[shinystar]

From CTV.ca

Recent events strain Burke and Cristina's relationship, Meredith's half-sister, Molly, is admitted to the hospital, and Derek and Mark must work together when two close-knit brothers seek medical help.

Seems very interesting... and I would call B/C's relationship very strained..

Also interesting parralel, two literally close knit brothers and two formelly very close 'brothers' since Mark was a brother to Derek in the past..

[thegreenlight]

Thanks for starting the thread, Karen.

It seems like Cristina/Burke are rather close to splitting at the moment.

And, I guess this episode will probably have some focus on the Derek/Mark relationship.

[shinystar]

And, I guess this episode will probably have some focus on the Derek/Mark relationship.

I think it will too... I mean Derek has to be there for Meredith when she'll see her sister again, perhaps her father as well? Something that I wouldn't mind, but also Derek will have his own issues with mark, which hopefully will mean that Meredith is there for him through that.. Either way, it should show some good Mer/Der scenes I think.

[thegreenlight]

I don't know who Derek is going to go to, but I think Meredith will go to Cristina with her issues about her mom and her sister. 'Cause I'm sure Cristina will tell her about what's going on with her and Burke, so I think Meredith will also confide in her. I really don't see much Meredith/Derek in this episode, but probably something at the end.

[mcdreamylover]

Clips from tomorrows eppy:

YouTube - "Don't Stand So Close to Me" Greys Anatomy 3 Clips

[shinystar]

It does make sense to go to Christina, definitely considering the circumstances..
Perhaps Christina will live with Meredith, Izzie and George for a while too?
I hope we'll get more then 1 scene at the end


Thnx for the clips Steph!

So Derek is kind of ignoring Mark and not listening to him at all.. I wonder what the Chief will say about that..

[thegreenlight]

Originally Posted by shinystar (View Post) So Derek is kind of ignoring Mark and not listening to him at all.. I wonder what the Chief will say about that..

I think by just seeing that clip, I'm with Derek on this one. I'll have to wait and see the whole episode, obviously, but it seems like the conjoined guys just want it for cosmetic reasons and their life isn't really in danger.

[shinystar]

yeah I totally understand Derek for not wanting to take a risk, especially since the surgery is full of risks.

[tonka17]

Felt sorry fo mer, her own mum saying she wish she never had her wow that love for ya and at the end wow Kate Burton and Ellen Pompeo play so well off one another their a great team!!

I think the reason why mer was so cold in a way to susan was because sure she offered mer a family but really how can mer be accepted into the family when the most important person in that situation, thatcher cant even aknowledge her to that new family! Susan in season 2 wanted Molly to know who she was but what did thatcher say NO, he doesn't want mer to be known in his family! The offer was extended by the wrong person it should have be Thatcher but he didn't and mer will never be apart of that family until thatcher accepts her which i dont think he will any time soon! I also got the feeling maybe mer thought she may be betraying Ellis in a way by coming into that new family cause Ellis has always been there and has never and wont leave her. Thatcher LEFT her Ellis never has and while Ellis may be crap as a mum she never LEFT and mer has loyalty to Ellis because of that!

Burktina i dunno about them, should have been punished but weren't. Izzie she's so FREAKING judgemental i mean hello Miss LVAD wire geez! And Burke blaming Derek yeah thats mature. Like the joke between Mark and Derek. George is an ass!!

Oh and that little mer/der scene that was cute their becoming all homey and domestic, seems like Derek's put himself nicely and fits in well in the house seeing as he now considers it his home!

Thats all i have to say!

[shinystar]

wow.. I have yet to see it, but wow Tamika


Grey's Writers blog is up!

