From Shonda Rhimes, Creator of Grey’s Anatomy…

On "Superstitions"

Original airdate: 3-19-06

So tonight’s episode was written by the brilliant Jim Parriott.  But Jim’s off helping some other television show get on its feet these days so…you’re hearing from me about this episode.

There are a lot of things I could tell you about the history of Ellis and Richard.  I spend hours, days, MONTHS thinking about these two characters.  What happened between them 20 years ago is enough to fill a whole television series all on its own.  I have a secret fond wish to write and publish The Diaries of Ellis Grey.  That woman fascinates me.  And Richard’s love for her fascinates me.  I get why they fell in love – the two of them were surgical interns at a time when most surgical interns were white males.  They were different, they were outsiders and they had each other.  Of course they fell in love.   That their love didn’t work out, that Richard failed to leave his spouse after Ellis left hers, that Ellis’ departure from Seattle Grace drove Richard to his alcoholic bottom…well, that makes for a juicy history.

What?  You were surprised about Richard’s alcoholism?  I was too.  I was sitting at home late one night with a sick kid when the writers called me with this idea.  Richard is an alcoholic.  I was all,  NO HE’S NOT!   And they pitched the idea again.  And they pitched again.  And again.  These writers of mine, they are willful and determined (especially that damned Krista Vernoff).   They wouldn’t shut up about it.  “He’s totally an alcoholic and here’s why.”  I hate them sometimes. Especially when they are right.  Because Richard is totally an alcoholic and now I see why.  Damn them.

And then there is Denny.  Denny.  Ah, Denny…

Oops.  Sorry.  I went into my fantasy world for a moment there. The fantasy world in which I am Izzie and Denny is well, Denny and he loves me with that damaged heart of his.  Do you love Denny as much as I do?  Because I LOVE Denny.  Yeah, I love the actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan and all but what I really love is Denny.  I love the sexy heart-needing dude in the hospital bed in a way that is not natural and definitely not healthy and most certainly not sane.  I love Denny with my full whole soul in a “you jump, I jump” kinda way that means there should be a restraining order in place to keep me away from him.  You can understand Alex’s rage and jealousy.  Because there is nothing he can do to compete.  In real life, the actor who plays Alex (Justin Chambers) is the sweetest, kindest, most normal family man in the world.  But the guy he plays on the show is a vicious mess.  And battling a drawling, sexy, sweet heart patient for Izzie’s affections is starting to wear on him.  All I can say is wait until you see what happens next.

The Mer/Der of it all.  They are friends.  Really.  Kind of.  Well, not so much friends.  But they think they are friends.  You should maybe take note of the fact that Derek didn’t take it so well when Meredith told him about George.  You should maybe note that he got a look on his face.  And you should remember that I said that EVERYTHING on our show comes back around again.  That’s all I’m saying.  You just remember that.

Bailey and her baby.  A lot of you wrote to rant about the fact that Bailey brings her baby to work and that babies don’t belong in hospitals.  I’d like to gently remind you that hospitals are filled with babies.  Hospitals are, in fact, where people go to push babies out into the world.  Babies start out in hospitals.  So…you know, deal with it.  Plus, the very first idea I had when Chandra Wilson (who plays Bailey) told me she was pregnant was that I’d love to see Bailey bringing her baby to work and challenging the Chief when he suggested it was inappropriate.  As a mother myself, I have a thing about that.  You want me to work?  Fine.  Great.  No problem.  But see this tiny baby right here?  This baby comes along with me.

Hmmm.  Okay, that’s all I can think of to say about this episode for tonight.  My brain is kinda empty.   See, I just went to the TV Land Awards where Grey’s Anatomy was named the Future Classic of 2006 and I’m still totally FREAKING OUT.  I mean, the entire cast of Dallas was there.  And the entire cast of Cheers.  And, I kid you not, the entire cast of GOOD TIMES.  Yes, GOOD TIMES.   Remember Janet Jackson and the iron burn on her back?  Remember when James died?   It was AWESOME.   I need to lie down and process the fact that I was in the same room as JJ.  And JR.  Do you know that 350 million people watched the episode where it was revealed who shot JR?

