatomy" anymore, except that it's gone past the point of annoying me. I'm now actually offended half the time. Memo to Shonda Rhimes: Mary McDonnell is playing someone with Asperger's. She is not playing a Vulcan. The L'il Gray/McSteamy scene at the end was disturbing, the "Seven Year Itch" homage with Yang doesn't work if she's wearing pants,

And as for the Izzie/Denny stuff... sigh. Ausiello has a big spoiler out there that we're not going to discuss here, but no matter where this story's going, it makes me feel stupider every time I watch it.

If it wasn't for the continued excellence of the guest star stories, I'd be a cloud of dust. What does everybody else think?

34 comments:

Pamela Jaye said...

odd that you would use the word "sigh" - my post to greyswriters.com contained that word a lot.

my first question is - if you happened to actually watch the previews - when did it say the next ep would air?
please don't say January.

i'm very sd about this Denny thing because it falls into the middle of one of the best storylines in ages - Alex finally grows up and commits to Izzie. That would be an awesome story if Shonda wouldn't screw with it. Katie - next time, swallow the truth and just Submit Something To The Emmys. We don't actually need another Mrs Landingham. (what you get when you talk to your writers). then again, if she died, she and denny could have scenes i could FF thru, as they wouuldn't be interacting with any of the Real characters.

so, officially - who is more annoying? Denny or Thirteen?

i may just crosspost my gripefest from last night, as why make the same points twice?

and as noted, i missed the open and "other options" were scarce last night.
Perhaps it will improve with an opening voiceover

Pamela Jaye said...

post to www.greywriters.com
2:46am

sigh

my DVR tuner crapped out on me and i lost the first two minutes of the show - including the opening voiceover

sigh
Izzie's even more nuts than last week, Denny's still not gone, and we probably have to wait till January to find out what's up.

sigh
Mark fell off the wagon with Lexie ("not the girl who sleeps around." no, not her. the only guy she hasn't loved or had sex with is Derek, oh, and the new Attending)

sigh,
Alex finally gets it right, righter than Callie did when she said it too soon, and Izzie is a nutcase.

and sigh
Another guy who's a big big fan of Grey's and of course he bats for the other team

Don't *any* straight guys love this show?

oh right, it has a Resident who has sex with a ghost. never mind.

Derek seemed depressed. Wonder what I missed in the open.

Bailey was interesting.

Cristina apparently hasn't had sex with an attending in the hospital (again) yet.

I love Meredith.
Once upon a time you all made me hate George.
Please don't make me hate Lexie too?

I notce new Cardio doc was rocking a bit this time. Good. My friend does that too. I miss him (he's still in Boston)

Welcome to the show [new writer]. Good blog. (but really, isn't there one straight guy with a romantic soul? Us straight girls gotta have some hope, you know?)

it's 2:46 am and i still haven't seen the open.

I'm giving up and going to bed.
Whenever you all are back, I will be too.
Just please make Denny go away.

Pamela Jaye said...

PS - Vulcan. cute.
what i don't understand is why she enjoyed the fact that the Chief was torturing Cristina.

Apparently Sadie's "here for" Callie.

Bailey really was good.

I think one of the patients (mom) may have had the same name as Mer's first season pop-glove near-kill.
there are actually were echoes of the pilot, which i enjoyed.

Mark might get a storyline - though messing with Bambi2 won't be a storyline I will like.

Denny - not only is he dead, but he's got crappy timing! Why didn't he show up last year when Izzie was lusting after George?
If only Iz could say, "you made me fall in love with you, then you died, and you come back *now*? Get out of my face!"

unfortunately something tells me that if it were me in her place, I couldn't resist either. and I'm a prude. (if you have sex outside of marriage, but your partner is dead but still talking, is it still a sin?)

Alex trying to suck up was... amusing. his calling Mer for help was great. her giving it to him was great too. i know Mer's all wrapped up in her problems but she never fails to support, gather support for, encourage, or congratulate her friends - sincerely - even when they do something Meredith-impulsive, like get married cause their dad died. Unlike Izzie, who is as George put it, so compassionate to her patients, but honestly, no longer gives a hoot for her friends unless it will benefit her (the Alex, I care for you scene will be excluded from this argument. She was on the right path then - and them pseudo-Izzie returned from season 3. sigh)

see that tiny pinpoint in your rear view mirror, Shonda? It's a shark.
(oh and your #2 ratings too. next year SGH will be the 186th teaching hospital in the country, and no new protocols will save it. Sadie was right - it's broken. (the meta is fun at least, if you think about it)

btw, men fall in love with Cristina if she cries. And Callie's had two breakdowns in the hospital in the past two seasons. someone should send her to peer counseling. with Sydney.

erin said...

I was just yelling at the TV (or outright ignoring it) last night. I...don't know that I've hated a Grey's episode worse (and boy, was I surprised when I read that others just loved it, besides the Denny parts).

I don't understand why the writers are wasting perfectly good chemistry--Mark/Callie, Izzie/Alex--and sticking them with other couples with whom they have no chemistry. I find Little Grey just...infantile. And I thought she had a thing for George? What happened there? "Teach me." Teach her what? Eric Dane has real talent, and he's wasted in a one-note womanizer role. Gross.

