"An Honest Mistake" From a Grey's Anatomy Writer's Perspective
Grey's Anatomy writer Pete Nowalk, who penned last night's episode, have posted some thoughts on "An Honest Mistake" on the show's official writers' blog.
Here are some excerpts, with a link to the full column below ...
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When you’re writing an episode about God-like doctors it helps to have God-like actors playing them. Which is pretty much what happens every week on Grey’s Anatomy.
Sometimes though you get an extra dose of God, or as was the case in this episode, many extra doses. Kate Walsh visiting from Private Practice? Check.
Jennifer Westfeldt and Ben Shenkman playing a husband and wife suffering through round after round of nailbiting surgery? Double check. A certain Oscar-winning actress who is as close to God as one can get in Hollywood? Yup, I’m talking about Faye Dunaway.
Faye Dunaway who was in some movies called Bonnie & Clyde, Chinatown, and Network. Faye Dunaway who was nominated for three Academy Awards. Faye Dunaway who was kind enough to lend her genius to Grey’s Anatomy and, by doing so, make me one giddy writer.
I guess you could say my adoration of Faye is not so different from the way patients come to feel about their doctors. When you allow someone to cut into you and poke around in your very delicate, very fine-tuned insides you have to trust they’re an extra special breed of human.
It’s like what Addison told Derek Shepherd in last week’s episode - that she needed him to be a God in order to trust him to save her brother’s life. And Derek, as usual, was up to the task. Even better, as Mark Sloan told him this week, he looks good doing it.
The dude’s a God, no doubt about it.
Now at this point I imagine some of you are about to yell at your computer. Or me. Something in the vein of “THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU LET HIM CUT OUT THAT WOMAN’S FRONTAL LOBE AND MURDER HER?!! YOU’RE THE MURDERER. A DEREK SHEPHERD MURDERER!!”
Or maybe that’s just what I yelled at myself when we were breaking this story in the Grey's Anatomy writers’ room. A lot of the writers felt the same way. We were nervous to have Derek make a mistake that could possibly be attributed to a patient’s death.
But after much discussion - and real life research with real life surgeons - we agreed that this was a story we had to tell. Doctors, like the rest of us, mess up.
Follow the link to continue reading Pete's blog ...
Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Email him here.
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Meredith: I can't do it in front of the ducky's!
May 19th, 2009 9:51 PM
The elevator opens and George is standing there in his arm uniform. I burst into tears. Izzie looks so beautiful. I do not want them gone. They are fundamental cornerstones of the show even though George hasn't had a lot of material of late. He is just so solid and a one of those five starting residents. If he had to leave couldn't you just have let him go on in the army.....not die like this. They have a chemistry and I want Izzie and George to stay. OK, let us come close to losing them, but don't let it happen. Hey, our real life is hard enough. Don't make us grieve for these characters we have come to love......
May 7th, 2009 10:52 PM
Please do not kill off Izzy
Rank: Guest Star
February 22nd, 2009 4:23 AM
I'm interested to see what happens with Arizona and Callie. I'm a MASSIVE Callie fan and even tho her interaction with Arizona was awkward it was also cute. But Arizona didn't treat her nicely.
I'm wondering if Callie and Arizona will actually end up together. I didn't think Jessica Capshaw was meant to be around for long. Maybe she'll be there til the end of the season. Any thoughts about where the writers might be taking them??
Rank: Guest Star
February 21st, 2009 7:35 AM
It took me a lot of time to digest this episode. I just finished write at the blog’s editors.
I hated loved this episode.
Hated because Derek was is so much pain, so lost. He’s so generous, so kind and given. He was completely sorry and lost. It was devastated to see. I could not watch the fight scene at the first time. I hated it.
But, thinking better, I think it could make Mark and Derek even after all. Mark slept with Addison. Derek and Addison’s marriage wasn’t good. But still it was a betrayal to Derek. And now Derek did a terrible thing. But because he loves Mark. Mark is his brother. Unfortunately something we do bad things to people we love. Because we can trust him to forgive us eventually. I hope Meredith and Lexie could work to get the boys back to their friendship now. Even to be one of the other best men.
I still hate seen Derek so lost.
And off course Meredith was there for him. I know she will. I trust her, love her. But still don’t need to see him li
February 20th, 2009 11:34 PM
They actually mentioned George? Wow! Not that I believe those jerks will ever give him a story but it seems they are trying to make us believe that.
First they promote the GI photo, now this. How about actually writing for him instead of trying to manipulate the George fans into thinking he will actually get a story?
And no mention of Slexiepuke, yay!
February 20th, 2009 10:45 PM
I love Mc Dreamy. But during this arc he was a bit of and ass. And Arragant Ass!!! I didn't like him much. I was cheering Mc Steamy on when they fought. I wanted Mc Steamy to beat the hell out of him. He was way full of his self during this arc. The way he talked to Addison when they was doing the surgery on the lady. Really pissed me off. He has acted different ever since the serial killer eps.
February 20th, 2009 9:26 AM
Every time I looked at Doctor Campbell all I could think was NO WIRE HANGERS!!!!!!!!!!!! She looks even meaner now that she older!