Grey's Anatomy Addicts

Friday, March 25, 2016

Grey's Anatomy Mid Season Premiere Review By Brouhaha

Grey's Anatomy - The Sound of Silence - Review written by Brouhaha at SpoilerTV

Meredith Grey returned to our screens this week in a conflagration of jaw dropping violence and eerie uneasy silence, as Grey’s Anatomy finally resumed after its three-month winter hiatus. The writers pulled no punches. For 42 minutes we were slammed back to surgical reality, the cosy early season forgotten as life suddenly became difficult, traumatic, real. As a stand alone episode it was immense, even from behind the sofa where I had escaped to the moment Jackson suggested forcing open Meredith’s broken jaw. With the highly seasoned McKee at the writing helm and Oscar winner Denzel Washington directing the action The Sound of Silence was a worthy and effective mid season opener.

Poor Meredith. Is there a trauma that Shondaland won’t throw at her eventually? Tending to a patient she’d retrieved from the field Meredith calmly went about her work as all the other medics left the room. A silence descended as Lou, traumatised by injury, unknowingly batters her down, breaking and twisting her bones, punching her lungs open. While our imaginations are left to visualise the sheer brutality of the attack the rest of the Emergency Room went about their business calmly, until Penny, and it had to be Penny, stepped into the room. Thus began a silent yet overwhelming journey to recovery.

By now we are familiar with Meredith centric episodes. They are frequent. Most of us recognise that she is the fulcrum on which the entire show pivots. Even though we are presented with an ensemble cast, the show’s epicentre has remained stable for its entire eleven-twelve season run. And perhaps it should be going forward. However, on this particular occasion while The Sound of Silence was an excellent stand alone presentation, in context with Season 12 and Season 11 it showed our main protagonist lonely and isolated.

From a season perspective this isolation has highlighted a drift in the tectonic plates of the show. For the first time in one and a half seasons I genuinely missed Cristina. Don’t get me wrong…Ellen Pompeo did a frighteningly realistic job portraying the sheer horror of attack and a cruel recovery. Justin Chambers put in perhaps his most sensitive performance since Arizona in the car crash or even since Izzie was diagnosed with cancer. But despite these strong performances there remained a void; not enough gravitas to hold the show though just enough to hold Meredith’s story. Perhaps some of this is dramatic intention, but from a holistic ensemble perspective there is a big black hole. Meredith is now on her own yet we are reminded that in practise she is not, her work colleagues are her family. She has Alex and she has Maggie. But it goes deeper than this.

The many seasons of failure to build up Alex’s character has left him playing catch up. Meredith maybe the fulcrum but previously she had the super powers of Cristina and Derek to share the story with, even on the centric episodes…to actually broaden and deepen the story and to make it more interesting and complex. With their departure while we see this played out on screen in the loss of those she loves, we lack really strong alternative characters to hold the episode together. The ensemble cast is built as an equilateral triangle with the central character at the top. That triangle is now more acute isosceles – much easier to topple over. These strong alternatives don’t need to be connected to Meredith, they don’t need to be related or intimate but they need to be big. And while Alex was simply wonderful this week, twelve seasons in and it still feels like he’s not quite the main feature the writers are trying to show him as. And… If Jo is his ‘post-it’ and Meredith has finally given her blessing, then we really need so much more.

While the episode provided a status update on a number of other stories we were treated to a few little gems. Amelia, at last showed some emotional self awareness, even if she is still the perpetual petulant teenager. This is not for Meredith to fix. Wouldn’t it be great if Mama Shepherd flew in to take control? Penny showed some backbone and finally let rip. Grey’s Anatomy generally redeems characters and this episode did it for Penny though it’s difficult to tell if this is something that the viewers care about. Penny has been introduced as a device, one that Meredith can spew her anger at and ultimately learn some lessons with. Is this device a worthy partner for one of Shonda’s favourite characters? Her relationship with Callie is a mystery – yet I can’t help asking where is the romance, the teasing, the push me pull me that has formed the tantalising beginning of every Grey’s relationship? I am not invested and I’ll wager neither are the writers. April and Jackson are clearly in trouble and Arizona is a lost character.

Maggie flirted in and out of a few scenes but she is no Cristina. And so we are back to Cristina. She was missing in this episode, not only because she’s Meredith’s ‘person’ and frankly should have turned up at her bedside pronto, but because as a character even in a Meredith centric episode she and more particularly Sandra Oh could hold the floor in a way that Amelia, Maggie, Alex and Justin Chambers can’t.

