Shiny Happy People/Grey Matter

Zoanne Clack (with Pete Nowalk and Shonda Rhimes) on "Shiny Happy People"...

Original Airdate: 5-13-10

Pete and I wrote this episode. Two people writing an episode of Grey’s doesn’t happen very often, except with our married writers Tony and Joan. So the news is…

Pete and I got married and became a writing team!

Okay, that’s a total lie. We just got teamed up because it was the end of the season and we were all tired. It was nice to split the work…

''Sorry to interrupt. Pete here. I just want to go on record that I would be happy to marry Zoanne. Cause she’s amazing and awesome and smart and A DOCTOR. And if I were into the ladies I’d have put a ring on that finger a long time ago. Just saying. Okay, shutting up now. I’m currently trying to break episode 704 – yes, the fourth episode of season 7 – so I need to go. Back to ZoZo…''

The two of us were put in charge of the pre-finale episode. The episode right before the finale. How do you write the set up episode for the GAME CHANGER? We thought we’d start by seeing our characters have some fun. Or at least feign having some fun. I mean, technically it’s a party, right? Fun! Okay, it’s a lame “meet and greet the Chief” party. It probably shouldn’t even be called a party… more like a work function. But there’s much juicy info to be gleaned from the party. For instance, Alex and Lexie are a couple. A couple couple. At one point when we were writing they were going to sneak away from the party and upstairs to make whoopie (as it was called on great 70s game shows like “Match Game PM” and “The Newlywed Game”) but that got cut (although it doesn’t mean the sentiment wasn’t still there). Wonder if that will last considering Mark’s end-of-episode proposition?

Also? Cristina agrees to move in with Owen. Through all the angst, all the PTSD, all the choking – Cristina wants to make this work. She’s all in. Until life happens and kills her bliss (more on that later). What else… Reed wants to play in the big leagues by hitting on Mark. Who had just hit on Callie. Who was watching Arizona. Who was trying not to watch Callie. Cause Callie still wants so badly to be with Arizona…and that kiss in the elevator pretty much said the same for Arizona – such a bittersweet moment. Wonder how they’ll figure out this mess. Stay tuned.

Not at the party? Bailey and Ben. Oh Ben. Ben with his smile and charm and clothes…off. Woohoo! (I second this Woohoo.  Yes, it’s Pete again.  Back to work.  I swear.)  Mostly it was good to see Bailey having some fun for a change. But then she catches Ben flirting with some chickadee named Liz. Oh Ben… do we believe him or not, ladies? I want to believe him. I want to believe that his A-game is the only game he’s playing. I want to believe that Bailey will get her happiness, if such a thing even exists.

(Shonda here. Pete was interrupting so I thought I might as well take my turn.  I wanted to say this: when they first pitched me this Ben flirting story, it ended with Bailey finding out that Ben was playing the field, that he thought he and Bailey were not exclusive and so he felt he could flirt with whomever he wanted.  Bailey was heartbroken.  So was I.  Because I love Ben deeply and I’m a single mother and Bailey’s a single mother and we single mothers need to believe that the Bens of the world are out there.  So I marched into Pete and Zo and I said, “BEN IS GOOD.  BEN LOVES BAILEY.  BEN CAN NOT BE A DOG!”  Okay, I hollered it like a crazy person because I’d been up all night worrying that the Bens of the world do not exist.  And because I’m the boss, they said okay.  I’ll stop interrupting now and let you get back to Zo.  Bye.)

When we first started this episode, the theme was “happiness.” Simple, right? Who doesn’t think about their own happiness at least once a day? Well it turns out happiness ain’t so simple. We read all this research on the topic and the big headline is that we all have to make our own happiness. Annoying, right? But the evidence is undeniable. Statistically, amputees are as happy as lottery winners. The guy who decided not to play drums for the Beatles says it was the best thing that ever happened to him. The point? Good freaking luck finding your own happiness. It’s this idea that actually became our theme – how we all try to be happy, constantly searching for it, faking it even, just in case it actually decides to show up.

On to something that made everyone on the set very happy…

Demi Lovato.

Do you know what a big deal Demi Lovato is? When the show’s publicist put out a press release that she was going to be a guest star newspapers across the country picked it up the story. When Demi tweeted about it, it got posted on every blog, entertainment magazine, and internet site out there. The week before she came to our show, I read about her in not less than two tabloids (we keep them around the office… very important to research our industry daily…ha!) and saw her on American Idol. So you get it by now. DEMI’S A BIG DEAL! And she was AMAZING in this episode. A complete natural. What she could say just with her eyes (which was very important for this role) was remarkable. And it wasn’t an easy role to play, especially considering she was a little starstruck herself. Apparently she watches Grey’s every week with her mom and to actually be here on the set with McDreamy and the crew was like her own dream come true. So that’s added pressure. But she was uber-professional and prepared and all-around awesome. Big ups to Demi!

Demi’s story gave breath to Alex, both professionally and personally. Alex knows crazy. Between his mom, Jane Doe/Ava/Rebecca, and Izzie, he’s had his fair share. Actually more than his fair share. Way more than any one man should ever have to deal with in one life. So he gets Demi’s character from the start. He uses his gut instinct to save this girl from a life of misdiagnosis. His gut is also telling him that he should be with a nice, normal girl for a change. He can do the girlfriend thing, all he has to do is commit to it, make it happen. Just like he saved Demi from being committed herself…

Now on to the star I personally grew up watching: Marion Ross. And by personally I mean she was on my TV every Tuesday on ABC on Happy Days. I tried so hard not to call her “Mrs. Cunningham” but it was hard. And she was an absolutely lovely person. Also lovely? Alan Mandell, the actor who played Betty’s long lost love Henry. Cristina wasn’t so enthralled with these love birds. Because listening to them talk about their tragic, unrequited love – as well as Richard going on about how much he misses Ellis – just made her doubt Owen.

Okay, we all know it, Cristina and Owen have a complicated relationship. In fact it’s what makes us love writing about them. They love each other, but that doesn’t mean both of them don’t have feelings for other people. Or that they can just decide to shut those feelings off. And Cristina gets this. She believes that Owen loves her, she just isn’t okay if he also loves Teddy. And watching Henry and Betty reconnect made her think long and hard about whether or not Owen was contemplating looking backwards – to this woman who had been such an important part of his life so long ago. Not that Owen would ever stray. He loves Cristina, he’s just a little tortured. He’s trying to figure it out and was hoping he would never have to confront his feelings for Teddy, but Cristina (with a little help from Mer) is forcing him to do just that. So now he has to make a choice. Cristina or Teddy. Or will one of them make the choice for him…?

On to Meredith. She was in a tough spot in this episode. She knew something she shouldn’t have known and it forced her to be cryptic with Cristina. Problem is, Mer and Cristina don’t do cryptic. They’re our twisted sisters. Real. Blunt. Painfully honest. And we love em for it. But in this situation Mer needed to take some lessons from her burn patient Amber, who finally forced her best friend to stop with the positive affirmations and start getting real (time to stop being polite and get real!). Enough with the happy face, Amber basically says, cause life’s not all happy all the time just because you say it is. And having to pretend otherwise is just exhausting. So Mer went to Owen and forced the issue. Girl’s got balls, there’s no denying that. Oh, BTW, we don’t in any way advocate texting while driving! That was a joke. Don’t do it. (Yeah. Ditto.  --Pete)

Okay, that concludes your public service announcement from Grey’s Anatomy. But before I sign off, here’s a final word on next week’s season finale: Strap on your seatbelt. Prepare to have mind blown. Cause it’s gonna take you on the ride of your life… (intrigued yet?)