Janet Tamaro, "Rizzoli & Isles", "Bones" (how did I miss this?)

You may have never heard of her, but I've decided that this post is going to be about Janet Tamaro:


I am in awe of Janet Tamaro. Basically I want to be her when I grow up.

Not only has she won a bunch of journalism awards, and reported national news stories, but she has written for a bunch of different series ("Bones", "Law and Order: SVU", "CSI: NY" etc.).

She has also been a producer for both "Bones" and "Rizzoli & Isles".

The only negative thing (if you can even call it that) is that those two shows are so similar. See my prior post if you don't believe me. Still, is there really too much of a good thing?

Didn't think so.

This really does explain why the two shows are so similar!
Oh, and I want to be her because of the genius of her writing/producing skills.
Not that being a journalist isn't spectacular as well.

bubbles shows that might just go

"Bubble Shows"
a phrase indicating that a show may or may not be canceled. generally referring to a show that is "on the fence" because a network has not yet agreed to renew it, and its ratings are dismal enough that they might choose to abandon it instead.

Obviously lots of people are writing about Bubble Shows right now. After all, it's almost the end of the season, and soon networks are going to be deciding which shows they are kicking off the air forever until some other network comes along and picks them up, à la "Damages", FX, and DirectTV.

There are a lot of shows that may never appear on your television set again after the end of this season: "Brothers & Sisters", "Detroit 1-8-7", "Off the Map", "No Ordinary Family", "V" I consider this canceled, "Chuck", "Perfect Couples", "Outsourced", "Lie to Me", "Nikita", "Body of Proof", "The Chicago Code", "Mr. Sunshine", and "Parenthood".

Of these shows I think that 2 (or possibly 4) should be saved, and here's why:

1. "Brothers & Sisters": yes, it is the most soap opera-ish, melodramatic show to air on television since "Desperate Housewives" (and yes, I know that's still on, but no one really watches it anymore. I mean, name one person...) but we need a little ridiculous drama in our lives. I have to admit that "Parenthood" is starting to veer into the territory of "Brothers & Sisters", but even "Parenthood's" new melodrama (family doesn't like the ex-alcoholic boyfriend, daughter might be pregnant, wife is really pregnant, son has aspergers, dad loses job, other child doesn't get into college, other daughter gets into DUI-induced accident, mother presents award winning play, family decides to adopt) can't replace the truly enjoyable insanity that makes up the Walker family. Then again, Calista Flockhart seems ready to leave (she has barely appeared in any episodes this season), and I'm not completely sure the show can function without her. Still, I want "Brothers & Sisters" to stay on the air...at least for one more season!

2. "Parenthood": I'm not quite ready to let this replace "Brothers & Sisters", and Lauren Graham has started to grate on my nerves, but need I remind you: family doesn't like the ex-alcoholic boyfriend, daughter might be pregnant, wife is really pregnant, son has aspergers, dad loses job, other child doesn't get into college, other daughter gets into DUI-induced accident, mother presents award winning play, family decides to adopt. They clearly need one more season just to wrap up those loose ends.

3. "Outsourced": I agree that this show dealt with a lot of racist undertones early on but I think hope those can be fixed. And I'd be sad to see Pippa Black go. Plus it can be really funny. You know, when it's not being racist. So...keep the series/hire some additional writers?

4. "Body of Proof": I actually think very little of this show, as evidenced by my earlier posts.
Still, I like to use it as background television when I'm doing other more important things (like checking email). And other people seem to like it. So it could get another chance. Or not. Honestly, I don't care much either way.

And what about those other shows? I can sum my feelings about those shows up very quickly:

1. "Detroit 1-8-7": Never heard about it, except when I read a line in EW that said it was "good". Never seen it. Don't even know what channel it's on.

2. "Off the Map": Watched 1.25 episodes. Shrugged. Switched the channel. If it was a little more "ER", and a little less least-appealing-parts-of-"Grey's" I might be more interested.

3. "No Ordinary Family": Superheroes or something? Not really my thing. Seems kind of corny. Maybe someone is watching it?