Carolina Paiz on "Don't Stand So Close To Me" Original Airdate: 11-30-06 I’m the “baby writer” around here. That doesn’t mean that I’m in charge of writing all the medical baby stuff, which is what one of the actors asked after Shonda introduced me. What it means is that I’m the youngest, most inexperienced and by far the luckiest writer on the whole staff. Cause little people like me don’t get hired into big time TV without a lot of luck (so okay, some hard work was involved too). In any case, I’m here, working at the funnest office of all time. Seriously. Not just saying. It’s kind of like working at Seattle Grace but without the sex. And the drama… but all of the interesting and the funny. “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” is my first episode of aired TV, and I’m honored to have been given a chance to write it. I was a HUGE fan of the show before getting hired, which made it very hard to speak up in the writer’s room at first. It was just too close for comfort. These people were my heroes… and so I shook and trembled for a while (as you may have noticed from the blog, us writers are an easily frightened breed.) But scary though writing this episode was, it was also an amazing experience. Being so close to the characters and to the show meant that while it was daunting, it was also thrilling. And that’s exactly what this episode is all about. About how being too close to something can be a disaster… or a completely enlightening experience. Or both. And in the spirit of the Holidays, we decided to illustrate this point through the one thing we can never seem to get too close or too far away from this season: our families. Our biological families, our stepfamilies, our surrogate families. Take Meredith … Her morning starts bright and early at the Nursing Home, where her mother is freaking over having been left by Richard. Again. And this alone is already uncomfortable… but then Ellis confesses that she regrets having had a daughter. And it hits Meredith like a slap in the face. This is way more information that she needed. To make matters worse, she arrives to the hospital to find that her intern family is in chaos… and that her stepfamily is also here, ready to give birth. Meredith becomes determined not to let Susan and Molly get to her. She wants to remain professional. So much so that she volunteers to be their intern. But Mer quickly finds that this was a mistake. Being present during the birth of Laura, and seeing that little tiny baby suffer … it makes Meredith realize just how much she cares about these people. Addison notices, and immediately has her taken off the case. And for the rest of the episode, Meredith makes a conscious effort to remain unaffected by Susan and Molly… which is hard. Cause Susan is so … sweet. And nurturing. And giving. And everything that Ellis is not. And so when Susan hugs her and calls Laura Meredith’s niece… it’s all just a little too much to handle … and Meredith’s forced to flee. But not before she’s learned something… that being physically close can bridge an emotional divide… it can draw families in closer… And so that night, Meredith decides to go back to the Nursing Home. Her mother is even more troubled than she was in the morning… and this time, Meredith takes a big step… and decides to mother her own mother… she sees that Ellis needs consoling and so she steps up and takes her into her arms. And that closeness… it’s exactly what Ellis needed. And then there’s George. Poor George. His dad is in the hospital and he’s so concerned. He’s trying his best to hold it together, to be the good son and the good doctor… but it’s really hard to be both. And pretty soon, he’s crossed a line and Bailey gives him a verbal restraining order: stay 50 feet away from your father or else… But of course, George doesn’t listen. Which is good… cause he and Callie are there to help save his father’s life. But it’s while watching his father’s surgery that George comes to understand why Bailey wanted him far away… As soon as that saw blade starts cutting through his father’s chest, he realizes he can’t bear to watch. No matter how good a doctor he is, sometimes, it’s just too painful to be that close. And so Dr. Burke walks him through his dad’s surgery in one of the sweetest moments that we’ve ever seen between these two. And after it’s all over, we realize that their friendship will be okay. Speaking of Burke, let me address the Burktina of it all… So Cristina did this thing… she told on her attending, on her boyfriend. She told on him because she thought it was the right thing to do. But Burke disagrees. He feels like he was going to handle the situation and that Cristina just got ahead of him, and that by doing so, she betrayed him. So now this stubborn pairing has reached an impasse. Neither is talking to the other. They are existing in close proximity… they live in the same apartment, they work in the same hospital… but they’re keeping their emotional distance. And for a while, we think that maybe this is IT for them. Caput. The End of Burktina. But then, when Derek says he’s going to go take another look at Burke’s shoulder… Cristina gets on the elevator to go with them. The relationship may be at an impasse, but this is her Preston Burke, and she’s sticking by him. And so Burktina continues on… limping… but