Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking

[taanja]

15 minutes ago, Scatterbrained said:

Jo,will try to warn new fiancée, and will give her the DV hotline number.  It will be heartwarming that she's looking out for another woman.  GIRL POWER!

 

and then everyone will give Jo hugs of congratulations and support now that it is over.  Heartwarming.

I think I just threw up a little in my mouth...

Edited January 15, 2018 by taanja

[Scatterbrained]

Sorry, I'm a bit snarky right now.  Winter weather induced cabin fever.  Hurry up, Spring!

18 minutes ago, taanja said:

I think I just threw up a little in my mouth...

[taanja]

33 minutes ago, Scatterbrained said:

Sorry, I'm a bit snarky right now.  Winter weather induced cabin fever.  Hurry up, Spring!

Haha! No I loved it! and I used the famous quote from George!

[Deanie87]

6 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

And maybe that's why Paul showed up at the hospital? Maybe to get Jo to sign divorce papers, which would certainly clear up part of the DV storyline. But then they can still explore the issue of Jo wanting to let Paul's fiancee know about why she up and left, it Paul has even told her about his marriage in the first place. 

I feel like it’s necessary to actually see why Jo left and changed her name and kept it all secret for all this time.  If Paul comes across as only slightly jerky with an edge, then Jo is still open to accusations of being a liar and a drama queen.  They have built him up to be a monster, albeit a manipulative and charming one, so that’s what I want to see.  Not to mention that Jo’s entire persona is built on this ever conflicting and poorly written backstory, so I don’t want more inconsistencies now. My guess is that he seems like he has changed, wants a divorce and Jo tries to warn the new girlfriend but she doesn’t listen.  Jo gets her divorce and then maybe the girlfriend shows up battered sometime later this season. 

While I'm happy to have the melodrama over, I don’t want something that has been dragged on for years to be swept under the rug or tied up with happy bow in two crowded episodes. And no matter what, I’m sure I’ll be irritated when the hospital rallies around to give “You Go Girl” speeches to someone they have alternately ignored and treated like shit for the past three years.

Edited January 16, 2018 by Deanie87

[BaseOps]

14x11 - On the episode “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” – The stress of managing the hospital and coming to terms with Ben’s decision to become a Seattle firefighter pushes Bailey to her limits, on “Grey’s Anatomy,” THURSDAY, FEB. 1 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

Guest starring are Debbie Allen as Catherine Avery and Amy Landecker as Morgan. “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” was written by Elisabeth R. Finch and directed by Nicole Rubio.

[OtterMommy]

54 minutes ago, BaseOps said:

14x11 - On the episode “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” – The stress of managing the hospital and coming to terms with Ben’s decision to become a Seattle firefighter pushes Bailey to her limits, on “Grey’s Anatomy,” THURSDAY, FEB. 1 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

Guest starring are Debbie Allen as Catherine Avery and Amy Landecker as Morgan. “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” was written by Elisabeth R. Finch and directed by Nicole Rubio.

Well, at least they are acknowledging that Ben is gone (although my guess it that we'll still see him on Grey's from time to time.  I don't know how they can't do that as his character still has a relationship with one of the core characters here).  I honestly thought it would be a "he went out to his car" sort of thing.

On a somewhat related note, have they announced a name for the spinoff yet?

[JNM5505]

I feel like we had a Morgan on the show a long time ago. Didn't she sleep with someone in her class and get knocked up? This is probably a different Morgan, but would love to see the original one return! I always feel a little hopeful these days when Debbie Allen is scheduled to guest star, but I don't get too hopeful. I still hate that woman. Unless she tells Maggie off, then she might, just might get into my good graces.

I wonder how Bailey's going to lose her shit. Thinking of it now, wasn't Bailey the first to make an appearance after Meredith? Sorry, as someone else recently said on this thread... cabin fever and, therefore, theories abound! :)

Backing up to Jo, the snark might turn out to be true if Shonda want to take a saccharine tip from Brenda Hampton.

What's that now? BYEEEE.

