GREY’S ANATOMY & PRIVATE PRACTICE: The Best of Both Worlds

Done and done. Shonda Rhomes has finally figured out to make both GREY’S ANATOMY and PRIVATE PRACTICE worth our time…just combine the two shows. I’m talking every week. On their own, neither show has been great, but last night’s crossover episodes were fun, frenetic, dramatic and worthy of my time. Now how can we convince TPTB to make this a permanent move?

It’s amazing how much more of an interesting character Addison becomes simply by walking through the doors of Seattle Grace. In L.A. she walks around waiting for her life to begin. Her biggest worries and woes stem from her issues with men. But back in Seattle we are all reminded that she is a world class surgeon – perhaps the best in her field. A talent that is wasted tolling away in that small doctor’s office. The Addison we saw last night was the Addison I thought would be the anchor of PRIVATE PRACTICE. It reminded me why I liked her to begin with.

The crossover also allowed for some really fun moments, and the fun has been missing from both shows for quite some time. There was dancing and boozing (because it was GREY’S and and they love their dancing, but they really love their booze), and trips down memory lane. There were stolen glances and “what if” moments that were based in fond remembrance rather than a brooding foreshadowing.

Some of the onscreen pairings were just electric. Chandra Wilson and Taye Diggs played off each other so well that I was left disappointed that we didn’t get to see them more. And was that a little flirty Baily that I saw? I think so.

It was nice to see George O’Malley for more than 10 seconds last night. Ok, maybe it was only 30 seconds, but still – it’s a big improvement. Although, the crux of George’s interaction stemmed from outing Lauren Reed-Vaughn (sorry I don’t remember her character’s name…what?…she’s been completely insignificant to date), which was forced and completely out of sorts with the rest of the episode. But I guess that’s what happens when you have cast members running away from the set without a lot of warning.

Izzie’s game was a lot of fun, even if it felt a little desperate on her part. I’m glad Alex is starting to notice that something is wrong with Izzie. But I had to laugh that he was more concerned about her not seeing a pair of scissors than he was with her talking to her dead ex-boyfriend for months. He loves her but he’s had enough of the crazy. We have too, Alex.

There was also some craziness in L.A. what with the mother trying to kill her baby and all. It was a sad storyline and I was very happy that it ended well, but enough, enough, enough with Violet and this baby. She’s not even showing and I’m already sick of the kid. And I’m starting to really resent Violet for her role in separating Cooper and Charlotte. Just as I was really starting to root for them as a couple, they are back at odds. But I know it’s not really about Violet as much as it is about Cooper. Charlotte is right – he is looking to play Daddy (that sounded way dirtier than it was intended). He was way to quick to step in and play the husband role to Violet and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so once the baby is here. And let’s not forget that when we first met Cooper he was madly in love with his best friend Violet. I don’t think those feelings every truly go away. This playing family bit is going to get really nasty once this kid gets here.

Anyway, I really enoyed the crossover episodes. Way more than I expected to. Find a way to bring Charlotte and Pete to Seattle and I’m back on the GREY’S train. (Oh and can you just imagine how awesome a couple Charlote and Mark Sloan would be?! Off the charts hot!). But I know that I’m not going to get my wish. After next week the two shows will split and I’ll be back feeling “eh” about both of them. Enjoy it while it lasts kids.

Were you digging the GREY’S ANATOMY/PRIVATE PRACTICE crossover episode? Did it work for you? Pros/Cons? Yays/Nays? And was Taye Diggs looking especially hot or was it just me? Damn.