“I loved you once…”

I know that judging from that one line, one would be tempted to write this week's Grey's Anatomy off as just another of their ill-conceived feats of soap operatic melodrama. However, despite the fact that Izzie has a fatal disease of the "woe is me" variety, which makes her hallucinate sex with her long-dead fiancé; and despite the fact that George never has any lines; and despite the fact that Callie's new love interest is neither loving nor interesting… this episode was actually quite moving. Just in time for the end of sweeps, Grey's was almost back to true form tonight, and this episode served as the payoff for many, many storylines that seemed to be going nowhere this season. The dialogue was (mostly) sharp (we'll get back to that line in the title later), everybody acted in character, and I actually cared about what happened to the gang again.

The best part of this episode was the way that, as contrived as it was, Izzie's debilitating disease served as a jumping off point for emotional explorations and breakthroughs for everybody except Izzie. How ironic and awesome that after all of Katharine Heigl's alleged complaining about not being given juicy material, she finally got some – but it only served to showcase the talents of her frequently underused costars. Izzie's impending brain surgery forced Derek to face his demons and put his medical career back on track, not to mention his long-awaited proposal to Meredith, in the only way befitting of this couple: in the elevator, surrounded by brain scan images. For once, Grey's it couple were able to get past all the phony smarminess disguised as charm, and in result they were, well, charming. It also inspired some much needed soul searching from Callie, who apologized to the universe for wishing Izzie dead.

Perhaps the most moving performances came from Izzie's friends, the original ensemble of this show, which is exactly the way it should be. Meredith, Cristina, George and Alex were all too afraid to go visit Izzie before her surgery, each with their own neurotic hang-ups. This led to some awesome motherly bonding between Izzie and Bailey, reminding the audience who the true adults are at Seattle Grace. Most importantly though, Izzie's condition led to the Karev breakdown we've all been holding our breath for, and fittingly, it was Alex who also provided the weekly "introspective" voice over in this episode.

When the Chief suggested that Karev donate his sperm in order to fertilize Izzie's harvested eggs, we began to see him unravel. After many awkward conversations and fun plays on words with the Chief, it was Meredith who finally got Alex to talk. I've always appreciated the relationship between Meredith and Alex, even though it's usually developed in hardly noticeable subtext. They seem to have an unspoken understanding about the fact that they're both so messed up that they are unwitting kindred spirits. Alex began to break down, tears forming in his eyes, and he uttered one of the best lines of the episode (I'm paraphrasing, because I don't have the advantage of Tivo this week): "She said she was seeing ghosts… I'm so used to all the freaky chicks I date, I didn't even think about it. And I'm a doctor." It was a rare moment of vulnerability for Alex, an inspired performance from Justin Chambers, and a great combination of humor and sadness from the writers. Better yet, the entire incident paid off wonderfully at the end of the episode when Alex finally got over his fear and got into bed with a recovering Izzie, and in true Alex form, said, "I spooged into a cup for you today," to which she replied, "Thanks?"

Meanwhile, over in subplot land, Owen's PTSD finally hit a breaking point for Cristina, when she awoke to Owen's hands around her neck during one of his nightmares. Callie called Meredith in shrieking terror, who dutifully came over and locked herself in the bathroom with Cristina. Imagine Meredith's horror when Cristina let Owen in to the bathroom fortress, and instead of breaking up with him, gave him a hug. Another powerful scene in this episode came when Meredith and Callie spotted Owen approaching Cristina from down the hall, and both of them jumped in front of her as a human shield. We already know that Meredith is Cristina's person, but it's moments like this that shed light on friendships like the one between Callie and Cristina – we know it's there, but thanks to the writers' sly layering, we're not really sure how it happened. Despite the warnings from both Meredith and Callie, Cristina tried her hardest to stay with Owen, until she too hit her breaking point, when she was too afraid to fall asleep with him next to her. And in another serendipitous Grey's moment, Meredith got engaged at the exact same moment as Cristina ended a relationship.