Edited January 16, 2018 by kinnej5

[GalvDuck]

22 minutes ago, kinnej5 said:

I feel like we had a Morgan on the show a long time ago. Didn't she sleep with someone in her class and get knocked up? This is probably a different Morgan, but would love to see the original one return! I always feel a little hopeful these days when Debbie Allen is scheduled to guest star, but I don't get too hopeful. I still hate that woman. Unless she tells Maggie off, then she might, just might get into my good graces.
 

Morgan was the pregnant intern in season 8 who helped Alex study for his boards.  Her baby died in the ICU.  

[BaseOps]

50 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Well, at least they are acknowledging that Ben is gone (although my guess it that we'll still see him on Grey's from time to time.  I don't know how they can't do that as his character still has a relationship with one of the core characters here).  I honestly thought it would be a "he went out to his car" sort of thing.

On a somewhat related note, have they announced a name for the spinoff yet?

No name for the spin-off yet. And I have a feeling crossovers will be frequent and casual (ie. having Ben and Bailey both appear occasionally on the others' show, seeing the firefighters come in and out of the hospital sometimes, etc.). 

[BaseOps]

Ellen Pompeo has inked a new 2-year deal; she becomes a producer on Grey's and a co-executvie producer on the spin-off. Pompeo is now the highest-paid woman on television.

This interview that she did with Deadline is a great read, but this one with HR is INCREDIBLE. Seriously, if you like Grey's / strong women - READ THIS.

For me, Patrick [Dempsey] leaving the show [in 2015] was a defining moment, deal-wise. They could always use him as leverage against me — "We don't need you; we have Patrick" — which they did for years. I don't know if they also did that to him, because he and I never discussed our deals. There were many times where I reached out about joining together to negotiate, but he was never interested in that. At one point, I asked for $5,000 more than him just on principle, because the show is Grey's Anatomy and I'm Meredith Grey. They wouldn't give it to me. And I could have walked away, so why didn't I? It's my show; I'm the number one. I'm sure I felt what a lot of these other actresses feel: Why should I walk away from a great part because of a guy? You feel conflicted but then you figure, "I'm not going to let a guy drive me out of my own house."

So, what does it look like when he leaves the show? First, it looks like a ratings spike, and I had a nice chuckle about that. But the truth is, the ink wasn't even dry on his exit papers before they rushed in a new guy. I was on vacation in Sicily, decompressing — it was a long working relationship and it was a tumultuous end and I needed a moment to just chill with some rosé — and they're calling me, going, "What do you think of this guy?" "What do you think of this guy?" And they're sending pictures. I was like, "Are you people fucking nuts? Why do you feel that you have to replace this person?" I couldn't believe how fast the studio and the network felt like they had to get a penis in there. We brought in Martin Henderson, but they didn't love the storyline, so that ended.

Edited January 17, 2018 by BaseOps

[Chas411]

Great read. Another two years though.. I think I was hoping they'd wrap it up sooner. 

[readster]

9 minutes ago, Chas411 said:

Great read. Another two years though.. I think I was hoping they'd wrap it up sooner. 

I know, so unless they have a major new show replace Scandal in the fall and that eats up the ratings, that means Grey's will be on until 2020 and making it on 16 years, putting it a year over ER. 

[Bort]

The ratings are fantastic. The network wants to keep it, so it boils down to whether the actors want to stick around. In this case, yes. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Chas411 said:

Great read. Another two years though.. I think I was hoping they'd wrap it up sooner. 

Oh, I'd be surprised if this show ends in 2 years.  I'd put money on 5 at the very earliest, but ABC will keep this show going as long as it pulls in viewers.  Plus, it sounds from the article that Pompeo is willing to keep going as long as she pulls in a paycheck.  (All that being said, as a viewer I'm of the camp of wondering how dry they are going to let well get...)

The article was fascinating and, for me, a strange reading experience.  I applaud Pompeo for getting what she deserves--and what a man would be given in a heartbeat.  The bit about Dempsey makes me wonder how well they actually got along off screen.  The line is that they had a good relationship, but that certainly doesn't sound like it.  And who was the one trying to use one star against another?  Was it Shonda or someone else?  If it were someone else, are we supposed to believe that Shonda wasn't involved?  Was Shonda really that clueless about her own show or was she complicit?

