I have to start out by saying this: Thank you, Shonda Rhimes. Thank you for bringing Grey’s Anatomy full circle, and back to the show that I fell in love with four years ago.

Early on, we get a little update on each of the characters. Meredith is revealing to Dr. Wyatt that her mother once slit her wrists in front of her, yet Meredith ironically is the one to cheer up the still funk-ified Cristina by giving her the sparkle pager. Derek tells Sloan and the chief that he is selling his land, Alex is still caring for the near-catatonic Ava while Izzie covers his shift. Next we see Callie and Sloan, um, enjoying each other’s company in an on call room. Callie appears to be enjoying herself until Sloan dirties up the encounter with talk of bringing Erica into the equation. Luckily for Callie (and my eyes), her pager goes off because of a trauma, and they had to cut things short.

After an awkwardly amusing conversation in the hallway where everyone agrees that Callie is acting weird, several of the doctors head into the pit to see what the trauma is, and for the first time, I think everyone in Seattle Grace was speechless. Their patient, a 19-year old young man, was entirely encased in gradually hardening concrete after being dared to jump in by a group of his “friends.” (Some friends, I say.)

They finally begin chipping away at the concrete, and Bailey promises the (justifiably) terrified young man that he will live. By far, the best part of these scenes were the stolen glances between Hahn and Torres.

Elsewhere in the hospital, Derek and Meredith are preparing to treat their last two patients of the trial when they discover that the two teens not only know each other, but are in love with each other. It seems that Beth (brilliantly played by Jurnee Smollett) and Jeremy met in their chemotherapy support group, much to Beth’s parents’ distaste. But, MerDer throw out the book on parents’ wishes (as well as the one on ethics) and help Beth and Jeremy sneak into an empty room to lose their virginity. Seriously. … continue reading

As roc reminded us earlier this week, our favorite shows are running out of new episodes. That includes Grey's Anatomy, which is my personal choice for 2007's Best Comeback From a Lukewarm Season.

To make us feel better, ABC has released some midseason (which could be end-of-season) promotional stills of the cast. And not sharing the best ones with you would just be wrong. So here's a little eye candy for your weekend viewing pleasure.

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We knew this year was going to be tough for the lovely Dr. Cristina Yang.

Her fiancé, Dr. Burke, skipped town at the end of last season's Grey's Anatomy, and we learned this season that he's gone for good. Recently, a new complication in Cristina's career has appeared in the form of Dr. Burke's replacement, Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). Not that we object. … continue reading

The current season of Weeds disappointed me at first. I found myself longing for the innocence and quirk of seasons past. (BTW, to enhance that kind of long-term appreciation, you might try Kera Bolonik's new book In the Weeds. It's the best kind of companion book — reading it is like chatting with a fellow fan, albeit an extremely well-informed one.)

But with the demise of U-Turn (a particularly loathsome character, if you ask me) and the arrival of Brooke Smith, I'm back on the Weeds bandwagon. I've been a Smith fan for a long time, since The Silence of the Lambs and Vanya on 42nd Street. She's so ... steady. Intense. She can really hold a gaze or say a line in a way that makes it linger in the air for a while.

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That's why it's pretty funny that she's playing someone rather unhinged on Weeds. [Warning: slight spoilers]