I have so much writing to do if I’m even going to begin to think about coming anywhere close to the universe of that kind of super amazing television history.  I should, in fact, be writing right now…

Comments

[Michele]

Sorry, Shonda, disagree on Denny. If your idea of a dreamy guy for Izzy is some over 40 heart failure patient (Izzy is 27, this is CREEPY. Why does Hollywood keep pushing the big lie that girls in their twenties fall for guys 15-20 years older for them? This happens in HOLLYWOOD where the guys are rich-Michael Douglas-CZJ-but out here, when a girl is as sexual as you've painted Izzy out to be-sorry, not cutting it for me). Denny to me is too old for her. And only appealing to her because he is needy and flat on his back in the hospital. If that's your idea of high romance-sorry. Not cutting it for me. I hate the storyline and I hate every word coming out of Izzy's mouth in regard to her crush on old Uncle Denny.

[Thank you Shonda!! (JoJo)]

Shonda,

THANK YOU!!!

Thank you for the quick blog...(gotta love immediate gratification!)

Thank you for the proverbial Mer/Der "bone"

Thank you for for elaborating on ALL the subtleties of this episode!!!

Jim Parriott: Thank you for the ever-so-brief, yet ever-so-satisfying Mer/Der encounter, which was just enough for me to hold out hope...

Thank you for T.R.'s time on the air...he is truly a gem!! His antics with Sandra's character had me virtually in tears!! Side note...Loved that he did not "break down" after Alex tore him a new one.

Thank you for Izzie's vulnerabilities, and Denny's on-air time...he is a better actor, flat on his back, with just his "face" to emote with, then most other actors out there (excluding ALL the actors on GA!)

Thank you, thank you, thank you...

P.S. Shonda, you just keep writing and we'll keep watching!! Congrats on the TV Land award!

[Peta]

Sorry Shonda, I am sooo not feeling the Denny/Izzie thing...it's SO inappropriate. I was with meany Alex throughtout the episode..yes, Alex.
I'm wondering about your phrasing in that statement about Richard 'failing' to leave his wife...strange way to word something like that.
Anyway, on to serious matters. Thanks to Jim for a good turn in the universe in which I exist....BANGWORLD...loved their interactions on this episode...keep it going.

[karedream]

i love your show all of it , McDeamy has to face the past demons in past and self to heal so he can be the best or he will self destruct in himself and others will be roadkill untill he heals his heart and mind as well what all of us must to do to grow in growing see the potholes in our lives and fix them and move on to open road, ha good work love the show

[Betty]

Thank you - loved the ep and loved the blog - GA FOREVER!!!

[Dana Wilson]

I LOVE this show! I love everything about it. There is only one show I have ever been this crazy over in my 33 yrs of existence. And just let me say, if Denny had not made it thru surgery, I'm not sure I would've been able to make it to work this morning. I totally understand Shonda when it comes to Denny. Shouldn't I kind of feel bad about having such an attraction for a 'fake' hospital patient? Who cares! He's awesome! Can't wait til the next episode!

[Whitster]

I LOVE you for making Richard an alcholic. Genius!! Genius!! Genius!! I can't wait to see what comes of that. I can't help but wonder if Richard's wife knew about the affair with Ellis years ago and what's going to happen when she finds out about all his time with Ellis recently. Juicy stuff man!! Loved it too how you had his sponsor pop back in his life and bust his chops about going back to the root of all his evil. And THANK YOU for making Alex yell at George even if he was taking out his own frustrations on him. Someone needed to call George out on his immature, whiney ways. And thanks to Alex I think George just may have finally grown himself a set of manly baubles. Now that he's man enough to pursue the ortho doc I can't wait to see what steam they generate and which one of them winds up on top. Oolala!! Izzy threatening to kick Cristina's arse and Cristina cowering in fear was hysterical!! I LOVED this episode and you've left we wanting more, more, MORE!!!! I LOVE you guys and your writing talent! You give me something to look forward to and cherish each week. I'm having a hard time remembering these are just characters and not real people but that's okay.....those are my own issues to deal with.

[Susan]

Shonda, thanks so much for your insight about these characters! This is exactly the kind of blog that we were looking for! What a gift that you take the time to let us into the heads of these wonderful characters. Keep up the great work, and thank you.

