"Six Days" with Krista Vernoff...
Original Airdate: 1-11-07
The first thing I wanna say is, my three least favorite words in television are “To Be Continued.” Truly. I hate it and I’m so sorry to have done it to you. It was not my intention. I wrote this episode as one hour. But we shot it and it came in at 61 minutes and we only get 43 minutes per hour and so we were faced with the choice of either cutting 18 minutes – which really would have just destroyed the episode – or shooting 4 more days and making it a two-parter. It hurt. It was painful and laborious and I was terrified that the decision to go two hours would compromise the episode creatively and it really was such a beautiful episode at 61 minutes… Anyway, we did what we had to do, and I think that in the end, we made it work as two hours and I hope that you don’t hate us too much for making you wait a week for the pay-off. It’s worth it, I promise.
Here’s the thing though. There’s just not that much I can talk about in this blog without giving away stuff that happens next week. I could tell you how much I love the stuff you’ve seen and how much I think you’ll enjoy where it’s all going but… I’m thinking maybe instead I’ll save any further discussion of “Six Days” till next week and use this time to talk about some questions you guys have been writing us. (Also, I did the podcast this week – so if you aren’t technophobic, like me, and you actually know how to download and listen to a podcast , you can hear me and Susan, our wonderful editor, talk about this week’s episode in detail.)
What I want to talk about first is reruns. Yes, there’ve been a lot lately and I know it sucks. We had been scheduled to air a new episode on January 4th but when Six Days became a two-parter, it became impossible to write, shoot and edit all the new scenes and get something on the air by January 4th. The GOOD thing about the change is – we were going to air a new episode on January 4th then have another repeat on 1/11. So – yes, you had to wait an extra week for a new episode, but you will now have 7 WEEKS IN A ROW of new episodes. Yeay. We hope you enjoy each and every one of them. We do know how frustrating the repeats can be, but if you break down the math – that the TV season is 40 weeks long and that we can only physically produce 24 episodes in a season – well, there’s gonna be a lot of repeats. That’s just the way it goes.
Second, I want to talk about the process – as in – how and why we do the things we do because a lot of you have been asking. Here’s how it works: at the end of season two, we spent about 5 weeks discussing season three – really planning out all the arcs for the whole season. Then we went on a 5 week hiatus and when we came back, we started breaking story (which is what we call outlining episodes.) As we break story, we usually veer from what we had planned either a little or a whole, whole lot. Because sometimes things that work in theory do not work in execution and sometimes things that we think are BRILLIANT by 7pm on a Friday seem absurd by 9am on Monday. It’s not a perfect process, it’s not a linear process, it’s a creative process. And that process sometimes involves Shonda sitting up in bed at three a.m. having had an epiphany that completely destroys all of our plans but ultimately works out really well for the season. Or sometimes, we read a script and think it isn’t working and sit and try to brainstorm ways to make it work and we come up with major story points that way.
For example, in "Break on Through" last season, Izzie having given up a baby for adoption was never discussed in the writers’ room. I read the script and felt like it was missing a personal connection and I went to Shonda and the writer of the episode and said “what if Izzie had a baby she gave up for adoption” and they liked it so we put it into the script and put the script out and the writing staff was as surprised as Katie Heigl was because sometimes we get so far behind and so tired we forget to even put out a memo saying, hey, by the way, Izzie gave a baby up for adoption. (And that, my friends, is what we call a run-on sentence. High Schoolers reading this should NOT, I repeat NOT, try to learn anything from my syntax.) My point is, we work hard, we plan things and then just as in life, plans change and it’s one of the things I love about writing for TV. Plus we have a phenomenal writing staff – they roll with the punches and very rarely burst into inappropriate tears when things change at the 11th hour. (Usually, these days, it’s me bursting into inappropriate tears but that’s because I’m very pregnant and wow, those hormones are killer. Greg Yaitanes, who directed “Six Days” parts one and two, stopped calling me Krista and just started calling me “Pregnant Lady.” As in, “Hey, Pregnant Lady, here’s what I’m thinking of doing with this scene.” One might hear that as patronizing, but after spending 12, 13, 15 hours a day with me for three and half weeks shooting these episodes and watching me burst frequently into inappropriate tears, I felt he had earned the right. But really – which of you didn’t cry after George saw his dad post-op for the first time and shaking, grabbed Mer’s arm and said “He’s my Dad, He’s my Dad.” ?? The problem is I burst out crying ON THE SET which …y’know…inappropriate.) Okay, I digress. I was talking about process.
