GREY AREA

*Spoiler Alert* I'm talking about plot points of the finale here...do not read ahead if you haven't watched yet!!

I NEED A DOSE OF EPI:
The season as a whole has been uneven. It seems to me that once the writers got Derek and Meredith together, they panicked because there was suddenly no more conflict. Breaking them up via Addison's arrival was brilliant. Heading them towards a breakup for reasons that seem sort of wafer thin seems disappointing. Did i miss something? Derek's pissed because she tried to drown herself? That's how she's "not there for him?" Also, doesn't it seem like Meredith bounced back rather quickly from her stepmother's death (not to mention her dad backhanding her AND blaming her!).

That said, the episode as a whole was really good. Whoever this new "Grey" character is might be just the thing to stir things up with Derek and Meredith.

I CAN'T DIAGNOSE THIS:
How come the new interns seemed to know George was the "failed intern"? Was there a scarlet F on his locker?
And how come Richard seemed to be clueless that he could be the father of Adele's baby? Did he catch Alzheimer's from Ellis Grey and forget he and Adele had sex?

HEALTHY PROGNOSIS:
Love that George failed the exam. Nice little plot twist and can't wait to see what he does next.
We all love Dr. Bailey. Everyone. Find me anyone who watches the show who doesn't love her. And so I am hopeful (though not SURE) that next season she can get more screen time in this new dynamic where she's under Callie. That has the potential to be great.

FLATLINE:
I can't believe Burke is gone. Despite his obviously horrid off camera antics, I actually grew to really love Burke and Christina as a couple this season...and with the recent Derek and Meredith snooze-fest, I was really kind of liking them more! Plus, me being the ridiculous romantic that I am, I thought when Burke walked down the aisle to go get Christina, he was going to go get her and walk her up the aisle so they could do it together. Awww. That woulda been nice, but ABC crushed my dreams. Too bad they haven't contacted me to write for the show. But of course as I've said before, if I was writing the show, Addison would've been preggers with McDreamy's baby and that would've been a deliciously more interesting plot device to keep McDreamy and Meredith apart!

The Mouse Roars

ABC's showing was strong today, and it looks like they'll coast on the success of their existing hits. News of note regarding some of the shows on the fall schedule (and no I'm not talking about the Grey's spinoff today):

GOOD NEWS:

BIG SHOTS - About dysfunctional CEO's, it stars Michael Vartan AND Dylan McDermott. Setting my tivo NOW, though I have to admit I'm unsure how this differs from...

DIRTY SEXY MONEY - From the ABC press release "Power, privilege and family money are a volatile cocktail." The boys are not as cute on this show, though it does have Billy Baldwin.

CASHMERE MAFIA - ABC's answer to NBC's Lipstick Jungle. If you're keeping score, Lipstick Jungle is based on a Candace Bushnell book, just like Sex and the City was. Cashmere Mafia has nothing to do with Candace Bushnell, but it has Executive Producer Darren Star, who produced Sex and the City. Got it now? Later we can play the Kevin Bacon game!

BAD NEWS:
CAVEMEN - The show revolving around the Geico commercial characters is on the fall schedule.

WHAT ABOUT BRIAN is officially over. Damn you Barry Watson, why did you cut your hair?

MUST SEE TV?

The NBC Upfronts were today. Arguably, the most talked about new NBC show is "Lipstick Jungle" and it's only a midseason replacement?! Paging Mr. Zucker, it's been MANY a moon since the Seinfeld/Friends heydey. You need to do something BIG to get back to the glory days. And while Lipstick Jungle is going to try to be Sex and the City, and will likely fail (sorry to be a hater), why wait to find out?! It COULD be a contend-a.

By the way, what is the difference between Lipstick Jungle and Cashmere Mafia? Anyone? Anyone?

Now, just to demolish my street cred, I have never seen Heroes. I also do not watch the Office. I am an island, and NBC will never, ever hire me.

PS. Who is this woman playing the 2007 " The Bionic Woman"????

Summer Breeze, Makes Me Feel Fine...

In a few weeks, a few things are certain:
The Sopranos will be over FOREVER.
Lost will be off until next season (which is like, super far away I might add).
Something BIG will happen to SOMEBODY on Grey's Anatomy (ok that's just safe bet speculation on my part).

This leaves us spending our summer mourning the loss of a legendary show, wondering if the island inhabitants are alive or dead or WHAT, and wondering how we'll get through the week without new McDreamy to look forward to. Ok, um, actually...the last one might be JUST ME.

Fear not, my tv-loving friends! You don't have to spend the summer under the sun's dangerous UV rays! Stay inside, where it's safe...and watch tv! A few summer-premiering shows for you to contemplate, along with my total assessment of each, sight unseen. Not to be judgmental or anything.

PURE CAR WRECK AWARD: The Ex-Wives Club, a reality show starring Shar Jackson, Marla Maples, and Angie Everheart giving makeovers and advice to people going thru bad breakups/divorces. Instead of Ty Pennington yelling "Move that bus!" they yell "Move that prenup!" at the close of each episode. Ok, I totally made that last part up, but it FEELS true.

CURIOSITY AWARD: Too Big to Walk...ok, I am not making this up, the premise of the show: overweight people walk 500 miles.

WOULD RATHER DROWN UNDER A BRUTAL WAVE THAT BASHES MY SKULL REPEATEDLY INTO THE ROCKS KILLING ME IN A SLOW PAINFUL DEATH THAN WATCH AWARD: Untitled Victoria Beckham Project. Sorry, this chick freaks me out.

WELL AT LEAST THEY GOT SPIELBERG ATTACHED EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A RIPOFF OF PROJECT GREENLIGHT AWARD: In the ultimate Frankenstein-like pairing, Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg team up for a show that has 16 undiscovered talents competing for a development deal at Dreamworks. Is anyone else sad that Spielberg is doing this show (but of course we'll watch it anyway)?

And don't forget, next week is the UPFRONTS!!!!! Lots more announcements to come about all the new shows...that you can spend your summer looking forward to. Surf's up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ER CPR

Am I the only one still watching ER all these years later? True, even I strayed for a few seasons there somewhere in between Mark Greene's brain tumor and Dr. Romano getting killed by a wayward helicopter, but as escapist drama goes, all the new faces add up to a pretty solid ensemble.

There is nothing groundbreaking here. John Stamos is clearly positioned as the next generation's George Clooney, and you know what? He's doing a pretty damn good job, even if it almost seems like he's been renting old ER dvd's and watching them over and over so as to perfect the signature Clooney sexy head tilt. But, if we can't have the REAL George, John Stamos is not so shabby...sort of like Splenda instead of sugar. To that end, an episode with a wedding in May is of course TV ratings 101, but again, we'll take it (And by we, I mean us chick-tv loving gals.) Even though I personally find Parminder Nagra's character incredibly annoying, you Bend it like Beckham fans seem to like her, so I think it's just me.

ER may have passed its prime, and no one is gathered around the water cooler talking about this show anymore...but it hits its marks consistently and if you're looking to be entertained, ER's still churning it out, week after week, after all of these years. Next week, Stanley Tucci joins the cast, which can only mean good things.

Check out the last 10 minutes of last Thursday's show. If you do watch - spoiler alert - there's a sweeps-style plot twist at the end, all set to the incredibly fabulous Tom Waits tune, "World Keeps Turning".



Oh, and how could I forget, while we're talking ER and all...HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEORGE CLOONEY!!!