As for Denny...I didn't have as big a problem with it as others have, but last night--argh. I was yelling. Alex gives the most impassioned, romantic speech I've almost ever seen from him, and the next line out of Denny is "I'm really starting to dislike that guy." Ruined the mood. The tone was ALL wrong for the show. Throughout. They have RUINED Alex and Iz. And I know where they're going with it, per Ausiello, and they just took it too far. Iz rabbiting on about the ghost sex to Christina? Seriously, writers? Just...gross. And what have they done to Mary McDonnell? What is that??

The only thing they've gotten right is Christina and Hunt. Even the guest story lines this week--yikes. thought the teen girl was OBNOXIOUS. I didn't feel her at all.

And finally, I'm not gay, and I'm offended by Callie/Sadie. What a joke. Are gay people supposed to take them seriously? The whole thing has a "tee-hee! We're-so-naughty-we're-girls-gone-wild!" feel to it. At least with Erica you thought there was some human, emotional development there. I don't buy Callie's gay/bi-ness, I don't buy Sadie's relationship with Mer, and I think she's a nutjob. All the behavior from most of the characters feels unreal, unrelatable, and icky. That's not why I watched Grey's.

I can't believe I'm so worked up about this show, but that's what they've brought me too. Argh!

Anonymous said...

This is the first of many Grey's episodes of Grey's Anatomy that I'm never going to watch. I'm so over this show, just because of the Denny thing. And I was such a loyal viewer up until Shonda decided to drag this mess out. Ugh.

Anonymous said...

The depiction of Asperger's is offensive in the extreme.

I don't understand why the writers are wasting perfectly good chemistry--Mark/Callie, Izzie/Alex--and sticking them with other couples with whom they have no chemistry.

You've nailed it, that's *exactly* what's wrong here. Mark and Callie DO have chemistry; so do Izzie and Alex. It's bizarre that this show is so self-unaware.

Anonymous said...

@LA and others... I don't think this show is self-unaware, I think the writers and Shonda are stuck in high school.

When I think back to the pilot, when I think of Meredith waking up and kicking Derek out, when I think of the first time we met the interns, it seemed so, well, relevant and timely.

Now it just eats up DVR time.

Anonymous said...

I have a brother with Asperger's, can I sue Shonda for defamation? I cringe every time MMcD is on screen. A person with Asperger's isn't a robot, and they don't miss the obvious cues, just the subtle ones. If this stroyline ruins Mary McDonnell for me, I'm going to be hella pissed.

Pamela Jaye said...

Sadie - she seems to be a troublemaker who never outgrew it.
Someone should warn Callie, as she seems to be unaware that this is the chick who offered herself to interns for surgery!

Aside from that, I just dislike her. She's Faith. Come to stir the pot. But this pot is already whipped to a frenzy. And, in the end, I liked Faith.

And maybe Iz should see that anyone who really loved her the way that Denny (ostensibly) wouldn't do this to her - especially now. Wouldn't say how much he hated someone who loves the girl he really cares about. Perhaps this is an evil imitation of Tara (i mean Denny) sent by the ultimate evil, to distract and destroy Izzie.
Let's face it - Buffy at least made sense. (and didn't Shonda says she was a fan?)
Enough Conversations With Dead People already.

PS - i appreciate the restraint on the spoilers.

Pamela Jaye said...

Anonymous - i think you should find an Aspergers group - strength in numbers - and go at her en masse.
You can put out press releases for free, you know...

Anonymous said...

At this point I am waitng for an eclipse to take away the cast's medical abilities. Not that they ever save anyone.

Anonymous said...

MMD should take that screen cap along to her next appointment with her plastic surgeon. That is scary stuff! Seriously, I can't look at it without feeling queasy.

Anonymous said...

Just let it go, Alan. I gave up on the show last season and haven't regretted it for a second.

Shonda needs to feel the consequences of her terrible choices. She took a great show and made it unwatchable.

Anonymous said...

Derek's depressed because even his character's thinking, "gee, Shonda, this show blows."

And you're right about the chemistry. Any time two characters have good chemistry, the writers would waste no time in splitting them up and assign them with other characters to ensure the least amount of chemistry possible.

What I'm wondering is this:- it's no secret that the cast of GA never got along well, but how much of that actually seeps into the show? Would that be a part of the reason why this show has become so much less than a must watch show in its heyday?

Pamela Jaye said...

Would that be a part of the reason why this show has become so much less than a must watch show in its heyday?

nope. it's the writing.

the beginning of this season i had hope. the second time i saw Denny...

Anonymous said...

Vulcan? That's being generous.

I thinking more like the girl from "Small Wonder".

Pamela Jaye said...

I'm suffering lack of anvils.
Ordinarily this show is not subtle. The patients mirror the residents' problems. I'm used to it, I like it, and last night, I didn't find it.

and btw, the beginning VO didn't really help.

if they had a theme going last night - even after reading the blog, I don't know what it was.