I have heard it asked repeatedly how much influence you fans have on our storytelling. And I know one of the writers blogged that what y’all have to say carries a lot of weight in the writers’ room. And I think to a degree that’s true. And by that I mean, we read your comments – maybe not all of them but a lot of them – and sometimes we use them as a jumping off place for discussion in the room. Like, “A lot of fans don’t like this character right now. Why is that?” We talk about the character and the things he or she has been doing and where we want to go -- we also usually discuss the fact that, for every fan who doesn’t like a character, there’s one who does. That’s one of the things I love about our show – that it is polarizing. (I used to have an acting teacher who said, “If the audience is on their feet at the end of the play, you’ve done your job. If the audience is booing and throwing stuff at you at the end of the play, you’ve also done your job. What you never want is to receive “polite” applause.) If our characters were less flawed, if say, they were just plain sweet and likable, then you would all agree that you liked them and then where would we go? How much growth is possible in a character who never makes bad decisions? How much drama is possible if people are never f**ked up, never bitchy, never raw? So…our discussions that are prompted by your feedback often lead us down interesting paths, but they never end with us going, “Yeah, some of the fans don’t like that, we should just stop it.” Ever. Because it’s our to keep you on the edge of your seats, it’s our job to inspire you to write us in a feverish rage, it’s our job to sometimes piss you off and hopefully, always, to keep you coming back for more.
Speaking of coming back for more…I have to go do work now – the writers’ room is calling. So, because I dedicated this blog to giving you some answers – I will read and answer the first five questions you write me after reading this. (As long as you aren’t asking me to reveal future story points cause you know I can’t do that.) Okay? And then next week, I promise, I will talk about 6 days, parts one and two in great detail. Alright then, Happy New Year. I hope this finds you all healthy and happy and loving your lives.
More soon,
Krista
(oh, and P.S, I wanted to say thanks to those of you who went to see my play in NYC. It was an honor and a privilege to meet some of you and I so appreciated your support!)
Krista returns with answers to your questions...
As promised, here are the first five questions answered. And, because I have a boatload of work to do and am not in the mood to do any of it, I answered a few more of the frequently asked questions. Enjoy!
Who is your favorite Greys character and why?
Hmm. I don’t know. I think I would have to say that George is the person who reminds me most of the people I choose to hang out with in my life. He’s smart and gentle and kind and y’know , a little messed up and passive-aggressive, but he deeply cares about his friends and family. I like him a lot. In terms of writing, my favorite character to write for is Bailey. And that’s because of her rhythms – she speaks in long, almost poetic speeches (we call them Bailey” arias”). She’s also funny and sharp and pointed and direct at the same time. I think she could’ve been a preacher if she hadn’t become a surgeon. Anyway, her arias are really fun to write.
How different is this season to what you had originally planned?
In some ways, with some characters, it’s exactly as we planned. With others it’s vastly different. I can’t talk about too much of it , because a lot of the stuff we had planned that fell away might come back as future story. But to give you an example of how and why things change, I will tell you that when we planned the season we had not planned to bring Izzie back to work nearly as soon as we did. But what happened is this: we were watching the early episodes and what we found was that we desperately missed having Izzie at the hospital, hanging with to the interns. She has such a unique spirit, such a unique energy, and the interns felt (to us) out of balance without her. Tony and Joan and Zoanne wrote SIX DRAFTS of an Izzie arc for episode five this year (“Oh, the Guilt”) -- and none of them were working. And they are terrific writers and so what we realized is that the reason the stories didn’t work, is because we were tired of having Izzie out of the hospital, separate from her friends. So three days before that episode was set to shoot – we had to completely re-break and rewrite it. It’s the one where Izzie goes to the hospital to clean out her locker and ends up seeing the Denny Duquette M and M and then hangs out all day and sees Cristina doing a running whip stitch and knows she wants to come back to work. Can you imagine how much work it was to integrate Izzie into that episode that late in the game? Again, our writers are rock stars. Cause the thing is, when we pulled that story thread, it wasn’t just that episode that unraveled. There was an episode set to start prep three days later, there was an episode in script stage, an episode in outline stage and an episode on the board in the writers’ room. ALL of those episodes were affected by that decision. It was a MOUNTAIN of work – many, many 12, 13, 14 hour days. But it was worth it because it was the right call. I don’ t know if that answers your question – but hopefully it gives you a little more insight into the process which I think is what you’re looking for.