Despite all of the great moments in this episode, the show does still have some ground to cover before it's completely back on track. There were definitely some moments still reminiscent of the mid-season slump this show seemed to have gone through. I loved the fact that Izzie's near death experience provided some closure for Callie and George, but when their conversation devolved into Callie saying things like, "I loved you once…" I started to cringe. I know that was only a small part of a much larger scene, but it's catch phrases like that, the ones that sound like Celine Dion song titles, which make me tune out and wonder what the heck happened to people like Erica Hahn. Speaking of which, how can the writers/network execs/whomever claim that Erica had to go because she was boring, and then replace her with this other chick whose name I can't even remember that's how boring she is. I get that Callie's relationship with Arizona (really, with that name?) is kind of doing that slow burn in the background thing (as is typical/necessary for most TV lesbians), but the scenes with the two of them dancing in the living room and waxing philosophical in the hospital chapel just did not ring true for me. From the little that we know about Arizona, it seems as though she's meant to be the complete opposite of Erica, personality-wise. Yet Callie seems to have exactly the same type of relationship with her. It's frustrating that in a season which started out with Callie exploring the, um, ins and outs of her feelings towards women, what we're left with at the end of it is that she apparently likes blondes. This show has gone through so many extra characters and guest stars this season, without finding ones that stick, that it just adds to the feeling that the stories are going nowhere. (What was the deal with the bitchy oncologist taking care of Izzie, anyway?)

I would expect nothing less than over-the-top from Shonda and co. to cap off the season, but let's hope that the remaining episodes stay within the realm of "quotable", and don't devolve back into "forgettable" again.

In other medical show news, tonight's episode of ER was completely useless. Why waste that hour when you only have 3 left? This show baffles me. I also still don't understand how Ray is walking, since, to the best of my recollection, the last time we saw him, he had no legs.

And yes, I am capable of watching and writing about TV on days other than Thursday. Stay tuned.

Thursday night TV: Old school style.

Previously on ER: Nobody watched it for ten years.

Carter needs a kidney transplant. Some chick needs a heart transplant. She has a cute moppet daughter. Neela and Sam go to Seattle (convenient) to pick up this heart, and whaddayaknow, it resides inside a little boy in Doug Ross's... clinic? hospital? it's unclear (or I'm not paying attention... who knows). Carol Hathaway works there too, but in some kind of admin capacity. She wears suits and a name badge instead of scrubs, that's how we know she's not a doctor. Or at least I don't think she is.

Also conveniently, there's a kidney there too that's also going to, surprise, Chicago, so Neela and Sam pick that up as well. They know it's going to Northwestern in Chicago, but somehow no one figures out that it's going to Carter. The little boy's grandmother is played by Susan Sarandon, but no one knows why. So the kid dies, and Clooney and Hathaway convince Sarandon to donate the heart. She cries, they cry, it's all very boring. This takes about 45 minutes of the episode. Nobody cares.

Meanwhile, Carter is in a hospital bed with skinny legs and no pants, and is inexplicably lying on top of the blanket, but complaining that he's cold. In walks one Peter Benton, who is now on staff at Northwestern, but has somehow just discovered that Carter is there, even though he's been there for what is presumably a few days. Also, Carter has been supposedly tooling around Chicago for a few weeks now, and somehow these two haven't run into each other yet. They chat it up for a while, Carter vaguely tells us that he and Kem are some kind of separated, because apparently Thandie Newton is too good for the er now, even though I'm not really sure what she's actually done since she was on ER. Benton is apparently still married to? dating? the annoying actress with the curly hair, and Reese is 13. (And the Doug/Carol kids have a spelling test. But more on that in a few.)

Back in Seattle, Ross wanders into the waiting area thingy where Neela and Sam are hanging out, and asks them where they work. The three of them have a really boring, awkward exchange that goes something like this:

Ross: I did my residency at County.
Neela: Oh.
Ross: Does Kerry Weaver still work there?
Neela: No, she left a few years ago. (See, now a fun Kerry Weaver anecdote would have been well placed here)
Ross: How about Susan Lewis?
Sam shakes her head.
Ross: how about Peter Benton?
Sam shakes her head.
Neela: Do you know Abby Lockhart?
Clooney shakes his head. (And actually, he would have a connection to Abby because she delivered the twins. But whatever.)

And so on. Seriously, this was the actual dialogue. How could they possibly not have even been able to come up with fun stories to tell about the old doctors? All they could think of was to name people? Moving on. He bumps into Carol in the hallway, where they chat about Sarandon, and then Carol tells him that the kids have a spelling test, and that the casting department was too lazy and cheap to cast 2 ten year old girls, so they are therefore invisible.

Sam and Neela miss their plane (I don't know) and end up on a tour plane with a reggae band. I don't know.