But all of that is the bigger picture and probably something to worry about another day, right? Stacey McKee knows how to pull out a good episode. She has a wonderful track record (Golden Hour in Season Seven remains one of my all time favourite Meredith centric episodes) and together with good direction she has a laser eye for a powerful scene…the fear in Meredith’s kids…Jackson splitting Meredith’s jaw…Alex climbing into bed. Actually all of Alex.

But I am worried. I’m worried that we will see more fall out from a beating than we did from the death of a husband. I’m worried that not enough attention has been paid to laying a strong foundation with the ensemble, that there will be too much reliance on Meredith to hold the show.

But these are worries for tomorrow. Today I loved it and am so relieved that hiatus is over and we’re back in the swing.

Read the comments on this review on SpoilerTV.

If you love this review, then you can read all of Brouhaha's Grey's Reviews

Maxine AKA Brouhaha has been writing Grey's Anatomy reviews for Spoiler TV for the last few years and is my favourite reviewer of this awesome show. She really understand the characters and what goes on in the mind of the writers. I really enjoy her insights and enjoy sharing her work with other Grey's Anatomy fans. You can also follow Brouhaha on Twitter

Now its your turn. Hit the comments section and have your say! Or join the conversation on Twitter or the Grey’s Anatomy Addicts Facebook page.

Would You Like To Write At Grey's Anatomy Addicts

All Grey’s Anatomy fans are more than welcome to apply for posting rights here if you would like to contribute. Just use the contact form to get in touch or send a message on the Grey’s Anatomy Addicts Facebook page.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Why Does Owen Hunt Hate Nathan Riggs On Grey's Anatomy?

Spoiler Alert: The following post may contain spoilers from unseen Grey’s Anatomy episodes. If you don’t want to know, then I suggest you proceed with caution.

Well, gidday Grey’s fans! It’s been awhile since my last post. Life has really gotten in the way and I have been very slack in updating this blog. So I apologise for that and I promise that until the Season finale of Grey’s Anatomy, I am going to do my best to keep this site up to date with regular and entertaining posts.

According to Wetpaint in their article dated February 4th, 2016 we are not going to find out the back story on Owen Hunt and Nathan Riggs for a few episodes yet. All we do know is that Owen has or had a sister. Wetpaint have since confirmed that this mysterious sister is also Nathan’s sister.

Well; the mind boggles with what the story here could be. In the next few episodes, we will see Meredith struggle with the aftermath of her attack and it has also been reported that we will see Jackson and April go to marriage counselling, which I feel it utterly stupid, they should just work out their differences, but that's for another post.

According to Wetpaint; Kevin McKidd who plays Dr Owen Hunt, told TV Line that we will not get the full story about what happened between Owen and Nathan until about episode 14, which is due to air on March 10, 2016 and that date being firm will depend on whether the ABC network choose to show new episodes from now until that date.

So; I guess we fans will just have to be patient. When I think about it though, it is only about two to three weeks away, as today is the 20th of February.

In other news, there has been a lot of talk as to who will be Meredith’s new leading man. I was really hoping Shonda would not go there for a while, as I would not be comfortable seeing Meredith with anyone but Derek, but I guess she has to move on eventually. In Grey’s time, I think that Derek has been gone for about eighteen months now, but that’s still too soon when you consider the love story between Derek and Meredith.

It has been speculated that Meredith could move on with either Nathan or Alex. I hate the idea of Alex and Mer together, they are best friends, and are not meant to be together as a couple. As for Nathan, I guess he's a good possibility, but as I said before it is too soon and I cannot see Meredith doing something like that to Owen.

Who would you like to see Meredith move on with? Or would you prefer she remain off the market for now?

Now its your turn. Hit the comments section and have your say! You can also join the conversation on Twitter or the Grey’s Anatomy Addicts Facebook page or simply follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Grey's Anatomy Addicts Needs Writers

If anyone would like to write here, then you are more than welcome. I have been looking for a few co-bloggers to join me here for awhile. If you are not interested in writing about Grey's Anatomy then you might like to write about TV in general, such as your favourite TV show, I have two other blogs you might be interested in blogging with me on. Just use the contact form to get in touch.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Was Patrick Dempsey Fired From Grey's Anatomy?

