TVSquad

(S06E09) "According to Google, you don't exist" - Cristina Yang

We've reached a maximum capacity on Grey's Anatomy where all the billed characters showed up for a few seconds on the show then disappeared; even the bartender showed up. This left a lot of characters segregated to the side. Meredith returned and was out of the loop for most of the episode, stuck in a room practicing her craft on a plastic dummy.

We also found the return of Izzie and the introduction of a new cardio doctor, Dr. Teddy Altman. While I grew to like Teddy, I really wished that Izzie would just go home and never come back.

Let me take that one step further -- Grey's Anatomy is great without Izzie or Meredith.

For the first time since the announcement of her temporary departure from the show, Katherine Heigl wasn't in this past week's episode of Grey's Anatomy and Ellen Pompeo, who's on maternity leave, was only featured in two very brief scenes that book-ended the hour.

The episode expertly blended the Seattle Grace docs with the Mercy Westers and featured a very cool Rashomon-esque story (CSI did the same thing a few years ago).

(S06E03) The paranoia kicked in on Grey's Anatomy with the fears of merging with Mercy West. Everyone was on pins and needles wondering whether or not they would get cut. Tonight's episode focused mostly on Lexie and Christina's reactions on how to guarantee themselves positions in Seattle Grace. I still don't see why they were worried because they are good at what they do and even if they got cut, they could easily find jobs.

We also see how much of a loving husband Alex is, being concerned for his wife's health and making sure that she takes her medications.

When Mary Richards burst out laughing at Chuckles the Clown's funeral, I could totally understand that. She's mortified, of course, and when the minister says it's ok, that laughter is what Chuckles would have wanted, Mary starts sobbing. It seemed both funny and realistic.

I was trying to decide if the laughing scene at George's funeral in this week's Grey's Anatomy was realistic, and I guess it is. No one really knows how grief will affect someone, and laughter is as good as any method of handling grief.

I mean, the whole thing was sort of crazy -- that George would be hit by a bus while saving someone. And then that "someone" would be crying more than anyone else at the funeral. No doubt, she was filled with guilt and grief over the whole thing.

(S06E01,S06E02) Every end of a television season, I ask myself, "Why do I keep watching Grey's Anatomy?" Then I realized why; I love Callie. Sure, she came into the show in the second season and isn't an "original" character, but she's become what I consider the most genuine character.

Then they start the show with "Wade in the Water?" I'm automatically an emotional wreck for two hours. Instead of a regular episodic format, the premiere episodes shifted to a timeline (Day One, Seven, Ten, Thirteen, and so on). I guess they got the memo that FlashForward was on before them.

If only it were permanent. (Commence booing and hissing at your leisure.)

Turns out that Meredith Grey's temporary departure from Grey's Anatomy this coming sixth season (Ellen Pompeo is going out on maternity leave) won't be the only character taking leave from the halls of Seattle Grace. Katherine Heigl's chock-full-o'-cancer Izzie Stevens will be going MIA for a few episodes as well.

If you're like me, the how and why doesn't really matter because this is just delightful news (my dislike for Heigl and her outbursts is no secret), but the details and spoilers are after the jump if you really want to know.

This season's Grey's Anatomy ended on quite a tense note, with both George and Izzie's lives hanging in the balance. Izzie, of course, had been battling cancer for most of the season, while George was hit and then dragged down the street by a bus after pushing a young woman out of the way. The episode ended with both characters flat-lining, leaving fans to agonize for months over who survives. Now, however, it looks as though we may have an answer.

Both of the actors in question, Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight, have made no secret of their displeasure with the show and their respective storylines as of late. Heigl pulled her name out of Emmy consideration last year, while Knight reportedly asked to be let out of his contract this past December. The behind-the-scenes grumbling has led to a great deal of speculation about who may live and who may die, but now E! Online's Marc Malkin is reporting that he knows the fate of at least one of those two characters.

(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.

I appreciate a show that takes the time to have decently written dialogue, well timed music cues, and good use of set. A show like Grey's Anatomy needs a 100th episode celebration every week. When a show actually uses characters correctly, it can succeed.

I appreciate that this episode had characters that normally don't interact interacting. Seeing Mark/Meredith, Derek/Izzie, Lexie/George all interacting made me realize that the hospital is smaller than one thinks. You work with these people, you think you'd talk to them once in a while.

Clearly, the wedding was going to take a left turn. I was happy to see that the stress of work didn't affect anyone and they were all happily attending the wedding. So does every wedding end with sex after attending?

Last week on Grey's Anatomy, Izzie mentioned that she created a website for Meredith and Derek's wedding. ABC has teamed up with Theknot.com to create the page.

This isn't Grey's first attempt at web interactivity (a blog from the bar, Steve the intern, and the nurses' station were created; none have been updated in a while). The website isn't miraculous with effects, it comes off as homey and very Izzie (her blog has pink text). If any fan can't wait for Thursday, I'd suggest taking a look at the site to keep the edge off. Taking a look at the website is spoiler free, so anyone who didn't watch Castle on Monday won't see the sneak preview on the website.

EW.com's Michael Ausiello posted this blind item yesterday: "A major female character on a popular and highly rated hour-long drama series will learn that she's pregnant next month."

Other tidbits: The expectant character isn't thrilled to be pregnant. The timing, both personally and professionally, is really bad. The baby daddy's going through some stuff. And the bun in her oven may have company.

Ok, let's speculate here. My first thought is that it's Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy, since her real-life alter-ego Ellen Pompeo actually IS pregnant. But the timing isn't all that bad. She and Derek are getting married. They can use a distraction with Izzie's cancer taking center stage. And although he's had some issues, Derek seems to have pulled it together.

(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.

The MILF has become a staple of the modern male's sexual appetite, along with groveling and porn.

How did this evolution occur? Did the average young male grow tired of trying to impress shallow women their own age who wouldn't pay attention to them if a shark was eating them? Were older women going broke from the rising cost of chlorophyll? What chemical imbalance caused this carnivorous and shallow love affair and how can I increase it without melting my brain in the microwave?

Maybe the true answer is like opening the Ark of the Covenant. The only way to walk away from its truth unscathed means not opening your eyes to it. So here are the hottest TV moms who could make any guy turn his knob in their direction (thanks to the digital switch, that innuendo no longer works so enjoy that image I put in your head).

(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.