Viewing Single Post From: 5.18 Stand By Me

Viewing Single Post From: 5.18 Stand By Me
oncetherewasaway	Sep 20 2008, 02:04 AM
McEditor Posts: 1,625 Group: .Grey Girls. Member #23 Joined: October 25, 2006	RECAPS & REVIEWS & RATINGS BUDDYTV Grey's Anatomy: Episode 5.18 "Stand By Me" Recap - Thursday, March 19, 2009 A lot happens in this episode of Grey's Anatomy. Seriously. This episode finally advances many of the plots that have been unfolding, painfully slowly, throughout this season. I almost wish that this one episode could have taken the place of the months of filler that we have been getting, but I suppose that would be asking too much of the writers. Anyway, back to tonight. There's a big, huge, career-making surgery going on. Sloan (Eric Dane) is actually going to transplant a guy's face. The patients name is David Young, but all the doctors call him Blowhole behind his back. Much of his face is pretty much gone. He has a big hole where his nose should be, and he has no skin around his mouth. He looks like Harvey Two-Face. Mark is going to attempt a 70 percent transplant of his face. Alex (Justin Chambers) gets to work with Hunt (Kevin McKidd) on the face donor. Izzie and Lexie are also on this case. Because Derek is still holed up, drunk, at his trailer, and many of the other residents and attendings are on the face transplant case, Bailey wants Meredith and George to basically run the rest of the surgical department and babysit the interns. Cristina (Sandra Oh) has a lot of things on her mind because she was just awarded her first solo surgery (operating on a hernia), and she still has to deal with the bombshell that Izzie (Katherine Heigl) dropped on her at the end of last week's Grey's Anatomy, that she is dying of skin cancer that has spread to her liver and brain. Cristina is so busy trying to get Izzie an appointment with a surgical oncologist, that she doesn't have time to deal with her hernia patient, who is played by Emily Kuroda from Gilmore Girls! It's MamaKim back on my TV! Alex and the interns rudely refer to Blowhole by his nickname, and because Izzie is about to become a patient herself, she bristles at their insensitivity. She yells at the interns at every chance she gets. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) sends Callie out to the woods to see if she can get Derek to come back to work. Callie heads over to the trailer and finds Derek gulping down cheap cans of beer early in the morning, drowning his sorrows. Callie (Sara Ramirez) tries to get him the pep talk about how to get back on your saddle after you lose a patient, but Derek (Patrick Dempsey) asks her how she can live with herself after killing a patient. Instead of cheering him up, she starts drinking with him. I guess she didn't learn how to live with himself. Cristina barely listens to Meredith venting about not knowing whether she and Derek are still a couple, after he threw away her engagement ring in the woods in last week's episode. But Cristina isn't preoccupied enough to dish about her chaste relationship with Hunt. She's not really sure if it's a relationship, and she describes it as "friends with benefits, without the benefits." They've kissed a couple of times, but they haven't actually done the big wumpity-wump.......cont’d To add to everything else going on tonight, there's a D-story about some intern drama. Two of the male interns look like they belong to Fight Club or something. One has a black eye, and the other one has a big, bloody gash on his arm. They are clearly fighting over a female intern who can't stop crying. Meredith, Cristina and George (T.R. Knight) decide to just ignore all the interns, even though there is clearly something going on, because they have too much to deal with. Izzie instructs Blowhole to blow into a device that will help keep his lungs active, which prompts one of her interns to snicker about the word "blow." Izzie orders this intern outside and unleashes her fury at him for mocking the patient to his face. Sloan deems Izzie's behavior unprofessional enough to ban her from the OR during the transplant. George notices all of this and tries to tell Meredith that something is wrong with Izzie, but Meredith doesn't want to add resident drama to the already existing intern drama, which they are continuing to try to ignore until Bailey is all, "Nuh-uh. You better do something about those interns." Right at that moment, the female intern runs away from Arm Gash Intern, who yells, "I love you, Megan!" while running into and knocking down a patient in the process. Do we need any more proof why you should never want to be treated at Seattle Grace? Meredith and George lay down the law to Girl Intern and Arm Gash Intern. They try to explain, but Meredith doesn't want to hear the story. She just wants them not to talk or even look at each other. Since Callie is now MIA along with Derek, Bailey sends Hunt to go drive to the woods to bring both of them back. (She's kind of worried that they may be lying dead in a ditch, or at the mercy of a serial killer – these are just the thoughts that are coming to her head. She likes daytime TV. And, I just lost a little respect for Bailey.) Hunt tries to tell her that he doesn't want to go, but he soon learns that it is not a good idea to sass back to Bailey. She gives him a Glare of Death, and he crumbles immediately. Blowhole will need people to help him after his transplant. He doesn't have any family or real friends, but he has met a bunch of people online in an orchid lovers' chat room whom he has become close with. He hasn't met them in real life yet, but they are supposed to be flying out to Seattle to be his support system after the surgery. However, they surprise him by coming early. He freaks out and yells at them to leave because he didn't want them to see him with