ABC suddenly ends 'Grey's' lesbian romance

This week's award for Most Clueless Network goes to ABC for abruptly cutting short a lesbian story line on "Grey's Anatomy."

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello reported last Monday that "Grey's Anatomy" has been ordered to end the short romance between Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). And to do it immediately. Smith's character wasn't properly written out or given any closure; she just walked to her car in Thursday's episode and will never be seen again, the actress told Ausiello in an interview.

Melissa George's new character, Sadie, who arrives Nov. 13, is bisexual.

However, it's one thing to say a character is bisexual, and it's another to give that character a full and rich romantic life.

We'll have to see what happens with Sadie, who is an old friend of Meredith's (Ellen Pompeo) and who is set to be around for 11 episodes.

Ausiello says the pressure to end the Callie-Erica romance and tone down all things gay or bisexual did not come from "Grey's" creator Shonda Rhimes - he reports that the directive came from ABC executives.

Rhimes issued a statement Monday evening attributing the quick end of the Callie-Erica relationship to bad "chemistry."

"Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian," Rhimes said in a statement, which was released by ABC. "Clearly it's not an issue as we have a lesbian character on the show - Calliope Torres. Sara Ramirez is an incredible comedic and dramatic actress, and we wanted to be able to play up her magic. Unfortunately, we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run."

If chemistry was the problem, why not break the couple up? It seems odd, to say the least, to just fire the actress in question with little or no warning.

It hardly needs to be said that "Grey's" is constantly in the news for one thing or another, but this isn't the usual tabloid melodrama.

Does no one at ABC recall the enormous controversy over the gay slur uttered by former cast member Isaiah Washington? Why would ABC be so heavy-handed with a show that has already found itself under fire for insensitivity to gays and lesbians?

In any case, this sigh-inducing development rises above the level of the usual "Grey's" brouhaha. On the surface, this seems like a network suddenly deciding that lesbians are scary and threatening and that America can't handle them.

Seriously? *