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I  was excited to watch Brothers & Sisters last night. After a one-week hiatus due to The Oscars, the previews looked exceptionally good, touting it as a 2 hour movie event. And the previews promised that during the 2 hour episode there would be “a birth…and a death”.

Well we all knew the birth would be the birth of Robert (Rob Lowe) and Kitty’s (Calsita Flockhart) baby. And with all the Balthazar Getty gossip (he’s leaving the show) and rumors of Rob Lowe’s character being killed off, I wasn’t sure who it would be.

Suffice it to say there was no death. Okay, not really. Lowe’s character, Senator McCallister had a heart attack. He flatlined for a minute, but was revived. That was the death.

Oh, and the death reference may also have been a metaphor. Because Robert and Kitty’s marriage is pretty much dead.

I’m no Mr. Blackwell, but I love looking at the celebrity gowns at the Oscars. This year there were some beauts!

I loved Jennifer Aniston’s look, and I will go against the critics to say she looked absolutely beautiful  compared to the gloomy Angelina Jolie. Sorry, but Angie always wears black and I didn’t like her gawdy green jewels either- the earrings looked like they were from the dollar store. Jen wore a silver Valentino gown and I thought she looked stunning.

Another A+ in my book, but not in the critics’, was Alicia Keys. She wore a gorgeous, lilac colored gown that was a breath of fresh air amongst all the black and the neutral dresses. I loved it!

Mickey Rourke looked like a clown, but he would have looked worse stuffed into a regular tuxedo so I’ll let him slide. I was bummed he didn’t win for Best Actor, mostly because it meant I had to sit through one of Sean Penn’s political speeches again.

And finally, Sarah Jessica Parker.  I love her, I think she has eclectic fashion sense, but her gown was too much this time. She looked like Glinda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz. And I wish she’d cut that hair.

Photo Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Strange. Even with the pending Izzie “cancer” storyline which began last week, Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes is denouncing claims made by start James Pickens Jr. that co-stars Katherine Heigl andT.R. Knight are both leaving the show. Rhimes, who is notorious for demanding secret-keeping on the set, may be angry that Pickens slipped up at a recent NAACP luncheon, when he blabbed that the two actors are leaving. Rhimes says his comments were taken out of context, but I’m not convinced.

Things have been awry on that show for a long time, and T.R. Knight/George’s storylines have been noticeably non-existent. In fact, I see more air time with some of the nameless interns than I do of George.  So we’ll see, but it wouldn’t surprise me if both Izzie and George are both gone before long.

I finally had  a chance to watch my DVR’d episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. I will say, that after all the hoopla, it did not disappoint.

 I loved seeing Addison back at Seattle Grace. I especially loved seeing Meredith as the outsider among a group of old and dear friends (Addison, Derrick, Mark, Naomi and Sam). I enjoyed Dr. Bailey as she sorta flirted with Sam (he is one hunk o’ man).

I always hate the medical cases on both of these shows, so I didn’t enjoy them. But the side storyline with Izzie’s games for the interns was a hoot. I just wish that annoying Lexi Gray didn’t win the challenges!

Next week concludes the crossover storyline and the scenes look good!

The dissention on the set of Grey’s Anatomy never ceases to amaze me. Aren’t these people just grateful to have a job? Now series regulars Katherine Heigl and TR Knight are reportedly being written out of the show—at their own request. Grey’s star James Pickens Jr.(Chief Webber) confirmed the news at an NAACP luncheon. Both stars have been complaining about their Grey’s contracts for a while now, so it’s not a big surprise. But with two popular characters scrubbing out for good, does it spell the near-end for the popular drama?

I hope not.  But I will miss these characters. Just when Justin Chambers’ Dr. Karev finally got the girl (Heigl’s Izzie), she’s bolting. And I’ve loved the character of George (Knight) since the beginning. My only solace is maybe now that Knight is leaving, the producers will consider bringing back the enigmatic Dr. Burke (Isaiah Washington). If you recall, Burke was written out of the show due to an on the set dispute with T.R. Knight. Oh, except star Patrick Dempsey had words with Washington too, so scratch that idea.

Looks like probably they’ll just bring in more off-the-wall characters, like intern Sadie and weirdo Dr. Owen Hunt.

 In any event, with the departure of two key characters, Grey’s just won’t be the same.

I was sooooooo disappointed in last night’s highly touted Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice crossover story arc. Because there wasn’t a crossover…… at least not yet.