I was never a big fan of English lit in HS either.

so, what's left is

Bailey's enthusiasm for new surgery,

Cristina making the right choice and getting to release down at the vent,

Mer with the two sisters (did Mer forget to say something to her mother? or was it Lexie? or Cristina? I was confused),

Alex and Izzie, and

Alex calling Mer for help

(I also loved that George told Alex that Izzie needed help and he'd better do something).

Oh and Lex with Soon Lee. (it's always nice to see Soon Lee, but that scene was great too)
(okay, who isn't communicating?)

Pamela Jaye said...

and Mer, saying "that's one of us"

and Alex asking Izzie to scrub in

Pamela Jaye said...

I was wrong. I know it's irrelevant but the patient with the same name as episode 1.05 heart patient was Soon Lee, not the mom of the bickering girls.

Anonymous said...

Are they ever going to give George anything to do all season? He used to be one of my favorite characters on TV. Then they ruined him last season. And now they barely even use him.

Anonymous said...

I am searching EVERYwhere to find out who played the sister "Emma" in this episode. It is frustrating that every place I have searched, won't tell me. LOL. I KNOW I have seen her in something else, and loved her. It is making me crazy. Can someone who reads this please tell me who she is??

Anonymous said...

The actress who played Emma is named Kay Panabaker. I'm embarrassed to admit I recognized her from that WB show Summerland that also brought us Zac Efron. According to her IMDB profile, she also appeared in four episodes of CSI, among other things.

Pamela Jaye said...

sure :-) (it was bugging me too, and it still is)

imdb is doing episodes now

her name is Kay Panabaker. I can't figure out where I know her from.

*My* curiosity is the blonde resident that shows up from time to time when they need to prove that there are more than 5 second year residents.

other places to check for actor names are tvrage.com and tv.com and sometimes the press releases from ABC, which you can dig up at thefutoncritic.com will list guest stars, though they don't say who they are playing.

(yes, I can't watch TV anymore without the laptop nearby to look up "where have I seen her before?")

Kerry said...

What pisses me off is that Justin Chambers is a really good, subtle actor who has done a lot over the years with a character whose history the writers don't seem to care about. He finally gets a really good dramatic arc and his character is the third wheel to a ghost? Arrrrggghhh!

Anonymous said...

"The only thing they've gotten right is Christina and Hunt."

And I wouldnt even give the writers credit here. The steam, the wind and the flying hair were corny as was the "Out of time, out of space..." line but McKidd and Oh had such an awe in their eyes and their chemistry was so sizzling that they could sell me anything.

Pamela Jaye said...

also, out of time doesn't strike me as the kind of thing Hunt would say. (in this show at least)

Stef said...

Ugh, this horrific Izzy-Denny storyline is almost enough to make me mad at Supernatural, too. Shonda, don't make me hate Jeffrey Dean Morgan!

Matt said...

You probably recognize Kay Panabaker because she looks very similar to her older sister Danielle. Danielle was a regular on "Shark" as Stark's daughter, and has done a couple of movie roles ("Mr. Brooks," "Sky High")

Anonymous said...

this show has always stunk

Anonymous said...

Matt, you're exactly right -- in fact, I was operating under the delusion that it WAS Danielle the entire time, then afterwards I thought, hey, they sure made her look young.

Anonymous said...

I'm afraid that this episode was the final straw for me. I won't be watching it anymore. The Izzie/Denny bit was the worst of it but there was plenty of other fail in this episode. I've had enough.

Nicole said...

I haven't watched this show since Meredith didn't die but should have, so I had to check in to see what the robotic looking Mary McDonnell was about. I guess she isn't the Final Cylon.

I read about the Denny ghost story, and that sounds like Ally McBeal or Ghost Whisperer, so clearly Shonda is stealing from the greats. Heroes is crap but at least it's sci-fi so this stuff makes sense in that universe, Grey's Anatomy just sounds like a show that's gone seriously off its rails, with actors who think too highly of themselves and writers who are really out of touch.

Pamela Jaye said...

Matt, thanks. I looked uup Danielle, but I don't watch anything she was in either. sigh.
my brother is insisting we know her... wonder who else she looks like.

Anonymous said...

Apparently TR Knight has walked off the show:

"Details are emerging from the set of Grey's Anatomy that co star T. R. Knight has walked off the show. Knight has played Dr. George O' Malley since the shows conception in 2005.

More information to follow as it becomes available.

T.R. Knight Update

So, I got a little more information from my source and they say, "He hasn't attended table reads since episode 2. He is pissed and miserable and thinks his story line is stupid. He said goodbye to his hair and makeup people last week. He says he is done and has quit. ABC has not released him. Shondra Rhimes, the producer called him and he told her he had nothing to say. He has packed his dressing room." That is all the information we have at this time."

First Brooke Smith, now TR Knight? Wow, just wow... It's a sad day for gays at ABC.

There had been rumors at E!Online and Ausiello about TR Knight being unofficially pink-slipped (this explains his minimal appearance and lack of storyline), but it sounds like TR beat them to the punch. He walked off before they could fire him. Good on him!

I wonder how they'll explain George's sudden disappearance? Perhaps Denny the Ghost will extend his arm and thrown George into the light.