[~*~Kelly ~*~]

Love your show, can't say it enough! Thanks for clearing up a couple questions I had! I just can't wait to see what happens next. Any chance you all want to skip the summer hiatus, and just keep the shows coming??? ;)

[charlotte]

What nothing on Addison??? I love Addison and thought she was amazing last night.

When is Addison going to get a profile on the website? Are you guys going to write her out soon?

PS Addison and Derek rock. Not everyone is a Meredith Derek fan

[Kerry]

Shonda, once again - thank you. Thank you for the show and especially for this blog. It is invaluable, insightful and just plain incredible to be able to read what the writers think when they create our beloved characters. I especially want to thank you for the beautiful Burketina moments in this episode, I love seeing them dealing with each other as equals with love and respect. I "heart" them!! And you!!

[Ali]

Shonda~

You're wonderful. This show is wonderful. And all of your writers are brilliant. Truly an inspiration to tv writing. Seriously.

I was shocked when it came out that Webber was an alcoholic! I actually said, outloud, "Holy Crap--Webber is an alcoholic?!?" But I get why. It fits perfectly, with the whole Ellis storyline. (On a sort of side note, please write her diaries. I would love that. So much. It would be fascinating stuff.)

Alex--a "vicious mess?" You don't say! Haha. Needless to say, I nearly fell off of my bed, with some of his comments to Izzie this episode. Enter the Green Eye'd monster! Seriously dude--not the way to win a girl's heart. Insult her friends, be an ass to a patient, and act like a four year old. Definitely not date-winning tactics. "wait until you see what happens next"--that is probably the meanest thing you've ever said to me! Now I know there's something that is going to happen...but I'm left to wonder about the 'what' of it, myself. I'm going to start calling *you* 007, with all the mystery that you offer. Hehe.

Now we have a Mer/Der information tease. That's just not fair! *ahem* Mini-tantrum over. But seriously--what are you alluding too? My mind can't keep up with your genious, when I am only on my first cup of coffee. Seriously. Coffee = oxygen. My brain is therefore a bit deprived at the moment. Moving on though, 'cause this isn't about me. I did see the look on Derek's face, when Meredith told him. He was hurt, right? It was about a thousand emotions, in a span of three seconds (Kudos to Dempsey). And I did see his look, in the background, on this episode, when Addison first gave Meredith the Ju Ju. Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed. Speaking on interesting, what was with his parting look to Mer at the end of the episode? I couldn't quite pin it down.

Future Classic of 2006??!!? CONGRATS. Totally and utterly deserved. :-)

Okay, now on to a few of my own thought, that don't directly connect to your blog. I will never look at hot chocolate the same again. It will now be the cure for all bad luck. I love you for giving me an excuse to drink hot chocolate. Hehe.

I loved Cristina and George in the women's bathroom. I couldn't stop laughing. They looked like little kids, fighting in the sandbox. It was priceless.

I liked Addison, Meredith, and Derek questioning the politics of friendship. If Mer is friends with Der, that makes her friends with Addison by proxy. Or does it? Because we know that they are not your typical friends, even if they don't know it. So, how does this all work, precisely? Very complicated and amazing. (Btw, Ellen Pompeo looked amazing in this episode.)

Loved these lines:
Meredith: The She-Shepherd hot chocolated me.
Bailey: Let’s hope she lives, to gently stalk another day.

Bailey: Spleen trumps horoscope. (My personal fav of the night. I love Bailey; she's amazing.)

Meredith: Is the craziness rubbing off on him?

Okay, that's enough for me, because I could talk for days about this show, but seriously don't want to take up too much space. Great episode. Thank Jim for me, ok? :-) Love the blog; thanks for keeping it up, despite the rather Lord of the Flies-like commentary that seems to surface once and again. :-)

[Josie]

Hi, Shonda! This is the second time I've posted here, and I just have to reiterate how much I love this beautiful television show that you've created. I read a quote from you somewhere (tvtattle?) about your deep love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it clicked immediately for me why I loved your show so much. The characters are so dynamic and heartbreakingly human; the dialogue is so believable; powerful female characters; and no storyline goes unfinished (i.e., everything comes ack around again), just like our beloved Joss Whedon.

Someday, I envision a perfect world where you and Joss are running a show together. Until then, I have the new episodes of Greys, and my seven seasons of Buffy and season one of Grey's on DVD to keep me warm.

