~ the evolution of dreams ~
May 19, 2008,1:42 p.m.
grey's diatribe
this has been bothering me for awhile so i decided to blog about it and see what you guys think.
i follow Grey's Anatomy Insider - their posts show up in my google reader - and a particular section in the round table discussion about the most recent episode aired, Losing My Mind, made me really mad. the specific question and answers that pissed me off:
the only answer that started to actually get to the point i think the writers at Grey's are developing was missingBurke's answer:
but even then missingBurke didn't really get to the issues that Grey's Anatomy is addressing in a very brave and courageous way. missingBurke hit on the fact that the characters in the show are real and flawed; and that as a result, they need to evolve to achieve positive change. but here is the answer that i think really is to the point:
Meredith is messed up. we know that. she's messed up because her Mom was a narcissist who tried to kill herself when she didn't get Richard, a person who took away Mer's feeling that she had a right to exist. we, as viewers, get that. the thing is, Mer doesn't get that. she doesn't understand. that's why she can't let Derek or Lexie love her. that's why she sucks at relationships, because she doesn't believe she's lovable. she doesn't believe she has the right to live, so she sticks her hand on live, unexploded ammunition and she doesn't swim when she knows how to.
but Derek is with Rose, who is more adult, and more together, and knows she is lovable. Rose has self-awareness that Mer doesn't. so Rose is more capable of giving in a relationship than Mer is.
Derek is with Rose. this propels Mer into therapy. do you know how revolutionary, and amazing, and gutsy it is for Grey's Anatomy to show doctors going to therapy - male and female doctors going to therapy? (Remember Mark's $400 an hour therapist?) I think Derek needs to go to therapy but whatever. that's not what I'm discussing right now. I'm discussing Mer and Mer going to therapy. Did you know that the suicide rates among doctors are equal between men and women? that female doctors are more than twice as likely to kill themselves than women in the general population?
and here's Grey's Anatomy, portraying people in the medical profession, however dramatized it is and not connected to real hospital life - still, they are portraying people, who are doctors, admitting they have problems and taking steps towards helping themselves so they can survive.
Mer is growing. she has someone telling her what's what. she has someone saying, look, you've got problems, that's ok. we can do something about it. she has someone she can say anything to in confidence. and while she's growing as a person, she's also growing professionally, because she's doing a clinical trial and instead of avoiding Derek (like she most likely would have done before she started talking with a therapist) she's working with him, and reminding herself of reality.
so i get really pissed off when people think that these things are just plot devices. there's so much more to it than that. the people who are writing this show, they are aware of their responsibilities. they are airing something on television that millions of people are accessing. they have the ability to send important messages. and they are doing that. you can have a baby if you are HIV positive and take your meds responsibly. if you believe you have it in you to be an amazing surgeon, you can start making that come true by trying. by doing a clinical trial. by helping yourself get better by taking the time to talk to someone no matter how frickin' scared that makes you feel.
i agree with spart. grey's has been kicking ass. thank you, shonda.
i follow Grey's Anatomy Insider - their posts show up in my google reader - and a particular section in the round table discussion about the most recent episode aired, Losing My Mind, made me really mad. the specific question and answers that pissed me off:
4. Shonda Rhimes has said that Meredith and Derek will get together for good, and how this will happen will be “yummy” and “special.” Has she followed through on her promise so far?
McCritic: Gosh, no. All that’s happened since the show returned from its strike hiatus has been a contrived brain tumor surgical study - used just to get Mer/Der in the same room a lot - and the show using a therapist to explain all the fault of Meredith loyal viewers already knew she had. This isn’t special. It’s boring.
iheartizzie: Absolutely not. There’s still a window of opportunity to salvage this season next week (and a two-hour episode at that), but Grey’s Anatomy has been flat since the strike. I’d love to hear readers’ thoughts on this, as it’s hard to criticize a show I love so, but I don’t really buy Nurse Plot Device or Therapist Plot Device or Clinical Trial Plot Device. I haven’t given up hope but patience is wearing a thin. Here’s hoping for a brilliant finale. Tie it together, Shonda. Bring it home. We know you can do it.