This post was previously posted back in May 2015 around the same time as the Season 11 Finale was shown. I have posted it again, as there were mistakes in the first post.

Well, I totally missed this news, probably because I had not watched the final four episodes and did not want to be spoilt. I only had a chance to watch on Sunday, 17 May. So, I had not read any gossip regarding Grey's Anatomy, I doubt I would have enjoyed the final four episodes if I'd read any spoilers. I knew Patrick Dempsey was leaving the show before I watched the episode in which he died, however I had no idea what happened. All I knew was that Derek Shepherd was going to die before I sat down to watch.

"She's Leaving Home" was the best episode on Grey's Anatomy in a long time, and I watched it twice, blubbering like a baby most of the way through it. I don't know if I will be able to watch that episode again without losing my shit. I was not crying over Derek, it was more about everyone else who has been left behind to grieve and Meredith.

So onto the real reason I decided to pen this blog. I have to admit I was shocked to learn that Patrick Dempsey was fired. Journalists are saying that Shonda Rhimes fired him, but that can't be true. Ms Rhimes has said in the past that ABC make these decisions.

It was also implied that Shonda and Patrick were not getting along at all, which is not surprising. She is probably upset that she had to let her beloved McDreamy go, and is probably angry at his behaviour at the same time, whatever that might have been.

The only thing Ms Rhimes is guilty of is perhaps letting her anger at Patrick dictate the script in "How to Save a Life" given she wrote the episode, in any case I went over this in my last post summarizing Maxine's review on Spoiler TV. So let's move on.

I kind of feel bad now for getting angry with her a few days ago when I found out that Patrick Dempsey had left Grey's and this was before I watched the episode in which he died. Shonda Rhimes gets a lot of criticism and abuse from the fans sometimes and some of it is justified and some of it is not. The fans who threaten and swear at her, need to see a Shrink. Seriously!

She is going to have to work hard to make this show great without Derek Shepherd, and you know what, given that we have really only seen him in about ten or eleven episodes this season, this could be doable. My only concern is how many MerDer Shippers will ditch this show and how this will affect the ratings. She did not get this fabulous show on the air using magic, her creativity and ideas are what made this show what it is.

As for the gossip regarding the affair and all the fuss over cast and crew spilling the beans, well one gossip site will tell you one story and another will go the opposite way, so it is a little hard to believe these journalists. Grey's Anatomy has had it's fair share of off-screen antics, I think the fans are kind of getting used to it. Another thing that is suspect about this is the when James Pickens came forward, he said nothing of the affair, the article with his interview quoted another source as the one who claimed this happened, so it is a little suspect. Or perhaps Pickens is still under a non-disclosure agreement regarding on set misbehaviour.

One thing that has not gone unnoticed is the pictures I have seen of Patrick lately, he certainly is not smiling and he looks pretty pissed off and a little sad. I can't blame him, he just lost his job and a pretty steady income. But, if he was up to no good and the rumors about the affair are true, then he probably only has himself to blame and in saying that, I acknowledge that we will never know the entire story anyway, when it comes to celebrity gossip, the fans never get the real dirt.

In wrapping up this post, I will say that I am going to miss Derek, I am not a MerDer Shipper or even a McDreamy fan, but I liked Derek for the most part. He did have his moments at certain times where I got annoyed at the character, and called him a McAss, but that is the writing, not the actors fault. Good luck Patrick and I am sorry this had to happen.

I believe this picture is the article that I heard was deleted.

It really must be rough on these actors, especially if this crap that gets printed is not even true.

I am so glad I chose to see the final episodes of Season 11 before I went trolling the Internet looking for gossip and info on why Patrick Dempsey left Grey's. I was convinced he wanted to leave as he has said for years that he would be leaving soon. To find out he was fired was a shock. I could not understand why he would not just see out his contract and leave after Season 12, but it was not up to him.

Wow! I never saw this coming, not in a million years.

What about you? What do you think of this recent new? Do you believe that Patrick had this affair on the set of Grey's? Hit the comments and tell me what you think.

Follow Grey's Anatomy Addicts on Facebook and Twitter

You can learn more about me by visiting my website: Jel Writes

Source: Radar Online

Photo also courtesy of Radar.

