Wow, I don’t even know where to begin dissecting the amount of wrongness that came out of ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson’s mouth at the TCA Winter Press Tour today. Here’s a transcript so we can share in the mind-boggling, wtf-ness of it:

McPherson: Melissa George was a guest for one episode.
Reporter #1: …so many guests just leaving — no, she was in more than one episode.
McPherson: I’m not going to answer the question, that’s an absurd question. The only person who has left the show is Isaiah Washington.
Reporter #2: Brooke Smith.
Reporter #3: Melissa had contracted for 8 to 11 episodes, and she hasn’t gotten 8 to 11 episodes.
McPherson: She didn’t contract for that many episodes, she was a guest —
Reporter #3: That’s what she said.
McPherson: Well, we all know what everybody says when they leave the show, they want to say what works best for them.”
Reporter #3: She was in more than one episode.
McPherson: Yeah, I think she was in three. She was mentioned in one and then shown in two other episodes, I think.
Reporter #4: Brooke Smith was in the opening credits at the start of the season. Was that just, you didn’t like the character —
McPherson: Yeah, the character was not working for us, and the dynamic with the relationship was not working for us. We felt like Sara [Ramirez] is such dynamic character, an amazing actress and woman, and we really just weren’t seeing the excitement out of that relationship. There was some mention that we were upset by the lesbian nature of it. She’s going to be in a dedicated lesbian relationship (chuckling) in the show. So again, that was an actress who was trying to talk about something in a manner that would serve her and not the reality.

Let’s start at the beginning then: Melissa George was a guest for one episode? I’m starting to think the President of ABC doesn’t watch his own programming. From one episode to “I think she was in three. She was mentioned in one and then shown in two other episodes, I think.”

So far, Melissa George has been in five episodes (These Ties That Bind, In the Midnight Hour, All By Myself, Wish You Were Here and Sympathy for the Devil)and should be in a couple more, I believe.

Read more

In that loving cryptic style of his, Michael Ausiello has left us with a question in his latest column, and this one is regarding the whole Izzie/Denny business that some of you love, some of you hate, and some of you love to hate. Though there’s no new spoilers on the subject, he left us with this: “Don’t you find it odd, not to mention a little suspicious, that Katherine Heigl — the outspoken star of such scandals as Emmygate and Isaiahgate – hasn’t expressed a single opinion about this storyline yet? Just putting that out there.”

Would anyone like a shot at unraveling the mystery of that statement?

Earlier in the week, Ausiello dropped a Blind Item on our laps, telling us that “an original cast member of a hit series … has been pink-slipped without the benefit of being a pink slip.”

Read more

Here’s the official promo for Grey’s Anatomy “All By Myself.”

We don’t learn much that we don’t already know in this clip, but it’s always nice to have a little video to go with the text spoilers. Looks like the main point of the episode will be Cristina choosing her replacement for the solo surgery. But the promo always makes things sound far more dramatic than they ultimately turn out, so it’s really hard to gauge the tone of the episode.

Read more

Kristin at E! Online has a sneak peek for us from next week’s episode “All By Myself”. In this clip, we get to see a little more of Alex/Izzie and Izzie/Denny in all of its inexplicable glory.

Kristin poses three possible explanations for the Denny hauntings, and here are my thoughts on each:

Read more

“Brave New World” was a perfect example of why I love Grey’s Anatomy as much as I do. I loved the episode so much I wanted to watch it all over again when it was over just so I could experience it all over again. I really hope the season continues with more episodes like this one.

My favorite parts:

• Callie telling Bailey about her and Hahn. The look on Bailey’s face made me fall off the couch laughing.
• Bailey’s “Africa” metaphor when giving Callie advice later. Hilarious.
• Cristina discovering the Dermatology section of the hospital. Zen Cristina was brilliant. That whole part of the episode was awesome.
• Alex and Izzie fighting over the surgery was great, too. I liked the whole Wild Wild West/Cowboy thing.

Those are the scenes that stand out, though I thought the whole episode flowed really smoothly.

(Image: Copyright 2008 ABC Studios / ERIC McCANDLESS)

Relationships recap:

Read more

The day is finally here! After many months of waiting, agonizing, wondering, pondering and worrying about what might come to pass in season five, the wait is over! Well, almost over; we still have to wait a few more hours. But we’re pros at the waiting thing, so it’s not too much of a hassle.

Grey’s Anatomy is kicking off its fifth season tonight with “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” an exciting two-hour episode.

Be sure to check out all of our season five news, which includes spoilers, photos, and promo videos of tonight’s episode.

What are you most excited about tonight? Finding out what happens next with MerDer and the rest of the potential couples? Meeting the new doc and potential love interest for Yang? Everything?

Image: Newscom

The National Federation of Medical Colleges in Italy has put forth an official protest asking for a ban on medicine themed television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and ER because they are full of medical inaccuracies.

“These programs are teaching viewers inaccurate views on medicine,” Annalisa Silvestro president of the NFMC said. “They are spreading misinformation.”

The Order of Medical Professionals in Rome agreed with the NFMC.

While I can understand why they would be concerned about the dangers of spreading medical misinformation, banning television shows intended for entertainment purposes sounds a bit extreme. There’s got to be other alternatives, such as the spreading of correct information.

Currently, there’s no word that these objections have made any sort of difference in terms of getting the programs banned.

It’d be sad to see an entire country deprived of good television shows simply because they aren’t one-hundred percent accurate. Perhaps the thing to do is to spread the awareness that these shows are meant as entertainment and should not be your main source of medical information.

Via | Yahoo! News

I’d mentioned that Ellen Pompeo and Justin Chambers would be attending a fundraiser sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council of the Democratic Committe (GLLC) in Seattle, Washingon this past weekend to support Senator Obama’s campaign. I couldn’t be there unfortunately, but Grey’s Anatomy News reader Karen did get to go and she was gracious enough to send in her first person account to share with us here. Thanks, Karen!!

Her story, after the jump.

Read more

Let’s face it, the relationship most people care about on Grey’s Anatomy is Meredith and McDreamy. The rest are fine so long as Shonda Rhimes keeps the MerDer loving alive. So, in light of that fact, I thought I’d open the floor to discussion about the future of this popular couple.

At the end of season four, we got what we’d been waiting for for entirely too long: a kiss between Meredith and Derek that pointed toward a real future, rather than a few quickies in the on-call room. Of course, this is Grey’s Anatomy so happy endings are not quite in the cards for anyone. There’s got to be something to add drama.

Read more

Last month I posted about the book Grey’s Anatomy: An Unauthorized View from the Other Side by Anne Dawes & Helen Dina. The authors take a deeper look at the world of Grey’s Anatomy, exploring the plethora of metaphors and hidden meanings that abound in Seattle Grace. With the conclusion of season 4, the authors have also updated the Inside the View page at their main site. The update features insight into the Meredith/Derek relationship and the many ways in which the clinical trial was a metaphorical representation of their struggles toward love.

With the many lonely months ahead both the site and the book provide great food for thought.