the only answer that started to actually get to the point i think the writers at Grey's are developing was missingBurke's answer:
missingBurke: Yes. Grey’s Anatomy prides itself on real, flawed characters. We don’t need major events to get Mer and Der together finally. We just need them to slowly evolve, to see one another as we’ve seen them both for years now. Once they do, damn right it’ll be yummy and special.
but even then missingBurke didn't really get to the issues that Grey's Anatomy is addressing in a very brave and courageous way. missingBurke hit on the fact that the characters in the show are real and flawed; and that as a result, they need to evolve to achieve positive change. but here is the answer that i think really is to the point:
Meredith is messed up. we know that. she's messed up because her Mom was a narcissist who tried to kill herself when she didn't get Richard, a person who took away Mer's feeling that she had a right to exist. we, as viewers, get that. the thing is, Mer doesn't get that. she doesn't understand. that's why she can't let Derek or Lexie love her. that's why she sucks at relationships, because she doesn't believe she's lovable. she doesn't believe she has the right to live, so she sticks her hand on live, unexploded ammunition and she doesn't swim when she knows how to.
but Derek is with Rose, who is more adult, and more together, and knows she is lovable. Rose has self-awareness that Mer doesn't. so Rose is more capable of giving in a relationship than Mer is.
Derek is with Rose. this propels Mer into therapy. do you know how revolutionary, and amazing, and gutsy it is for Grey's Anatomy to show doctors going to therapy - male and female doctors going to therapy? (Remember Mark's $400 an hour therapist?) I think Derek needs to go to therapy but whatever. that's not what I'm discussing right now. I'm discussing Mer and Mer going to therapy. Did you know that the suicide rates among doctors are equal between men and women? that female doctors are more than twice as likely to kill themselves than women in the general population?
and here's Grey's Anatomy, portraying people in the medical profession, however dramatized it is and not connected to real hospital life - still, they are portraying people, who are doctors, admitting they have problems and taking steps towards helping themselves so they can survive.
Mer is growing. she has someone telling her what's what. she has someone saying, look, you've got problems, that's ok. we can do something about it. she has someone she can say anything to in confidence. and while she's growing as a person, she's also growing professionally, because she's doing a clinical trial and instead of avoiding Derek (like she most likely would have done before she started talking with a therapist) she's working with him, and reminding herself of reality.
so i get really pissed off when people think that these things are just plot devices. there's so much more to it than that. the people who are writing this show, they are aware of their responsibilities. they are airing something on television that millions of people are accessing. they have the ability to send important messages. and they are doing that. you can have a baby if you are HIV positive and take your meds responsibly. if you believe you have it in you to be an amazing surgeon, you can start making that come true by trying. by doing a clinical trial. by helping yourself get better by taking the time to talk to someone no matter how frickin' scared that makes you feel.
i agree with spart. grey's has been kicking ass. thank you, shonda.
Labels: grey's anatomy
December 7, 2007,1:23 p.m.
the kiss, amongst other things
ok my favourite part of last night's episode, besides the fact it wasn't a rerun? (cue leaps of joy and manic giggling)
meredith telling dr. hahn to shut up. hands down my fave moment EVER. and the look on brooke shield's face afterwards = priceless.
i watched this episode with a friend of mine and tony. at the kiss moment, cue the following:
ALL THREE: OMG/YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING/NOOOOOO! (guess which one was me kekekeke)
ME & FRIEND (call her N):
N: That's so CONTRIVED!
ME: I know: "Rose: I fix computers! Derek: That's so sexy. Let's go find a hotel NOW."
N: It just doesn't work. They have no chemistry!
i totally agree. you can't fake chemistry unfortunately. i wasn't on tenterhooks when derek and rose kissed, i was more like....ew. and believe me, it's not because rose is getting between mer and der. when addy and der kissed they put me on tenterhooks. they had chemistry too. there's just something not working.
and i am already sick of rose's catchphrase "i'm an imperfect person". shut up already!! what's with the writers? they're good. season 1 and season 2 proved it. what happened???
meredith telling dr. hahn to shut up. hands down my fave moment EVER. and the look on brooke shield's face afterwards = priceless.
i watched this episode with a friend of mine and tony. at the kiss moment, cue the following:
ALL THREE: OMG/YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING/NOOOOOO! (guess which one was me kekekeke)
ME & FRIEND (call her N):
N: That's so CONTRIVED!
