I have loved Grey’s Anatomy since it started but things have not been going well lately at Seattle Grace. Things need to get back on track because the competition on Thursdays at 9 is fierce. CSI is still going strong on CBS, and on NBC, 30 Rock with Tina Fey is so rocking good and timely that it has risen to the top of my must see list.
So here’s my gripe, and it still focuses on the firing of Brooke Smith. The episode last week which was Smith’s last was a big disappointment and while ABC wants this story to go away, I’m not yet quite ready to let it go.
If you haven’t watched the episode and still want to – stop reading here.
Dr. Hahn, played by Smith was right about calling UNOS (the national organ donor bank) to report the shady behavior of Seattle Grace regarding the heart transplant of Denny Duckett two seasons ago. The fact that her lover, Callie Torres, (Sara Ramirez) defended Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) who by the way, she hates because Izzie slept with her husband, is just pathetic.
It just seems to me that the folks at ABC got skittish about Brooke Smith playing a strong, normal looking woman who happened to be a lesbian (who you made a full time cast member last season to great fanfare. Also, didn’t you know that Smith is a fantastic character actress and not a bimbette?) Her exit was so disappointing (first time writer Bill Harper got the credit according to the Grey writers blog which did not touch on the controversy at all.) The timing of her departure really sucked since she was kicked out the week that California and three other states voted against gay marriage. Timing is everything and you blew it here.
The forced statement that Shonda Rhimes released last week mentioned that Smith was not fired because she played a lesbian and that the show still has lesbian on it — Callie Torres — rings false. On the episode, Callie denied she was a lesbian which is what led to Dr. Hahn walking away into TV nowhereland. And her constant on the job sexual exploits with Dr. McSteamy proves her sexual confusion. It’s like she needs to prove she’s not gay. For a show that prides itself on diversity, this doesn’t cut it.
So was Smith fired because she is not “pretty enough” to play gay on TV? On mainstream TV girl on girl sex is seen as hot; yet a relationship between two normal looking women is what, scary?
I remember clearly two years ago the big controversy when Isiah Washington called T.R. Knight a “fag” and he was ultimately fired for uttering that slur. The cast mostly united behind Knight, yet I see no one stepping up to talk about this issue except for Patrick Dempsey who when he appeared on Ellen last week hysterically read ABC’s talking points (which he actually pulled out of his pocket to show how pathetic it was)
We’ve had a great time working with her and that the conclusion of her [role] has been orgasmic’—I’m sorry, I’m dyslexic—’organic ending to the storyline.
Dempsey’s statement:
After watching Dempsey I am more convinced that this is gaywashing and that ABC just got really nervous that the show was becoming too gay. But, how can ABC have this reaction to Grey’s when Kevin on Brothers & Sisters is so gay all the time. He is even got married on the show. Is it that we are more accepting of gay men in normal relationships than gay women?
And where is the rest of the Grey’s cast? Where’s T.R. Knight? Couldn’t this be a great time for them to stand up for tolerance? I’m waiting.
fuck ABC, I don’t even watch that channel anyway.
I'm so frustrated by this whole fiasco. I really think that there's several reasons behind this clusterfuck and the lesbian plotline is one but not the only one or even the main one. The timing of the firing (mid-September) seems to indicate it was all decided before the new season aired and so they couldn't have feedback on the romance anyway.
The bottom line is, Brooke Smith had the misfortune to play (very well, I might add) a character widely disliked by the show's fans. Dr Hahn could have been either strong and nononsense and straight OR softer and a lesbian, but not strong and a lesbian. That really was the straw that broke the ABC camel's back. Then they went on to totally botch the way they handled the romance, and particularly the Sara Ramirez character, and that didn't help either. What a wasted opportunity.
And it really annoys me when people are all, But there's gay characters on Brothers & Sisters! Yeah: gay men. I'm tired of scraps.
elisabeth, don’t forget faux lesbian characters on TV shows that only do it excite men.
i’m tired of it all
It is truly ironic that the show that fired Washington would do this, isn’t it? I have followed Brooke for years (even on Crossing Jordan) and she is consistently interesting. I think Grey’s is so uneven now that they would have benefitted by keeping this going – especially with the ambivalence that offered so much to explore. Too bad.
ABC/Disney
made a huge error.
Just when that show was having a good season, it had to lose it’s cred with the intelligent audience.
The fact that her character was tough on Sandra Oh’s character (best on the show imho)
made perfect sense. THat she wanted to out Izzy, for her illegal activity, also made sense for the character. She was not there long enough to be a part of the co-dependent, dis functional work family scene. She created a nice contrast to that.
That she looks like a real person, not an actress, but, could actually be a doctor in Seattle was another plus…
So what was her downfall?
Is it that shows aren’t supposed to have characters we love to hate and disagree with?
no
Was it lack of chemistry?
no
She could have been dumped by the experimenting Cali (whose character could use some developing).
It was homophobia and pressure from Disney/ ABC.
This is why HBO, Showtime, TNT, FX, have so much more to offer- another ABC show is forced to suck-again.
GO cable
and write to the View about how Fox News like it is with that idiot Hasselbeck on it.
In these economic times, it’s hard for publically traded companies to put integrity before profits.
Who is served if Grey’s ends up being canceled due to lack of advertising (don’t know if this is the case) and puts hundreds of people out of work other than Ms. Smith?
Corporate cowardice is unpleasant to witness and participate in but
par for the course in our bottom line obsessed culture.
I’m not happy about it but I will look for shows that reflect the world as it truly is and skip Grey’s for the time being.
But I love how Patrick Dempsey handled the hypocrisy!