Drinking With Shonda Rhimes

I'm drinking with THIS tonight!

You've heard me mention Shonda Rhimes a few times now. It's no secret, I'm a fan. Shonda's first baby was Grey's Anatomy, and back in the day, Grey's had some really great stuff going for it. Since then, Shonda has given birth to Private Practice, and Scandal. I watch them all. Why? Because the woman knows how to write characters, even if the plot is lacking from time to time. Unfortunately, with all those TV shows sharing a matriarch, there are bound to be some blatant similarities. You can be annoyed by this, or you can capitalize on it. I'm up for the latter.

In a recent blog I realized that it was way past time for a Shonda Rhimes drinking game! And YES, I know that most drinking games are for college students who are gathered in large numbers, each contributing their own 6 pack of PBR, hoping to find someone to hook up with (are they still saying hook up?). So this one, of course, has a bit of a twist. Think of it as more like the drinking game for the 30-50 year old woman. Which means wine is most likely the drink of choice. Followed by a hot bath and vowing to finish that book before you fall asleep tonight with your glasses on. How's that for context? 

THE SHONDA RHIMES DRINKING GAME

3 Drinks every time a character begins and ends a passionate monologue the same way. 

2 Drinks for every time a character says, "You don't GET to..." 

1 Drink for every time a man has better hair than the woman he is talking to. Watch out for scenes with McDreamy.

2 Drinks for every time 2 people go into a supply closet/private room/ elevator/oval office to..not talk.

1 TEENY TINY sip for every time you see blood. It can get ugly fast, so be careful on this one.

Gulp it all down for every time a main character dies. You're gonna need it anyway when that happens, and it WILL happen.

1 Drink and for every song you Shazam.

3 Drinks every time you see a character (extras included) appear on more than 1 of Shonda's shows in the same month. It will happen. Addison can't stay away from Seattle Grace. And Meredith's father is working for the President! Overlap is bound to occur!

1 Drink for every time a male character pouts. 

1 Drink for every time a female character acts like a man. Christina, Olivia, and Amelia, we're looking at you.

1 Drink for every nickname used.

3 Drinks for a new nickname.

1 Drink for every time you hear the words, "seriously," "my person," or "I don't want to lose you."

1 Drink for every time a character uses medical or political jargon that sounds like it could be legit.

1 Drink for every time someone betrays someone else.

3 Drinks for every affair.

Here's to being alive...for now!
(Look at me back there..Irish Amber! Ha! I'm drinking with Grey's!)

That should do it! It's Friday, have fun!!! I think I'll start Grey's Anatomy from the beginning...again!

Advanced Course in Ruining A Good Thing: The Firing of Dan Harmon

I love noticing connections between seemingly random things. For example, (confession time) yesterday I was Twitter-stalking (Twalking? Stittering?) someone who had posted a picture of a morning glory growing in their yard. For the rest of the day, the words morning glory continued to show up. I decided to put my iTunes on shuffle, which I rarely do, and the first song that played was "Morning Glory" by Oasis. One of my Chinese students asked me what we in America, call the flower that closes up every day? I Googled around and found the most common answer was morning glory. And I blogged about Annie Hall, which starred Diane Keaton and in my brief research on Keaton's filmography, I noticed that one of her more recent movies was called...drumroll please.....Morning Glory.

This thing will not leave me alone!

I like to call this synchronicity.

In writing, I think it's called a theme. I have glanced back over the last week of events, and ladies and gentlemen, I think we have ourselves a theme!

The Theme for the 3rd Week of May, 2012 is...Firing.

Not only did I just celebrate my personal 2 year anniversary from losing a job and write a few blogs about it (Blog 1, Blog 2), but firing happened all over TV last week! Phil had to fire Mitchell on Modern Family. Owen Hunt fired Teddy on Grey's Anatomy. Were there others that I missed?