On the other hand, I find the fact that Pompeo is now the highest paid actress a bit baffling as I've always thought she was the weakest actor on this show and her character, despite being the namesake character, is the least interesting.  Go figure.

[Pink ranger]

17 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

 

On the other hand, I find the fact that Pompeo is now the highest paid actress a bit baffling as I've always thought she was the weakest actor on this show and her character, despite being the namesake character, is the least interesting.  Go figure.

I wonder how far behind Chandra Wilson is in pay. No, she isn’t a lead but Is one of only 4 series regulars who have been there since the beginning and was nominated for an Emmy 4 times for the role.  

Edited January 17, 2018 by Pink ranger

[OtterMommy]

Just now, Pink ranger said:

I wonder how far behind Chandra Wilson is in pay. No, she isn’t a lead but Is one of only 4 series regulars who have been there since the beginning and was nominated for an Emmy 4 Times for the role.  

She has also directed at least a couple of episodes (at least more than Ellen Pompeo has...)

[kingshearte]

2 hours ago, BaseOps said:

So, what does it look like when he leaves the show? First, it looks like a ratings spike, and I had a nice chuckle about that. But the truth is, the ink wasn't even dry on his exit papers before they rushed in a new guy. I was on vacation in Sicily, decompressing — it was a long working relationship and it was a tumultuous end and I needed a moment to just chill with some rosé — and they're calling me, going, "What do you think of this guy?" "What do you think of this guy?" And they're sending pictures. I was like, "Are you people fucking nuts? Why do you feel that you have to replace this person?" I couldn't believe how fast the studio and the network felt like they had to get a penis in there. We brought in Martin Henderson, but they didn't love the storyline, so that ended.

That whole thing was really interesting, but I love this acknowledgement of the loss. Even thought the actors weren't involved in a romantic relationship, and Dempsey did not in fact die, whatever their working relationship was like, it was a very long, and often very close, one, and she's absolutely right. You need some time to process, and even grieve for, the end of a relationship like that before you're ready to jump into the next one.

[moonorchid]

5 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

She has also directed at least a couple of episodes (at least more than Ellen Pompeo has...)

Chandra has directed way more than a couple. She’s been directing episodes for a handful of years now. It just didn’t get any fanfare that Ellen’s does. 

[Chas411]

I like and have huge respect for Ellen. I think she's quite funny and love her as Meredith. Since reading both her interviews where she mentions Heigl and Demsey (Heigl one was a few years back) I think she's definetly not someone I'd want to cross. Everything is fine once your getting along but any bad behaviour and she'll have no issues publicly calling it out.

[JNM5505]

Well, I can see why Patrick wasn't for making a deal with Ellen. Meredith/Derek were not the prime focus of the show; not like Mulder and Scully or Brennan and Booth. They were two characters on a show, who just so happened to portray a popular couple. Sure, Ellen is the show's namesake, but a lot of other actors and their characters' storylines that make this show. I do have to wonder how much Chandra makes, since Bailey is just as important as Meredith. Of the original four characters still on the show, my favorites are Webber and Bailey, not Meredith and Alex.

Ellen earns over $500k an episode? Wow, where do the execs even get that kind of money?! I know this is Hollywood and ABC's been around for seventy or eighty years, but still. I can see $20k or $30k an episode, but half a million? Jesus frickin' Christ, and Ellen is making herself sound so incredibly entitled. She should be grateful Shonda likes her, that ABC likes her. Instead of acting like a spoilt brat sniffing her nose around for drama. Oh, god forbid someone coughs the wrong way. Off to Shonda to bitchbitchbitch.

[MrWhyt]

8 minutes ago, kinnej5 said:

Ellen earns over $500k an episode? Wow, where do the execs even get that kind of money?! I know this is Hollywood and ABC's been around for seventy or eighty years, but still. I can see $20k or $30k an episode, but half a million? Jesus frickin' Christ, and Ellen is making herself sound so incredibly entitled. She should be grateful Shonda likes her, that ABC likes her. Instead of acting like a spoilt brat sniffing her nose around for drama. Oh, god forbid someone coughs the wrong way. Off to Shonda to bitchbitchbitch.

if you read the article Grey's has pulled in $3 Billion Dollars for Disney, Ellen's deal is peanuts compared to that. And she is entitled to it, Shonda has said the show will go on as long as Ellen wants to do it. Disney should be grateful (and from her deal it appears that they are) that she still wants to keep generating money for them.