his old freak face. Cristina tells Izzie at lunch that she booked her an appointment which is scheduled 15 minutes from now, but Izzie doesn't want to go to it. The rest of the residents sit down at the table with them, so they switch to talking in code: Izzie has been backed up for weeks so Cristina booked her an appointment for an enema. There's much discussion of enemas, but George, the astute one, figures out that enema must be code for something. Izzie abruptly leaves the table. In the woods, Hunt does his best to tell Derek that everyone loses patients, and you just have to get back in. But Derek throws back in his face that Hunt is dead inside; otherwise he would be feeling like complete crap. Hunt can't argue with that, so cracks open a can of beer and joins the mopers. Who drinks cans of beer, anyway? Cristina is furious when she learns that Izzie blew off her appointment with the surgical oncologist. Izzie says emotionally that everyone – the interns, even Alex – has been calling the face transplant guy Blowhole. She's worried about what everyone will call her once she becomes the patient, Swiss Cheese For Brains? Cristina says, "No, that's awkward and long. Blowhole's pithy." Izzie doesn't want to be a patient and have her brain and internal organs hacked up and cut out. And besides, even if she does get surgery, she still only has a five percent chance of survival. Cristina demands to know why Izzie even told her about it if she isn't going to let her help her. Izzie just tells her to keep her mouth shut and forget about it. Mark tells Blowhole that they can't go ahead with transplant because the ethics board won't approve it if he doesn't have a group of people willing to be his support system. Blowhole doesn't want to ask his orchid-loving friends back because he doesn't want them to cringe when they look at his freak face. Lexie (Chyler Leigh) assures him that not one of them cringed or looked away. She steals away and calls the friends back to the room. They are awesome friends, even if they had only just met Blowhole a few minutes ago. They don't think he's ugly at all, and rather, compare him to some kind of orchid species. One of the friends, a kind, elderly black woman, kisses him on the cheek. Izzie is touched, watching all this display of devotion from friends. George and Meredith play good cop and bad cop, respectively, with one of the interns, making him spill the story of what's going on. Apparently, Girl Intern was with one of the Boy Interns, but then broke up. While they were broken up, she slept with another Boy Intern, and the whole thing came to light when somebody "'Replied All" to an email. George and Meredith get glassy-eyed when their snitch starts spewing Gen Y-isms about texting and "like" a lot. Bailey confesses to Richard (James Pickens Jr.) that she lost Callie and Hunt after sending them to retrieve Derek. So Richard drives out to the woods to lay the smack down on all of them. He yells at Derek that people die, and human mortality is not on them. Derek spits back that a pregnant woman came in for a routine surgery that he botched, and that is on him. He also tells Richard that because he sent Meredith to the trailer expecting an engagement ring, he ruined Derek's life. Richard follows Derek into the trailer and yells that he's been where Derek is right now. He'll need a friend when he comes out of that hole he's dug himself into. Derek finally calms down and laments that he doesn't know how to get Meredith back. Richard reminds him that Adele took him back after knowing about his years-long affair, so he can find a way to get Meredith back. The face transplant surgery is under way. Sloan lets Lexie help him put the new face on the patient. Upstairs in the gallery, they see and hear the interns snickering because they think that Lexie is trading sexual favors for surgical ones. Meredith and George round up the three troublemaker interns in the bathroom. Meredith tells them all never to behave this way within the four walls of the hospital every again. She tells Boy 1 to get his gross, oozy black eye taken care of. She tells Boy 2 to get his unsanitary, bloody arm gash taken care of in the pit. She tells Girl to go to OB because she's pregnant (she just peed on a stick). Sup Dawg. I herd u didnt liek forming babby. George is impressed with how Meredith took control of the situation and exerted her authority. Right before Cristina's first solo surgery, right before MamaKim is put under, MamaKim asks Cristina for reassurance that she's going to be fine because she is really scared about the surgery. Cristina finally shows some empathy and assures her that the surgery is important to her and she will be very well taken care of. This affects her, so right before she asks for the scalpel, she tells Alex and Bailey and everyone present that Izzie has stage 4 melanoma that has spread to her metastasized in her brain, liver and skin. She is resisting treatment and likely has only months to live. Oh my God, y'all, I totes teared up during this scene. Sandra is killing me here, and so is Alex, with just his eyes. The face transplant went extremely well. Dave, who is no longer a Blowhole, wants to see his new face, and Sloan says that although his face is still swollen and bruised, he can take a sneak peek at his face. At the end of their shift, Cristina finds Izzie sitting outside in the rain. She tells her that she told Bailey and Alex. She says emotionally that she wants Izzie to fight. Sandra and Katherine both are making me bawl like a baby. Lexie kisses Mark in front of the interns. She explains that despite what the interns think, he is not taking advantage of her, and she's not using him. They are beautiful, just like Blowhole and orchids, and they can adapt to a hostile environment. Derek finally calls