Another Hour of Gay Nicknames

ABC has decided to pursue a spinoff of the hugely successful medical drama, "Grey's Anatomy". Leaving the show to anchor the new show would be one of its most popular characters: Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, a sexy neonatal-surgeon played by Kate Walsh.
The general plot is still a work in progress and "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes hasn't settled on a title.
But Ms. Rhimes recently told the cast about the project and agreed to write a special two-hour episode that will serve as a pilot for the new series.
ABC is likely to air the special in May -- in time for the network to decide whether to pick up the spinoff before unveiling its fall schedule to advertisers and media buyers.
Despite moving to highly competitive Thursday from Sunday last fall, "Grey's Anatomy" is notching some of its best ratings ever. Last week, 26 million people tuned in to watch the doctors and medical students at Seattle Grace Hospital cope with the fallout of a ferry crash.
At the same time, the ensemble show, now in its third season, has an abundance of strong characters, including Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey and Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd. Ms. Rhimes recently said it was difficult fitting all 12 "Grey's Anatomy" regulars into storylines.
Ms. Walsh's Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd joined the show in May 2005, appearing in the last few minutes of the season-one finale. She abruptly shows up at the Seattle hospital looking for her estranged neurosurgeon husband, Dr. Shepherd, and discovers he has a girlfriend. Ms. Walsh confronts her with a pointed -- and explicit -- remark.