Why was the old Addison elevator scene from Yesterday showed in this episode? I was like WTF!
Wow. You have an incredibly good eye. This question is referencing the montage in act six – in which we stole a shot of Addison from Season 2 (“Yesterday”). The reason is that, again, making this episode into two parts was like guerrilla filmmaking – on the fly, and just kind of insane. And that montage wasn’t scripted until late the last night before the last day of shooting. Greg Yaitanes, the director, and I were talking and we were frustrated because we didn’t feel we had a satisfying ending for part one. And we came up with the montage idea. And I frantically called Rob Corn, our line producer and begged him to make it possible. And then I cut a scene that was supposed to shoot the next day and ran back to my office and scripted the montage and Rob rearranged the schedule and made it happen cause he’s a miracle worker like that. And the one shot we were unable to get in the way we wanted on that last day was Addison. So we stole footage from an old episode (which, by the way, we have done more than once before.) And you totally busted us. Welcome to TV – this is how the magic happens.
Why is this episode called "6 days?”
Because it spans over six days (whereas an average episode of Grey’s spans over one or maybe two days). You have seen 3 of the six so far – and you can track them by the Mer/Der waking up scenes which start each new day.
You mentioned the decision to extend this episode into a two-parter. How exactly do you make that work, as you say, "without compromising the creativity"? Do you add to existing storylines, or actually add in new scenes? Or, did you alter the original 61 minute editing, and incorporate more of already shot scenes?
We took the story back the writer’s room. We break each episode as six acts. So our task was to take six acts and make them twelve. We made twelve columns on the dry erase boards and put act one on act one and put what had been act 6 on act 12. Then we put all the scenes we had already shot on the board – and we talked about what we could add. We knew we needed approximately 20 scenes and 20 pages of new material. We watched the 61 minute version – the whole staff – and then talked about which storylines could use fleshing out. The other thing worth noting is that we had one day to re-break the scenes, and then I had one day (the next day) to write them. We were here till 11pm that night but by the time we went home we had added twenty new scenes. Did I mention how much the writing staff rocks? I have to say, some of the new scenes are some of my favorite scenes in the episode. Like that scene where Callie tries to start down George while he’s waiting for word on his Dad – that was new. The scene at the beginning where George drops the check on the floor and begs Izzie to deposit it was new. So, at the end of several very long days, I think it worked out well. (By the way, I’m only talking about the writing process here – this was a monumental task for everyone – the actors, the editors, the crew, the director and producers and post – everyone. It takes a village to raise an episode. )
I know you guys have in-house medical counsel (in one of your writers, at least) who consult on the show - is that all you use, or do you use any of the pro agencies that exist? (I know of two offhand, one by the CDC and one by... people's whose name I forget, but I'm sure there are more.)
We use every resource imaginable. The CDC has come to talk to us. So have many doctors and nurses and organizations. Plus our wonderful Director of Research, Elizabeth Klaviter, has several prominent surgeons on speed dial. No fewer than 3 medical professionals comb through and correct every script we write.
Okay, that was five…here’s a few more.
Did George know what really happened in the operating room and how bad his dad really is at the end of the episode because he seemed so sad, especially after the whole scene with Callie.
Very astute question. George is a doctor. He knows how bad this thing is with his Dad and even though the urine output is good which means the kidneys are functioning, he knows these things can turn on a dime. When you have a family member in the hospital, there are high highs and low lows and they come tumbling right on top of each other. George knows that even if his dad pulls through post-op, he has months of horrible chemo and radiation ahead of him. And he keeps a brave face for his family, so when he has a moment alone, he lets the fear creep in. That’s how I see it anyway.