ME: I know: "Rose: I fix computers! Derek: That's so sexy. Let's go find a hotel NOW."
N: It just doesn't work. They have no chemistry!
i totally agree. you can't fake chemistry unfortunately. i wasn't on tenterhooks when derek and rose kissed, i was more like....ew. and believe me, it's not because rose is getting between mer and der. when addy and der kissed they put me on tenterhooks. they had chemistry too. there's just something not working.
and i am already sick of rose's catchphrase "i'm an imperfect person". shut up already!! what's with the writers? they're good. season 1 and season 2 proved it. what happened???
Labels: grey's anatomy
November 23, 2007,3:23 p.m.
crash part 1
so what did you think of grey's episode last night?
i'm glad ava is back. i'm mad alex is two-timing. i want ava and alex to work out - lexie is too young, somehow, to meet alex's needs (and him vice versa). but ava is married! ava has a kid! how can this work out?
mer/der/rose. man. rose started being clearer as a character to me in this episode - i thought it was interesting that she said the exact thing derek felt about mer (about their respective exes not knowing what they wanted in life) because that was such a deep connection point for derek. you could see it in his face. it's kind of funny - i think he's so used to being with women whose needs he cannot meet (addy) or who cannot meet his needs (mer) that he is at a complete loss with rose. what to do with someone who is at the same point you are? he doesn't know what to do yet, but he knows there's potential there. the connections they've made - through the smiles, the licorice, the common problem with the exes - make it seem easy. hopefully, too easy. MUCH too easy. run back to mer, derek! run!
i love meredith in this episode. the realization that she has parts in everyone's story, that that is their perspective and she allows that to define her - and her ability to verbalize that to the chief, who then tells her - that's the job. you know who you really are. don't let the job define you. mer needed to hear that. she takes the blows of the job to heart. you could see that at the ferry accident - she was overwhelmed, battered with the enormity of it all, and in the end - it was too much. she couldn't take it. so she chose to let go. (except derek didn't let her go. thank god. then the show would be over).
it happens to her again with the ambulance crash, you can see the enormity - and yet this time she does the thing she couldn't before, she spoke. she talked. she reached out. and thank god she reached out to someone who had lived enough and was wise enough to say to her - no, mer, there is more to this than that. you are here to help. you can help. you are powerful in your knowledge and abilities. use them, but don't let the enormity of the job swallow who you are.
oh mark and hahn. they're great.
what do you think about gizzie? personally i think it's one of the weirdest storylines this show has to offer for The Couples. it just isn't jiving. it's not humourous for me - i think because it feels so contrived, oh they don't have any chemistry. they totally have chemistry. we've all seen it. so if there's "lack of chemistry" for the sake of getting a few laughs, it ain't workin'. FIX IT SHONDA!
i'm glad ava is back. i'm mad alex is two-timing. i want ava and alex to work out - lexie is too young, somehow, to meet alex's needs (and him vice versa). but ava is married! ava has a kid! how can this work out?
mer/der/rose. man. rose started being clearer as a character to me in this episode - i thought it was interesting that she said the exact thing derek felt about mer (about their respective exes not knowing what they wanted in life) because that was such a deep connection point for derek. you could see it in his face. it's kind of funny - i think he's so used to being with women whose needs he cannot meet (addy) or who cannot meet his needs (mer) that he is at a complete loss with rose. what to do with someone who is at the same point you are? he doesn't know what to do yet, but he knows there's potential there. the connections they've made - through the smiles, the licorice, the common problem with the exes - make it seem easy. hopefully, too easy. MUCH too easy. run back to mer, derek! run!
i love meredith in this episode. the realization that she has parts in everyone's story, that that is their perspective and she allows that to define her - and her ability to verbalize that to the chief, who then tells her - that's the job. you know who you really are. don't let the job define you. mer needed to hear that. she takes the blows of the job to heart. you could see that at the ferry accident - she was overwhelmed, battered with the enormity of it all, and in the end - it was too much. she couldn't take it. so she chose to let go. (except derek didn't let her go. thank god. then the show would be over).