Meredith, who shows up at the trailer. He tells her he loves her and asks if she can love him even if he isn't a surgeon. She says no because he is one of about 20 people in the whole world who can save Izzie's life, and she can't respect someone who would walk away from that. She hands him an envelope containing all of Izzie's scans and leaves. As Meredith voiceovers about mortality and borrowed time and whether it's worthwhile to make friends when everyone dies, all of Izzie's friends gather around her and help her into a hospital bed. Derek decides that he wants to be a surgeon after all and starts poring over Izzie's brain scans. And I look for a tissue. There's something in my eye. http://www.buddytv.com/articles/greys-anatomy/greys-anatomy-episode-518-stan-27081.aspx ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CINEMA BLEND Stand By Me - 2009-03-20 05:48:56 This week’s episode was full of drama. We get to meet the son of Two-Face. Cristina gets her first solo surgery. Everyone finally finds out that Izzie has cancer. After almost bringing all of Seattle Grace down into his depression, Derek may finally be snapping out of it. Also, an intern is pregnant!This week’s episode was full of drama. We get to meet the son of Two-Face. Cristina gets her first solo surgery. Everyone finally finds out that Izzie has cancer. After almost bringing all of Seattle Grace down into his depression, Derek may finally be snapping out of it. Also, an intern is pregnant! Amid all of the drama of this week’s episode, Sloane performs a face transplant for a man who lost half of his face when he was hit by a car. Shonda Rhimes must have been owed a favor by the makeup guys from The Dark Knight, because the dude looked just like Two-Face. As with most “big surgeries” on this show, this one acts more as a centerpoint for all of the drama to orbit rather than providing much drama itself. To summarize New-Face’s story, though, he freaks out when his online friends – who were supposed to meet him for the first time after the surgery – show up before the surgery to offer moral support. He panics and tells them to get the hell out because he doesn’t want them to see his face. Sloane explains to him that he’ll need his friends to get him through the psychological trauma after the surgery. In fact, Sloane can’t ethically perform the surgery if New-Face doesn’t have that support. New-Face finally calls them and asks them to come back where we’re treated to an analogy of his face and an orchid that looks ugly at first glance, but is beautiful because of what it has been through. All hearts suitably warm, the surgery proceeds successfully. ..... there’s more http://www.cinemablend.com/television/TV-Recap-Greys-Anatomy-Stand-By-Me-16318.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- EW.COM 'Grey's Anatomy' recap: Love and Acceptance - Mar 20, 2009 As a patient learns the importance of having a support system, so does Izzie when Cristina goes against her wishes to be a true friend A tearjerker for the second week in a row! The Grey's Anatomy gods are rewarding us for our time spent in Denny purgatory: There were deep thoughts, poignant moments, Big Emmy Reel Moments With Patrick Dempsey, interns with drama, tons of comedy, and even multiple T.R. Knight sightings. But most of all, there were lines. Great, great lines (thank you, writer Zoanne Clack!). Here, the story of our Seattle Gracers through some of their own wonderful words — and what they all meant: ''That's why we dubbed him 'blowhole.''' — Alex A guy with no nose and no lips who was hit by a drunk driver 12 years ago came in for, you know, just a little routine face transplant. (You may recall from news coverage that this is a really big deal and unlikely to be happy at our friendly neighborhood No. 12 hospital — and with little media fanfare. But okay. We'll go with it.) Kudos to the makeup staff at Grey's on this one: He was genuinely hard to look at. There was no getting around that uncomfortable fact, and that made the story line all the more compelling, especially when his support group — all of whom he'd met on the Internet, but never in person — showed up earlier than scheduled and he refused to let them see his wrecked face. (Also difficult to watch: The procedure where they removed the dead guy's face. Eek.) And is it just me, or was Izzie totally justified when she laid into those interns for making a ''blowhole'' joke in the guy's presence? Sloan took her to task for letting her ''emotional life'' get the better of her, but put me down for Team Izzie on that one. ......cont’d http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20266905,00.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- LA TIMES 'Grey's Anatomy': That's what friends are for - Mar 20 2009 Awww. What would those “Grey’s Anatomy” peeps do without their BFFs? After 100 phone calls didn’t do the trick, Bailey bullied Callie, and then Hunt, into trekking out to Derek’s trailer to try to convince him to get back to work at the hospital. But they just wound up commiserating and drinking his beer, which meant it was up to the Chief to get the job done. The Chief wasn’t going anywhere, no matter how much venom Derek spewed his way over blabbing about the ring to Meredith and destroying his life. Because true friends stick until their drunk, broken, melodramatic star surgeons decide to man up. Which, as it turned out, happened in mere minutes. After all, Izzie’s got cancer in her brain — and seemingly everywhere else — and, as Meredith put it during their tentative reunion, Derek’s one of only 20 neurosurgeons in the world who can actually save her. Silly Mer. We all know Izzie doesn’t want saving; she wants a full-time film career. But until that blessed (May?) day arrives, the ailing doc is gonna need to lean mightily on her