4. "Chuck": My mom likes this show. I have impartial feelings about it.

5. "Perfect Couples": Bad.

6. "Lie to Me": Wait. This is decent! Except I don't know what time it's on. I think it's on Fox? Maybe bump this up to things that should be saved. If their marketing improves.

7. "Nikita": Spies? Huh. Never seen it.

8. "The Chicago Code": I like crime shows & I like Jennifer Beals. But I already watch "Law and Order: SVU" and "Bones". I'm sure they're not at all like this show, but there's only so much crime I can take in a week.

9. "Mr. Sunshine": Allison Janey! Otherwise, I don't really care. Sorry, Matthew Perry.

What do you think? Am I totally wrong?

Bones Episode Review: The Finder aka The Bones spin-off episode

THURSDAY NIGHTS ARE THE BEST NIGHTS ON TELEVISION
and "Bones" really contributes to that excellence...normally...

Yay for all of you! Except you CBS, Sorry...

Thursday nights are the best nights on television, hands down. Seriously, can you beat a night full of "Bones", "Grey's", "The Office", "Parks and Rec", and "30 Rock"? Didn't think so. My only complaint is that several of these shows are on at the same time which makes later Hulu-ing/TiVo-ing necessary.

I've given you a full day to catch-up, so I really hope by now you've watched yesterday's "Bones". But, in case you missed it, I'll try to avoid too many spoilers. Basically Bones and Booth had to solve a murder (what else is new) and they were successful (seriously, I'm ruining nothing). What was interesting though was that they appeared in very little of the show. Why? Well, because Hart Hanson and his crew wanted to introduce us to their new show, which will be premiering on Fox in the not too distant future. The show has, rather obviously, the same name as this episode: "The Finder".

During this week's episode Bones and Booth were in Miami where the remains had been discovered. Apparently, Booth has an old army 'friend' (Walter Sherman) who is a finder. Weird that Booth has never, ever mentioned this guy before, huh? Guess you need plenty of army buddies for a successful spin-off series. He can, quite literally, located anything that anyone has ever lost. He was also brain-damaged in the war which causes rampant paranoia.

the new team of "The Finder"

Now, the premise of "The Finder" isn't all bad. Although I do have to admit that it's a bit too much like "The Mentalist" for my liking. Still, Hart Hanson seems to be skilled at making things appealing quirky, so maybe it will be a smash hit. When reviewing this week's "Bones" episode that's kind of beside the point. My biggest problem with the episode? It wasn't "Bones"! So much of it was focused on introducing Walter and his friends (who I assume will be the primary cast of "The Finder") that the tone of the episode was completely wrong. I felt as though I was watching a brand new show that just happened to have a tiny side-story which featured the crew of the Jeffersonian. It felt bizarre to say the least. I do have to admit that I'm often thrown by shows introducing their own spin-offs (I didn't like it much when "NCIS" featured the new cast of "NCIS: LA" much either), still I felt that "Bones" did a particularly poor job.

Oh, look, here we see Walter and Booth briefly interacting

We only saw Booth and Brennan briefly (which was just enough time for Brennan to appear more socially inept and vapid seriously this used to be an intelligent woman, why are the writers doing this? and for Booth to interact with her in a way that was somehow less charming than it used to be.) In fact, it seemed as though they were only there at the beginning and the end, sandwiched around the real story which focused on Walter and his cronies. And which was, essentially, the premiere episode of "The Finder". I understand that "The Finder" is a new show aimed at the same audience as "Bones", but when I sit down in excitement to watch the weekly episode of "Bones" I prefer not to be tricked into watching something else entirely.

And it seems like some other people agree with me, this week "Bones" dropped 9% from last week's viewers...

Summer Television begins June/July: White Collar, Covert Affairs, Weeds and Rizzoli & Isles...