When you introduce a story point (ie Izzy's baby), do you then come up with a plan for when you will readdress the point? I know you won't tell us exactly how or when we'll find out new information, but we will find it out. Right? Please?
We plant seeds. We plant seeds and then let them grow. Some grow quickly, like dandelions, Some grow slowly – like – I’m not a gardener but what grows slowly? Trees? Roses? Anyway, everything comes back around. Everything blooms. And the garden is generally more beautiful for the wait. That’s what the gardeners tell me anyway.
Where have Meredith's voice-overs gone? They were a "Grey's" staple -- and made the show compelling and rich -- and I'm missing them!
The voice-over is not gone from the show – just from tonight’s episode and next week’s. Just as we had George do the voiceover once and Cristina do it once, we decided it would be okay to not have it for once. (And then of course, the episode became a 2-parter and so we won’t have it twice.) The reason I didn’t write one is because I always save the VO for last – I write the script first and then write the VO. When I had written this script, I didn’t feel that I had any more to say. It was a creative decision. Also, I know there was no opening VO on Carolina’s episode awhile back – but she did write one – the problem there was the episode was running long, and we ended up cutting the opening scene and then there was nowhere to place the VO. So, as you can see, sometimes decisions are made for sound creative reasons, sometimes for necessary technical reasons. Anyway, fear not, the VO will be back!
Have you guys ever gotten ideas from fan RPGs? I help run one, and we swear sometimes you guys read it.
I’m so sorry, but I don’t know what a fan RPG is so I think I can safely say we don’t get ideas there.
Whatever happened to Doc's burial? Or is this like Pet Sematary, and Doc's not really dead?
Same thing that happened to Dylan the bomb squad guy’s funeral and Denny Duquette’s funeral. Shonda doesn’t like funerals on TV. She doesn’t think that they can ever properly capture the essence of a real funeral. The writers and I tend to agree. So we leave them to your imagination.
Can you clarify the timeline?
Um, sort of but not as completely as you’d like me to. I can tell you that the interns are still interns – which means that less than one year has passed in Grey’s time. I can also tell you that this is TV and if you over-think the timeline and over-study the show, you will probably be frustrated because it probably won’t seem logical that less than a year has passed. But as with all art, sometimes you have to just suspend your disbelief and go for the ride. On Beverly Hills 90210, the entire cast repeated their junior year of high school. Cause sometimes, logic-leaps like that are necessary to keep a show on the creative track you want.
How do you become a writer for a show like Grey's Anatomy? Because I would love to be one. Love. And I have no idea how to do it.
I have gotten several questions in this vein. So I’m going to attempt to answer this in brief – and then I really should go do work.
There are many ways to become a TV writer. You can go to film school. You can do your undergraduate study in screenwriting. I didn’t. I did take two writing classes – one was playwriting with Prof. Jon Lipsky my senior year at Boston University. It was terrific and inspiring and a big part of what made me want to be a writer. The second was a screenwriting 101 class at the New School in NYC right after I graduated college with a prof whose name ai sadly can’t remember. . Both were helpful. But largely, I self-educated. By that I mean, I read a lot of books on how to write for television. And then I watched a lot of television. And then I practiced writing for television. I practiced a LOT. You hear a lot of stories about people moving to LA and never making it as writers and oh the misery and all the years it takes… My theory is that – okay, some of those people aren’t talented – but many of them, most of them, just moved here too soon. They didn’t practice enough before they started sending scripts out and trying to find an agent. Many, many people write ONE script, or maybe two, and then think they’re ready to be seen and read . To me, that’s insane. Because no matter now good you think your first script is, the second one will be better and the third will be better than that. You learn by doing. Write scripts and show them to trusted friends and get notes and TAKE THE NOTES and rewrite and then write more scripts. That’s how you get good. Also, read something good every day – a novel, preferably, something juicy and inspiring. And write every day. Write every day for a good long while. And then, when you’re ready, buy the books that tell you how to get your stuff read in Hollywood. There are a lot of good ones.
Okay. I really do have to go now. Thanks for all your wonderful questions and feedback. We think the world of you, our fans, and appreciate that the feeling seems to be mutual.
All my Best, Krista
This blog post was originally posted on greyswriters.com and an archive of the posts can now be found at ABC.com.