All after the jump …

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First impression, with the show in progress: There's always been a strain of David E. Kelley in Shonda Rhimes's work. In the Addison story, it's unrestrained. And I don't like it. Too much forced comedy, for one thing; did not believe for a second that Addison would say what she did in the elevator early in the episode.

More after the jump …

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Who won't be surviving tonight — on CBS or ABC? More after the jump …

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Night of the nonstop nicknames and other stuff, after the jump …

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Notes about the wonders of Kate Burton, after the jump …

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Caught up with a couple of things, and wedding bells were ringing in both of them. "Grey's Anatomy" even offered two proposals (neither answered yet) as part of an episode that seemed at least partly designed to tidy up some storylines. Not did it stabilize the McDreamy-Meredith relationship (and with some nice talk about what a relationship is), the clinic seemed a way to settle what Izzie does with her money and — although it hasn't been explicit — what the Chief will do after he retires. Sure, the failure of his marriage suggests that he may un-retire. But the Chief can remain part of the cast if he's running the clinic, too, and that leaves open the battle to succeed him.

And what of those two proposals? Beats me. And it may beat the writers, too, if the rumors about T.R. Knight wanting out of the show are true.

As for "Friday Night Lights," it continues to make the argument that it's one of the best dramas on TV right now. Not best new. Best, period. In last week's episode, I liked the way we were reminded — more than once– that the coach both carries his share of insecurities and is a hard-head. I also liked the way the show didn't feel the need to have the coach offer his QB an explanation of game strategy. (Something like, "The play was a good idea, but it was probably going to work only once, so we had to save it as a surprise when we needed it most. …") Of course, this show doesn't feel the need to have any explain motivations or ideas; we'll figure it out as we see what they do, pretty much the way we have to do with people in everyday life. At the same time, though, when words matter to them, they have pretty great words — look at Smash and his family, or the coach and Smash in the diner.

I have no idea where that show's marriage proposal will lead, except that it could be wrapped in trouble. But so could the ones on "Grey's" — or on any show that begins making wedding plans as the turmoil of ratings sweeps looms.

The bride and I had a double feature of "Grey's Anatomy" tonight, finally catching the episode from a week ago, followed by tonight's. Regular readers here know I've been pretty obsessive about the show. But right now I'm not feeling the love for it much.

I'll make my peace with the Izzie thing. I still don't think she should be back in that hospital, and that her psychotic episode about Denny should not remotely be reduced to "a mistake." But it's been painfully clear that the show is determined to put her back in the middle of things, so I'll try to move on — as annoying as that freakin' check is. (Speaking of which: Given the pink ribbon and other paraphernalia around the check on the refrigerator, shouldn't it be obvious what Izzie should give the money to?)

So, things I liked tonight. Uh, well. I liked that McSteamy's charms diminish whenever he gets verbal, that both Addison and Callie took him to bed but preferred that he not talk. I like the way James Pickens Jr. adds to the sense that the Chief is the only sane person currently working in the hospital. Burke broods well, although it feels as if he gets through entire episodes on four or five words; but the speech to Izzie was, well, fine.

Anything else? Probably not. Things I didn't like: Yet another attempt to justify McDreamy's being judgmental about Addison and McSteamy, thoroughly unconvincing. The M&M session. The check. Bailey going soft. Bailey's takedown of the nasty doctor being less than satisfying. Alex going soft. O'Malley's general idiocy about Callie. The bed-hopping. Stoned Meredith. The entangled couple — way too David E. Kelley, which gets to why the show is annoying me.

It's getting too showy, and the characters don't feel consistent; I don't mean I want them to act the same way all the time, I mean that I want to feel as if their behavior is consistent with how I understand them overall. Too often they're being moved around for the sake of a story line. The show used to be better than that.

On "Grey's," I liked the whole dating competition between McDreamy and McVet, and Kate Walsh as Addison is world class. But who couldn't guess that the guy with the seizures was going to seize as soon as he held the baby? And shouldn't someone have looked at the foster kid's abdomen a lot sooner, given how many times she said she had been hit?

Would they really let Izzie wait outside all day and into the night? Even more important, as I have said before, are we all supposed to forget that SHE KILLED A GUY? Institutional memory seems to be failing everyone associated with the series. Nor did I like Bailey being such a softie, and O'Malley's reluctance to have Callie live with him. Considering this guy's history, he should have been delighted to have her move in — and in the malicious little corner of his heart, he would have liked the idea of having a hot roommate with Meredith just down the hall. So, all in all, not a great episode from a show that made us expect at least momentary greatness.

I was also thinking, before "Survivor" began, that it needed to be great or I might not come back in a week. After all, there are multiple options in the time slot. Fresh, engaging options. And "Survivor" remains blah — blah challenges, blah interaction. The wipeout of J.P. at Tribal Council was impressive (especially when the final words showed how thoroughly people had turned on him), especially when he was so astonished about it. But the run-up to that moment was more like a stroll. Next week, I may be watching "Ugly Betty" or the NBC comedies in real time, and saving "Survivor" for the DVR.

