'Grey's Anatomy' celebrates the body eclectic

By Mike Duffy
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

When "Grey's Anatomy" happily found Isaiah Washington, the actor knew exactly what sort of TV doctor he did not want to play:

The arrogant, standoffish, token Dr. African American.

"That kind of person can be done without a chip on his shoulder," says Washington. "I didn't want to be on a successful show and just put in a box."

Minority medical mission accomplished.

Dr. Preston Burke isn't just another stereotypical incarnation of Eriq LaSalle's Dr. Peter Benton on "ER." Burke's more evolved. He's started to open up and reveal shades of emotion. He's flawed, he's funny, he's taking a chance on romance.

Heck, you might even say he's the Other McDreamy.

When "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes found Patrick Dempsey to portray Dr. Derek Shepherd (aka Dr. McDreamy) and then chose Washington to portray Dr. Burke, everything clicked.

"It meant we could have two leading men and two leading men in very different ways," says Rhimes, whose clever mix of drama, comedy, soap opera and hot doctors in love has become the highly rated sensation of Watercooler Nation this season.

Given an XL push by a post-Super Bowl episode that attracted 37.9 million viewers, "Grey's Anatomy" has even displaced the "Desperate Housewives" of Wisteria Lane as the most appealing part of ABC's Sunday night juggernaut.

"This isn't a traditional medical drama. I've always said from the beginning, we're a relationship show with surgery," says Rhimes. "It's never about the patients. It's about how the doctors feel about the patients."

Though "Grey's Anatomy" is anchored in the emotional odyssey of Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), the show's moody heroine, Washington's Dr. Burke is a prominent example of the show's impressive, almost matter-of-fact diversity.

People of color just happen to be in key positions of authority at Seattle Grace Hospital. Besides Dr. Burke's no-nonsense surgeon, Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is the avuncular chief of surgery. And Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is the gruffly humane senior resident in charge of training the interns.

"I'm a post-Civil Rights baby. I'm not trying to make a point. This is just the way the world looks now," says Rhimes, 36, one of television's few female African-American series creators and show runners.

Rhimes, who spoke during a phone interview from her "Grey's Anatomy" offices in Los Angeles, had grown weary of programs that feature just "one black doctor in the hospital and one black cop or one Latino detective on the force."

On "Grey's Anatomy," multiculturalism is a casual fact of life. Half the regular cast are minorities, including Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), the Asian-American surgical intern who has captured Dr. Burke's heart.

But Rhimes avoids playing the race card in her stories.

"There's never going to be 'a very special episode' of 'Grey's' about race. I hate that sort of thing," says Rhimes, who first earned recognition for her screenwriting on such films as HBO's "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" and the comedy "The Princess Diaries 2."

Washington initially auditioned for the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd before Dempsey was cast as the dashing brain surgeon. But the actor was thrilled when Rhimes promised him that Burke wouldn't be fitted for the standard-issue, black-male emotional straitjacket.

"Race will fall away if you show the humanity of people," says Washington.

But when "Grey's Anatomy" premiered last spring, Dr. Burke made a chilly first impression as a perfectionist cardiothoracic surgeon who kept his emotions rigidly in check.

"He did start out sort of stone-faced," says the 42-year-old Washington, who talked during a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. "But he's evolved into someone we see as an effective leader and someone who learns how to love and be loved."

One of the most illuminating hours of "Grey's Anatomy" came with last fall's Thanksgiving episode, where Burke proved to be a culinary magician.

"That's when Burke started to come out, not merely as an attending surgeon who's dating an intern but as a fully dimensional guy," explains Washington. "We discovered that he's someone who cooks, he's someone who has compassion."

The live-in, odd-couple romance of Dr. Burke and Dr. Yang has become one of the most touching and funny attractions of "Grey's Anatomy."

Writing that charming, quirky relationship has been a ball for Rhimes, who was hit with a happy thought when she imagined Dr. Burke's story.

"I couldn't wait to put him in a romantic relationship," says the producer. "We have a cast that can be really dramatic and really funny. It allows us to do so many things."

From: Greenville Online

Yeesh. What a waste of paper... Why do reporters write such pointlessness?