alive. In his effort to come to grips with his own problems, Burke has caused much trouble around the hospital. He’s damaged not only his reputation, but also the self-assurance of some of his fellow surgeons. Which brings me to Derek and Bailey. To be a surgeon, you have to be uber-confident. You have to be able to pick up that sharp scalpel and cut people open. You have to be able to pick up those forceps and fix people’s lives. And to make a surgeon question their abilities is to put patients at risk… Which is exactly what Bailey went through a few weeks ago… And what Derek is going through in this episode. Burke has told him that it’s his fault that his hand is tremoring, and though Derek knows better… though he knows that he did all that he could and that Burke’s progress is remarkable… it’s enough to plant that small seed of doubt. And that small seed? It flowers pretty quickly. So that by the time the twins come in, Derek begins to question whether or not he can pull such a difficult surgery off. But thankfully Bailey is there, to help remind him of his skills, to let him know that Burke’s tremor is NOT Derek’s fault… but that if Derek had known about it earlier, he could have potentially fixed it. And with his confidence back, Derek plunges into the twin’s surgery. And thankfully, him and his team of surgeons succeed. And what a talented team it is. Which brings me to my next point. McSteamy… mmm. Can I just say, now that it’s getting all chilly out… it’s nice to have a little Steamy in our lives. Even though once again he’s causing trouble everywhere he goes. He knows that Derek can do this surgery. What he doesn’t know is why Derek is backing out… which causes some friction for these two during the rehearsal surgery and the actual surgery… but once they’ve pulled it off, they share a second… just a brief, fleeting second of camaraderie and friendship. Did you catch it? After the rush of adrenaline that comes with such a fantastic surgical victory, Derek and Mark share a moment, a laugh. It was nice to see… it gave us a glimpse into what their friendship dynamic must have looked like back in NYC. When Steamy wasn’t the mortal enemy. I love Steamy. I do. He’s so fresh; he just doesn’t care about these people or their dramas. He’s out to take care of himself… Or so we’re meant to think… until he reaches out and does something incredibly kind and lovely for Izzie. He brings her into the OR so that she can watch the twins surgery up close… which is a BIG DEAL. Izzie hadn’t been inside an OR since the Denny thing… and it was pretty selfless of Steamy to step up and show Izzie that he has a heart under all that unbelievable Hotness. So yes, he can be impertinent and evil and demeaning and YES there was definitely some sexual harassment going on… but admit it. You kinda love the Steamy too. Steamy Sloan reminds me a little of Alex… who, by the way, is my favorite character. He has so much going on inside … you think you’ve got him figured out but then he just reveals this whole other side to him. I loved him interacting with the twins. (Brilliantly played by Jason and Randy Sklar). Jake and Pete risk their lives to undergo a huge surgery to separate themselves from each other… only to ask to be reunited in the end. The twin’s relationship, in a nutshell, epitomizes what’s going on with all of our people… the twins, like our hospital interns, residents and attendings, are a family in disarray… fighting and distant… they may think that they want to be apart from each other, but the truth is that they can’t deny that they’re family. And they belong together. Which is why it’s nice to see that in the end, Cristina and the other ‘terns make-up (though it may take George some time to come around) and that Cristina and Burke take a step in the same direction. Burke and Derek make up too… I mean even McSteamy and McDreamy are semi-friendly by the end of it. And of course, who can forget Bailey finally coming to terms with what’s happened and understanding the Chief’s perspective. And a valid perspective that is… The Chief gives powerful speeches in this episode in which he makes it loud and clear what his opinions are. I don’t know how he’s going to retire when there’s such mayhem going on around him. But one thing is clear. He wants to retire. Because he needs his Adele back. But how can the surgical family survive without his guidance? I, for one, am in a panic. And by the way, YES, I did notice there is very little Mer/Der in this episode. Don’t worry… They are fine. They are better than fine. They are in love and happy and there was just so much surgery and family drama going on that they weren’t able to see each other much during this episode. But they are FINE. I love Mer and Der as much as you all… And I’m so very sorry they didn’t get much screen time. But stay tuned, cause some great stuff with them is coming up in January. I promise. Okay, this is running way long. So let me wrap it up by saying HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU! And if you’re looking for a nifty present, Stacy McKee (the baby writer before me and one of our resident geniuses) just told me she bought her mom a mug that says McDreamy… and when you pour hot liquid into it, the lettering morphs into McSteamy! HA! Now that’s a stocking stuffer we can all look forward to …