When the makers of television are looking at the arc of a season, I think they should come up with the biggest, wildest idea they can for a season finale — then do it in the middle of the season. That way, if the idea is bad, we'll have a bunch of new episodes after it to remind us why we like the show — and we'll end the season on a steady note that will carry us into the next.

I thought about this a couple of times tonight, once when dealing with "How I Met Your Mother," which seems to be going in a direction at odds with where it started (Ted even more with Robin, Marshall and Lily no longer engaged) and one that leans so heavily on drama, you long even more for Barney to come in and brighten the scene.

But it was even more in my mind during three hours of "Grey's," two tonight and one last night, where the pursuit of a big finish sent the show careening into a kind of madness even more pronounced than Izzie's onscreen meltdown. Not only did we have her action with Denny last night, we had the continuation tonight, which by all rights should have ended with Izzie, George, Cristina and Meredith booted out of the hospital entirely, until their bosses and the hospital lawyers could sort out the liability; and we shouldn't even have gotten to that point, because one of the other three should have reported Izzie's folly the moment they discovered it.

Also, I hated seeing Meredith and McDreamy back together, even if it was just for some slap and tickle, to set up that whom-will-she-choose ending. But that's me.

Getting back to the larger point, I stopped believing in the show. I know it's a fantasy in a lot of ways — think of some of the turns in the hospital-bomb story — but I have to believe the characters are acting in a plausible manner, as their characters I defined, that I won't look at it and think, oh, they would never do that. And these last three hours have been laced with they-wouldn't-do-that. I hope over the summer, someone takes a close look at the show and the characters and reconsiders the most recent path. It's fixable.

On the plus side, James Pickens, Jr., certainly had some good business tonight, and he took full advantage of the opportunity. Flawed as the Chief is, he is still one of the stabilizing forces in the hospital (sometimes the only one), and was really the guy to watch during the interrogation scenes. He says nothing — but in doing so talks very loud.

The bride and I finally got around to Sunday's "Grey's" on Tuesday night, squeezing it in between obligations, before focusing on "American Idol." While there were plenty of things to like about the episode, the thing I've been thinking most about is Alex (Justin Chambers). He is such a — well, I can't use the word I want to use here. But he is an awful human being. Not awful because he's misunderstood, or awful because he has inner pain. He's just awful. Although he might pretend that he ratted out Addison because of some principle, we know he did it just to get even with someone he didn't like.

That said, I thought the episode underplayed the potential trouble facing Addison, as if it had become inconvenient late in the telecast. Did like the way the show continues to give TV veterans interesting roles — Jayne Brook as the divorce attorney, "Yes, Dear's" Jean Louisa Kelly as the mother wanting to stop getting pregnant. Loved the head twitches when Brook mentioned a bad marriage.

After my crankiness about "West Wing," after waiting through an Indians-White Sox rain delay (still going at this writing), "Grey's Anatomy" was a nice way to wrap up the evening. ("Sopranos," "Big Love" and "Huff" fans, please realize that I had already seen each show's episode airing tonight, so there weren't on my viewing lineup. You can read what I thought of "Huff" in a post below.)

Good, funny business between the Chief and Cristina. Given how much I hate Meredith (still), I took some pleasure in the punishing description of how her father felt about his other two daughters — and was a little disappointed that he was given a redemptive moment later in the show. Love O'Malley's new girlfriend. (Sara Ramirez is the actress. Tony Award winner for "Spamalot." By far the hottest woman on "Grey's.")

Love Cristina and Burke, although I did suspect he was playing Cristina about Madonna — implicitly telling her to settle down, they were supposed to be having fun.

Not sure about O'Malley's tribute to Meredith. Even less sure about the hormonal Bailey getting sentimental; at least, she's sentimental AND smart, knowing that the kid in surgery had other things to talk about than girls and sports. Didn't like Alex's getting to be right about his brutal honesty (although if any actress could sell a change of heart like that, Laurie Metcalf is the one). If any of the interns has to hit the road, he's still my pick. Well, after Meredith.

Still, overall, a strong reminder of the things I like about "Grey's."

I've had the viewing blahs the last couple of days. I'm ahead of the game with "The Sopranos," so I had already had the pleasure of seeing Sunday's episode. (And if you haven't seen it yet, please do so.) And I've already complained here about "The West Wing" and "Prison Break."

"Grey's Anatomy" was only all right. OK, so I choked up when the Chief's AA sponsor made it through surgery. But I don't know that I would put it among my favorite episodes; O'Malley should have gotten on with his new possible romance before this, and if they're sending Alex out the door — which felt even more likely based on this episode and the trailer for next week — then let's just get on with it. Last night, neither "How I Met Your Mother" nor "Two and a Half Men" was especially good, either.

So why do I feel good about TV tonight? Well, there is the season finale of "The Shield."