friends. After sharing her diagnosis with Cristina last week, Izzie wanted her help about as much as Derek wanted the Chief’s — on the surface, not so much, but underneath it all, desperately. By the end of the episode, Cristina had broken through, and Izzie the doctor had become Izzie the patient, her white coat replaced by a blue hospital gown, as she climbed tentatively into a bed at Seattle Grace surrounded by her fellow residents. Anybody else get a smidge teary? What did you think of how Cristina, about to perform her first solo surgery, delivered the Izzie news to Bailey and Alex? How funny was it to see Meredith go all Bailey on the interns over their personal drama? Were you happy to finally see more of George? And just how many hours do you think Blow-hole, the facial transplant patient, had to spend in the makeup chair each day? http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/03/greys-anatomy-t.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MSNBC Grey's Anatomy’ docs rally around Izzie - March. 19, 2009 Plus: A face transplant, intern love triangle, and Derek's still sulky - Cristina Yang tries to help Izzie Stevens obtain treatment for her cancer, but true to form, Izzie was less than thrilled. And true to form for the show, Cristina spilled the beans to everyone — mid-surgery. Bad news to bear: Cristina, freshly informed of Izzie’s condition, worked hard to line Izzie up with a superstar oncologist. But after Cristina called in all her chits to get the appointment, Izzie wouldn’t even go. Ultimately, Cristina figured out what was needed and told Alex and Bailey everything. And later, when she told Izzie what she’d done, and added that Meredith and George were being filled in as well, Izzie hesitated and then thanked her. “Grey’s” is far better at friendships than romances, and when the friends finally had the chance to rally, the whole story finally paid off with a few tears. About face: The week’s big surgery involved a face transplant for a young man named Dave whose face had defied reconstruction after an accident years earlier. His unfortunate appearance (which resembled late-stage Harvey Dent in “The Dark Knight”) had earned him the nickname “Blowhole,” but he had a fairly positive attitude as he waited for McSteamy, assisted by Lexie, to do his surgery. In the absence of family, Dave had planned for some friends he knew only online to come meet him after his surgery, but when they showed up beforehand, he threw them out, afraid to have them see his horrific face. Little Grey areas: Lexie took the lead in talking Dave through a reconciliation with his friends — which, as McSteamy explained, was critical to the surgery, since the ethics board wouldn’t allow the surgery on someone without people to offer post-op support. Ultimately, Dave’s friends returned and offered him both pre-and post-operative love, and when the transplant looked to have been a success, the increasingly besotted McSteamy planted a big smooch on Lexie right in front of the gossipy interns. .....cont’d http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29780284/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK MAGAZINE ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TVgasm Grey's Anatomy: Proof That you Never Leave High School After a long hiatus, we are back with a new drama filled week on Grey's Anatomy. As morning breaks, all the members and new members of the frat house prepare for another day of torturing interns, boning Doctors and experimental surgery. All except for one. McDreamy has set up shop on the downstairs couch, and for anyone who has ever actually spent time in a fraternity house common room...this is pretty close. He hasn't shaved, showered or moved in a few days and he's surrounded by empty boxes of take-out and cereal. Add 60 odd Natty light cans and you've got the last stop before freedom on the walk of shame. Patrick Dempsey does his best impression of TR Knightly in 2010. Alex, Izzie, Big and Little Grey observe this behavior with concern. Izzie, a veteran and dealing with stress by becoming immobile in gross places inside the frat house, assures them this is normal. Could be worse, he could be on the bathroom floor in a prom dress. Grey, confronts the artist formerly known as McDreamy to find out when he plans to return to work. After a three day vacation from work and showering, she thinks its time to return to the world of the living. Or at least put some product in his hair. Grey's not prepared to be the pretty one in their relationship (Although to be honest, I find the new McDirty sexier than McDreamy, but that's just me). McD angrily and still beat up from the fight with Sloan tells her he'll be going to the hospital today because he has a deposition now that he's been hit with a big fat lawsuit after killing Jessica Stein. Grey awkwardly says, oh...well that's good....I mean, not that you killed a bitch, but you know, that you're going back to the hospital. Smooth Grey. At the hospital, Yang finds the Major sleeping like a little lamb. Until she wakes him. Turns out the Major dreams of practicing judo, since he backhands Yang into a wall upon waking. Yang slams hard against it causes her arm to split open and start bleeding. As the Major bandaged Christina up, she assures him its no big deal and tries to discuss incoming cases since she is on his service today. He tells her that she needs to let her arm heal, and he doesn't need her today. I'm sure Yang is going to take this really well. She loves missing out on cases. In other Doctor on Doctor action, Torres is checking up on Sloan's hand to see if it still bears the brunt of McD's face all over it. Sloan hasn't operated in three days, and Torres advises him to wait a little longer until it's fully healed. And BTW Sloan, all of the patient's