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So, what did you think of the spin off? I have to admit I’m kind of disappointed. I was expecting a lot more. I suppose it’s hard to judge a show based on a pilot alone, but I don’t know. It was missing something.
I hope it improves a lot from here because I’d hate to have Addison disappear off the face of the earth. All the same, I’d hate for her to be in a show that’s so incredibly boring.
What did you guys think?
I thought the spin off was horrible. Grey’s anatomy is more interesting and has more eye candy. The people in the spin off aren’t really attractive except Addison and Taye Diggs. The plot lines were horrible and it wasn’t funny. I think they should scrap the whole thing.
I was soooo looking foward to the Grey’s spin off but after seeing last nights 2 hour of Grey’s I felt let down. The show was very disappointing. Addison is one of my favorite characters on Grey’s and putting in such a lame spin off just doesn’t seem right.
One flaw I had with the spin off was the surfer dude. I mean please this is Grey’s Anatomy not Dawsons Creek. Do the writters of the Grey’s spin off expect us to believe that Addison would think that the 12 year old surfer dude was hot when she has McSteamy and Alex the bad boys of Seattle Grace and their hot bodies. I mean real 100% MEN.
2nd flaw what the HELL are the writters smoking??? First you kill off Meredith’s mom and 2 months later you kill off her loving step- mother. Doesn’t Meredith have enough in her life to be whiney about without having to add to the pot. If Derek is smart he will run the other way. Find someone who doesn’t spend most of her time at pity me parties.
3rd flaw if the writters plan on offing a wonderful character like Susan did they have to do it on such a weak show.
To the writters of Grey’s spin off PLEASE keep Addison in Seattle. You can however bring Tim Daly to Seattle Grace.
i was incredibly dissapointed also bec it disrupted the flow of greys, so the idea to put it in WITH greys was a baaaaad idea. secondly, i dont understand how there could be many exciting things that go on besides getting a kiss (with tounge) and that cute surfer boy’s body….but other than that…
addy needs to go back to greys,even though im not to fond of her, and forget about the whole cali thing, which untimetely means NO SPIN OFF
I really liked the spin-off, but hated the way they “tied” the two together. The two shows are really different & the flow was completely screwed up! I think it would have been better if it hadn’t been jumping between the two.
it’s good to know it wasn’t just me. i could barely watch. the show was just so wrong, on so many levels.
kate walsh is wonderful, but keep her where it works…
in Seattle. nothing about the Oceanside story worked
at all. i thought the spin-off idea was bad to start with, now i KNOW it is. sorry.
why do they make Meredith’s character so pitiful!! she is ALWAYS having an “issue” or “crisis”. All bad things keep happening to her and it’s so annoying….REALLY annoying. she’s had every “issue” you can think of: dad issue, mom issue, stepmom issue, ex-wife issue, mcdreamy issue, george issue, bomb issue, drowning in bathtub issue, drowning in ocean issue, WHAT NOW? Leave her and McDreamy in peace for at least a few consecutive episodes or at least 1 season!! killing her stepmom was completely unneccessary. if you want to give her a little plot, why not something fun, inspirational, or silly. why does it always have to be sad or full of emotional DRAMA with her. it’s annoying! and is it me, or does Meredith’s dad and George have similar personalities?
Maybe the writers just realized that they were going nowhere with GA. I mean, how many stories can one write about relationship in a hospital? Hook up, break up, hook up break up…throw a wedding…no 2 weddings…throw a death no 2 deaths. The show needs a new direction and maybe this is what they are trying to do by doing all this rearrangement(and the weird spinoff) …George Leaving, or Burke…Mer and Der breaking up. I love Mer and Der but is it possible a happy couple on tv? It could be boring eventually. I feel like the end is near and that suck!
