cycworker

In fairness, Sam wasn't originally dumb. He was sensitive and smart. That was part of the reason Quinn was attracted to him.

This. As current sitcoms go, I don't mind Modern Family, but it isn't this incredibly brilliant show that people make it out to be. Jodie Foster is a shoo in.

Where are you finding the salary info? I'm curious about some other shows, too.

Excellent analysis. I would add Grey's in there, too. They're an interesting hybrid, that initially, although they claimed to be about the 5 interns, the first season or two was really about Meredith's journey. Like you described with Carter, the action was meant to be perceived through her eyes... her POV and how it impacted her journey. By the end of Season 2, it began to switch, as the other interns really were a hit in their own right. Even Grey's has had cast loss issues.The Isaiah Washington firing could have put them in Glee territory, just because of what Cristina and Burke had begun to mean to the audience (and, of course, all the negative publicity re: the on set issues). Then shortly after that the problems continued with Knight & Hiegl, yet the show got through it, because they had vision and they stuck to it. And more importantly, when they have brought in new characters, they've done it carefully. And the ones that don't work, they write out, which is why we had the mass casualties in the S6 finale (buh-bye, you extraneous Mercy Westers!) and this season they wrote out 3 of the 5 new interns introduced in Season 9.

I agree... that ending would definitely make me watch.

She did. Shonda wrote all of Cristina's exit story. Well, I shouldn't say that as I'm not sure she wrote all her scenes from 17 onwards. But she did write all her finale scenes. That's been confirmed... she wrote it but didn't want to take the writing credit away from the writer of the rest of the episode. I don't know that I agree it was fanfic-y. Though if it was, I can see that. The thing about Shonda Rhimes is that she has a lot of fangirl in her. Yes, she's a trained writer. But from the beginning she talked about writing what she wanted to see... about the attachment she has to these characters. She's particularly enamored of Cristina. So I can see how she might have lost some objectivity as a writer and went for the more emotional, fanfic type ending.

Definitely the Afterschool Special qualities they added to the show were a big problem. What made the first season of Glee good was that the humour was dark, satirical, and even, at it's best, subversive. The show totally lost its edge. Part of that could have been Fox telling them to tone it down, in an effort to make the show appeal to a broader/even younger audience. By season 3, there were kids I know who were getting permission to watch that NEVER would've been allowed to watch S1. Understatement of the year! Ryan Murphy wouldn't recognize a throughline if he tripped over it.

I loved last night's episode. I personally do ship OutlawQueen so I was bummed that Emma brought Marian back. But as I was telling a friend, that's the soapiest soap contrivance ever, so to me it's just further proof that they (OQ) belong together. I loved a lot of the humour last night. I'm intrigued by where they may go with Frozen.

She won't kill Cristina. I see what you're saying, but if a minor character gets it, I'm not going to bail on principle. It would make perfect sense to me if they had Shane die heroically as karma, for lack of a better world, for what happened to Heather, and even how he mishandled things with Jimmy. I'd be bummed if they killed of Leah, but again, it wouldn't matter so much that I'd quit over it. She wasn't a core character. I do find myself wondering about Owen, but I don't see it.

Photo fox, you're right. I highly doubt they'd have April give birth to a kid with Downs' Syndrome. But they could do something like what happened to a friend of mine. She and her hubby were told there was a good chance, when she was pregnant with her last (or second last, I don't remember) child that it'd be born with Trisonomy (sp?) 13 or one of those types of birth defects that essentially meant the child wasn't going to survive long term outside the womb. She's a Christian and abortion wasn't something she was ever going to consider. And as it turned out, her daughter was fine. With Sofia, if they were smart, they'd give her some mild learning issues, as it seems the twins are now a little younger than the characters, but not much younger. So they could very easily, say, make Sofia 4 and note she's 'behind' in her language skills or fine motor or something. Not sure I'd go with language, as those girls are actually both quite verbal (I follow the parents on Twitter & Instagram). And actually, as much as I know some don't like them, I still find they engage more than the twins playing Zola. When you saw her in the background in 10x2, the little one was talking a bit to SaRa and was playing with her, and she said a word to Sandra Oh/Cristina when she gave her that stuffed toy earlier, in the hospital scene. The kids playing Zola, on the other hand, are oblivious and seem to totally ignore the adults when they talk to them... though I suppose in the scene with Amelia, you could argue it kinda worked (Zola actress did not respond AT ALL to Amelia as she was talking to her; didn't even look up. I honestly wondered if she as deaf).

I agree with photo fox, though I don't think it'll be Spina Bifida. I have Spina Bifida and my understanding is they can now deal with it in utero (though I could be wrong - it may only be certain variations of SB they can address that way). As doctors, both would know that and so termination wouldn't be as much of an issue. Now Down's Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy (I'm not sure you can diagnose CP via amnio) or something like? Yes, I could see them going there.