SUMMER TELEVISION IS COMING BACK...

what to watch & when to watch it

I am really, really ready for it to be summer. And not because I want it to stop being so cold in Boston (though that is obviously a major benefit) but because lots of my favorite shows are coming back on! I'm not sure why, but I find that there often tend to be far more must-watch shows in the summer than during the rest of the year. Here are the shows I'm most excited about:
White Collar
Another one of those ridiculous crime investigative shows that I'm about to make clear the cable networks are riddled with, "White Collar" is still worth watching. It centers around the relationship between a FBI agent (Tom DeKay) and a con artist (Matt Bomer). The show reminds me of a post-chase version of "Catch Me If You Can", if the Leonardo DiCaprio character had agreed to start working for Tom Hanks. I like this show because while it doesn't take itself too seriously, it also is intelligent enough that you don't always know where it's taking you. Certainly worth a try.
The 3rd season of "White Collar" premieres on June 7th at 9 pm


Covert Affairs
Despite that fact that this show is also completely ridiculous in premise, I find it incredibly addicting. The show focuses on the work/love life of Annie (Piper Perabo) a skilled linguist who has just (last season!) been hired by the CIA. In typical 'this would only ever happen on television' form, Annie goes on all kinds of secret missions. Is it kind of cheesy? Yes. But it also has enough depth that you really feel for the characters. And I want to know why Annie's ex-boyfriend, who she discovered at the end of last season is an ex-CIA operative, is, you know, an ex-CIA operative. Plus, the cases are the perfect amount of summer t.v. fluff.
"Covert Affairs" returns to USA on June 7th at 10 pm


Weeds
One of my favorite shows, and one of the reasons I am constantly hating the fact that I don't have Showtime, "Weeds" is a must-see. Mary-Louise Parker plays a widowed mother raising two teenage boys and a new baby. Oh, and because her husband's death leaves her destitute she makes the obvious decision to turn to drug dealing. With a sexy yet dangerous ex-husband chasing her, the love of her dead husband's brother getting in her way, and a son who may or may not be a sociopath, "Weeds" could be a pure soap opera. Somehow, it manages to avoid being completely cheesy and predictable, perhaps because it is willing to go to darker and darker places, sometimes avoiding humor all together.
"Weeds" is back on Showtime June 27th at 10 pm


Rizzoli & Isles
If you read my blog at all you know that I am obsessed with this show. It centers around a Boston homicide detective (Angie Harmon) and a medical examiner (Sasha Alexander) who have one of those "unlikely" friendships that television shows are so crazy about. The show mixes just the right amount of gore with humor, and it's more like "Bones" than "CSI". Still, its cases manage to be slightly less ridiculous in premise than "Bones", despite the fact that the star medical examiner has a giant pet turtle that wanders freely around her apartment.
"Rizzoli & Isles" returns to TNT on Monday, July 11th at 10 pm

House and Cuddy: "Is this break-up for real?"

Did House and Cuddy Break-Up?
forever? how? why? really...why?

I shouldn't be giving anything away at this point when I write that House and Cuddy have ended their relationship.

In a recent episode of "House" ('Bombshells') we found out two things 1) House is taking Vicodin again and 2) Cuddy is breaking up with him.

I have to say, I was incredibly frustrated with both of these things for numerous reasons, and even more frustrated because they happened in the same episode. I do understand that addicts relapse. This is a fact of life, and it is also the reason that Friedman and Hess (the authors of this particular episode) gave for House's use of pills. However, I think it would have been better if House's relapse had been triggered by a stressful moment (for instance, Cuddy's health issues). However, it is clear that he has been using again for a long time because Cuddy's daughter (Rachel) calls prescription meds "candy"...House's code word for Vicodin. I find this frustrating because it undermines the happiness that surrounded his relationship with Cuddy. Can't the viewers at least experience a brief moment of true happiness in House's life? Does he truly have to be miserable all the time?











Not This Rachel!

This Rachel

I also find it incredibly irresponsible and unlikely that Cuddy would break-up with House the moment she finds out that he is using again. He is an addict, she is a doctor, she should be able to get him help. He clearly does love her, and she does love him, so I think it is more probable that this love combined with her Hippocratic oath would (in the very least) inspire her to get him into rehab. Breaking up with him does not help him in any way, in fact it only hurts him more, and as a doctor and someone who is (supposedly) in love with him it just seems more likely that she wouldn't do so.