i spent the last couple of days watching old episodes of GA — from season 1 — and was reminded of why i love(d) it so much. lately there has been too much WHAT?? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?? Like Bailey’s clinic (she’s a surgeon, hello!!!), Addison wanting a baby (that was sudden), Susan’s death (even more sudden), Derek thinking being chief is more important than the girl he just pulled out of the sea (don’t even get me started on why she had to be in the sea in the first place). And then there are all of the just plain silly, over the top things — a penis fish, for god’s sakes?!? it’s even as if the episodes from the beginning of season 3 don’t match up with the sgh of late. it’s become too crazy, too soapy, too something other than ga. and i fear that with the end of the season coming up, the writers turned nutjobs will feel they have to stun us with even more nonsense. (i won’t even comment on the pilot; it’s beneath me.) i hate to say it, but perhaps viewing old episodes of ga will have to suffice, b/c the show seems to be going in a totally different (crazy, poorly conceived, badly written) direction.
Well, I have always been a Kate Walsh/Addison fan, but the spinoff killed that for me. That was not the Addison I love. She was more like some adolescent trying to be grown up. Does Addy have a license to practice in California? It was fun seeing Amy Brenneman again and I would love to see her in Seattle along with Tim Daly. Maybe they could add some spark to the show which has been going downhill at a rapid pace lately. What ever happened to Lizzie’s daughter? That was a big deal in one episode and then never mentioned again, unless I missed something. A surfer boy with a bad haircut as a receptionist in a professional office? Come on. Who writes this stuff? These are all supposed to be professional people, not a bunch of high school kids playing doctor. Leave Addison in Seattle and maybe I can like her again. And why did they kill off Susan? Mare Winningham is a great actress and Susan was one of the more interesting characters. They seemed to be building up a relationship between Susan and Meredith and then they just out of the blue off Susan. Maybe they could send McSteamy to California, that would make me happy.
did anyone noticed the smile derek gave that brunette at the bar? that is a taboo and abomination!!!! that mcdreamy smille is only meant for meredith. Cheat on her derek and you will be sorry!!!
I have read somewhere that if Private Practice prove to be a complete failure,Kate Walsh will return to GA. Well that’s a relief!
I didn’t like the spin off at all. This is one of my favorite shows, but if anyone leaves the show I will stop watching. I think that next week instead of all the couples fighting or having problems they should all end on a happy note or have at least 3 couples being happy.
I think that George and Izzie make a great couple. My teacher even told me that she and her friend were watching the show thursday and she fell asleep half way through it. Now she is pregnant but she is not that tired. It was so boring that the only reason I even finished watching the episode was to find out what happened on Grey’s.
I liked the spinoff and would definitely watch. I was more interested in it on Thursday than I was in Grey’s.
The last part of the episode was really gripping–Meredith’s step-mother dying and her Dad slapping her, saying, “she trusted you,”–blaming Meredith for something that she had no control over. I could feel the sting of that. I hurt with her. But aside from that, nothing in the episode was very good. George and Izzie’s thing is weird–the chemistry there isn’t good. I also thought the spinoff was really bad. I felt like it was just like all the other comedy/dramas that I hate–maybe something akin to Desperate Housewives. The REASON that I watch Grey’s (and have since day one…never missed an episode) is because it isn’t like that– there is somethng real and deep about it. The spin off just doesn’t have that.
This is what Shonda posted about Thursday nights episode(s):
Shonda Rhimes on “The Other Side of This Life”
Original airdate: 5/3/07
So I owe you an explanation. For this episode (for these two episodes, I should say). I owe you that. You’ve stuck with me through Season Three and now you want answers, damn it! You want an explanation.
You are preaching to the proverbial choir. If you were a preacher and I was a choir. Which…I’m not a choir cause I can’t sing but maybe you are actually a preacher and…rambling. The point is, when I watch TV and things happen like the Scooby Gang raises Buffy out of her scary grave or Felicity goes back in time or they take their sweet time telling me what those numbers mean over on Lost…I get a little nutty. I sometimes get irate. Because these are my shows. These are my people. These are my FRIENDS THESE WRITERS ARE MESSING WITH.
I don’t say this lightly. I am a hardcore TV watching fanatic. I was deprived of it as a kid. So now, as an adult, I am deep into it. I dig my TV. So when shows take leaps, I go a little out of my mind.