As I said in a previous post, I was somewhat disappointed by tonight's show because it did not seem to be on as high a level as recent episodes. Forest Whitaker has been a stunning addition to the show, and his relentlessness has created a more electric atmosphere for everyone else. Still, tonight takes us to a point that has seemed ever more inevitable as the show has gone along. With the noose closing around Vic and his guys, they have gotten back to a place like the one where the show started, one that asks them if their real goal is doing good or simply surviving.

In answering that question, the show plays absolutely fair with the story it has told. The result may sadden and disappoint some viewers. Still, it is the only place the show could go — unless it wanted to end tonight.

Before you get out your cudgels, let me be clear about one thing: I like "Grey's Anatomy." I am a devoted watcher. My wife is a devoted watcher. I do post-mortems on telecasts with other people, too. Ithink Sandra Oh is terrific, and that Cristina & Burke are a much hotter couple than Izzie &Alex, and that a scene brightens when Chandra Wilson is in it. I marvel at Kate Walsh, whose mere presence demonstrates what a fool McDreamy is. I laugh when the Chief gets exasperated (and delight that Cleveland's James Pickens Jr. is a regular on a hit series), and I get misty over the patients' suffering.

That said, I hate Meredith Grey. I used to just be weary of her. She was, as I indicated in a previous post, the least interesting of the major characters. But now I hate her. I hate her for sleeping with George. I hate her for crying at the worst possible moment with George. When Izzie said she would be on George's side in any Meredith-George division, I almost cheered.

Some of this, to be sure, is a function of Ellen Pompeo's performance, which I find too laid back — brooding lite. It sometimes seems as if she can't even be bothered to open her eyes in a scene. But it's also due to the way Meredith is written. Yes, other characters on the show have quirks and flaws and irritations (and I'm not talking about what happened to Addison on Sunday night). Burke's love of Cristina shows even more of his tender side, because Cristina is such a pain in the neck and Burke has seemed so intolerant of life disruption. But Meredith's flaws took a deeper, more awful turn in her dealings with George. The audience, like the other characters, knows how George felt about Meredith. She knew, too. Still, she indulged herself in a way that was cruel to the extreme.

I want her friends to abandon her. I want McDreamy to realize at last that his feelings for Meredith are nothing more than infatuation, and that Addison is a much better match. Maybe his attempt to be friends with her — doomed, it would seem, by their mutual attraction — will show him what a lousy friend she can be. Even if he's still googly about her, let him moon from afar. Get rid of her. Change the show's name to "Anatomy." I hate her, do you hear? I hate her.

I was completely involved in last night's "Grey's Anatomy" (which I watched this morning). Loved even some little things, like O'Malley's reaction to Bailey's hand-crushing during childbirth. The shower scene, bringing us full circle, was terrific. And in the moment I was willing to forgive the sometimes considerable dramatic license, such as how prettified Meredith for that meeting with McDreamy; for crying out loud, she had taken the concussion from a bomb blast and had been asleep, and looked almost perfect again when she saw him.

But, as I said, I forgave that. Another part of the episode, I'm not sure about.

Why was mostly women who wilted in a crisis, while the men got to be the heroes?

Meredith almost flipped out before the bomb was removed, and needed an imagined McDreamy to get her through. Yang hung in through the disaster, but you constantly had the sense that she was on the verge of collapse — she committed a huge gaffe in telling McDreamy about Meredith's situation, and it was McDreamy who ended up saving Bailey's husband (although you could argue that his reaction to Meredith's crisis preciptated the big scene with Bailey's husband). Bailey needed O'Malley to get her through childbirth, something even O'Malley seemed surprised about. (I think he spoke for a lot of viewers when he said Bailey wasn't being Bailey.) Izzie went on a sex bender with Alex to get through. The guest-star paramedic panicked. Addison had a fit over O'Malley's questioning.

And the guys? OK, the Chief had an anxiety attack. But O'Malley saved the day with Bailey, and Burke and McDreamy got to walk off the elevator like a couple of Texas Rangers who've just cleaned up Dodge.

Now, one of the things I like about "Grey's" is that it lets the characters be flawed, make mistakes, admit they don't know things — that they are not always splendid in a crisis. But this episode, while dramatic, seemed to tilt the balance too far toward nervous women and unflappable men.

I don't know how it will play out west, but "Grey's Anatomy" undoubtedly kept male Super Bowl viewers around with that group shower at the beginning. And actually managed to make fun of the scene (and any jaw-dropped men remaining) after doing it.

Pretty rotten, though, to have the episode to end with multiple cliffhangers to be continued next week.

I wish "Code Black" had proven something more surprising than the very thing the promos had been hinting at. And the business with Bailey felt like piling on.

You can see why Christina Ricci was cast, though. Not just because she's an interesting actress, and one who can play the naif well. With those big eyes, she's very expressive even if a surgical mask is covering half her face.

And, as much as I disliked the cliffhanger, there are other things to like in any episode of "Grey's." This had the scene where the men gather outside the room where Bailey's being examined, and several good scenes for Bailey, and the way a couple of people put aside any urge for heroism in a crisis and acted, well, human.