It is not that the writing in the episode is bad, but more that the direction that the episode takes is so completely improbable that it makes the episode bad. I realize that by having House be addicted to Vicodin again and by breaking-up the show's central relationship "House" is returning to its roots. However, I think there are far more probable ways that this could have been done. At the very least these two events could have been split between two episodes...

Finally, all I can say is that viewers were far too enamored with Huddy (the fans name for House and Cuddy) to let the writers break them up forever. Maybe they'll break-up for a couple of episodes, maybe they'll break-up for a year, but ultimately they're bound to get back together. It's what the fans want.

edit: I may be very wrong about that last thing...see this link to an LA Times interview with some of the writer's of "House"

update: Lisa Edelstein who plays Cuddy has officially left the cast of 'House'. I guess they really have broken up forever! Read more here.

"Bones" vs. "Grey's"...all new episodes & sweeps

Do you watch "Grey's Anatomy" or "Bones"?
Here's when the new episodes are airing!
When they're both new, which one will you watch (take the poll)?

So, "Bones" is an all new episode tonight (the first of 7 new episodes!) and I couldn't be happier. In fact, I'm super relieved that I don't have to pick between "Bones" and "Grey's" (which is a rerun tonight). I've really liked the last couple of weeks where they've been alternating new episodes. It has almost lulled me into a 'awww, how sweet, Fox and ABC are taking turns' sense of calm. But, it's almost time for May sweeps, so pretty soon everyone's going to fight to the death cancellation.

I miss the good old days (of last season) when "Bones" was on at 8 and "Grey's" was on at 9. It was sooo perfect. "Grey's" had finally won me back (I originally quit watching around the 3rd season when Meredith was in her whiny look-at-me-suicide-who cares phase). And despite the disappointment of the musical episode I do care enough about Arizona, Callie, Mark, Lexi, and that baby that I'm willing to keep watching.


But just because I'm going to be watching "Grey's" doesn't mean I'll be watching it live. In fact, I'm really torn about which of the two shows I'll be tuning in during sweeps. I'm going to be watching the next two episodes of "Bones" (both new, while "Grey's" is still reruns) to see if there are hints of a Bones/Booth romance (and I mean a real one, not this game we've been playing for the last 3 years).
If Bones and Booth get together in any sense of the word, no way am I finding out about it online after the fact.

This happened once, will it happen again?

But then again, I don't want to miss the drama of Callie and Arizona's wedding either. And, lets be honest, "Grey's" is a little better at keeping it's promises than "Bones". At least Meredith and Derek ended up together, even if it took forever!

All I can say is, thank god "Bones" and "Grey's" aren't going to be competing again until they both have new episodes on April 28th. At least I'll have Hulu. Although I still think there's something special about the anticipation of watching a show when it first airs on television.

And not that it is in any sense a cancellation issue ("Bones" and "Grey's" are both way too successful), when April 28th comes I don't know what decision I'm going to make, do you?

Will You Watch "Grey's" or "Bones" on April 28th?

The Biggest Loser's "Gay Controversy"

The Biggest Loser, Gay and Lesbian Culture, and Controversy

I was just watching "The Biggest Loser" (I know, it's horrible, but sometimes the lack of new episodes drives me to reality t.v.) and suddenly wondered if Jillian Michaels was gay. So, of course, I decided to Google search and see what everyone on the web had to say. Turns out people have googled this a lot. And she very clearly stated that she was bi back in a 2010 issue of 'Ladies Home Journal'.


But apparently that's not all I've missed. According to Google there was some sort of "Biggest Loser Gay Controversy" back in February. Now, I'm not sure how much of a 'controversy' something can be when it didn't hit any of the major entertainment websites. But, you know, guess I just missed the (obviously) incredibly important controversy.