I go a little out of my mind, I shake my fist to the heavens, I tear at my hair and I ask the writing gods “WHY?!!!!”
“WHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!!!!!!!”
I go all drama on my own ass and then I lie back down on the sofa and keep watching. Mainly because I’m lazy and shaking one’s fist to the heavens is exhausting. But also because I’m interested in seeing what happens next. And because the writers have asked me to leap and so I’m gonna leap with them.
Also because, now? Now I get it. I so totally get it. It’s freakin’ gotten.
Here’s what happened to me:
I was sitting in the editing room one day watching Mer and Burktina and the gang doing all the stuff they do. I love the editing room – it’s like this cocoon where I’m alone with the characters (and the editor) and it’s where I get a lot of my ideas. And for the first time ever since working on this show, I got an idea that was Grey’s Anatomy but…not Grey’s Anatomy. It was something else. It was Addison driving down the freeway with her hair blowing all over her face. So I started writing it down, this not Grey’s Anatomy idea. I started writing it down in secret because I knew Betsy and Shoots With No Script would very gently explain that I had lost my mind and then send in the guys with the strait jackets. Because we are very busy here at Greys. We don’t have time for non-Grey’s ideas. We are a hard-working people.
Except I had this idea and it had already worked its way under my skin and I had to write it down. Or else I’d get in one of those moods. Things happen when I’m in those moods. Things like Meredith drowning. And I love Mer and wanted to keep her away from the water. So I wrote it down. And I gave it to the studio and the network.
It became something. A script that was part-Grey’s, part something else. And then it became news around town and suddenly my tiny little written down something was being paid a lot of attention by the outside world. Next thing you know, they’re calling it a spinoff.
This episode, it’s NOT a spinoff. It’s Addison going down to LA to complete the story we’ve been laying out for her for two seasons. It’s the culmination of Meredith’s family story. It’s Burktina and the wedding and Izzie, Callie and George and that hideous triangle they are stuck in. It’s the beginning of the end of Season Three.
And I’m warning you now: the ride to the end of the season? You may want to buckle up and store your luggage in the overhead compartment because this ride is gonna be bumpy. I’ll explain more after the finale. I’ll talk about where we are headed in Season Four. Because I think Season Four is gonna rock. The fun is back in Season Four. But for right now, I guess I’ll just talk about the here and the now. About what is right in front of us.
So. Even though we took this detour down to Los Angeles, what I want to talk about is what happened in Seattle. To Meredith. To Cristina. To Izzie. Because things are not working out the way they planned. George is leaving for Mercy West and Izzie feels responsible. Cristina’s facing the fact that she’s going to have to compromise what she wants yet again for Burke. And Meredith…well, Meredith is losing another mother. Worse, she’s losing her father. And even worse than that, she may be losing Derek.
But my favorite moment is Alex. Who, when Ava asks him what happened to him that has made it so hard for him to connect, simply shrugs and says “Maybe I don’t remember.” He remembers. But he can’t face up to it. Not yet. Alex is the guy we know the least about and the one struggling the most. And I kinda love him for it. Because he wants to be a better guy – he’s just not sure he IS a better guy.
In this episode, our people in Seattle all hit a crossroads while our girl in Los Angeles finds a new road altogether. I’m hoping you like the new road. I’m hoping I get a chance to show you how good this road can be.
But for now, the detour is over. Now, we’ve got the last two episodes of this season to bring to you. Where we are going might make you shake your fists to the heavens and scream. But we are leaping. So, if your sofa is comfy, maybe you could lie back down and leap with us?
