'Grey's Anatomy' needs help — stat!

Is there a doctor in the house? "Grey's Anatomy" is on life support.

Behind the cameras, there are still widespread reports that Katherine Heigl is about to leave. And now it seems that T.R. Knight is, too.

After Heigl dissed the show's writers earlier this year, her character, Dr. Izzie Stevens, has been stuck in an incredibly annoying, seemingly unending story line (more on that later).

Now Knight, who plays Dr. George O'Malley, has reportedly asked for his release from the show. And, reportedly, ABC is willing to grant that release.

Knight himself has not spoken publicly about the reasons, but, reportedly, he's unhappy since the infamous incident involving departed cast member Isaiah Washington. Washington's homophobic slurs caused Knight to out himself to the public. Executive producer Shonda Rhimes' behavior at the time was appalling. Not only did she fail to rally behind Knight — as did Heigl and Patrick Dempsey, among others — but she tried to turn a case of homophobia into a racial issue involving Washington, who's black.

Or maybe Knight is just unhappy that he's had very little to do this season, The fact is that "Grey's Anatomy" is a mess. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) is a bore, and now that she's in a relatively stable relationship with Derek Shepherd (Dempsey), they're about as interesting as reading 3-year-old magazines in a doctor's waiting room.

And when the show's not dull, it's downright bizarre. Yes, it's fiction. Yes, it's supposed to be entertainment.

But requiring viewers to swallow the story line in which the interns start operating on each other without anyone's knowledge and not one of them is thrown out of the program is like asking viewers to swallow a whale. Whole.

As yours truly wrote last week, Izzie not only seeing but having sex with her dead fiance is a jump-the-shark moment. ("Jump the shark" is the TV term for the moment when a show passes the point of no return in terms of quality.)

Word is that Izzie doesn't have a brain tumor, but she has a brain aneurysm that's causing her to have these visions.

Sounds suspiciously like "Eli Stone," in which the main character has visions because of a brain aneurysm.

And, in recent episodes, we've been introduced to Dr. Virginia Dixon (Mary McDonnell), a socially awkward but talented surgeon who has Asperger syndrome (a form of autism).

Sounds suspiciously like "Boston Legal," which included the character of Jerry Espenson (Christian Clemsenson), a socially awkward but talented attorney who has Asperger syndrome.

Sounds suspiciously like the writers of "Grey's Anatomy" are getting their ideas by watching other ABC shows.

Frankly, the departure of a George and Izzie might help save "Grey's Anatomy." And that's not criticism of the actors.

But the writers have obviously run out of ideas for the characters. And adding new characters is a way to extend the life of a show.

If it's not already too late.

E-mail: pierce@desnews.com