But yeah, I either hate her or I love her... really depends on my mood, not hers. LOL

I felt bad for her too. And, I admit I felt bad about the whole George thing because I think he's acting like an idiot. I mean what did he expect? But Meredith does sleep around easily and sometimes, it's just hard to relate to her.

(Well, since her life is so fucked up, I'd say it's hard all the time, LOL).

Love Is in the Air on 'Grey's Anatomy'

Meredith Grey really is trying to stay celibate. But with the sexy McVet pursuing her, it just doesn't seem possible.

(Spoiler alert: Stop reading now if you've saved this week's episode of "Grey's Anatomy" for later viewing.)

And Derek Shepherd is trying equally hard to forget Meredith, but the unexpected sight of her — fresh from the shower — at McVet's apartment seriously threw him. He raced home and propositioned his wife, but it seemed more like revenge sex than romance.

Things also heated up this week between Izzy and Denny: Against her wishes, he opted to have a portable device installed in his damaged heart, which allowed him to leave his hospital bed. Izzy was worried that Denny's heart might fail, but the machine seemed to be working. And there's a major upside: Denny and Izzy finally were able to put their arms around each other.

Trouble was, Dr. Bailey was just outside the door when they embraced. Bailey, who's been concerned that Izzy is crossing a line with Denny, didn't like what she saw. (Izzy's love life, however, wasn't Bailey's biggest worry this week: The Chief doesn't believe that Bailey's back on her game yet, so she's stuck earning back his confidence.)

But Izzy didn't notice Bailey's scrutiny — she was too busy dogging George to find out where he's been living and why he's stopped confiding in her. They argued, and George admitted he blames Izzy for not preventing his disastrous hookup with Meredith. But he finally relented and moved back into the house, bringing Dr. Callie home to spend the night.

In two intense subplots, both Burke and Addison faced difficult moments in the OR:

Addison was faced with a complicated request from a mother of seven who wanted her tubes tied without her husband's knowledge. Alex was furious that Addison feigned a "complication" on the operating table that rendered the woman sterile, and he suggested that the patient's husband sue the hospital.

Burke performed unsuccessful heart surgery on his hero, a concert violinist whose timing was being wrecked by the artificial beat of his pacemaker. After the musician died in surgery, Burke opened up to Cristina, explaining that a quote from the musician had changed his life: He wasn't the best or the brightest — he simply practiced.

That's the code Burke lives by.

From: Yahoo News

Heigl Discusses 'Anatomy' Emmys and Izzie's Choices
Actress admits she doesn't agree with how her character reacted to Denny Douquette

In the wee small hours of Thursday (July 6) morning, ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" earned 11 Emmy nominations. What was co-star Katherine Heigl's reaction?

"Disappointment," she says with a pout, before a big smile begins to spread across her face. "What happened to mine? That's what I want to know. What happened to my nomination?"

And what about the old team spirit?

Heigl, Dr. Izzie Stevens on "Anatomy," pauses for a second and laughs. "Screw them."

Taking a pause on the Brentwood set of the Judd Apatow's "40 Year-Old Virgin" follow-up "Knocked Up," Heigl is able to move beyond her feigned disappointment to admit that she's been in touch with both of her nominated co-stars, Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh.

"I talked to Chandra and they're over in Europe right now doing publicity for the show and she's sort of kind of like dumbstruck right now," Heigl says. "I was like 'How do you feel? Are you excited?' And she was like 'I don't know. I don't know how I feel yet.' It's just so deserving. She's so unbelievably talented and has worked long and hard in this industry like the rest of us and I'm just really, really proud of her."

She continues, "I have not gotten hold of Sandra yet, but I think Sandra is probably up to her eyeballs in rehearsals and performances in New York for her play that she's doing, but again, just another person who's really so talented and so deserving. But I wonder if this year she's like, 'Eh, this is old hat. I was nominated last year. Whatever.' I wonder if you ever get like that."

For her part, Heigl is just enjoying the perks of being on a hit TV series, like the chance to have the female lead in a big studio comedy. "Knocked Up" isn't expected to be released until next summer, but it's already eaten up all of Heigl's hiatus this summer.