Follow Grey's Anatomy Addicts on Facebook and Twitter

Visit my website: Jel Writes

Copyright © 2015 Janelle Coulton

Grey's Anatomy Season 12 - It's Pretty Awesome So Far

Hey Grey's Addicts,

Hope you are all enjoying Season 12. I have not written much here lately, as is the case when I am writing for clients, however I thought I should drop in and talk about the 12th Season that recently premiered in September.

I try to stay clear of spoiler and living in Australia, we are a few weeks behind the US, so therefore I have not been visiting the usual Grey's Anatomy spoiler sites. One site I visit all the time though, is Spoiler TV, I just love that site. I have been keeping an eye on the ratings and I gotta say, I take back what I said about Derek Shepherd's death tanking the ratings. The ratings seem to be steady and quite impressive in the demographic.

Shonda Rhimes is literally on fire this season with Grey's, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. These three shows have finished in the top three for Thursday nights for the last few weeks, and that is a huge achievement. I can see Grey's Anatomy being on ABC TV for a few more years to come yet if these numbers are anything to go by. ABC seem to know how to get high numbers in their prized time-slots.

As for the show itself, Season 12 has made an excellent start. I am certainly intrigued to see what is coming and it would seem as though I am not the only one. I have so far watched three episodes and have enjoyed them all.

I guess a few fans left when McDreamy passed on, however it would seem that I was right about Ellen Pompeo. She has a huge fan-base, which is great as Grey's Anatomy for me has always been about Meredith Grey and her story. It would seem as though this is where Shonda plans to take the show too.

Right now, Jackson is bugging me, as I agree with April that you fight for a marriage. And agreeing with April is not something that I do on a regular basis, but I feel for her. Jackson needs to think about why he got married in the first place.

Bailey is kind of bugging me, and I cannot put my finger on why, it will come to me in the next few episodes. Alex and Jo bug too, but that's nothing new. Jo's whining is starting to annoy me.

A taste of things to come perhaps?

That's really about it, it is early days yet. I will be back toward the end of the fall/winter season to review what I thought of the first eight to ten episodes of Grey's Anatomy.

Now it is your turn to have your say. What do you think of Season 12 so far? Let me know in the comments or join me on Twitter or Facebook.

Follow Grey's Anatomy Addicts on Facebook and Twitter

Find out more about the author of this blog at: Jel Writes

Copyright © 2015 Janelle Coulton

Friday, August 14, 2015

Grey's Anatomy News And A Premiere Date

Executive at ABC Hints to E! Online That Patrick Dempsey Wanted Out of His Role As "Derek Shepherd."

Paul Lee at ABC spoke to E! Online recently saying it was "a difficult decision" to kill off the character of Derek Shepherd. Lee also commented about the relevance of Grey's Anatomy in Season 11, and how proud and happy he is about this. Mr Lee commented on the way Grey's Anatomy is back in the national conversation, which I think is his way of saying that Grey's Anatomy is a topic of water-cooler conversation.

The ratings certainly have been nothing to sneer about, they have been great for a show in it's 11th Season. And with Season 12 having not long premiered, the ratings are doing a lot better than I had predicted.

Anyway; back to Mr Lee at ABC. I have to agree with him about how Grey's Anatomy affected fans in Season 11. I found the writing to be absolutely fantastic. My only criticism was the episode penned by the creator of the show herself, Shonda Rhimes: it was disgraceful, and totally disrespected Patrick Dempsey, his character; Derek Shepherd and the other actors on the show.

Where was the proper goodbye? It was non-existant. Derek dies by a truck, how cliche' and dies with a bunch of strangers. Anyway, I have had my whinge about this on another post, so I will shut up now, however the farewell of one of the most popular and much loved favourite characters should have been done differently. Whatever the circumstance surrounding his departure, he deserved better and it would not surprise me if he never speaks to Shonda Rhimes again.

Paul Lee also hinted that it was Dempsey's choice to leave Grey's Anatomy, telling E! that the star had "lots of interests" other than the show, and his passion to race cars and build that career.

Really? Mr Lee; are you sure? While it makes no difference to me whether Dempsey stays or goes, I think the fans deserve the truth and the truth is that Dempsey has wanted to leave for a while now. However, he just went through a divorce earlier this year, why would he give up around $300,000 per episode when he is contracted to the end of Season 12. Why would ABC let their star actor go until his contract ended. Does not add up people?

