Rhimes: Summer Glau to Greys’s Anatomy

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According to the talented and always busy Shonda Rhimes, geek-fan favorite Summer Glau will have a guest role in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy this season. This news is so conflicting for me. As a proud geek, I love Summer Glau. She does some of the best work in the weirdest shows, such as Firefly, Alphas, Chuck, Dollhouse, and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. And that’s just naming the ones I’ve seen. She’s the go-to girl for science fictiony type roles. So my question is: why Grey’s Anatomy?

Don’t get me wrong; Grey’s is great. If it weren’t it wouldn’t be on its eighth season! But it is strange to see her on a normal television show. I can barely even imagine her fans tuning it to see her; that’s how big of a departure this is for her. I would think it’s a misquote, but Rhimes posted the news right to her Twitter account, leaving very little room for error for this type of casting news. So she’s doing the part and I can’t say I’ll watch it. I don’t watch Grey’s and one person isn’t going to change that. Sure, some diehard Glau fans will catch the episode, but it won’t make a difference in viewer count. I’m 95% sure Glau’s casting had nothing to do with her geeky fanbase.

Now the problem with Twitter news is you have to limit your post to 140 characters. I think it goes without saying you can’t fit a lot of information in a single Tweet. Right now, we know nothing about who Glau will be playing, but not knowing is half the fun, right?

2 Comments

1. 

   chrisdvanne

   January 25, 2012 at 8:49 am

   Summer Glau is indeed more used to play the damaged super-powered barely or not at all human characters who can be considered as generally good guys. But she also played in Lifetime movie “Deadly Honeymoon”, where she was a complete bitch and is the completely opposite of Summers other characters and herself.

   But the unnerving part is that she played her just as fantastically as her other characters, like if she’s always done this through her entire career. Its an amazing feat and I have no doubt that it doesn’t really matter what she plays, as long as she is willing to play a role she will always be fantastic in it.

   Because she is a fantastic actress who is doing art, not just somebody who is in for the fame despite having no talents at all.

   I guess you already noticed that sci-fi shows are a dead-end on broadcast tv these days and it’s time for Summer Glau to change register; this guest spot will be a perfect vehicule to showcase her talent.

   And you’re right, her guest apperance has nothing to do with luring the geek audience to watch GA; i’m glad producers think Summer is talented enough to be hired in hit shows.

   Reply
2. 

   Alex

   January 25, 2012 at 11:41 am

   She has done great work in the SciFi realm. Whedon and Friedman are on record as saying that Summer Glau is a great actor. I think she has the chops to do great work in anything she takes on assuming she has a good script, an interesting story, and a capable production team behind her.

   I am a diehard SciFi fan but Summer Glau’s performances elevate the shows she is in to a higher standard. I am thinking mostly of her work in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and in particular of her tour de force performance in Season 2, Episode 4: Allison from Palmdale where she portrayed four characters and gave an emotionally wrenching performance.

   Interestingly, GA is not a show that needs a ratings boost. I think they are bringing her in because she is a good actor: nothing more and nothing less.

   Reply