I rsquo;ll admit it. I started watching Grey rsquo;s Anatomy because everyone else was doing it. Call it peer pressure.

Call it curiosity. Whatever. I became a McSheep like the rest the planet.

The characters are likeable. The dialogue is snappy even if the plotlines are too drawn out at times. It rsquo;s highly addictive and I usually don rsquo;t like hospital shows.

The music is some of the best on television. So I gave in and against my better judgment became like everyone else.
Season three at Seattle Grace, however, has left a bad taste in my mouth.

The constant backstage drama, the poorly written Christina/Burke romance, and the constant ldquo;Meredith in peril rdquo; storylines have become grating. So I was suspect to say the least of last night rsquo;s two-hour event.
After all, this episode would the one to launch the much-hyped Kate Walsh spin-off.

Spin-offs can be risky because, as we know, for every one Rhoda, there are a dozen Joeys.
Right out of the gate this ldquo;event rdquo; really wants you to like it. They rsquo;ve jammed the two hours with wacky wedding plans, steamy kisses, and weird medical cases.

This is huge part of Grey rsquo;s problem this season. Instead of staying true to her characters core, Shonda Rhimes and company seem so intent on blasting viewers with what they think we want to see instead of writing organic, smart episodes. The recent Izzie and George hook-up is a prime example of this.

Why would you spend the time to develop a lovely, platonic friendship only to blow it to bits with a ratings stunt? Another victim of a sudden character makeover is Addison. This smart, bitchy scene-stealer has been morphed into a gushy, hapless, Grace Adler-like loser.

Speaking of Addison, she rsquo;s taken a leave of absence to find herself and coincidentally another hospital filled with more cartoonish, damaged doctors. Alias alum Merrin Dungey plays Naomi, a med school pal of Addison who now lives in Los Angeles. We viewers know that Addison rsquo;s arrived in LA because of the obligatory montage of the Hollywood sign, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills.

As an Angelino, I take particular offense to montages like this not only because it rsquo;s been done to death but the illusion is that these landmarks are all right around the corner from one another is totally inaccurate. Any German tourist who rsquo;s ever been here knows what I rsquo;m talking about.
Back to the show.

Also yanked out of ABC rsquo;s recycling bin are Taye Diggs and Tim Daly as two more doctors at Oceanside Wellness Group. Everybody here is pretty and screwed up. Diggs rsquo; character is divorced from Naomi and has a best selling book while Daly is the resident stud muffin with issues.

Most problematic though is Violet, the clinic rsquo;s top shrink. Amy Brenneman is left to dumpster dive in this thankless, bland role that may make you re-think any snarky comments you might have made about Judging Amy in the past.
Naturally, Addison rsquo;s vacation is side-swiped because the clinic needs her help with a bizarre fertility case involving four donors and a troubled pregnancy.

And wouldn rsquo;t you know it? The clinic needs a neonatal surgeon? It rsquo;s a glossy and flavorless introduction to what is supposedly going to be titled Private Practice.

Packed with nineties-like girl power and goofball doctors, a better title might have been ldquo;Addison McBeal rdquo;.
While all of this is happening in La-La Land, more of the same putters on at Seattle Grace. No one has claimed amnesia chick.

Nobody rsquo;s a shoo-in for chief. And nobody cares about Burke and Christina rsquo;s wedding. Poor Mare Winingham gets killed off and it rsquo;s sad for Meredith and even sadder for us viewers.

So will I continue to be like everyone else and keep watching Grey rsquo;s? I rsquo;ll hang in there for the finale but I rsquo;m not optimistic at this point. Straying from the McFlock seems like it might be a good idea.

Seriously.