May 04, 2007 in Shonda Rhimes
This is the link to the HUNDREDS of comments posted after it as well: (I’ll hope it works!)
http://www.greyswriters.com/2007/05/shonda_rhimes_o.html#comments
i didn’t like it at all. The different parts weren’t fitting together, the only thing which make the transition work a LITTLE bit was the music. Ambience was changing all along an you simply couldn’t get into it. It was too different for putting together, maybe it would have been better doing two seperate shows, but I can also understand that Shonda wants to use Grey’s as a platform for presenting this new show, and sorry I really don’t think that this was a one time thing, this really was thought as a spinoff, with all the caracters…
What I really didn’t appreciate was the grey’s episode within this whole thing. The death of Susan would have been much more spectacular if there would have been a big scene in the OR… But I guess they didn’t have time for putting it in. Let’s just hope that this will remain as an error, a try that didn’t work at all, in that point almost everybody seems to agree
I loved the spinoff 2 hour pilot. I think that because I am a 30 something female in the medical field, I found these people more interesting. I felt that the characters made me want more. I felt chemistry between several of the characters and could relate to the ways that the storyline was going.
I loved it.
i really disliked the entire episode i think that the pilot of the crappy addison show took away from greys because it was so chopped up and addisons new show was just plain bad, the characters were too old and it dragged i think that if it gets picked up it will be short lived i just dont think that they can make it interesting enough and all the stairwell/ elevator scenes were trying to be way to greys anatomy for me. i think that this new show is geared towards a way older/dead crowd haha
I really liked it…I think there is a lot of places the writers could take it and make it really funny and a good show. I absoluetly love GA but after all of the melodrama lately and the whole…”lets not let anyone be happy” stuff it was kind of nice to have something different! If they break Mer/Der up again…eneough said.
It thought it was utterly boring and I didn’t care about the personalities and the lives of these new characters. If you want to do a spin off, then do it appropriately. The main characters in Grey’s had bit parts…these are the characters I care more to hear / see when I’m watching Grey’s. There were some really stupid things too. Addison talking in the elevator. The pregnant stranger insisting that ONLY Addison perform surgery on her. Puleeease. It didn’t work for me. Two Thumbs Down. A total disappointment.
I’m agree with you.. that was boringggg, the characters are missing something.. cute boys but shallow.. addi belongs in seatle with mark or alex but not in LA.. even in a place that has a name Oceanside.. come on! if Shonda wrote that pilot.. she will be need too much time more to write another master piece as grey’s. If the spin off continues as the pilot show, could be named “the unfaithful world of Addisson”
My husband is a surgeon and thinks the immaturity of some of the characters is absurd, but indulges my Grey’s obsession. Anyway, since he was gone all day, I spent my day watching season 2 & clips from season 3 about mer/der – it’s like the invasion of the body snatchers (think there was a movie with that title) and I”m not a fan of the concept!! Seems like Derek’s character has been taken over by an alien. Good to know I’m not the only one who though the “not spin off according to shonda” bombed! Truly the women’s behaviour is an isult to mature, and I don’t mean age, women everywhere.
by the way excellent NYT article written yesterday, don’t have the link.
i LOVEDDDDDDDDDDDDD THE SPIN OFF!!! the characters are very interesting and the setting is gorgeous!!! Hope to see more!
I thought it was horrible…I was moving around in my seat all night very disinterested in anything that didn’t involve the greys cast…it actually made me really annoyed…i like kate walsh but not a good start for the new show..and for grey’s…I can’t wait for a full new episode…
I´m from Austria – so sorry for my bad English!
My opinion is, that Addison was a little bit crabby and nervous… completely different as in GA – and so I completely agree with Karen about the strange dialogues (“I kiss you with tongue…”)!
The little bits we saw from Seattle Grace were about 200% better than the complete Oceanside-Story (especially the last scene with Mer´s Dad – very surprising)!
I hope Addison stays at Seattle Grace and maybe there´s a happyend with Mark?
Merder are the reason i watch GA in the first place but i was watching some bits and pieces of season 1 & 2 yesterday.. UNBELIEVABLY different from season 3, its as if its not the same writer anymore. Seems like Derek’s character in particular has been taken over/invaded by an alien. I can not relate to this selfish and unreasonable derek at all, no eye sparkle, no mcdreamy smile, SERIOUSLY!!! or has he always been like that? Meredith, that girl is really brave, if it was me that all those horrible things happened to, i would have been at the Psychiatric asylum by now. The only epi i can say is as good as those of 1 & 2 from season 3 is epi 319 ‘my favorite mistake’. The spin off on the other hand is another issue, why Shonda wants to do that i have no idea.I just hope they have some staff that read this stuff, becos here is what i want to say… Shonda pls for the sake of your fans bring back our old GA, all this drama is too much and pls dont break merder…..