Regardless, I wanted to know what this whole 'controversy' was so I obviously read a couple of articles. Apparently Cara Castronuova (the new trainer) is a lesbian, and is the ex-girlfriend of God-Des of the lesbian band 'God-Des and She' (note: I heard this band last year at Pride and they have a very catchy/don't play it in front of your parents' song). But she refuses to be interviewed by any of the major gay magazines/blogs. Many magazines have blamed NBC for not allowing their trainers to speak to the press, but in actuality it is the trainers' publicists who have control over any/all press requests. Which leads me to ask, if this was her personal decision, why is this even an issue? If she is gay, but she doesn't want people poking around in her private life that should be her business. Just because she is gay that shouldn't make her obligated to speak to gay magazines, right?

Sarah Drew, "Grey's Anatomy", "Glee", and Typecasting

Sarah Drew probably isn't someone you've heard of before. She's certainly not a household name. But she is someone who you'll be seeing a lot of this year. She's Dr. April Kepner on "Grey's Anatomy". Dr. Kepner is slightly nerdy, slightly childish, slightly whiny, and apparently a virgin. All of this is probably why I immediately recognized her when I was re-watching "Glee" last night. Sarah Drew (the actress who plays Kepner) was playing a nerdy, childish, whiny, definitely-a-virgin character named Suzy Pepper. Suzy was a student who had a massive crush on the teacher Will Schuster, and was competing with Rachel for his attention ("Glee" S1E10).

Drew is interesting because she graduated from a university (in my hometown!), and then almost immediately started doing voice-work and acting. In 2004, just two years after she graduated, she was in a 38 episode arc of "Everwood". She was also in 4 episodes of "Mad Men" and 2 episodes of "Private Practice". Her role on "Private Practice" is the most confusing, considering that the show often does crossover episodes with "Grey's", yet Drew plays different characters on the two shows.

All I can say is that Shonda Rhimes must really like Drew a lot. After her role on "Private Practice" Rhimes cast her in a new pilot ("Inside the Box") which never got the green light.

Another interesting tidbit is that Kepner's love interest on "Grey's" is played by Peter MacNicol. MacNicol appeared on the incredibly successful "Ally McBeal" as a character much like the one he plays on "Grey's": socially awkward and apparently appealing to attractive women (de Rossi played his love interest on "Ally").

So, are Kepner and MacNicol typecast at all? Possibly. But they're both appealing to watch, and so I don't think anyone will really care.

TV Schedule during Spring Break

I want that show to be new this week...NOW.
Or
The Genius of Mid-Season Replacements

So, instead of analyzing a show, I'm going to write about television scheduling. I know, that sounds really boring. But, I promise you, some of the networks are making genius moves with their scheduling that you're probably missing.

I'm sure you've all noticed (if you watch any TV at all) that there haven't been new shows for the last couple of weeks. Why? Because it's Spring Break! Maybe not at your college (and definitely not at your work), but at some college, somewhere. And viewers age 18-24 make up a large percentage of the viewing demographic. They also have the capability of destroying a show. If you lose that demographic either because they're not watching, or because they're Facebooking/Tweeting/Commenting on the internet about how bad it is (59%). Well, your show could be off the air before you know it. As a network, it's important to count that particular age group.


It turns out, the higher your education level, the more likely you are to evaluate a show online. But it's not just the college-age kids the networks need to be worried about. While watching TV 42% of Americans are online, and many of them (61%) will have a social media site where they can post something about what they are watching.*

So, what's that genius move I'm talking about? It's taking a chance and introducing a brand-new show while all the popular/currently on the air shows are on hiatus. Some networks choose to do this during the summer, and then use the shows which are successful that first summer during subsequent summers. TNT did this last summer with "Rizzoli and Isles".

And ABC is doing it right now with "Body of Proof". The show premiered during the first week of this incredibly long and tedious 'spring break' hiatus. And they've released three new episodes already, while all the other networks are running mainly reruns (except for reality tv shows, but that's a whole other issue). So, what do you think the most popular current episodes on Hulu are? The first three episodes of "Body of Proof"! Now, this method of releasing TV shows during hiatus only works if your television show is good/successful (not mutually exclusive!) because you need to retain viewers after the other shows come back on air. Unfortunately, as I've said earlier, I don't think that "Body of Proof" will stand up to that test.