[OtterMommy]

58 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

if you read the article Grey's has pulled in $3 Billion Dollars for Disney, Ellen's deal is peanuts compared to that. And she is entitled to it, Shonda has said the show will go on as long as Ellen wants to do it. Disney should be grateful (and from her deal it appears that they are) that she still wants to keep generating money for them.

Moving my response to the Behind the Scenes Drama thread

[Layne]

9 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

She has also directed at least a couple of episodes (at least more than Ellen Pompeo has...)

14 more, to be precise. 

[StaceyNotStacie]

On 1/17/2018 at 11:46 AM, OtterMommy said:

Oh, I'd be surprised if this show ends in 2 years.  I'd put money on 5 at the very earliest, but ABC will keep this show going as long as it pulls in viewers.  Plus, it sounds from the article that Pompeo is willing to keep going as long as she pulls in a paycheck.  (All that being said, as a viewer I'm of the camp of wondering how dry they are going to let well get...)

They’re already on season 14. I wonder if they’re eyeing SVU to see how long it goes or aiming for 20 seasons to set some sort of record. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-running_scripted_U.S._primetime_television_series

[readster]

Funny thing about that list with Gunsmoke, if the present of CBS wouldn't have retired the year before it ended, they would have kept going. The CBS president loved the show and why it kept going. 

[JNM5505]

I'm sure SVU and ER are playing a part in ABC keeping Grey's on the air.

[Anela]

I read an interview with Ellen, that said they get 200,000 new viewers every month, on Netflix - watching the pilot, at least. 

[OtterMommy]

My spec for the next season is that it was the fiance who ran Paul over.  Having Alex and/or Jo do it is too easy, 

[Deanie87]

1 hour ago, OtterMommy said:

My spec for the next season is that it was the fiance who ran Paul over.  Having Alex and/or Jo do it is too easy, 

I think that having it be the fiancee is too easy.  I'm wondering if Paul was somehow involved and either they concocted the story together (which would really put the fiancee in a bad light) or Paul somehow hurt himself on his own, told the fiancee that Jo did it and is trying to frame Jo somehow, both for revenge and to discredit her.  The actors keep emphasizing twists and turns and having Paul die at the hands of the fiancee just seems too predictable and easy.  Paul is a doctor so maybe he would know how to hurt himself just enough to look like he got hit by a car, and then gets arrested for whatever that crime is, LOL!  If he doesn't die, I just wonder how they get him out of the picture.  Pretty far fetched, I know, but I'm sticking by it for now.

[OtterMommy]

3 minutes ago, Deanie87 said:

I think that having it be the fiancee is too easy.  I'm wondering if Paul was somehow involved and either they concocted the story together (which would really put the fiancee in a bad light) or Paul somehow hurt himself on his own, told the fiancee that Jo did it and is trying to frame Jo somehow, both for revenge and to discredit her.  The actors keep emphasizing twists and turns and having Paul die at the hands of the fiancee just seems too predictable and easy.  Paul is a doctor so maybe he would know how to hurt himself just enough to look like he got hit by a car, and then gets arrested for whatever that crime is, LOL!  If he doesn't die, I just wonder how they get him out of the picture.  Pretty far fetched, I know, but I'm sticking by it for now.

Yes, having the fiance was is easy, but I still think it is the less easy of the two believable options we have.  There could be a big twist, but this show hasn't had a good big twist in...sheesh, years.  

I will say this, if it some other woman that Paul abused who came out of nowhere to do this, well, I don't know what.  I can't threaten that I'll quit watching because all the other shit this show has done has not made me quit, but I do see, if not a full-fledged rage spiral, at least a very angry pirouette in my future.

