'Grey's Anatomy' returns, but George doesn't

REASON TO WATCH Does anyone actually need a reason?

CATCHING UP George (T.R. Knight) was hit by a bus, saving a woman, and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) flatlines.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Izzie lives. But you knew that. Everyone knew that. And George dies. No surprise - after a summer of press coverage detailing every hiccup and burp in the Heigl/ Knight contretemps with ABC and producer Shonda Rhimes.

So with that out of the way, tonight's episode gets down to the somber business of grieving - how friends deal with the loss of the beloved. Meanwhile, the business of the hospital goes on, too - chief Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is facing a huge challenge as Seattle Grace gets ready to merge with a crosstown rival. Dere (Patrick Dempsey) and Mere (Ellen Pompeo) are also newlyweds.

BOTTOM LINE The sixth season should be one of those tempus fugit moments, with the departure of (maybe) other characters and the addition of new ones. Time is flying at Seattle Grace, and what changes will that bring? In real life, Pompeo (pregnant) will be out a bit, and so will Heigl (on a movie), so some changes will be forced upon "Grey's." But the pilot does feel like a break with the past - a painful break for George O'Malley fans, sure, but probably good for the rest of the cast. "Grey's Anatomy" needs to move forward. This episode feels like a start.

'Grey's Anatomy': Two hours of sex, death

Now hear this - the Sept. 24 premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" will answer the following riddle: What does Doc Wyatt order Cristina and Owen to stop doing? What should Dr. Wyatt order Mere and Dere to stop doing because, man, this is getting really embarrassing?

Meanwhile, George is still dead.

(But Izzie is not, maybe, or at least not yet - until her contract runs out or the actress who plays her keeps saying demeaning things about the "GA" staff in which case she might be out sooner than she thinks.)

And meanwhile again, as reported in E! last week, much of this season will be devoted to the merger between Seattle Grace and a crosstown rival; that way, show'll be able to handle major absences including Ellen Pompeo's (off for maternity leave) and Kat Heigl (off for mutliple eps for a movie.)

Here are the details:

"Grey’s Anatomy” returns for its sixth season with a two-hour event on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. In the first hour, entitled “Good Mourning” (9:00-10:00 p.m.), the hospital staff is left to deal with the aftermath of George’s passing. Hitting the staff hard, they all find unique ways to get through the various stages of grief. George’s mom returns, faced with the difficult task of deciding what to do with his organs. In the second episode, entitled "Goodbye” (10:00-11:00 p.m.), time has passed… Everyone is struggling after losing one of their own and are turning to any distraction they can find. Meredith and Derek seem to be consummating their marriage anywhere and everywhere, while Cristina and Owen have been instructed to abstain from sex by Dr. Wyatt."