who's faces you might be working on agree with her! Can you imagine if your plastic surgeon came in with a cast on their hand? ..... continued http://www.tvgasm.com/shows/greys-anatomy/greys-anatomy-p-9264.php ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TV GUIDE Tonight's TV Hot List for Thursday, March 19, 2009 Izzie is dying and Derek thinks he's a killer. There's a pair of explosive story lines for you and, what with all the will-she-stay-or-will-she-go speculation surrounding Katherine Heigl, the Izzie thing could be for real. In any event, she burdens Cristina with her illness tonight — and tells her not to spill the beans to anyone else — while Cristina is also preparing for her first solo surgery. As for Derek, the odds are pretty good that he'll snap out of his funk, don't you think? —Paul Droesch http://www.tvguide.com/News/Tonights-TV-Hot-1004188.aspx Grey Still Matters? - March 20, 2009 News flash: Seattle Grace is still a hot mess. Izzie’s cancer is making her cranky. All of the interns are wrapped up in Megan-Steve-Pierce’s love triangle, which has gotten way ugly. (There’s public brawling, declarations of love, unplanned pregnancies—you know all the stuff we’ve seen several times on Grey's Anatomy.) Cristina Yang’s about to do her first solo surgery (yay!) yet she’s neglecting her patient because all she can think about is saving Izzie. Derek Shepherd’s hosting a millionaire surgeons’ pity party out in the woods—thanks to Bailey, who keeps sending MDs out there to bring him back, only to have them end up joining McDrunky’s sad-sack beerfest. And this is all happening on the day of the Dr. Sloan’s face transplant surgery, aka “the biggest surgery in the world.” Good googly-moogley. Can somebody please tell me why people keep checking into this hospital? I know. I know. The answer is: Because it’s a deliciously addictive medical drama and these aren’t real people. But still, join me in TV land for a sec, won’t cha? With ER, back when it was great, I could at least still feel like I could be successfully treated at County General. Sure a helicopter might crash on the roof during my surgery, poop might drip through the ceiling and the homeless guy next to me might be stapled to his dog. But I had confidence that Doctors Carter, Weaver, Benton, etc. could fix me. That’s not so with Yang, Shepherd, and shades of Grey. Lately they seem too broken to properly fix anyone else. I mean, don’t you think? Take Cristina, for example. Tonight, unable to hold Izzie’s secret any longer she blurts out that her friend has “stage 4 metastasis melanoma that has spread to her brain, liver and skin” seconds before she makes her first incision in her big solo surgery. That’s right. Girlfriend distracted all the doctors and nursing staff in the operating room by telling them one of their closest friends “may only have months to live” right when they needed to focus most. (Yeah, that’s smart.) Meanwhile, Sloan, blinded by love, was busy letting his newbie intern girlfriend, Little Grey, handle the actual face in the almighty face transplant surgery—as if they have a spare laying around if she slips. See what I mean? The episode ended with all of Izzie’s newly-informed friends tucking her into a hospital bed in the same place where she almost killed Dead Denny. (Not the same room or ward, literally. But you get my drift.) I worry for Izzie. She was right when she told Cristina “I’m not going to be a piece of meat in this hospital while you all fight over who gets to slice me up and then laugh while you do it.” Heck, I worry for her patient peers. Because lately you are not in good hands if you’re at Seattle Grace. http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/greys-anatomy/grey-still-matters-354.html Grey's Anatomy Episode Recap: "Stand By Me" - Mar 20, 2009 While Derek hides in the woods to battle his inner demons, Mark leads a face transplant surgery and Izzie struggles to decide if she'll seek treatment in the ultimate fight for her life. Seattle Grace has certainly become more complicated lately. In a surprising move last week, Izzie opted to tell one person about her cancer diagnosis, and it wasn't her new boyfriend, Alex, or her best friend, George. Instead, Izzie chose to tell Cristina, the one person we've been led to assume likes her least. So, why Cristina? Perhaps because Izzie knew Cristina is a fighter and a perfectionist in the OR, so who better to have in your corner from the outset? And Cristina really answered the call by helping arrange special referrals to help get Izzie the best medical assistance available. Unfortunately, Izzie spent a good part of this episode resisting Cristina's help, but one could argue that Dave Young (Barry Sullivan), aka "Blow-hole," helped Izzie see the importance of letting her friends help her in her time of need. So for now, it looks like Izzie is on board with a treatment plan. If only they could find a highly gifted neurosurgeon to help out... Speaking of Derek, McScruffy has been passing time in the woods contemplating his future and questioning his choice to be a doctor. All the while, Bailey has been sending out a rescue team in the form of Torres and Hunt in the hopes that someone might be able to lure Derek back to Seattle Grace. Her plan backfires though when both Torres and Hunt find themselves commiserating with Derek and all three of them spend the afternoon outside of his trailer drinking beer. The party comes to an abrupt halt, though, when the Chief finally pulls up and decides to set everyone straight. Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Mark is heading up a landmark face transplant surgery and Lexie is by his side and helping out every step of the way. In fact, Lexie is around so much that the other interns start suggesting that she's using Mark to get ahead. So, I have to admit, I was pretty surprised when Lexie grabbed Mark at the end of this episode and embraced him in a kiss where everyone could see. In other news, it appears as though some of the other interns are having romance issues of their own, which basically equates to a strange love triangle. Try as she might to be like Bailey and reel them in, Meredith just doesn't seem to possess the same commanding tone that Bailey evokes so easily. Aside from that, I didn't enjoy this subplot much at all. As hard as I tried to follow Ryan's (Brandon Scott) summary on the ordeal, I failed to see any real chemistry between these characters. Will we continue to see this storyline develop, now that we know Megan is pregnant? Hopefully not. Sorry, Meg. So, where does this leave us? Izzie's secret is out and now everyone knows she has cancer. Derek is remorseful and is hoping that Meredith will forgive him for his outburst last week. Meanwhile, Mer seems willing to patch things up, as long as Derek comes back to Seattle Grace in an effort to help save Izzie. Here's what remains to be seen: If Derek does return to Seattle Grace to operate on Izzie and she dies, this will surely be the end of Derek. However, if Derek operates and Izzie lives, does that mean Katherine Heigl will return next season? http://www.tvguide.com/Episode-Recaps/greys-anatomy/Greys-Anatomy-Episode-1004237.aspx Tonight's TV Hot List for Thursday, March 19, 2009 Izzie is dying and Derek thinks he's a killer. There's a pair of explosive story lines for you and, what with all the will-she-stay-or-will-she-go speculation surrounding Katherine Heigl, the Izzie thing could be for real. In any event, she burdens Cristina with her illness tonight — and tells her not to spill the beans to anyone else — while Cristina is also preparing for her first solo surgery. As for Derek, the odds are pretty good that he'll snap out of his funk, don't you think? —Paul Droesch http://www.tvguide.com/News/Tonights-TV-Hot-1004188.aspx TV Guide Mega Buzz - Mar 17, 2009 The best part of Grey's Anatomy for me this season has been the sexy pairing of Lexie and Mark. What's ahead for the sizzling duo? — Kelly MATT: More sexy. More pairing. More sizzling. In other words, a sources tell me you'll get more of the stuff you like as this dark-horse couple keep on keeping on, led in large part by Mark's full embrace of a committed relationship. The big question down the pike: Will they get to such a place that Lexie will introduce Mark to her returning father? http://www.tvguide.com/News/MegaBuzz-Battlestar-Greys-1004144.aspx Grey's Admits Sharon Lawrence as Izzie's Mom - March 17, 2009 ( On the heels of Tyne Daly paying Seattle as a visit as Derek's mother, Grey's Anatomy fans are about to meet another main character's mom. Sharon Lawrence, who is best known for her run on NYPD Blue and who most recently played parent to Privileged's JoAnna Garcia, has been tapped to guest-star as Izzie's mother, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively. As Grey's winds down its current season — and as Katherine Heigl's character, freshly diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, comes to terms with her mortality — Lawrence will appear in a late-April episode. Will ailing Izzie welcome her mother with open arms? Um, do you watch Grey's Anatomy with any regularity? No, sources tell me that when Mama Stevens shows up at Seattle Grace, Izzie will be less than comforted by the unexpected visit. http://spoilertv-greysanatomy.blogspot.com/2009/03/greys-admits-sharon-lawrence-as-izzies.html TV Guide - Mega Minute - March 17, 2009 Now playing in this week's Mitovich Mega Minute: • Who is returning to Grey's Anatomy? And why does it almost assuredly promise one doctor more angst? • Dipping into the Mega Mailbag: Is The Unit in the midst of a shake-up? Get the answer. • Get tune-in dates for big CSI, Criminal Minds and Lost episodes. http://spoilertv-greysanatomy.blogspot.com/2009/03/tv-guide-mega-minute.html All New Ask Matt! - March 16, 2009 Question: Welcome back! I'm curious to see what your thoughts are on Owen Hunt and his development on Grey's Anatomy so far? I personally am very impressed with Kevin McKidd and Sandra Oh's work. Their acting styles complement each other and I find the material concerning Owen and Cristina well written, even though it may not amount to much screen time. I was concerned at first with how the PSTD story line would play out, but I find that it has just the right balance and I am more interested in Owen and Cristina in every episode. The episode where Owen is in Cristina's shower recounting his past surgery still haunts me, as well as his recent panic attack. The fact that he has become completely dependent on Cristina for support is also a testament to how Cristina has evolved as a character. Owen on the surface is a tough, badass surgeon, but at the end of the day he's a lost little boy that just needs to be taken care of. Kevin McKidd is impeccable at honing into the raw emotions of his characters. We see that in Owen's emotionally charged scenes, but also in scenes like the recent episode with Faye Dunaway (which was amazing) where he has a very observant/mature quality to his personality. As his PSTD becomes more prominent, which seems to be in the next new episodes, it will be interesting to see how this takes a toll on Owen and Cristina's relationship, but they seem to have a level of maturity that is rare on Grey's. Your thoughts?