[funnygirl]

54 minutes ago, Deanie87 said:

I think that having it be the fiancee is too easy.  I'm wondering if Paul was somehow involved and either they concocted the story together (which would really put the fiancee in a bad light) or Paul somehow hurt himself on his own, told the fiancee that Jo did it and is trying to frame Jo somehow, both for revenge and to discredit her.  The actors keep emphasizing twists and turns and having Paul die at the hands of the fiancee just seems too predictable and easy.  Paul is a doctor so maybe he would know how to hurt himself just enough to look like he got hit by a car, and then gets arrested for whatever that crime is, LOL!  If he doesn't die, I just wonder how they get him out of the picture.  Pretty far fetched, I know, but I'm sticking by it for now.

If this story wasn't going to wrap up in the next episode, I'd agree. But because it's going to be resolved, I think they are going to take the predictable and easy way out. 

[GalvDuck]

Abusers can be self-destructive at times also.  Maybe the staff is assuming it was Jo or Alex (or even the fiancee) and the writers are trying to lead us to pick one of those as a possibility.  But we may find out when a witness comes forward that it was Paul himself who jumped into the path of a vehicle while in view of Jo or the fiancee so she would feel guilt about his injuries.  Maybe none of them was the driver or at fault. 

[BaseOps]

14x12 - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - April is in charge of the new surgical innovation contest; the doctors are eager to start their projects; Catherine's old friend has a shocking idea for Catherine and Jackson; Meredith treats a returning patient who inspires her project.

[Chas411]

Doesn't his ex wife and mother of his child running the competition mean that Jackson wouldn't be able to partake?

[Pallas]

5 hours ago, Chas411 said:

Doesn't his ex wife and mother of his child running the competition mean that Jackson wouldn't be able to partake?

Even in an actual high school with scalpels, yes. 

[funnygirl]

Does this mean April doesn't get to actually participate in the competition? That sucks if so. 

[moonorchid]

I don’t like april running this competition. I wanted her to compete! In a twist I would have loved had she won a competition funded by her ex husband who created this so he could compete. 

Years ago Richard pulled something like this on Alex and it was used as a lesson to teach him to be a dog in a dog fight, I wish april got half the care to be taught this kind of stuff from drs who were supposed to teach her. Now she just gets manipulated into being super organizer once again. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, funnygirl said:

Does this mean April doesn't get to actually participate in the competition? That sucks if so. 

Yes...but....

April is a trauma surgeon so she (and Owen) are not the sort of doctors who would normally participate in something like this.  If April were any other type of surgeon, I would find it completely unfair to her character.  But, with her as a trauma surgeon, it doesn't bother me,

[funnygirl]

7 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Yes...but....

April is a trauma surgeon so she (and Owen) are not the sort of doctors who would normally participate in something like this.  If April were any other type of surgeon, I would find it completely unfair to her character.  But, with her as a trauma surgeon, it doesn't bother me,

It will most certainly bother me if some nobody like Orgasm Deluca gets to compete in the competition, but April who is one of our own does not. Innovations in Trauma surgery and technique are equally as beneficial, someone could come up with a faster and less invasive approach to triage for example. 

I suppose I should reserve judgement before seeing how it all unfolds, but my point is that if this nonsense contest is going to be a thing for the doctors to compete in and build the hospital's reputation, then I'd like to see OUR doctors actually be the ones going head to head.  And if Bailey is too busy to run it, and Richard wants to participate (which he has every right to), then instead of bringing in shallow love interest #124, Catherine could run it or could have brought in a Guest Star (someone older, refined, maybe even a bit of a stickler) to keep the competition in order. 

[OtterMommy]

5 hours ago, funnygirl said:

It will most certainly bother me if some nobody like Orgasm Deluca gets to compete in the competition, but April who is one of our own does not. Innovations in Trauma surgery and technique are equally as beneficial, someone could come up with a faster and less invasive approach to triage for example. 

I suppose I should reserve judgement before seeing how it all unfolds, but my point is that if this nonsense contest is going to be a thing for the doctors to compete in and build the hospital's reputation, then I'd like to see OUR doctors actually be the ones going head to head.  And if Bailey is too busy to run it, and Richard wants to participate (which he has every right to), then instead of bringing in shallow love interest #124, Catherine could run it or could have brought in a Guest Star (someone older, refined, maybe even a bit of a stickler) to keep the competition in order. 