it happens to her again with the ambulance crash, you can see the enormity - and yet this time she does the thing she couldn't before, she spoke. she talked. she reached out. and thank god she reached out to someone who had lived enough and was wise enough to say to her - no, mer, there is more to this than that. you are here to help. you can help. you are powerful in your knowledge and abilities. use them, but don't let the enormity of the job swallow who you are.
oh mark and hahn. they're great.
what do you think about gizzie? personally i think it's one of the weirdest storylines this show has to offer for The Couples. it just isn't jiving. it's not humourous for me - i think because it feels so contrived, oh they don't have any chemistry. they totally have chemistry. we've all seen it. so if there's "lack of chemistry" for the sake of getting a few laughs, it ain't workin'. FIX IT SHONDA!
Labels: grey's anatomy
October 26, 2007,1:55 p.m.
grey's: interview & blog
in case you aren't checking grey's anatomy insider, here is a list of links that are interesting to read:
interview with brooke smith (dr. hahn) by TVGuide
2nd interview with brooke smith by the LA Times
krista vernoff's blog on haunt you every day
enjoy!
interview with brooke smith (dr. hahn) by TVGuide
2nd interview with brooke smith by the LA Times
krista vernoff's blog on haunt you every day
enjoy!
Labels: grey's anatomy
,9:56 a.m.
haunt you every day....
last night's episode of grey's was definitely the best so far of this season in my opinion. the plot was tighter, the developments more believable i thought.
what was your favourite moment?
mine was the connection callie and cristina had while amputating the rest of Crazy Guy's foot. that moment felt the most genuine for me, seeing the two of them connecting in such an unusual way.
what was your favourite moment?
mine was the connection callie and cristina had while amputating the rest of Crazy Guy's foot. that moment felt the most genuine for me, seeing the two of them connecting in such an unusual way.
Labels: grey's anatomy
October 15, 2007,1:28 p.m.
alias + response to grey's
i've had a mixed reaction to grey's, spart. so far izzie is annoying the pants off of me, and i am vacillating between thinking gizzie can work and being convinced it'll be the love disaster of the season. i think lexie is going to be an interesting character - probably a new addison (we all hate her, then end up loving her).
i really hope season 4 ends up revealing more about alex's background. we don't really know much aside from the fact that he got through school on a boxing scholarship, and that his dad was physically abusive until alex beat him up and his dad left. what about his mom? does he have any siblings? past relationships? why can't he be nice to people he loves (as ava/rebecca/jane doe asked last season). i'm really curious.
mer/der - well, we'll see. apparently lauren stamile is coming into grey's on a multi-episode arc as derek's potential love interest. i've also heard rumours that she might be kathleen, derek's sister (but the rumours about her being a new love interest are stronger). i'm tired of love triangles with mer/der. but maybe there will be someone new for mer too? mer/der seem stuck to me. very stuck.
we haven't seen much of cristina yet, aside from her run-in with mama burke and her fake sadness to get surgeries. i think a good scene at joe's bar is needed! discussion! revealing anecdotes over alcohol! that's where mer told cristina mcdreamy was married. where cristina told mer she was pregnant. mer and cristina have connected somehow, in an important way, over their breakups, but we haven't witnessed it. what did they talk about on that honeymoon? there weren't any surgeries to distract cristina there.
callie deserves more.
in other news, i've become completely addicted to alias, the show starring jennifer garner, michael vartan, and victor garber. my god it's an excellent show! and, well, michael vartan is HOT. that helps ;)
i was going to post a review of mew's ...and the glass-handed kites, their newest album, but i haven't had a chance to sit down and write about it yet. it's a fascinating album for me, one i'm really excited and compelled to write about, so i hope i get to do that soon.
i hope you guys are enjoying fall. the leaves are starting to turn. it's beautiful.
i really hope season 4 ends up revealing more about alex's background. we don't really know much aside from the fact that he got through school on a boxing scholarship, and that his dad was physically abusive until alex beat him up and his dad left. what about his mom? does he have any siblings? past relationships? why can't he be nice to people he loves (as ava/rebecca/jane doe asked last season). i'm really curious.
