In the midst of recent show cuts on NBC, one bit of good news has come out. NBC has ordered 6 more episodes of “Medium” for the season. The 19 episode season should begin in January.
Source: Broadcasting and Cable
So in spite of Hahn’s exit from the show, this week’s episode was really good. Though as Hahn left, we got a new character, Meredith’s old best friend Sadie. So far my impressions of her are “annoying” and “bad ass.” So basically she’s the female version of Alex!
The show started off with Christina excited that Hahn had just packed up and left the hospital, though she had a burning question as to why. Her excitement however was cooled by the appearance of Sadie, Meredith’s friend and a first year intern at the hospital. She was Meredith’s first Christina, and that made Christina jealous, real jealous. Christina has always had a jealousy issue, this happened when Lexie showed up too. She needs to get some help. Where is Dr. Wyatt when we need her?
Christina, on a quest to find out why Hahn left, learned that Callie and Hahn were lovers. However Callie didn’t know why she left, all she wanted was work distractions. That came in the form of a homeless man sleeping in a dumpster who was crushed and mangled by a garbage truck. Callie was given the task of rebuilding the man’s legs, which she did, but he still died. She broke down in the OR, though the tears were clearly over Hahn up and leaving the way she did rather than the patient. The patient was just the catalyst.
Lexie and the interns continued practicing on one another, but they unfortunately got caught by Christina who shut them down. Part of me feels Christina brought this on herself, as she’s not teaching her interns as she is supposed to. I guess none of the residents are really.
From the previews for next week it doesn’t seem like they listen to Christina, and Sadie doesn’t seem to be a helping influence on them either. She seems to be pushing them to go farther, next week they operate and take out an appendix! Of course something goes wrong and Lexie brings Meredith in to help. Yeah, this isn’t going to turn out so great. One of the problems I have with this storyline is Lexie is really the only intern we are invested in, the rest we don’t even know (Christina just gives hers numbers rather than use their names). So you know that means Lexie is probably going to be the one screwed over here.
Virginia Dixon arrived in this episode, and as everyone said, she was a little “off.” She clearly had a social disorder and spoke almost rain-man like. However she was a brilliant surgeon and she was there to perform a heart transplant on a Navajo man. He basically had two hearts in him, one his own that had stopped working and the other a 14 year old girls that was piggybacking to keep his own going.
Virginia’s “offness” wasn’t understood, but what was understood was that she craved order and rules. The Navajo man was refusing to have another heart transplant unless the donor heart in him was returned to him for a religious ritual. He believed he was being haunted by the donor, and he could not be rid of the ghost without a proper ceremony. Virginia wouldn’t allow this, medical waste must be disposed of, it was a rule. Bailey got the chief to make a rule that they respected the beliefs of their patients, which he thought was common sense, but because he made it a rule the heart was given to him. The miraculous thing was, when the piggyback heart was removed, the man’s own heart was beating on its own. They didn’t understand, it was theorized it could happen, none of them ever had seen it. Basically the piggyback heart gave the man’s own heart enough time to heal what was wrong and start on its own again. The man did not need another transplant and was rid of his ghost. He was very happy.
At the end of the episode, Virginia asked Bailey if she knew what Asperger’s Syndrome was. Bailey did, it was a social disorder . . . which she realized Virginia had. Virginia said she might be “off,” but she’s not dumb, she knew when she was being manipulated and made fun of. She didn’t think she liked this hospital very much. There was something sad about this story. It was sad that Virginia was misunderstood. As doctors should they have not realized she had a medical condition? However in the end I found myself wondering, was Bailey being mean and making fun of her, or did she just think she was quirky and trying to work with it? Bailey by nature isn’t mean or cruel, so I felt for her too as she realized she had hurt this woman.
Izzie related with the Navajo man, as she was seeing Denny’s ghost. In the end he said it was because she had kept something of his, and she must burn it as it would tie him to the earth and her. She asked Alex, who knew something was wrong, to burn a sweater for her. He did, but Denny didn’t go away. He said he was there for her, and he was real, she could touch him. She reached out and did, which is how the episode ended.
I gotta say, this was odd for me. I love a good ghost story, but this is more like what is going on with “Ghost Whisperer” right now than a “Grey’s” story. I’m still worried they may have Izzie just totally losing her mind, that something is wrong. The other side of me loved this story because I loved the interaction with the Navajo. This is my field I’m studying in school, specifically archaeology, death and burial rituals. So this episode sucked me in.
