TVSquad

(S06E06) There were so many people on screen last week on Grey's Anatomy that I didn't even realize that Mark Sloan wasn't in the whole episode. Luckily for any Mark fan, he becomes an essential character when burn victims show up.

This week, one of many hotel fire victims dies because of negligence; everyone tells their side. The multiple perspectives became more and more difficult to keep up with, because the original Seattle Grace doctors defended each other, while the Mercy West doctors tried to throw any of the Seattle Grace doctors under the bus.

With Grey's Anatomy and its spin-off Private Practice starting new seasons, I decided to refresh my brain with the previous seasons of these two ABC shows. So this week's Jane After Dark was all about the dreamy doctors.

I've been on board with Private Practice since the beginning, and was especially interested to see what happened with Violet and her baby in the season three premiere. Happy ending there, thank goodness! And while Grey's Anatomy has certainly ebbed and flowed since it began in 2005, I've stuck with it because I've grown to love the dysfunctional characters with all their baggage. It makes my life seem just that much better.

Grey's Anatomy, Season Five

There were parts of this season that drove me a little nuts, like Izzie having "mind-boggling sex" with dead Denny. That whole storyline made me want to jump off a roof, but there were plenty of highlights to the season, as well...

Remember back in the olden days (say, 1994) when you didn't know much about what was going to happen on a TV show before the new season started? Now there aren't just spoilers and behind the scenes footage, but we also have video sneak peeks of entire scenes from an episode.

This is the first five minutes of the September 24 Grey's Anatomy season opener.

(S05E24) "If you're not scared, you're not paying attention." - Bailey

I took a few hours off in between last night's two hour Grey's Anatomy finale. I knew it was going to be two posts since it was two episodes and so I sat and watched the first one, wrote it up, grabbed a few hours of sleep, and woke up trying to figure just what was going to happen in this episode before I watched it. Everything was so nicely set up (the first hour really could have served as a finale too) and once again, Grey's Anatomy caught us all off guard with what's arguably its biggest cliffhanger yet.

(S05E23) "I'm your tumor. You're talking to yourself." - Denny

Just when I was finally starting to get sucked back into Grey's Anatomy, when I had finally come to terms with the ridiculous Denny/Izzie sex, when I had finally said, "hey, I actually like where they went with this," he had to come back one more time to ruin it all. After last week, I thought we had seen the last of Denny Duquette. Izzie told him to go and he went. But it's like Denny said - he's Izzie's tumor and as long as she still has the brain lump, Denny's gonna keep getting a tan down at Izzie's imaginary beach. I think I speak collectively for the entire population of Earth when I say thank god Izzie chose to get the surgery.

The 99th episode of Grey's Anatomy has come and past and the last five minutes got to me. There's something gratifying about having all the storylines set to music and every other character in tears. It's definitely setting up for the big 100.

I was a little tense about the storyline of the little girl shooter, but it was written in taste. The girl was creepy since she reminded me of every stereotypical horror movie child, silently staring at the lead characters. Why is Meredith often paired up with killers? I get it, the little girl is supposed to parallel Meredith's relationship with her father or the chief, but she could have just been an ignored daughter and not a shooter whose mother probably handed her the gun.

(S05E20) "Someone will be singing 'Wind Beneath My Freaking Wings'" - Meredith

Why does ABC have to mention that Grey's Anatomy has some of the best storylines on television? If that is true, that must mean that Private Practice has the worst. The episode was good, but the long wait got me jaded.

The show does better when Meredith isn't the center of the show. Even with her as the narrator, she succeeded only as a model for Izzie and a mediator between Derek and Mark. Speaking of which, Lexie was hysterical the whole episode. I thought it was so obscene that she kept eating something different in every shot that she was in. Sure they mentioned that she broke out, but couldn't the makeup team add a lump or two? I didn't see one thing wrong with her face.

(S05E19) After the commercials continued to mention how wonderful Grey's Anatomy was going to be, I was brainwashed. This episode had to be good. For me, it delivered. In the first five minutes, we were given Owen's PTSD situation and it set the tone for the rest of the episode. Then we get the wonderful voiceovers from Alex, a good change from Meredith.

There were definitely serious tear inducing moments, along with two really funny situations. We also had a believable patient. When does this hospital get normal patients? Probably when they went down a few ranks. More thoughts and analysis after the jump.

(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.

(S05E17) "There's no fixing you. You're a lemon." - Derek

It's official: I'm an emotional loser. After two weeks without my weekly Medical/High School drama, Grey's is back and even more dramatic than I remember. Has Grey's Anatomy been this good in a while? I always thought that with such a big ensemble cast, the show was bound to have loose ends. With this episode, it seems as though each character is what I remember from the first two seasons.

With no big guest stars this week, the characters developed amongst themselves. I appreciate the return of the Meredith/Christina friendship, now back at full strength, but why does it seem like when Meredith solves one thing, another falls apart? She suffers from the Chaos theory.

In case you didn't know, I'm Canadian. That being said, I watch tons and tons of American TV, partially because our main English channels -- CTV and Global, just to name two -- mostly air US shows. And, let's admit it, I enjoy a lot the shows created by my friends south of the border.

Since there are more TV shows produced in the US and because actors can make more money down south, a lot of Canadian actors go to the USA. to work (or try to get work in a US show shot in Vancouver or Toronto). Here I present you with ten Canadian actors currently starring in lead roles in various primetime US TV shows. Did you know these ten actors were not from the US?

(S05E16) "In Human please Doctor Yang." - Doctor Campbell

When I learned a few weeks back that Faye Dunaway was going to guest star this week, I was a tiny bit worried at what her role would be since Grey's Anatomy has not been very good lately at introducing new characters and Dunaway deserves better. Luckily for her, the role of Doctor Margaret Campbell was introduced with some humor and her presence helped Cristina become a better doctor while touching the topic of when doctors should retire.

(S05E14) "Use it wisely." - Owen to Mark about.... well... you know!

Fun fact: The day following the airing of "Stairway to Heaven," the top Google searches where for expressions like "penile fracture" and "broken penis." Thankfully, after getting treatment and not using his tool for a few days, Mark is back in shape! I must admit seeing Owen and Mark quickly enter and exit the exam room to check on it was probably the most hilarious scene of the week. Yes, in my book it was funnier than those scenes with the man who had something (why couldn't they tell us what in the end?!?) lodged in his behind. It wouldn't surprise me if people research that latter case on Google today to find answers as to what was lodged where it didn't belong!

(S05E13) "We're doctors, Grey. We're not executioners." - Bailey

Life wasn't easy for some of the Seattle Grace staff this week on Grey's Anatomy as they had to decide if they were doctors or executioners. For some, the choice was clear (Shepard is a doctor) while for others (Meredith and Bailey) they wondered if they should be executioners at least this one time. No matter what side they were on, one thing is sure: the Seattle Grace doctors offered us one hell (or heaven?) of an episode this week!

(S05E12) "You're wearing an alarmingly high pony tail." - Derek

At the most simplified level, Dunn is right, you know - a doctor isn't really that different than a serial killer. They both get to choose who dies. A doctor is likely driven by science while a serial killer gets his marching orders from a little voice in his head, but they're both making choices; doing what they think is the right move. Eric Stoltz has thus far been a shining point this season. William Dunn is one of the better characters we've seen on Grey's Anatomy in a while and I'm glad he'll be around for at least one more week.