I think the most notable and detrimental firing last week came from a real life situation. Dan Harmon, the brilliant creator and executive producer behind the recently renewed, Community, got fired from the show last Friday. Here is what he had to say about it. I think he was pretty gracious, considering. The idea is that he gets to stay on as a consultant...but I think you can gather from his statement, that he's not interested. And why would he be? That's like firing Steve Jobs and saying...thanks for making Apple awesome, and also, you stick around to help us pick a good color for the next iPod!

Harmon's reaction to "consulting" on Community.

It's rumored that Harmon is tough to work with. That he's demanding and fights in a "my way or the highway" style. In his thoughts on the firing, he doesn't bother to deny that. Because he knows...that's how amazing TV gets made. Someone is fighting for it! Look, you know I love Shonda Rhimes, but at this point, Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, and the new Scandal all look very similar. It's entertaining TV but it's not doing a whole lot that's brilliant or new. It's character driven and she can write good characters, but it's not clever. It doesn't make me smarter or more culturally aware. And go on, I dare you to play a Shonda Rhimes drinking game where you watch one (or all) of her shows and every time someone passionately exclaims, "You don't GET to..." take a drink. You will be PASSED OUT before anyone even pouts or makes out.

(Note to self: Come up with Shonda Rhimes Drinking Game.)
(Note to reader: Stay tuned for Shonda Rhimes Drinking Game coming Friday!)

Abed did not anticipate this timeline.

My point is, you don't get excellent TV by doing what everyone else is doing! And let's face it, Community is EXCELLENT. Sure it's been called out on being meta for meta's sake, and sometimes for trying to out meta itself by meta-ing the meta. (If you don't know what meta is, I can't help you right now.) If there's one thing fans hate more than seeing their favorite TV show end, it's seeing it ruined before it ends. Harmon birthed and persisted through the impending doom of cancellations and slow to warm fans, to singlehandedly make Community into the fan favorite it is today. Without him its just one bad episode away from being a shorter version of The Breakfast Club, one laugh track away from being Friends. Thanks NBC, in the words of Dan Harmon, and so many who have blogged before me, "You Britta'd it!"

Grey's Anatomy Season 8 Finale Dissected

Still one of my favorite shows, seriously.

Have you had time to recover from the Grey's season finale? Or have you blocked it out? Let me remind you...it was the one where the majority of your favorite characters were in a horrific plane crash in the middle of the Twilight woods. The one where Lexie dies, crushed under a plane just as Mark finally professes his love to her. The one where Derek smashes his hand in order to free himself from the piece of plane he's trapped in. The one where Christina and Meredith are badass.

It was all very tragic, and at times over the top. Of course, Grey's jumped the shark years ago with George's death, the hospital shooting, the Super Bowl bomb, Meredith's "drowning," and anything that involved Izzie. But let's put all of that in the past and talk about the "Flight" finale. 

LOST...wait....where's Jack?

Finale Problems:

1. Cell Phone?

Don't tell me no one had a cell phone in their pocket. I have flown my fair share and there are plenty of people who do not "stow" their cell phones at the request of the flight attendant. I'm one of them! With a plane full of self-important surgeons, I imagine that the stow rate is even less. But for some reason, no one seemed to have one. And if they did, you might argue that there'd be no service in the middle of the woods. I have traveled all over America, and I can promise you that if at least one of them had Verizon, then they were covered. This is not the Sahara, it's the Northwest. Even if Edward and Bella weren't lurking around, I guarantee you that some hippie hiker was, not to mention the alarm that would have occurred when a team of very important doctors didn't make it to their destination. They would have been found before dark, easily.

2. Flare?

My friend Joni, a former flight attendant, assures me that the flare would have been checked pre-boarding, but not having it work is more about tired writing than anything else. A more believable twist would have been that it worked but wasn't seen. Or that in all of the nervousness and excitement, the stress and emotion, it would have gone off prematurely, or worse yet, it would have been misfired, hitting Arizona or the pilot. But not even working? Psssh. Ridiculous.