*"About the Data: This 24/7 Wall St./Harris Poll was conducted online within the US between March 11 and 15, 2011 among 2,526 adults (aged 18 and older). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Where appropriate, this data were also weighted to reflect the composition of the adult online population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online". Marketing Chart

I can tell they have accents...

Foreign Actors Who Have Bad American Accents

Lisl: Me nightie's slippin'
Bond: So is your accent, Countess.
--For Your Eyes Only


I was watching "Private Practice", a show that I normally choose to avoid (I like "Grey's", but for some reason I find the drama in "Private Practice" grating, and their focus on psychiatrists completely unrealistic), and I happened to see that Alex Kingston was in it. Now, I am a fan of Kingston. I was a loyal "ER" viewer, and really enjoyed her performance as Elizabeth Corday. I also enjoyed the fact that she had a lovely and realistic (because it is real) English accent. My biggest problem about her performance on "Private Practice"? Her accent sounded wrong. She was playing an American, and spoke with an 'American' accent...but there was something slightly wrong about it. I can't even explain it, but every third or fourth word sounded off.





My friend H, who reads my blog but chooses to verbally give me comments instead of writing them (write some comments, people!) also pointed out that Simon Baker's accent in "The Mentalist" is pretty shoddy. Since I don't watch that show, and have only seen previews, I didn't realize that. So, I retract him from my prior post, and am now including him here instead.



Click HERE for the Boston Globe's grading of American accents.

Women in Science (Body of Proof)

"Bones" vs. "Rizzoli and Isles" vs. "Body of Proof"

There are now quite a few women who feature prominently on crime/medical television shows. They are often presented as science brainiac types. Unfortunately, they often have flaws which are far less likely to be present in their male counterparts.

Some of these women are:
*Temperance Brennan (also called Bones) on the television show "Bones"
*Maura Isles on "Rizzoli and Isles"
*and now Megan Hunt on "Body of Proof"

All of these women are presented as being remarkably intelligent. Brennan is a brilliant forensic anthropologist who is better at analyzing bones than (it seems) anyone else in the world of criminal forensics. She is also extraordinarily socially inept, to the point of aspergers. She is also clueless about popular culture, which often makes her seem unintelligent. That is not to say that people who have aspergers or are unaware of popular culture are unintelligent, more often than not it's the exact opposite. But when it's presented on television things often seem black and white, and unfortunately all that shines through the screen is her relative stupidity.


On "Rizzoli and Isles" Dr. Isles plays the medical examiner. She is skilled at her job, and is presented as a kind-hearted woman (she attempts to comfort Detective Rizzoli by showing up at her apartment and offering to spend the night in a non-sexual way. I promise. Well, kind of. Actually, I think it's totally sexual, and so would a lot of viewers, but I don't think that's what the writers were going for. Here's my post on the topic). But Dr. Isles, like Dr. Brennan, lacks social skills, and is unable to read people. For instance, in one episode, involving very wealthy friends of hers she sides with the friends, instead of supporting Rizzoli, and doesn't understand why Rizzoli is hurt. She also doesn't understand why her own wealth is an issue. Seriously? This is a woman who is supposed to be one of the smartest women on television? And she doesn't understand conflicts about social economic status?



Megan Hunt is the newest woman to join the genre. Her show, "Body of Proof", premiered last week on ABC. The show is yet another crime procedural/medical/forensics show. Dr. Hunt is a spectacularly gifted neuroscientist who has had to give up her operating career due to a car-crash related injury. She is now working as a medical examiner (sound like anyone we know?), she is also socially awkward (wait...this sounds kind of familiar), and stated in the series premiere that she "doesn't have any friends". She often finds the key to the whole mystery, but she is unlikable every step of the way.