I was not impressed as well with the spinoff….I absolutely love Kate Walsh..she is so beautiful…when she first started Grey’s I wasn’t sure about her but she has turned into one of my favorites doctors!! I would hate for her to have this show and the show flop and we lose her!! I am sure the other actors would not be so forgiving if she tried this show and it flopped and then she wanted to come back to Greys…hmm….
Honestly, I was a bit angry. I didn’t know that I would be seeing another sure or should I say forced to see another show. I LOVE Grey’s but was disappointed that devouted fans would have to see a spin off because they would fear missing out on a good episode. I hated it. It was like seeing two shows that had nothing in common. The atmosphere and chemistry were different and mixing the two shows was a mistake. I hope the next to episodes do not include the Spin off. It’s not fair to the fans! Grey’s shouldn’t have to carry anyone!
In a word, the spinoff was TRASH. It could have been titled “Horny Doctors”. I was hoping for a quality show and this was not it.
I absolutely agree it’s missing that Grey’s Anatomy touch. Somehow the cast needs that spark. But so far I don’t see that connection with the audience that Grey’s evokes.
What a waste of time. I was so disappointed by the spinoff pilot. Addison was portrayed as a complete idiot, talking elevators, come on! The cast members do not work at all. I agree no spark. The Tim Daly holistic doctor was sooo boring. If ABC is going to keep this show please make it more interesting.
I actually thought it was pretty good. Don’t get me wrong…it’s definatly not the “new grey’s anatomy” or anything but it was worth watching and I have to admit that if it ever becomes its own show I’d tune in and watch (at least at first). Hopefully Addison will be in it if they keep it. Overally, it was pretty good
The surfer boy was the BEST part of the show. i will watch him every night;)but otherwise the show wasnt that great.. i thought that adison was “goofy” acting.
I would not watch this show again even if I just wanted something to zone out to. What kind of hokey writing was that? “No wood?” “Not even a twig.” I’m amazed Taye Diggs & Amy Brenneman were able to say those lines without choking.
so according to kirstin’s spoilers…
the girl from the bar has been offered a contract for 13 episodes, I am freaking out, what kind of BULLSHIT is that!!!!
oh man oh man, can you give me the address where you’ve read that rumor Hafsa?
I hope they will not try to recreate a new attraction with Mcdreamnynotanymore and a new girl. What the hell are they doing….
I thought the spin-off was formula, probably won’t watch but, will miss Addison.
Did anyone else notice the riduculousness of her being surprised about her infertility? I mean, she IS an OB/GYN! How many times has she had to give the news that a woman had waited too long and her eggs had dried up? Probably 100 times and she never considered this when deciding whether or not to have a baby. Yeah, maybe a stockbroker would have that reaction – but an OB/GYN that does fertility treatment and testing for a living? DUH?!?
I had a problem with a Male VaJayJay Dr., but I think I’d have a problem with a female one who had so little grasp on reality. http://www.blogfabulous.com/male-vajayjay-dr-why/
I agree that the Docs on the show are more messed up than their patients. You can already see the cliche-ridden plot lines and future romances forming: The loser from Day break (Taye Diggs)who divorced his wife (Addison’s friend) for no reason will get back with his wife but not before they make viewers suffer several back and forths in their relationship. Cooper with his crazy bachelor life style needs to hook up with the psychrist. And Addison will have an on and off again with the crazy herbal remedy dude who lost his wife and hasn’t let her go. Seems more like a nuthouse than a clinic. I’d be surpsised if this show makes it. It won’t hold a candle to Grey’s. It’s a BAD idea for Addison to leave at the shows peak. This kind of move is usually best done in a shows final season.