3. Timing?

The surgeons were traveling to help with a surgery in Boise. It takes 8 hours to drive from Seattle to Boise. That's not too far. The plan was for them to arrive back in Seattle that night. This explains Callie waiting for Arizona in bed, and the (former) Chief waiting at the celebration dinner for the rest to arrive. Yet, it's not until the day is over that Hunt even gets a call of concern that they never made it. Sure, he makes a big production out of not wanting to accept any calls in the beginning of the show, but calls like that would get through. Even if the plane they were on was private, it would have still departed from an airport and be due to land at an airport where someone is controlling all of that information. I've seen the movies about 911. They know when planes go off the grid. This plays on everyone's "you could get lost in the woods" fears, but this particular situation it a little unbelievable. 

I know Shonda has her hands full with so many other shows, she can't get them all perfect. So in the name of loyalty, I will forgive the mistakes and move on.

Best moments:

1. Christina is not known for her bedside manner. Nor is she particularly comforting. But her "I'm gonna be right back" to Lexie is her way of saying, "You're gonna die and I love you" without actually saying it. It was an especially sweet moment in light of the fact that minutes later she stabs a pen into the pilot's leg to inform him he's paralyzed.

2. The hug between Teddy and Owen was long overdue. I have missed their friendship and it was good to see that reconciliation.

3. Mark and Lexie's last moments. Devastating but so sweet. 

Next Season:

First let me say, I hope next season is the last season of Grey's. I don't want this to become some E.R. that goes on and on and on. We've already seen a rollover of characters, and before it gets ridiculous it needs to stop. I will blog again soon about how a show knows it's time to stop and why they should. But here's my best guess for the events of Grey's Anatomy, Season 9. 

I hope we don't get another musical out of this....

Callie is and always has been my favorite character on Grey's. But she's a little too happy right now. And if there's one thing we know about Shonda it's that she cannot let Callie stay happy for long. Arizona coughed up blood. SHE COUGHED UP BLOOD. What do I know about coughing up blood after 8 seasons of Grey's? It's a sure sign of internal damage. My gut says that with the political and social climate surrounding homosexuality, the last thing the writers will do is get rid of their happy lesbian couple. But I still don't feel good about the future for Arizona. 

With Lexie dead (I did have a good long conversation with my friend Julie about how they could bring her back...coma, passed out, etc. I was really grasping at straws. But it's a show about doctors, they would have been smart enough to realize it if she was not really dead, and so I am resigning myself to the fact that she is actually dead.) Mark is not gonna be the same. I think he will survive, but his heart is broken at best. If Arizona does die, I can see him and Callie calling it a day on romance, and raising their baby as best friends with benefits.

Derek's hand is messed up which means he might not operate again. I mean, Body of Proof has taught us that a shaky hand is a bad thing for a neurosurgeon. This season he and Meredith have fought about neurosurgery a lot. But someone has to replace Derek, and I think it's gonna be her. I look for him to get really depressed, and spend the next year training Meredith, before moving on (or hopefully the show ending).

Christina and Owen are gonna be okay. And since there's an opening in cardiothoracics, Christina has to be the one to fill it. She can't leave her best friend and husband after this kind of trauma.

As for the rest of them, I think it's so interesting what the writers are doing with April and her recently lost virginity, lost boards, and loss of identity. I think she will have to stay on at SGH due to the shortage of doctors, but how to get past that board dilemma??? And Alex is never-changing. His character became boring to me years ago due to the fact that he never grew or learned. It would be wonderful if his phone call to Arizona was just the beginning of him showing some vulnerability. Jackson is good looking and I hope he stays around. I think he will simply because it will be a while before Mark can operate again, and maybe there is more to him and April than we know. Maybe she did lose her virginity to her husband after all. If Jackson does leave I will miss his blue eyes. The (former) Chief's wife will die, or else he will, or both will. He's had a good run. 

I deserve this.

And last but not least...Bailey is and has always been the heartbeat of the show. She will stay. Hopefully she will get married and live happily ever after. 

Are you still watching Grey's? 

What did you think of the finale? 

What do you think will happen next year?