We are not stupid. It is expensive to race cars and a divorce when you have three kids is expensive too. Perhaps Dempsey is a billionaire from all his car racing and acting jobs, but I don't think this is true. Dempsey, to my knowledge has never won a race. He has placed a few times in race where the prize money is not that big, so racing has to be an expense, not an income. He is yet to become a Formula One star who wins races all the time like Mark Webber and other professional race car drivers.
Racing was always a hobby for Dempsey, that he wanted to take in a professional direction, but unfortunately unless you are very good and sponsors come after you, you will spend many millions of dollars to race your cars.

Sorry Mr Lee, I apologise in advance, but my bullshit detector is off the charts. This simply cannot be true. Dempsey would never look a gift horse in the mouth. What is he doing now? I have heard of no acting offers or any TV show offers. Perhaps I am wrong and not searching the right sites.

In any case he is gone, I don't believe the rubbish being told to the fans and I knew it was coming anyway. I heard a rumor he was on the way out and sure enough the next episode I live streamed, he died. I loved the actor, but was never a fan of Derek Shepherd, especially after he kissed that girl in Washington. Shonda really pissed me off with that piece of ugly writing.

It was always clear that when Derek Shepherd's time was up on Grey's Anatomy, he would be killed off. No one would believe him leaving Meredith permanently. It was like Mark Sloan. He would have never left Sofia, whether Lexie lived or not. I was not upset as a fan of McDreamy, but I was very upset at the way it happened, the writing of the episode, the choices made by the writer and the bullshit and lies that followed.

This stupid policy to keep all events secret is stupid. If Grey's get publicity, it is better for the show. If the news is too negative fine, but give us a few spoilers now and then, this show would get more viewers if Shonda would loosen up a bit.

Speaking of lies, well there have been many on the Grey's set and a fair amount of drama and cover ups, beginning with the Washington fiasco. I am literally over the lies, and would love to know what the truth is. Perhaps when Grey's Anatomy ends, someone will write a tell all book.

Is A Love Interest For Meredith On The Cards For Season 12?

With the death of McDreamy is it possible a romance will happen between Alex and Meredith? I have heard whispers that it might be on the cards and I have even heard that some fans would support a romance between these two. I cannot believe any fan in their right mind would support Alex and Meredith as a couple.

God, I hope not! Please Shonda Rhimes. No. Meredith and any love interest makes me vomit in my mouth a little and the thought of her and Alex makes me want to heave. This is not because I am a heart-broken shipper, but because if the writers pair Meredith up with another man, it disrespects the relationship that grew for MerDer over the last 11 years.

Shonda has said no, but we all know she lies too. She hates giving the fans any kind of Spoilers and forbids the cast from talking about what's coming up. I always believed this to be a mistake.

Premiere Date Announced

Grey's Anatomy will return on the 24th September 2015. This is a little over a month away, it is actually amazing how fast the time has gone. Three months has literally flown by.

It will be interesting to get a look at the first lot of ratings for the new season, as I will be very intrigued at how Grey's Anatomy will do in the ratings, now that McDreamy has gone. Dempsey is a huge loss to this show, but I am hoping the fall out is not too bad and the real, die-hard fans like myself stick it out and are loyal to the show that has entertained many people for 11 years now.

ABC may well lose most of the MerDer Shippers, which often happens when a major character is killed off on a popular show, but I have to say that this is their loss and also why I refuse to ship any couple or character on any show. It is upsetting enough to lose a character that you like, and for some the show might be unwatchable without McDreamy.

Had you asked me in Season 8 if the show could survive without Derek Shepherd when we thought he might die in the plane crash, I would have had serious doubts about the shows future. I am actually feeling positive about the future of Grey's Anatomy. I think it will be on TV for more than one more season, if the ratings stay reasonably stable.

In fact, I think the departure of Cristina Yang hurt the show more than the death of McDreamy will. Mind you, this is just my opinion and might not be the case, as I have no idea how many fans are not planning to watch because their favourite couple are done.

So I am looking forward to the start of Season 12, I just hope it is as good as last season was.

Now it is your turn, tell me what you think about Dempsey leaving, McDreamy's death, and whether you feel Grey's is over after this season. Hit the comments with your thoughts.

Follow Grey's Anatomy Addicts on Facebook and Twitter

If you would like to learn more about the person who writes this blog, please visit my website: Jel Writes; Freelance Writer