—Maya Matt Roush: I think you nailed it, that on a show where even characters like the Chief act like mewling cry-babies too often, there’s a maturity and gravity—and drama that transcends soap opera—in the Owen-Cristina relationship. They’re playing the hell out of it. And hasn’t the show gotten better since the ghost of Denny dropped out of the picture? (I’m liking the show enough again that I didn’t even mind being called a “douche” by association in last week’s hilarious South Park episode, associating Grey’s in a demonic plot by Disney involving the Jonas Brothers and their purity pledge as a front to sell sex to minors.) http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/ask-matt/all-new-ask-matt-282.html From TWoP ... credit to WindSprints TV Guide Izzie’s Deadly Diagnosis – Call us heartless but bad news has never been more welcome. On Grey’s Anatomy, we finally got the answer to this season’s burning (and vexing) question: What’s eating Izzie Stevens? Turns out that it’s metastatic melanoma, and— according to the Seattle Grace interns— she only has a few months to live. (Katherine Heigl, your wish has been granted!) Yes, this storyline was way overbaked. And no, we will never forgive the powers that be for introducing the concept of “ghost sex” into prime time. But perhaps the truth shall set us free: With the cat out of the bag at last, this show may not flatline after all. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TV SQUAD Grey's Anatomy: Stand By Me - Mar 20th 2009 (S05E18) "I'm a fan of daytime television" – Bailey Tonight was the big night for the whole Izzie storyline getting into full gear. On a positive note, this episode happily shows that all of the characters can actually interact with others without it leading into a bad fallout or sex. Unlike last week, all the characters were themselves. Also, only having two surgeries to focus on was much better than splitting everyone up. Otherwise, it gets confusing. Does it always turn out that the first year interns are overly dramatic? The side story between Megan/Pierce/Steve was funny because it sounds just like something Meredith/George/Alex/Izzie would have gone through. More analysis after the jump. The idea of Meredith/George working together without awkwardness is amazing. Meredith actually taking a Bailey-like stand with her interns was great. Not seeing her as a mopey, pale, depressed character is always a good change. Finally getting to see George be George is also great. He was in the background so much that I assumed that he would be smart enough to put two and two together. Call me a five year old, but I giggled at the whole enema situation. I appreciate Derek taking on the role of philosopher for the episode. Watching his interaction with Callie and Owen and the three not knowing how to deal with death was touching. Finding something that's repressed being pried open has to hurt. Drinking is not the answer, though. I guess every surgeon has that one surgery that eats away at you; one you just can't forget. I liked that the Chief eventually talked to Derek after all the complaints from him at the hospital. I didn't understand why he didn't just go in to Derek himself. In theory, he (with the help of Bailey) sent Meredith, Callie, and Owen to Derek before he went and talked to him....... there’s more http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/03/20/greys-anatomy-stand-by-me/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USA TODAY ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ZAP2IT 'Grey's Anatomy': A face transplant, and Izzie's secret is out - March 19, 09:11 PM Damn you, Shonda Rhimes! I've spent plenty of time while watching "Grey's Anatomy" raging about Izzie being annoying, cheering for Bailey, wondering if Meredith and Derek were ever going to get their act together, and counting the number of words George gets to speak in any given episode. And now you've made me believe again. I may be a sucker, but this was a great episode. Belly up to the trailer in the woods, have a beer, and I'll offer up some spoilers... The face transplant: Number 12 teaching hospital Seattle Grace has scored itself a huge surgery, courtesy of Mark Sloan. The patient is Dave, a 38-year-old who was hit by a drunk driver 12 years ago and suffered major trauma -- he has no nose and no lips, and nine reconstructive surgeries have failed. Everyone is on this case -- most of the attendings, Alex and Izzie, and Lexie -- chosen by Mark for her excellent understanding of the case, demonstrated on rounds. Which of course makes her a target of mockery and hostile recrimination from her fellow interns. Dave -- who Alex has charmingly nicknamed "Blowhole" is excited and apprehensive about the surgery. And we find out that while he has no family coming to help take care of him, there are three friends from his chatroom on orchids who are coming to help. But when they show up early, he panics, doesn't want them to see him, and sends them away. But eventually he calms down -- and Sloan makes it very clear that Dave needs a support system for his recovery, or they can't do the surgery. Of course, the friends come back, and instead of looking away or cringing like he feared they would, they embrace him. It's a touching scene, but like I said, I'm a sucker. And I have to admit, it is a super cool surgery, from the time they take the facial tissue from the donor to the unnerving sight of the face in the basin as Mark prepares to do the transplant. In the end, thank goodness, it all goes well, and for the first time in so many years, Dave gets to look in the mirror and see a complete face. We need a happy ending sometimes on "Grey's," and here we got one. Izzie: Cristina, who has mysteriously grown a heart like she got her wish from the Wizard, throws herself into full-bore patient care mode for Izzie, moving heaven and earth to get her an appointment with the best oncologist, plowing through stacks of research, and nagging her to get herself some help. But Izzie's clearly still in shock, and she's not ready -- not to tell anyone, not to figure out her options, not to confront her reality. She blows off