There was one other sort of out there cliff-hangerish ending. Many of the doctors ended up at the bar as usual. Mark and Christina were trying to comfort Callie. Christina saw Owen come in then storm off. She ran after him and he flipped on her when she touched him from behind, which I assume was meant to be a soldier reflex. She said she wanted him to know how sorry she was they lost the patient today. He then flipped on her again, getting very angry, then all of the sudden passionately kissing her. She kissed back, but sorta walked away from him. It was this weird scene of violence, rage and passion. It disturbed me.
NBC SIGNS EXCLUSIVE ONE-YEAR TALENT AND DEVELOPMENT DEAL WITH HILARY DUFF TO STAR IN HER OWN SERIES FROM UNIVERSAL MEDIA STUDIOS
BURBANK – November 14, 2008 – NBC has signed Hilary Duff to a one-year, exclusive, talent and development deal to star in her own series that would also allow her to guest-star or appear in multiple story arcs in various current NBC series, it was announced today by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.
“Hilary is an incredibly versatile talent with a huge following whose career we know will continue to soar on NBC,” said Teri Weinberg, Executive Vice President, NBC Entertainment. “We are confident we will develop great ideas that would feature her vast talents and are thrilled to have this opportunity.”
The new series would be produced by Universal Media Studios.
Hilary gained fame in the Disney Channel’s top-rated series “Lizzie McGuire” in 2001. Shortly after, Duff starred in numerous feature films such as “The Lizzie McGuire Movie,” “Agent Cody Banks,” “A Cinderella Story,” “The Perfect Man,” “Raise Your Voice,” “Cheaper by the Dozen” and “Cheaper by the Dozen 2.”
More recently, Hilary pushed new boundaries as an actress co-starring in John Cusack’s critically acclaimed 2008 film “War, Inc.” Also due on the big screen in 2009, are the feature films “Safety Glass,” “Stay Cool” and “Greta,” in which Hilary plays the title character and co-stars with Oscar winner Ellyn Burstyn.
In addition to her acting, Duff also has a global prolific and successful singing career, entering the Top-40 music charts with the singles “So Yesterday” and “Come Clean.” Her first album, “Metamorphosis,” debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and later rose to the #1 spot, selling over two million copies. She has won two platinum album awards and her concerts are routinely sold out across the country as she attracts a large and loyal fan base.
Among her many accolades, Duff was honored with two separate Teen Choice Awards for her performances in “The Lizzie McGuire Movie” and “A Cinderella Story.” She also was named by Teen People as one of the magazine’s “25 Hottest Stars Under 25.”
Hilary is passionate about several charitable causes. Her charity work includes the founding of Blessings in a Back Pack, an organization she started with USA Harvest founder Stan Curtis, which helps inner city schoolchildren get the nutrition they need. Hilary has also been passionate in speaking out against animal cruelty.
Most of us had all but probably written “Swingtown” off as canceled, but the truth is CBS hasn’t made a decision about it yet. Not only that, all the actors are still under contract until next month when a decision is to be made.
The creator himself, Mike Kelley, commented over at All Things Swing which is a livejournal community site dedicated to the show. This is what he posted on a post that the fate of the show had yet to be decided . . .
Great reporting! I can confirm all this information, and add one more bit. CBS will have to make a decision on whether or not the show returns by the end of December as that is when the option on the actors runs out. In the meantime, all of our sets still stand, and CBS/P just agreed to continue paying to color Molly’s hair “Susan red” for the next few months. May seem like a small thing, but if they had refused, that would have been the proverbial “canary in the cole mine” as Molly would have restored her natural hair color, and had been unable to return to Susan’s color for a year without permanently damaging her hair. I think our biggest shot at renewal will come right after the Golden Globe nominations are released in December. If we get a few high profile nods for the actors, our chances improve dramatically as CBS has precious few awards to show for all their primetime efforts. Thanks for all your support out there, and if you are a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press, please vote early, and vote often! Yes we can! Best, Mike Kelley
I have to say, with “Lipstick” gone and a few others probably getting the axe soon, a renewal of “Swingtown” would make me so happy!
What follows is the official spoiler for the December 5th episode of “Ghost Whisperer.” November 21st’s episode is the last new episode, which is followed by a repeat on November 28th, probably due to Thanksgiving.
Also, the November 21st episode is supposed to be a turning point for the whole season and the new Jim and Melinda relationship.