"I can't even imagine going back to work in two weeks on 'Grey's,'" she sighs. "I'm exhausted. I do think it's one of those situations, my agent likes to say it's a high-class problem. I spent a lot of years out of work, so I'd rather be tired and over-worked than bored and under-worked. It's been an amazing year."

Certainly she has loose ends to tie up when shooting begins again. Last season's two-part finale left many "Anatomy" fans frustrated at Izzie's ill-fated decisions regarding Jeffrey Dean Morgan's soulful heart-transplant patient Denny Duquette, a choice that makes her character's medical future uncertain as the new season begins. Heigl's heard a variety of reactions from fans.

"People are angry and people are sympathetic," she says. "It kind of runs the gamut."

She continues, "I'm actually more angry than sympathetic. I can't believe she threw her career away. I just can't believe it."

So all of the viewers who felt incredulous and waved fists at their TVs in impotent rage have an ally in Heigl, though the actress understands why showrunner Shonda Rhimes and the rest of the creative team went in that direction.

"It was a great sort of creative choice," she admits. "As far as acting goes, it was great drama. But because I know the character so well and she's worked so unbelievably hard to be taken seriously as a doctor and all the years of schooling to get there, I was so devastated. Is like, 'Noooooo... She's worked too hard to throw it all away. She doesn't even know him!' But it was good drama."

But don't expect any hints from Heigl on where things are going this fall.

"Not only can I not tell, but I don't know myself, so it's one of those conversations where you're just like, 'I don't know! I'd just keep watching. Keep watching! We've moved to Thursday nights, so keep watching!'"

From: Zap2It

nothing surprises me anymore so it was more the denny dying that upset me than izzie quitting. you'd have to be a speical kinda stupid to not see it coming.

Way too obvious. But if she didn't quit, it would of seemed stupid considering the rest of her previous actions.

No idea. And I'd like to know how they're going to spin it so she's allowed to come back.

CBS Expects Competitive Thursday for 'CSI'
Entertainment Chief Tassler Sees 'Grey's Anatomy' as Ratings Challenger

By Christopher Lisotta

CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said she sees her Thursday drama "CSI" as something of an "underdog" this fall now that ABC is moving its medical series "Grey's Anatomy" to that night from Sundays.

"We expect to be dinged a little bit by 'Grey's,'" Ms. Tassler said Saturday at CBS's executive session at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif. "Its going to be very complicated."

But "two hit shows can be successful" in the same time period, Ms. Tassler said.

While "CSI" will be playing up the relationship between lead characters Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle this season, that character-based storyline has been building since the beginning of last season and is not a reaction to "Grey's" moving to Thursdays, she said.

CBS is being "more aggressive" in development this summer, with actress Christine Taylor starring in a pilot directed and written by her husband Ben Stiller, and "Two and a Half Men" creator Chuck Lorre developing his comedy project "Big Bang Theory."

The change in its previously announced Monday schedule, with debut comedy "The Class" flipping with sophomore comedy "How I Met Your Mother" at 8 p.m. (ET), was designed to keep "Mother" in the same time period it was in this past season and allow the show "to bask in the halo from promo of 'The Class.'"

After taking repeated questions about whether networks are alienating their audiences when they cancel serialized series and leave a small yet dedicated group of viewers hanging over the show's resolution, Ms. Tassler noted people don't watch serialized or closed-ended shows, they watch things they like.

"You watch a show because it's good," she said. "You're invested and you like it--that's it."

CBS has no plans to bring back original programming to Saturdays, Ms. Tassler said.

"Our Saturday night does fine," she said. "We're certainly open to it if the show presented itself, but we are going to be stet on Saturday."

Moving crime drama "Cold Case" to 9 p.m. on Sundays is a good scheduling move for CBS, since football overruns this past season often pushed "Case" into the 9 p.m. time period. In those instances "it's done quite well" against ABC powerhouse "Desperate Housewives," Ms. Tassler said.

One critic asked Ms. Tassler about the failure of summer reality series "Tuesday Night Book Club," and wondered "does it not matter what you put on in the summertime?"

"It was an attempt to do something different," Ms. Tassler said. "We're going to try different things. That's what summer is about."

From: TV Week