GREY'S ANATOMY Goes Colorblind

(from The New York Times -- By Matthew Fogel)

It's a typical week for the surgeons at SEATTLE GRACE HOSPITAL -- a woman, complaining of chest pains, is rushed to the operating room. When she is cracked open, a bit of towel is discovered next to her lung. The Korean-American surgery intern, CRISTINA YANG (SANDRA OH), is sent to Medical Records to find out who is at fault. It turns out that an attending surgeon, an African-American named PRESTON BURKES (ISAIAH WASHINGTON), accidentally left it there during the woman's last surgery, five years ago. Dr. Yang and Dr. Burke have been exchanging coffee and longing glances for quite some time. Will she turn him in? Will he confess?

After a conference with the head resident, a sharp-tongued black woman nicknamed "The Nazi" by the hospital's interns, the surgeon admits his error to his mentor, DR. RICHARD WEBBER, the chief of surgery (JAMES PICKENS JR.), who also happens to be African-American. Later, as the chastened Dr. Burke undresses in the surgeon's call room, Dr. Yang shyly opens the door. The tension between them has been building, and there can be but one possible cure -- massive smooching.

SEATTLE GRACE is the fictional home of ABC's latest hit series, the steamy hospital drama GREY'S ANATOMY. Although medical shows have become the cough syrup of television -- sturdy, dependable and widely available -- GREY'S ANATOMY has differentiated itself by creating a diverse world of doctors -- almost half the cast are men and women of color -- and then never acknowledging it.

Gillian, thanks for the post.

Grey's Anatomy Goes Colorblind