If only it were permanent. (Commence booing and hissing at your leisure.)

Turns out that Meredith Grey's temporary departure from Grey's Anatomy this coming sixth season (Ellen Pompeo is going out on maternity leave) won't be the only character taking leave from the halls of Seattle Grace. Katherine Heigl's chock-full-o'-cancer Izzie Stevens will be going MIA for a few episodes as well.

If you're like me, the how and why doesn't really matter because this is just delightful news (my dislike for Heigl and her outbursts is no secret), but the details and spoilers are after the jump if you really want to know.

(S05E18) "I'm a fan of daytime television" – Bailey

Tonight was the big night for the whole Izzie storyline getting into full gear. On a positive note, this episode happily shows that all of the characters can actually interact with others without it leading into a bad fallout or sex. Unlike last week, all the characters were themselves. Also, only having two surgeries to focus on was much better than splitting everyone up. Otherwise, it gets confusing.

Does it always turn out that the first year interns are overly dramatic? The side story between Megan/Pierce/Steve was funny because it sounds just like something Meredith/George/Alex/Izzie would have gone through. More analysis after the jump.

A familiar face will be popping up at Seattle Grace before Grey's Anatomy goes on hiatus at the end of the season. Kate Walsh, a.k.a. Addison Montgomery, M.D., will return to the medical drama when her character makes a visit to the Emerald City. It'll be for just one episode, though. ABC has already picked up Kate's spin-off series, Private Practice, for the fall.

Executive producer/writer Shonda Rhimes confirmed that Kate Walsh will return to Grey's Anatomy for a guest bit this spring, but a definite date has not been pinned down. Five new episodes of GA are set to air starting April 24.

News about the Grey's Anatomy spinoff have been pouring in since late February when it was announced that Grey's character Addison would possibly get her own show. Since then, fans and critics have been speculating as to whether this was a good or a bad idea.

Earlier this week, ABC gave official details about the two episodes that will serve as a test to see if the spinoff will indeed be part of their 2007-2008 lineup or if Addison will stay at Seattle Grace.

Even if the two-hour spinoff episodes will only air on May 3, we can already start speculating as what series we will like better: Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice (the spinoff's tentative title).

TV Land named Grey's Anatomy this year's TV Land Future Classic at its awards show last night (it airs tomorrow at 9 pm ET). Previous winners include Sports Night, The Sopranos, Scrubs, Malcolm in the Middle, American Dreams, Arrested Development and Desperate Housewives. It sounds to me like TV Land is just picking the hot show of the time and choosing to call it a future classic. To me, a classic is a long-running television show that American rallies around. Wait. That would make CSI qualify as a classic, wouldn't it?

When I think of classic television, I think of M*A*S*H, St. Elsewhere, Seinfeld and The Simpsons. Do you think Grey's Anatomy is destined to be a television classic?