April is definitely not a fundie. Her interactions with Arizona and Callie are enough to show that. I guarantee you, the fundamentalists in my church would have NO problem tell them how terrible it is for them to be bringing a child into their sinfulness.

Excellent episode. I really, really enjoyed it. I wasn't happy about Burke coming back, but Shonda Rhimes was right. It was needed. Oh.... Richard was right, too. I'm having trouble investing in that bit though, because to me the answer seems so obvious... use blind judging. It happens all the time. You simply read the proposals/research/what have you with no names attached and vote solely on the work. As long as that happens and their are witnesses in place to ensure it happens, it should be no problem for a doctor who works in a Foundation owned hospital to win. The judging team would be separate from the nominating team and would not be affiliated with the Foundation.

Three more. Finale is May 15.

I actually really enjoyed the episode. I've been very interested in the case with the heart patient kids & I was upset that Frankie died. Yeah, Leah is so quitting the program. She just doesn't have the make up for this field. I loved Richard and Mama Avery. I am shocked by how much I now like that pairing. Was not expecting that at all.Thought their fight was really enjoyable. There was something very adult about it to me. I do find the Harper Avery twist dumb. There has to be a way they can fix this. To me it seems as simple as a blind vote. I'm still interested in April/Jackson. I still think he can learn to not mock her faith and she can learn to stop pitying his lack of it and they can find a way to give the kids exposure to religion in a way that works for them. I will admit that in some ways atheist/believer is more complicated than two people who are from different faiths. I thought it was nice to see Owen trying to be supportive of her. Was too bad there wasn't more time for an April/Arizona scene. I'd never seen Amelia before. I really like her. Don't entirely buy that Zola could/would do all that damage in a day. Wonderful Alex/Arizona scenes. I'm honestly not sure now what he's ultimately going to do. He'll still have hospital privileges, so in theory, he could go into private practice & stay on the show. Overall I thought it was a solid hour.

@Denay - Thanks. Also one other compromise I think they've made is the kids will not take part in communion until they are older.... at least 16, I think she said. I don't think they were specifically tying cochlear implants to Christianity. April was simply saying that there's no right answer & it's not up to Jackson to judge the parents for not wanting them.

I actually really like the April/Jackson story. I'm a Christian, and in this case, I was really annoyed at April. She really crossed the line with the pity comment. I do think they can work it out though. I know couples in my own church where one believes and the other doesn't. They have figured out compromises. Dad doesn't come to church, but the kids do. They waited until they were in kindergarten, though. They really investigated what the Sunday school program teaches.... as in, got copies of the curriculum, talked to teachers, talked to parents, etc,. etc. And they both agree that the kids aren't going to be forbidden from doing other activities even if that means missing church some weeks. Right now one of the kids plays football and they have games on Sunday some weeks. He doesn't have to skip football for church. And mom is very quick to let it be known that she isn't open to people's commentary on that (there are a couple people I know look askance on their choice to put sports ahead of church). So I don't think it's fair to say that April/Jackson's situation is just as irreconcilable as Cristina/Owen. There are ways they can work things out if they both calm down & listen to each other. I loved Callie & Arizona this week. They have to recast baby Bailey though... it's getting too obvious that it's a girl playing him. And the babies look far too different. I knew Cristina was going to lose. I loved that Meredith was there for her, though I hated that Owen came with her. Stay away from Owen, Cristina! I'm really intrigued by the two ongoing patient cases. Shocked by how much I enjoyed Meredith & Derek.

I do like Owen. His relationship is just toxic, though, and it's brought out the worst in him.

In earlier seasons didn't they have music in the E.R.? I have this distinct memory of Callie liking rock music and talking about rock climbing and all sorts of bad ass things. So I liked the bit in the O.R. with Arizona & Dr. Butthole. I'm intrigued by the idea of Alex being tempted by private practice, too. Of course, I don't want him to go, unless he can stay on the show, and it can be used as a vehicle to further explore Arizona's grief issues, which have been given short shrift. I loved Callie & Jo. I was reminded again in this episode that I'm going to miss Leah, though. I did think the April/Bailey scene was great. Liked the whole idea of showing the 3 couples, with one getting sick & the other showing how each couple manages it. Derek, when he can't push through anymore, is more like Ben. He likes to have some TLC. Jackson goes into his man cave. And Arizona's characteristically Type A in planning for her sickness. I liked that she wasn't as extreme as Jackson or Derek; she let Callie help her... but she also wasn't whiny the way Ben was described. I wish though, that since they were under, they had extended the final Calzona scene instead of doing the flashbacks at the beginning. Heck, since it was 1 minute, go 30 seconds more Calzona & 30 seconds of flashbacks. I'm interested to see what happens both with the Bubble Boy & Cristina's cases

That was 18, so actually 6.... 19-24.