The Grey’s episode was just a typical Grey’s episode. Okay, well at the very end, Derek gets a call from Addison, where she says “Derek? I need you”.

Segue to Private Practice, where we find Addison’s brother Archer is having seizures. After some medical detective work, the gang at Oceanside  Wellness come up with the diagnosis that even the New York doctors couldn’t get right. A diagnosis so gross I can’t even discuss it!

In any event, the two episodes were mostly separate , although Derek’s name was mentioned on Private Practice several times. According to the previews, next week the two shows really collide and hopefully it will be good!

On a side note, I’m increasingly irritated by both of these shows bloated casts, especially Grey’s. I can’t stand some of the new doctors on the show, and George was hardly on last night. There isn’t enough room to develop all of these characters! Grey’s needs to have a staff reduction-and quick!

And on Private Practice, I’m hoping Sheldon is not the father of Violet’s baby and maybe he’ll make like Dr. Burke and Dr. Hahn on Grey’s and skip town!

Now this should be interesting. Starting next week, two of my favorite shows will begin a crossover story arc. I don’t know all of the details, but it looks like over at ABC’s Private Practice, Addison’s smarmy brother, Archer (Grant Show), will be needing some serious medical attention—and Addison calls on the Grey’s Anatomy crew and her ex-husband Dr. McDreamy (Patrick Demspey) for some help!

The crossover is supposed to last for several episodes!

I love it when shows do stuff like this. It reminds me of the old kid’s cartoon, Scooby Doo‘s Laff-A-Lympics. It was always so weird seeing Fred Flinstone hanging out with Huckleberry Hound and The Blue Falcon.  

Wonder if we’ll see Seattle Grace’s resident ghost, Denny, walking the halls over at  Oceanside Wellness Center!

I’m a fan of Grey’s Anatomy, but I hate the medical scenes. The blood and gore and scary diagnoses get DVR’d and I usually fast forward them. I know, I know, it’s a medical show but I’m over it. I just like to get to the real guts of the show: the love lives of the doctors.Which is why I’m shocked that I’ve been watching the medical scenes in the current 3-part story arc.  

Eric Stoltz (Mask, Chicago Hope) has been guest starring as a serial killer, fresh from death row, with a brain injury. McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) despises the unremorseful creep, who murdered several women. But since he doesn’t want to die on death row, Stoltz’ character offers his liver to a dying child. McDreamy doesn’t want the guy to die in his hospital– he thinks the creep needs to go back to death row.

Stoltz’ acting is flawless. He plays the sinister killer to perfection. He‘s so mesmerizingly evil I can’t even believe it’s Eric Stoltz.

If this story arc doesn’t garner Eric Stoltz an Emmy nod, I don’t know what will.

Back in 1979, I loved the show “BJ and the Bear”. The series starred Greg Evigan as B..J. McKay, a hunky trucker who traveled around in his rig with his pet chimp, Bear. When the series was canceled in 1981, I was crushed. How would I get my Greg fix??

Turns out I was looking in all the wrong places. While I did catch him on the tacky late-80’s series “My Two Dads”.  I hadn’t realized that Evigan’s been around all this time. How could I have missed him? Evigan acted throughout the 80’s, 90’s and he is still working steadily today (even making a  cameo on Desperate Housewives in 2007—I definitely don’t know how I missed him on that!). His resume on IMDB is huge.

He seems to do a lot of TV movies, so maybe I should be checking out Lifetime more often!

I wouldn’t normally think of the show “Grey’s Anatomy” when I think of Christmas, but the 2005 episode “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” ranks up there as one of my favorite television Christmas episodes of all time (I even have this episode on my IPod).

The whole team at Seattle Grace Hospital is pretty much in a Scroogey mood. Except for Izzie, that is. The opening scene of this episode features her decorating a gigantic Christmas tree, to the tune of Nat King Cole’s “A Christmas Song”.

There are several pivotal scenes in this episode. Derrick (Patrick Dempsey) is having a hard time adjusting to the holiday season, even though he is newly reconciled with his wife, Addison (Kate Walsh).

Alex (Justin Chambers) has to retake one of his medical exams, and he’s not motivated to study, until he gets support from an unexpected friend.

Yang (Cristina Oh) and Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) get into a tiff over his religious beliefs.

But it’s the final scene (and the music in this episode) that gets me the most.

When Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) walks in her living room and sees Izzie and George laying under the Christmas tree,  just looking up, she asks them what they are doing.

“Lights.” Izzie replies dreamily. 

And then Meredith joins them too.

Photo Credit: ABC