[Beatriz]

Thank you for the writter's blog, I really enjoy reading their comments

[Gio Gio]

George, Izzie, Burke.. no comment.
Burke/Cristina are boring.

Finally Derek and Bailey. I'm glad
Derek/Mark interaction was good.
Poor Meredith. I loved her scenes with Ellis and Cristina.
Patrick, Ellen and Sandra are great actors

Meredith/Derek deserved many interaction but I appreciated their individual storyline. Their smiles at the end were priceless

[shinystar]

I got teary during that last scene.. Ellis/Meredith just rock! It's that simple.

Too bad meredith/derek only had 1 tiny scene, but it was cute, especially Derek's smile (when is it not?), but he's talking about home.. That's cute!

Onto Burke, I hated that he blamed Derek and his surgeon skills that he got tremors. It was his fault, he knew there are risks to every surgery, it was his responsiblity to report this to the doctor. Bailey was totally right in supporting Derek and encouraging Derek to do the surgery, and can I say finally for having a decent Derek/Bailey scene. Now that's a good friendship between surgeons.
I understand Derek though that he felt insecure about his skills, it's not a great feeling when you hear that it's your fault from somebody that you assume as a friend, even though Burke doesn't feel the same way, but it still hurts. So I liked Derek's response to that, makes him really human.

And YAY for Derek/Mark laugh. I always rooted for them to go back to friends, and even if this is a small step and it may not happen for like 10 more episodes, I'm perfectly happy with that one laugh, which says to me that maybe they'll be friends in the end.

I also liked that Izzie stepped up to Mark, gaining some respect back into the hospital. Something that Izzie has deserved by now. I'm glad she got to scrub in on the surgery to observe. Quite a surprise that Sloan is the one to give Izzie her first surgery since Denny.

I love Bailey for giving Cristina the O'Malley case, especially since she wanted to give the other itnerns the much more interesting case. I also loved how Bailey stepped up to the Chief and wanted B&C to be punished. Somebody had to do it, and I completely understand the other interns that despite Cristina's actions that she's still able to scrub in.

Burke/Cristina, I totally didn't mind them this episode. There's tension, and I love tension, but in the end they're still there for each other, or at least Cristina is in this case when she goes up with Derek and Burke for some test results. I'm glad Burke decided to stick with Derek and not another neurosurgeon.
The only real moment I liked Burke in this episode though was when he was there for George, and talking him through the surgery. I really liked that!

Meredith and her family, you have to feel sorry for her. Her mom tells her that she's sorry she had Meredith, in front of Meredith of all people and her half sister is having a C-section, and her stepmom pretty much wants Meredith to be part of the family. I understand that Meredith has problems with that, especially since her dad refuses to talk about her with his other family. So that's why I totally loved the final scene.. Fantastic!


ETA:

