“I’m becoming an inappropriate freak”
Ok, LOTS to discuss. First, a few general thoughts about how this all played out with the spin off and mother ship. I don’t really think it worked well to have the spin off cut and pasted into Grey’s. It was jarring to me to go from Tim Daly (hot, by the way) and back to Alex and Jane Doe. It just didn’t fit together. And I realize it wasn’t supposed to, but it would have been better to run an hour of Grey’s then run an hour of the spin off.
Let’s talk Grey’s 1.0 first. All in all, this wasn’t the best episode of the season – not by a long shot. And I have a sneaky feeling it wasn’t that great because the focus needed to be on Addison and her spin off. So anyway, Jane Doe/Ava and Mark both berated Alex for his treatment of Addison. Mark told Derek he knew Alex and Addison had slept together so he bowed out to keep Addison from feeling guilty. Meanwhile, Derek has got problems of his own. I’m not usually a big Meredith fan, but props to her for telling him the truth and that she feels like she’s finally changed and she asked him to not give up just yet. But oh, the drama came when her stepmother was treated for innocent hiccups that turned into a serious infection. Meredith repeatedly told her father everything would be fine and when her stepmother died, daddy dearest took it out on Meredith’s face. Even though I knew this all was coming, I still winced in pain when it happened. Here’s my question – why would Meredith be treating her stepmom? She shouldn’t have had anything to do with the case. And why would the Chief let her tell her father the bad news? So Meredith goes home and does what she does – self medicates with tequila. Derek stops by, looks in the window, and gets that look in his eye and leaves.
Christina and Burke are in full on wedding planning and both of their moms show up. Christina finally concedes to bridesmaids, a big white dress, the chapel and all of it. Burke’s mom still seems unconvinced and Burke was having serious doubts, too. I’m getting a sinking feeling it might not work out, y’all. Who knows, though? I do find them entertaining as a couple, so I am rooting for them. And the Callie/ Christina scene was funny.
So George seems set to leave Seattle Grace and Callie seems all for it. Izzie thinks the whole thing sucks because she’s about to lose her best friend. In the elevator they kiss again. How much longer until Callie puts the pieces together? It seems to me like George is about two minutes away from filing for divorce. But can he and Izzie actually have a relationship or not?
Now for Grey’s 2.0.
Addison goes to California to visit her med school friends Sam and Naomi. And pretty much when she gets there all kinds of chaos and crazy happen. This show will definitely have a different vibe – but I wonder if they were trying a bit too hard for the quirkiness. It did look much easier on the eyes – sunshine, brighter colors, etc. If you think about it, Grey’s is pretty much a palette of whites and greys (ha) with the exception of some pretty eyes that the boys have on them. Anyway, I really loved getting to see another side of Addison and was shocked that she found out she couldn’t have kids. Didn’t see that coming at all. There were too many characters to keep up with since we also had to keep up with 11 series regulars over on the original. But initial thoughts – Cooper – the pediatrician and the screw up; Violet – the shrink, who –wait for it – is screwed up in the head (cliché); Naomi – the fertility doc who got dumped for no reason and has zero fun; Dale – (or Piz for you Veronica Mars fans) the eye candy receptionist crushing on Naomi; Sam – screwed up his marriage for no reason; Pete – “the quack” who is still grieving for his wife. So pretty much - they are all screwed up. Hopefully the pilot just showed an exaggeration of these flaws and it won’t be like this every week.
All in all, it was interesting. There were very funny parts – the elevator talking back to Addison, the acupuncture, the Diet Coke commercial – I mean, the ladies watching Dale get ready to surf. (Was anyone else seriously disturbed by the slow motion of him walking? I don’t know - something about it bothered me, I sort of felt like I was watching Cinemax instead of ABC. But I would have been totally fine with the slow mo walk with Taye Diggs or Tim Daly). The Mrs. Robinson reference was cute. The subtle nods to the fans, “Ok, let’s never Mc anything” were good, too. Addison has come a long way from the salmon-colored-scrubs-wearing “adulterous bitch,” hasn’t she? So I liked it, but didn’t love it. I’ll be anxious to see where it goes.
And I’m anxious to know what you thought…
Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Kate Walsh
May 4th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Think you got it right, Amy. There was a lot of cliched stuff in GA 2.0 “picture-in-picture” spin-off.
The spin-off didn’t work for me. The strength of Grey’s Anatomy is that the sexual relationships take place in the context other conflicts but are not the raison d’etre of the show. The mature handling of relationships and the various shades of gray (sorry, couldn’t resist) involved in situations and relationships are two characteristics that makes GA special.
GA 2.0 had none of that. GA 2.0 was full of caricatures and contrived situations. It was like a group of corporate executives sat down and brainstormed the whole thing over lunch for a presentation later that afternoon. In the end the pitch was, “Hey, let’s have a bunch of doctors and they all sleep with each other.” It’s like someone doing a sequel to the Color Purple and saying all it needs is black people and some magnolias.
A suspension of disbelief involved in most shows, but GA 2.0 stretched viewer credulity to the point of being uncomfortable. It was like watching Rosie O’Donnell squeeze into a size six unitard - the only drama comes from wondering when the whole thing is going to come apart.
I would love to know what magical sexual powers the plain-looking surrogate mom had that compelled everyone to sleep with her. There are X-rated movies where one girl doesn’t get screwed that much. And by a bunch of guys that all work at the hospital? There must be a double episode with Boston Legal in the works.
To top it off, that whole sub-plot finished with the lamest wrap-up since the Warren Commission.
(cut to script meeting) “Okay, we’re running out of time, uh, let’s just say they’re all going to be the father. And they’re all cool with that.”
What show did you write for before this, Thomas the Tank Engine?
I’ve always thought Addison was one of the weakest developed and least likable characters in the original show. To ask her to support a spin-off is too much. There’s a reason why Seinfeld didn’t have a Newman spin-off.
And am I the only one who thinks McSteamy always looks like he should be in a Robin Hood film? I keep waiting for him to reach into his quiver and shoot an apple off Alex’s head.