Cristina's efforts and internalizes her panic, bawling out the dumb and insensitive interns who make a "Blowhole" joke in front of Dave. Her emotions are all over the place, and the ever-observant George can tell something's wrong with his friend. So can Sloan, who tells Izzie she's behaving inappropriately by yelling at the interns and losing control. He tries to throw her off the case, but she insists on remaining there for pre-op and post-op -- and she's right. She's in a unique position to understand the panic David is feeling, and his impulse to push away the people who care about him. Which is the "Grey's Anatomy" way of showing personal growth for the docs of Seattle Grace. Sandraoh_greysanatomy_s3_240 Izzie and Cristina fight about Izzie's choice to keep her diagnosis a secret -- and the fact that Izzie's not even sure she wants treatment. She knows too much, and is too familiar with how violent surgery can be, she says. It fails all the time, and her chances are so low anyway. But Cristina lays into Izzie with a great speech about believing that by telling her, Izzie wanted Cristina to do something to help. While almost everyone else is working on the face transplant, Cristina is flying solo for the first time, repairing a hernia for a nice older lady who sweetly asks her doctor to answer some questions to make her feel more comfortable about the surgery (and it turns out to be Mrs. Kim! (Emily Kuroda, and it's nice to see her smile)). But Cristina's too preoccupied with arranging Izzie's appointment to pay too much attention -- and then she's stopped short by her patient on the operating table. All she wants is for her surgeon to tell her everything will be OK, even if this is a silly little procedure to Cristina. Which seems to crack something in Cristina, who assures her patient that it's not a silly operation, and she will get her through it. Then she turns to Alex and Bailey, who are also in the OR, and tells them about Izzie's condition -- like she just had to get it out before she could focus on anything. After her hernia surgery, Cristina finds Izzie and tells her what she did -- and urges her to fight. Strong performances all around tonight. Derek: Derek's still hiding at his trailer, and no one's heard from him for days. Meredith doesn't know if they're still together or broken up. So Bailey takes it upon herself to fix the situation, and sends Callie out to the woods to bring Derek back. Callie, noticing that it's early in the day and Derek's already broken out the beer, tries to sympathize and relays a terrible story about a patient she lost. Then proceeds to join Derek. When Bailey hasn't heard back from Callie, she talks Hunt into going out to the woods. Hunt tries the same tack, telling his story -- and it's not about Iraq, surprisingly. He doesn't talk about Iraq. Then he ends up joining Derek and Callie on their long afternoon's journey to cocktail hour. Finally, Bailey tells the chief why he's missing so many surgeons today -- and he goes out to the woods. He tries the "we've all been there" argument and the "you have to keep showing up for work" argument. And then Derek turns on him, blaming him for sending Meredith out to the trailer in his own interest, not Derek's. The Chief has some of the venom coming, and boy can Patrick Dempsey pack a drunken, self-pitying wallop. But the Chief offers a little tough love too, telling Derek that he's been where he is, and opposed to Derek's few days of drinking, he spent years drinking. You can make your way back, he tells Derek. And you can fix things with Meredith. Ellenpompeo_greysanatomy_s3_240 When Derek finally brings himself to call Meredith, she shows up and is so in control of herself it seems impossible. "I love you," he says. "I know," she replies. No one's getting encased in carbonite or anything, but it's awesome. He asks if she'd still love him if he weren't a surgeon, and she says no -- because he's one of only about 20 people who can save Izzie, and she couldn't respect someone who could walk away from that. Does this girl know how to persuade, or what? She leaves Izzie's films for him to look at. And back at the hospital, at last we see what we've either been waiting for or dreading -- or both: Izzie as a patient. Some other notes: * I love that Bailey's a nerd -- and her scenarios about killers with hatchets and Shepherd and Callie being roasted on a spit by a serial killer ("that's just where my mind goes") were a fantastic and odd bit of levity. * It was nice to see a storyline involving the interns where they weren't being treated like idiot cattle. Even though George and Meredith wanted to stay out of the love triangle, it was kind of refreshing to see another group as filled with random dysfunction as our residents. And Meredith and George's good cop/bad cop routine was terrific. What did you think? Do you like how Izzie's case is being handled? Do you think she'll be the thing that brings Derek back from the brink? And how weird is it to see her and Cristina all grown-up and stable? http://blog.zap2it.com/ithappenedlastnight/2009/03/greys-anatomy-a-face-transplant-and-izzies-secret-is-out.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- RATINGS TV Ratings: 'Grey's Anatomy' beats hoops Thursday NCAA tournament ratings up a bit over last year ABC took over at 9 with "Grey's Anatomy," the night's most-watched show at 9.7/15. CBS improved to 6.4/10 with March Madness. FOX's "Hell's Kitchen," 4.6/7, finished in a virtual tie for third with NBC's "The Office," 4.9/8, and "30 Rock," 4.3/7. "Supernatural" held steady for The CW. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/ratings/zap-tv-ratings-031908,0,4907092.story ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Edited by jenlou1986, Apr 17 2009, 05:00 PM.


5.18 Stand By Me · Episodic Chat