Well this is sad news, but not entirely unexpected. According to Ausiello, TVGuide.com and more . . . NBC has canceled “Lipstick Jungle.” All previously recorded episodes will probably air, but no new ones have been ordered. It’s unknown when the show will last air. “My Own Worst Enemy,” has also been canned.
It was reported that early next year “Lost” would return to its 9pm Wednesday slot. ABC may move “Private Practice” to 10pm Thursdays behind “Grey’s” and put “Life on Mars” behind “Lost” on Wednesdays. Of course “Dirty Sexy Money” now seems to be . . . . um, nowhere?
Source: The Dispatch/Hollywood Reporter
Ace Showbiz, citing a report in People, reports that in the midst of Brooke Smith’s dismissal from “Grey’s” that the show announced to People Magazine that Kevin McKidd would be given a permanent spot on the show as head of trauma surgeries.
The LA Times has reported that Bernadette Peters (last seen on the season premier of Grey’s) will join “Ugly Betty” as Jodie Papadakis, the editor of a rival magazine. The role may be for a few episodes, it’s not yet known. Both Betty and Marc try and woo her for a job. Don’t look for her until sometime next year though.
Over to another show, Ausiello has reported that Tracy Pollan, Michael J. Fox’s wife, will guest star on “Medium” for at least 3 episodes as a person at a corporation trying to woo Allison to work for them because of her gift.
I’m not gunna lie, the latest episode of “True Blood” just bummed me out! This is a very dark show, but even for me this one was just sad. I think I was more bummed out by this episode than the one in which Gran died.
Sam revealed his secret to Sookie, that he was a shape shifter. He could take on any animal form, as long as he had a model. That’s why he had the dog as a pet. He couldn’t do humans, they were too complex. He however only said he couldn’t do them, maybe other shifters could? Also he revealed Werewolves were real too, as were other things she couldn’t imagine. Sookie was furious Sam had lied to her and stayed angry with him through most of the episode. Near the end was the engagement partly for Arlene and Renee. Someone attempted to kill Sookie in the bar when she was alone, but we don’t know who. They seem to want us to believe it’s Travis, the war vet who seems to have a bet of a screw loose. I think it will be someone shocking. The detective? Or maybe even Renee? Renee seems too good to be true, so I’m leaning towards him.
Bill meanwhile faced his trial. Normally his punishment would have been 5 years chained in silver and a coffin, but the judge was feeling creative. As Bill had taken a life from them, he wanted a life in exchange. Some poor little teenager was brought out and Bill was ordered to turn her. We learned in nearly 100 years, Bill had not turned anyone. So this was his punishment. He fought it, but in the end turned the girl. I HATED this! It made me so sad to see Bill forced to do this to the girl. There better be some kind of payback at some point for the lead vampire. He’s nasty and cruel and I want to see a stake go through his heart.
Amy learned Jason had basically befriended Eddie, their gay vampire captive, and realized she had to change her tune. She told Jason she thought they should adopt him, make him part of their family. They could travel and see the world with him. Jason really liked this, but Eddie knew she was nuts. Later Jason somewhat began to see it, and that she was calling all the shots. He decided to let Eddie go after Lafayette confronted him about meddling with Eddie, who had gone missing. Lafayette warned him people around Jason were piling up dead, he wouldn’t be next. Jason went to free Eddie, then Amy staked him! Nooooooo! I liked Eddie and didn’t want to see him die. I’d rather have seem him kill Amy to be honest. That girl is nuts.
Tara paid the 800 bucks to the woman to get her exorcism, which seemed to work. She saw herself as a child and had to stab her demon to kill it. Later she and her mom went to the next town over to celebrate by having buckets’o’shrimp. On the way home the mom started not to feel well, Tara stopped in a drugstore to get her some pepto. There she ran into the voodoo woman, who worked at Walgreens basically. She was furious, realizing she was a fraud. The woman admitted to giving her some alcohol with peyote to cause her visions. She said she does help people, she helped her and her mother. Tara was just furious knowing she was a fake. She didn’t tell her mom though and they left. I actually thought her mom was having a heart attack, not indigestion, but she seems to have lived (for now). At the end of the episode Tara got smashed and on the way home foolishly driving, had a wreck. She wrecked because some vampire (I think) woman was standing in the road next to a cow, she swerved to miss them. I was confused, who was the woman? At first I thought it was Amy! Was it the woman Bill turned?