mer/der - well, we'll see. apparently lauren stamile is coming into grey's on a multi-episode arc as derek's potential love interest. i've also heard rumours that she might be kathleen, derek's sister (but the rumours about her being a new love interest are stronger). i'm tired of love triangles with mer/der. but maybe there will be someone new for mer too? mer/der seem stuck to me. very stuck.
we haven't seen much of cristina yet, aside from her run-in with mama burke and her fake sadness to get surgeries. i think a good scene at joe's bar is needed! discussion! revealing anecdotes over alcohol! that's where mer told cristina mcdreamy was married. where cristina told mer she was pregnant. mer and cristina have connected somehow, in an important way, over their breakups, but we haven't witnessed it. what did they talk about on that honeymoon? there weren't any surgeries to distract cristina there.
callie deserves more.
in other news, i've become completely addicted to alias, the show starring jennifer garner, michael vartan, and victor garber. my god it's an excellent show! and, well, michael vartan is HOT. that helps ;)
i was going to post a review of mew's ...and the glass-handed kites, their newest album, but i haven't had a chance to sit down and write about it yet. it's a fascinating album for me, one i'm really excited and compelled to write about, so i hope i get to do that soon.
i hope you guys are enjoying fall. the leaves are starting to turn. it's beautiful.
Labels: alias, grey's anatomy
September 18, 2007,12:41 p.m.
iiiiiiiiinteresting....
some season 4 spoilers for grey's.
it will be so much fun to see the episodes and then check back to find out which spoilers were real and which ones were red herrings.
kekekekekekekekekekekekeke
*lovin' it*
it will be so much fun to see the episodes and then check back to find out which spoilers were real and which ones were red herrings.
kekekekekekekekekekekekeke
*lovin' it*
Labels: grey's anatomy
September 17, 2007,11:41 a.m.
new post, new links :)
scroll down the page and look at the sidebar - you'll notice a whole bunch of new links under a new category, "grey's anatomy & private practice".
i didn't grow up with a tv, as most of you know. so for most of my life so far, when people reference tv shows, i have no idea what they're talking about. then, last year while i was in hamilton for classes, a group of us gathered in a room on a comfy couch and on an old shag carpet, and watched an episode of grey's anatomy - the one with the bomb scare (the first one, which ends with meredith putting her hand in the patient to hold the bomb still when the young paramedic, hannah, runs away). needless to say, i was hooked.
i didn't have a chance until this summer to rent the episodes. i watched everything, and then watched them again. since then i've been waiting impatiently for season four to start. i love stories - i hated it when books ended, when films ended, and with a well-written tv show i'm experiencing the same impatience. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!
i am going to give private practice a chance, mostly because i love kate walsh. i hope they do her acting skills justice. so i'm going to check it out when it premieres next week. if you didn't know, they are airing a special episode this wednesday evening that details kate walsh's journey from grey's anatomy to private practice. they're including a few spoilers for the season premiere of grey's anatomy too. check it out!
i didn't grow up with a tv, as most of you know. so for most of my life so far, when people reference tv shows, i have no idea what they're talking about. then, last year while i was in hamilton for classes, a group of us gathered in a room on a comfy couch and on an old shag carpet, and watched an episode of grey's anatomy - the one with the bomb scare (the first one, which ends with meredith putting her hand in the patient to hold the bomb still when the young paramedic, hannah, runs away). needless to say, i was hooked.
i didn't have a chance until this summer to rent the episodes. i watched everything, and then watched them again. since then i've been waiting impatiently for season four to start. i love stories - i hated it when books ended, when films ended, and with a well-written tv show i'm experiencing the same impatience. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!?!
i am going to give private practice a chance, mostly because i love kate walsh. i hope they do her acting skills justice. so i'm going to check it out when it premieres next week. if you didn't know, they are airing a special episode this wednesday evening that details kate walsh's journey from grey's anatomy to private practice. they're including a few spoilers for the season premiere of grey's anatomy too. check it out!
Labels: grey's anatomy, private practice