I agree that this whole contest is a big bunch of nonsense, but it is also a plot device that:

A - Involves nearly everyone
B - Only minimally involves characters sleeping with each other (granted, it should not involve that at all....)
C - Has the potential to blow up in Jackson's face

So, I've come around to the idea.

I also agree that if Carina DeLuca is allowed to enter, much less win, I'll probably start ranting and raving.  The sad part is, I almost expect that to happen.  Remember that fellowship that all the established residents were entering and then no-name Penny (who was a year or so behind them all and probably shouldn't even have been eligible) won?  Ugh.

Also, about trauma.  Yes, innovations in trauma are made in the real world.  In the Grey's world, the trauma doctors plug holes with their fingers and use ball point pens to intubate patients.  Neither Owen nor April have been shown to work on any studies or such, but rather keep the ER running (which, really, is enough for their characters).  Plus, having April run it keeps the whole freakin' April/Jackson/Maggie Bermuda Love Triangle alive for us all to "enjoy."

So, for how this works in the plot, I understand why April was chosen and I have no problem with it.

[moonorchid]

Honestly a completely impartial third party should have been brought in to conduct this because the inter personal relationships in that hospital are insane and how could any of them win and there’s not be accusations of some sort of nepotism or favoritism, but I know I know, drama. I do appareciate that this is an opportunity to involve so many people, the show is at its best when large groups are involved in a singular task. 

[Scatterbrained]

This will give April a chance to shine by showing off her leadership and organizational skills.  A resume builder.  A chance to be noticed by others for these qualities.  Although competing and winning (a gazillion dollars) would have been cool, too.

Plot speculation regarding Jo:  Abusive ex may die, and since the divorce papers were signed, but not filed.  She will inherit everything that's his.  Also, since she was trained under him, someone will want her on their competition team for her knowledge of his techniques.

[Scatterbrained]

Another speculative theory: Paul is going to be hospitalized for his injuries for a long time and Jo will be the person designated to make decisions for him, since they are still married.  He gets to be vulnerable, she get to have power over him.

[flickers]

19 hours ago, Chas411 said:

Doesn't his ex wife and mother of his child running the competition mean that Jackson wouldn't be able to partake?

Since Jackson established the contest to boost his ego, I very much hope that his ex-wife being the administrator torpedoes his chances. Poetic justice.

[jschoolgirl]

On 1/16/2018 at 11:56 AM, BaseOps said:

14x11 - On the episode “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” – The stress of managing the hospital and coming to terms with Ben’s decision to become a Seattle firefighter pushes Bailey to her limits, on “Grey’s Anatomy,” THURSDAY, FEB. 1 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network, streaming and on demand.

Guest starring are Debbie Allen as Catherine Avery and Amy Landecker as Morgan. “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” was written by Elisabeth R. Finch and directed by Nicole Rubio.

I wonder if that would be the Morgan who was an intern and had an ill baby and became too attached to Alex.

[BaseOps]

14 hours ago, jschoolgirl said:

I wonder if that would be the Morgan who was an intern and had an ill baby and became too attached to Alex.

It's a totally different actress who is closer to 50... unlikely. 

[GalvDuck]

Grey's Anatomy Plotting Big Arizona Episode, Jesse Williams to Direct

Capshaw tweeted: "It’s an Arizona stand alone episode. Can’t wait!! When do we start rehearsals, again?"

[Chas411]

Was that not a joke?

[OtterMommy]

Actually, I would love to see an Arizona episode.  Since before Callie left, it seems like all her plots involve her hooking up with someone (usually someone pretty distasteful.  Minnick, Carina...)  Speaking of which, it sounds like Vernoff is going to treat us to more Carina fun.  Yay?

If it ends up being an origin story episode, that would be...interesting?  I mean, I think it would be just interesting on its own, but it is the second one this season.  I'm not sure if I'm in for an origin story for all the characters (except Meredith and Webber, who have--essentially--already had origin story episodes in earlier seasons.  I suppose that Owen has as well with the Megan story line).

[moonorchid]

1 hour ago, Chas411 said:

Was that not a joke?

I thought it was and that tv line article is only sourcing those tweets which is a weird thing to source from, lol.