I taped greys anatomy/private practice and watched it the next day. I found myself fast forwarding the private practice parts. Enough said.
apparently, i am definitely in the minority here…i figured i’d dislike the spin-off, since i don’t care for addison. but i really enjoyed it! anything that will take time away from the george/izzie plotline (which just makes me sick!) is well worth it…
I love Kate, but my hate for Addision (sorry) just grew due to the complete and utter horidness of the spin off. Half of time time I was thinking “who taped over Grey’s Anatomy with this ?” and half the time watching the show at all. I had to turn off the T.V. I think the reviews were thinking the same. I mean the elevator, the sex sex sex, the california is bright and shinny and slutting aspect just did not appeal to me. My only hope for this show is that is does not take anymore air time away from grey’s.
I m late, I know!! I hate all new episodes and I hate the spin -off (even if I love Tim Daly). What I want is Meredith be Meredith from the first season, Izzy be nice and funny, George be friendly and funny, Chrisitna be competitive and funny, McDreamy be McDreamy…
Why make things complicated when we love Grey’s Anatomy like it is (or was)!!!!!
I was so disappointed with the spinoff. Another medical drama is NOT necessary and we love Addison right where she is! There’s so much more that can be done with her story line at Seattly Grace and I agree that Tim Daly would be an awesome addition to Grey’s rather than pulling Addison and putting her in another show. If you do the spin off, Grey’s will suffer and the spin off will likely flop as most do.
I know I’m late with my comments, but I did not like the spin off episode. Two hours of “Wanna-be Grey”. Addison needs to stay at Seattle Grace. The spin off was a nice gesture but NOoooooo.
I ALSO HATED IT I DID NOT LIKE THE CHARACTERS AND I REALLY DO NOT SEE WHY OR FOR WHAT REASON FOR THE SPIN OFF JUST KEEP GREY’S AS IT IS WITH ALL THE SAME CHARACTERS
i was incredibly disgusted with the spinoff. i think they should have tried to incorporate those characters previously instead of just throwing in ten new characters. i was so excited for a 2 hour grey’s but i found myself wanting to change the channel. i can’t believe they ended up giving kate walsh her own show. i think it will be a bust and hurt grey’s along with it.
WHY FIX SOMETHING THAT IS NOT BROKEN? WHY BREAK SOMETHING, THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO FIX.
GREYS IS AMAZING. iTS BEEN A TOP RATED SHOW FOR THREE YEARS AND NOW YOU WANT TO GO AND DO A SPIN OFF. JUST COMMIT SERIES SUICIDE. ITS NOT GOING TO WORK. GREYS FANS DON’T LIKE CHANGE. THEY WANT TO SEE DEREK AND MERED IN A HAPPIER PLACE. MORE SURGERIES, MORE FUNNY, MORE NAZI AND DRAMA. CHANGING THE SHOW IS GETTING A HEAD OF THEMSELFVES AND GREEDY. WATCH THE DEVOTED FANS WHO LIVE FOR THURSDAY NIGHTS. WHO DISCUSS GREYS ALL WEEK LONG…. WATCH THEM TUNE TO CDSI INSTEAD.
DON’T FIX IT IF ITS NOT BROKEN. YEAH, AND DON’T HAVE ANYMORE UNREALISTIC CHEESY EPISODIES OF MERIDETH DYING AND THEN COMING BACK TO LIFE, THIS MAY BE TELEVISION. BUT WE ARE NOT IDIOTS.
LOVE YOUR #####! GREY FAN
I’m giving it a chance despite not being completely impressed by the pilot episode. I think part of the reason why the pilot was so disappointing for people was because the producers mixed it in with the existing show, Grey’s. That made it confusing and jumpy; it was hard for me to focus on some of the characters.
I thought Oceanside was lots o fun! I’ve been waiting for Ally McBeal M.D. and there it is. Love Amy B’s sexy teeth– GRRR ! But that sad sack she’s stringing along is no fun. Oh well, maybe they will give Addison another facial expression besides that dopey “duh” expression.