TV GUIDE REVIEW

November 30, 2006: Don't Stand So Close to Me Last season, back in April, I made a comment that I was officially old since Mare Winningham was playing a soon-to-be grandmother. That's because, even though I know she was Oscar-nominated for Georgia, I will always think of Mare as Wendy, the gal that Billy (Rob Lowe) discovered was wearing a girdle in St. Elmo's Fire. Are you with me here? But it was good to see her back tonight as Susan Grey, the current wife of Meredith's dad, Thatcher, and the timing made sense since Susan and Thatcher's daughter, Molly (Mandy Siegfried), was there for an emergency C-section. I won't refer to Susan as Meredith's stepmother since Meredith doesn't seem to want to associate herself with Susan and Molly: "You are not my family." Oh, Meredith. So harsh. But I have friends who are in the same boat — they don't really want to become close with their father's new family. I did kind of want Meredith to take Susan up on her offer to become part of their family. What made things better was the poignant ending scene between Meredith and her actual mother, Ellis (Kate Burton). As soon as Meredith hugged Ellis and said "Mommy," something she obviously doesn't make a habit of doing, Ellis knew Meredith was indeed her daughter and said: "Meredith." Chills. How many of you could relate to Bailey and most of the interns tonight and were annoyed that Burke and Cristina weren't punished for their unethical behavior? The administrators at Seattle Grace apparently do not care when their doctors or interns screw up — Izzie is still there. I did enjoy Webber finally yelling at Burke: "I passed the torch to you, and you blew it out!" Webber also redeemed the situation a bit with his talk with Bailey, telling her she raised the interns like they were her children and that "some of them turn out like you, Dr. Bailey." I still don't buy it that Burke and Cristina weren't punished somehow. You could look at it this way — Burke did not get to replace Webber as Webber wished (much to the frustration of Webber and, I'm sure when she finds out, his wife, Adele). Speaking of Cristina, it made perfect sense that Dr. Hahn (Brooke Smith) bonded with Cristina and said: "You remind me of me — focused, intense, cold — and I don't mean that in a bad way. Cold is good." I loved how Izzie treated Mark Sloan: "I don't do coffee." Her tough demeanor and her request to Sloan to give her something more meaningful to do besides "fetch, stay and heel" really had an effect on him since he asked her to scrub in for the first time in a while. Bailey, the "common thread," was, of course, not havin' it. Best story line was George's father surviving his risky aortic-valve replacement surgery. All this time, the only thing I've done when it comes to George Dzundza's portrayal of George's dad is list the actor's name. That's because I was never really impressed — to me, it was because the Archie Bunker-like character wasn't anything to write home about. Until tonight. Can you say "Emmy nomination"? I was blown away by the scene in which Mr. O'Malley asked George why he was so angry at everyone, "especially when the person you're really angry at is me." Here I was, crying while watching a character I usually would feel nothing for. I was still beyond annoyed by George's brothers, but now I want to see more of George Dzundza as Mr. O. Awesome scene with Burke giving George the play-by-play when George chose to look away during his father's surgery, especially when Burke told George that Cristina was performing a running whip stitch on Mr. O’Malley: "She's done it before." Burke's warmth made George say, "Thank you, Dr. Burke" — it was great to see the two of them get along. It just made me think of what could've been going through the minds of T.R. Knight and Isaiah Washington at the time. Every now and then, we are greeted with over-the-top bizarre patients, like last season's man who thought he was pregnant. Tonight, we got the conjoined adult identical twins, Jake and Pete Weitzman, played by real-life identical twins Jason and Randy Sklar. I've heard of brothers who are joined at the hip, but this was ridiculous. Sorry — had to say it. I'm just trying to picture Jake having sex with his girlfriend, Elena (Jennifer Aspen), while Pete "took a nap." It did not surprise me, then, that we discovered Elena was actually more in love with Pete, essentially picking him when Jake forced her to choose. Bailey cracked me up when she teased the interns with, "You still think Yang got the better case?" Just as I will always think of Mare Winningham as the girdled Wendy, Jennifer Aspen (even though I know she's played lots of roles in her career) will always be Daphne, the stripper with the heart of gold (and eventual mother of Charlie's baby daughter) on Party of Five to me. Nice moment when Jake and Pete reached over and held hands after the successful separation. I liked that all four patients survived their surgeries tonight, that Burke finally allowed Derek to give him medical advice (which will hopefully lead to Derek fixing Burke's hand) and Cristina got back on the elevator with Burke (even though he was with Derek). It was a pleasant way to end it for us fans of the show while we await the next new episode... in January! It's repeat central for all of December. According to my trusty ABC source, here is a listing of the episodes and their airdates: Thursday, Dec. 7: "Sometimes a Fantasy" Thursday, Dec. 14: "What I Am" Thursday, Dec. 21: "Oh, The Guilt" Thursday, Dec. 28: "Let the Angels Commit"

[Gio Gio]

Thanks for the review Karen

ITA with this part

How many of you could relate to Bailey and most of the interns tonight and were annoyed that Burke and Cristina weren't punished for their unethical behavior? The administrators at Seattle Grace apparently do not care when their doctors or interns screw up — Izzie is still there. I did enjoy Webber finally yelling at Burke: "I passed the torch to you, and you blew it out!" Webber also redeemed the situation a bit with his talk with Bailey, telling her she raised the interns like they were her children and that "some of them turn out like you, Dr. Bailey." I still don't buy it that Burke and Cristina weren't punished somehow. You could look at it this way — Burke did not get to replace Webber as Webber wished (much to the frustration of Webber and, I'm sure when she finds out, his wife, Adele). Speaking of Cristina, it made perfect sense that Dr. Hahn (Brooke Smith) bonded with Cristina and said: "You remind me of me — focused, intense, cold — and I don't mean that in a bad way. Cold is good."

They not punished: Addison when she closed the tubes of her patient last year; Izzie with Denny, Burke and Cristina. But in the first season they punished Meredith (and Burke helped her - ep.105)

[shinystar]

I think they punished Izzie, she got quite some rules set out for her in order for her to get back, probation, community service I believe, observation only. Yes she was back just like that (it's a tv-show) but IMO Cristina and Burke should have both gotten a probation, even Meredith got a probation in season 1, and in the episode they said Izzie's case involved a death, but Mer's case in S1 didn't. It's kind of confusing if you ask me

I hope Shonda will answer new questions soon in her FAQ