Last night's Grey's Anatomy was true to form in that it had a central theme -- it was all about fixing what's  broken. (Or as head writer Krista Vernoff described it in her blog, "A love letter to therapy.")

There are nights when I sit down to watch television and take just a small moment to rejoice when a show has brought the funny. So my hat’s off to Debora Cahn and the rest of the staff at ABC for the generally light-hearted, fluffy, hugs-you-like-a-blanket episode of Grey’s Anatomy we've all just been treated to. It had been such a long time since this show really made me laugh, and so this episode truly felt like a “Brave New World”...

There are times when the writers of Grey's Anatomy attempt to explore so many angles -- using live animals to perfect surgical techniques, doctors battling their inner demons or patients suffering from any number of serious ailments -- that sometimes there is a less-than-perfect clarity to the show. Fortunately, the central theme of teaching that has wound its way through the season has proved ultimately fascinating and also paved the way for some much-needed comic relief.

But first -- no animals were harmed in the making of this episode. Or the writing of this recap. Had to get that out of the way, less some PETA fanatics feel the need to accuse me of endorsing violent trauma on helpless animals. Or in this case, extremely lifelike plastic and fiberglass replicas hog-tied to gurneys...

It's sad but true that Grey's Anatomy is fast becoming my lone television indulgence of the week. Surprisingly, it’s also gotten better as the season has
progressed, in sharp contrast to just about anything on network TV these days. The secret, it seems, is to keep churning out fresh scripts pertaining to dead people. Or at least dead people portrayed by the sorely missed Jeffrey Dean Morgan...

My cell phone was buzzing Thursday night, particularly during the Nine O'clock hour. Seems everyone I know who was watching Grey's Anatomy was either confused, irritated, disgusted or a combination of all of the above...