All of the flaws that these women have frustrate me. I realize that it wouldn't really be watchable television if they were flawless, but the type of flaws that they do have seem to put a damper on their remarkable intelligence. On "House" Dr. House is also an incredibly intelligent yet flawed character, however, his flaws serve to emphasize his intelligence (sure, he doesn't care about morals, but his ways of proving he doesn't care are brilliant schemes...for instance, last week he hid ragweed in Wilson's vents to make him think he was allergic to a cat that House disliked).

Unfortunately, "Body of Proof" is a "Bones"/"Rizzoli & Isles" copycat that lacks any spark. I'm watching "Bones" because it's witty, a little off-kilter, and because the leads have great chemistry. I'm watching "Rizzoli & Isles" because the crimes are interesting, Sasha Alexander is hot, and I'm secretly hoping the title characters will get together. I'm watching "Body of Proof" again tonight...because I want to give it another chance. But honestly, a poorly portrayed genius-yet-flawed female character? I've seen that too many times before. And at least before the show she was in had other things to offer.


"Body of Proof" normally airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 10 pm, but you can also often catch it on Sunday nights at the same time. In fact, it's on in about 3 hours! So, check it out, see if you agree with me, leave a comment etc.

p.s. I'm not going to go on a rant about this, but do you notice that all of the extra-smart women are brunettes? And look how similar their looks/hair length/poses are in those photos.

Thanks!

I really appreciate it! Stay tuned for my analysis of "Body of Proof", the new Dana Delany series.

Grey's Anatomy Wedding Controversy

SERIOUSLY DON'T READ THIS IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHO IS GETTING MARRIED ON "GREY'S" (also, there are spoilers about future episodes)

Well, all right, now that I've warned you...

The Grey's Anatomy Wedding

So, I was super concerned about the lesbian wedding that's coming up on "Grey's Anatomy". For one thing, is it even going to happen? We know how "Grey's" is at promising us things (Cristina and Burke?) and then taking them away. Luckily, there is now an 'official' date set for the wedding: May 5th. Of course, things are bound to go wrong. It wouldn't be "Grey's Anatomy" if they didn't.

There's been buzz on the internet that Callie's family won't be very accepting of her impending nuptials. In fact, there's some suggestion that her father won't walk her down the aisle, and that her mother's going to break the news. Well, at least that answers my one question about how shockingly accepting everyone seems to be on the show. This was also why I was pleased last week to see Mark Sloane's brief yelling match with Arizona, "You're not a family. Callie and I and this baby are a family! You're nothing!". Of course, Mark apologized before the end of the episode, and reassured Arizona that she was just as important as he was. There's now word that he'll be the one to walk Callie down the aisle, and that wouldn't surprise me at all.

They have accents?

Wait, What Accents?

There are a shocking number of foreign actors and actresses who appear on American television using American accents.


Often we know who these people are, but occasionally it's shocking.


For instance, did you know that Kevin McKidd (who plays Owen on "Grey's Anatomy") is Scottish? Well, I had no idea...until I saw him being interviewed for the "Greys" musical episode.



Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who played Vivian Johnson on "Without a Trace" for 8 seasons, is also British. I discovered that (with a great deal of shock) when I watched the special features on the series DVD.







Oh, and lets not forget "House". Hugh Laurie is also a Brit. But they're not the only ones invading.

"Without a Trace" barely qualifies as an American television show. Poppy Montgomery and Anthony LaPaglia, the shows other two leads, are both Australian. But you wouldn't know it.






"Fringe", currently airing on Fox, has an Australian lead (Anna Torv), and so does "The Mentalist" (Simon Baker).





And, Portia de Rossi, who I've previously mentioned for her roles on "Ally McBeal", "Arrested Development", and "Nip/Tuck", is yet another Australian.







Here are the following shows that have foreign actors playing American leads different television stations:
1) "Fringe" and "House" on Fox
2) "The Mentalist" on CBS
3) "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC
So, that's the two out of the Big Three plus the 'newcomer' network!

I guess I really can't complain about an Australian/British invasion on "our" television. After all, I have British citizenship too, and I'm not planning on moving out of the U.S. anytime soon.

Check out this fun story about foreigners playing Americans that was first heard on NPR in 2008.