Back at the ranch, some doctors rush into Carter's room and start putting him on a stretcher. They found him a kidney and it's on its way. Benton follows the surgeons into the OR. How come the OR's on this show look nothing like the OR's on Grey's Anatomy? Benton acts obnoxious and dad-like, hovering over the surgery and annoying the surgical team. Carter gets a new kidney, which we get to look at way too many times, and the chick with the cute kid gets a new heart. Both surgeries are directed in such a slow pace that I start to be confused about which show I'm watching. I half expect a Brandi Carlile song to start playing while George Clooney waxes poetic about gooey organs.

Carter's in recovery. He wakes up and is immediately alert enough to push the medication button and have a whole conversation with Benton, who's still hovering. They chat about their wives or some shit. Carter is also alert and lucid enough to call Kem on his cell phone, which he's using in the ICU or wherever he is that has a bunch of monitors that are definitely not, like, affected by cell phone usage or anything.

Carol and Doug are in bed. Her phone rings. She picks it up. I'm not kidding. It's Anthony Edwards. He wants to know why some dude named Denny keeps asking him about his brain tumor, and how to get cheap flights to Hawaii. That time, I was kidding. It's someone from the hospital? clinic? wherever it is they work, telling her that the heart transplant went well. Oh, and the kidney went to... some doctor. They profess their love for each other, and we fade to black.

"Some doctor"? Really, ER? Nowhere in there could you have worked in that Doug and Carol knew that Carter was sick? In all of that name dropping business, his name didn't come up? For serious? Come on. What is the point of bringing back old characters if they're not all going to interact with each other? Yes, I'm looking at you too, L Word. (Hey! Is that Marina I see on that TV screen??) Sorry, got distracted there for a minute.

And what was the point of bringing on a high profile movie star like Sarandon, just to give her a random storyline that no one cares about? Why create new, one off stories for old characters who are just visiting, when we all know full well that the audience cares much more about reminiscing?

Next week, Neela leaves to go... somewhere, it's also unclear. But, hey! That was Maura Tierney in the preview! Now, wouldn't it have been fun if Tierney and Margulies AND Luka were in the SAME episode?? Also, if everybody dies/leaves/disappears/reappears now, what's going to happen in the series finale? Rory Gilmore is going to be the only character left (no, seriously, Alexis Bledel is guest starring), and she's not even supposed to be on this show.

My Life Would Suck Without Kelly Clarkson

As anyone who reads anything I write with any regularity knows, I am usually really anti-pop music. I never listen to the radio, especially not the top 40 stations, I think Ryan Seacrest is a really big tool, and the only reason I know who the Jonas Brothers are is because I watch Chelsea Lately.

Obviously, I read my Entertainment Weekly and watch Chelsea, so I'm not totally out of the loop... but my usual answer when someone tries to get me to listen to anything that's been on the Billboard charts lately is to start singing showtunes at the top of my lungs.

However, I have one pop music confession to make, and I'm sick of feeling ashamed of it: I totally love Kelly Clarkson. Now, I have not watched American Idol for one day of my entire life, but I could never stop singing "A Moment Like This"; "Since U Been Gone" is one of the best songs to sing along to, and is also a really good crowd pick me up at weddings and other occasions, despite its angry conceit; "Breakaway" makes you feel 15 again; and "Never Again," despite what the critics think, was a great angry girl anthem.

Now that she's got a new album about to be released, I find myself listening to the radio again, because "My Life Would Suck Without You" is a really fun song. Say what you want about pop music, American Idol, and the like, but you have to admit that every once in a while, a song with straightforward, slightly grammatically incorrect lyrics is really fun to sing along to. I suspect that with its anthemic, retro-Madonna sound, its probably already a huge hit at both gay bars and bar mitzvahs.

"Cuz we belong together now
Forever united here somehow
You got a piece of me
And honestly
My life would suck without you"

I know its trendy to only like indie bands, and pop music is usually relegated to teenagers. But I gotta admit, I have a lot of respect for the girl. She managed to come out of AI alive, and is now on her fourth? fifth? studio album, with most of them selling astronomically well. Her career isn't going anywhere, and neither are her brain cells - as far as we know, she's not in rehab, in a feud with any family members, pregnant, or missing any essential clothing when she leaves the house. The only time I see her in the news is when the story has something to do with her career (as a singer, not a reality star, homemade porn star, or pretend actress). Plus, she can actually sing.

The album comes out on Tuesday... whether the rest of the songs are as much fun remains to be seen, but perhaps the one will be enough for a while.