Thanks again for the fabulous show.

[Carrie]

Shonda, You are the absolute best, you know that?!? Thank you Jim for being busy and thank you, Shonda, for writing the blog! I'm happy now and can continue on in a happy, go-lucky kinda way for two weeks until the next new epi of Grey's comes on. =)

[Holly]

Good God Shonda!!!! Even when you just write, I get that excited let me catch my breath thing and I love it!!! We need a little more of that in the episodes, okay? But tell Jimmy he did a nice job. I really want to punch Alex in the face, so good for Justin. I love you!

[Alex Wilson]

Hi, Shonda and everyone at Grey's Anatomy.

I'm from New Zealand, where we're only just up to episode seven of season two, so I'm sticking my hands over my eyes to avoid all these spoilers (Okay, not really. Denny who?) to tell you how much I love your show. Seriously. Awesome writing and marvelous acting and wonderful plots. You've all even started to affect the way I talk! (Seriously!) But I have one question: why do we never get to see Izzie in the OR? In all GA I've seen, we've only had a few seconds of her actually in the OR. I think she's performed procedures almost everywhere in the hospital *except* the OR, but everytime she steps into the OR, the scene changes.

Of course, maybe she's had major procedures in every episode between where we are and where you are, in which case, ignore me. Except for the praise. That stands either way.

[Mo]

Great blog...these add soo much to the show...and congrats on the award. Thanks Shonda.

[Naixy]

Shonda,

You just crack me up! JJ & JR! And AMEN to the whole baby thing! YOu go girl!! I love this show and when things dawn on me the next morning -- like with Meredith and the gentle stalker girl....You do have a classic! This show touches on our emotions -- and I've been all those women at some point in my life...Have an awesome week and thanks for creating a show (the only show I truly must watch...and look forward to watching each week!)

[Marcy]

I need more about this!!

"The Mer/Der of it all. They are friends. Really. Kind of. Well, not so much friends. ... that I said that EVERYTHING on our show comes back around again. That’s all I’m saying. You just remember that."

:) I can't wait to see what you have in store for us viewers, thanks for being so GREAT!!

[Caren from Pennsylvania]

Oh, how I love Denny! Please don't do anything to change the way Denny is, just get him a heart.....and let him love Izzy. That was such a wonderful moment between them this episode. Feed the fantasy...let Denny live!!

[Lark]

Shonda,
Thanks for clearing up some stuff and again giving us an insight into these complex, loveable characters.
Don't listen to all the critics! I know you and your writers will keep us guessing, keep us engaged, and keep us watching.
I've said it before- You have raised TV drama to a new level. GA is already a classic!! Can't wait until April.

[Mommy2mo]

OMG! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show!!! This show has to have THE BEST writers out there!! I don't think there is another show that could keep so many different love "angles" going AND manage to keep everyone interested and the plots SO fresh! YOU GUYS ROCK!!
I know Alex acted like a total ass, but he was hurting over the Izzie thing. Not that it makes what he did to george ok. Although George needed a wake up call so he could go chasing that spunky Dr. Torres! I would totally read the Diary's of Ellis Grey!
Well anyhow, this was yet another fantastic Episode, and i CANNOT wait until next week, OH and the week after that(Lovin the double preview!!)!
Hurry up Sunday!!

[Obsessed GA Fan]

Shonda,
I think I love this site as much as I love the show! Thank you for such a wonderful getaway every Sunday! I loved Izzie this week and the way she stood up to Christina. I was curious where you got or get each characters name?

[Rebecca Majeski]

OK, who's the writer in recovery? Job well done on Richard's story. Mary Kay Place did a great job as his sponsor The storyline of her sponsee and the people bringing a meeting to her room - very realistic. Kudos.

[Andy.]

I thought this was another coasting episode; this really isn't the show I fell in love with. I have to think there were some Addison/Derek scenes mentioned in the synopsis that were cut because this story progressed not at all. It's frustrating especially when I really don't think your audience gives a hoot about Richard OR Eliis. And WHY is Alex back to being a villain? That last scene was just nasty and mean-spirited but not in a good way, in just a cliche way. You were making progress with Alex and now he's just so unpleasant and it's not even fun to watch.