TV Show Parties: Doc Dramas & Fab Lab Shows

Flavor Injector at Linens-N-Things

Ladies and gentlemen...start your remotes! After months of summer reruns and reality show face-offs, our favorite faces are back on TV.

Celebrate by inviting friends and family over to watch these shows with some of the theme ideas below. Then, come on back to Celebrations and join us for a party re-cap! Send photos!

Grey's Anatomy – ABC, Season Premiere September 27, airs Thursdays at 9:00/8:00c

The romantic antics of the Seattle Grace Hospital staff inspire a menu of sensuous fare. Serve artichoke "hearts"in a salad, or turn to foods known for their aphrodisiacal powers such as asparagus, oysters, and chocolate. Give your buffet table a medical touch, by creating a centerpiece of glass beaker-style vases, with different colored water in each one. Use a "hospital" blue tablecloth, and keep the look of the buffet sleek with glass platters and a stainless steel tray to hold utensils. Check local or on line sources for a rack of test tubes meant for food or drink, and fill the tubes with salt, pepper, and seasonings. Just for fun, head to the Grey's Anatomy website, and take a quiz to see if you are more of a "Meredith" or an "Izzie", two of the show's fabulous female characters.

House - Fox, Season Premiere September 25, airs Tuesdays at 9:00/8:00c

For your House party, set up a "shot station" with glass containers of vodka or tequila, and flavor injectors for guests to "doctor" their cocktails. Here's how it works: flavor injectors are syringes, used to inject flavoring ingredients into food, such as melted, seasoned butter into a chicken breast. Place a new flavor injector into the container of liquid, so your guests can extract the liquid and inject it into their drink. If you're serving Margaritas, set up your tequila shot container, along with appropriate glasses and mixers. Keep it simple with the food, and have your local pizza restaurant make a "house call". For party favors, fill unused pharmacy pill containers with jellybeans or mints, and personalize the labels, such as "Joe's Less Stress Pills". After the watching the show, play a guessing game of medical maladies. Write down symptoms of various aliments for all to diagnose. Put in a few fake diseases with made-up medical words to stump the "House" character in your crowd.

Light Up Ice Cube at Glowsource.com

CSI – CBS, Season Premiere September 27, airs Thursdays at 9:00/8:00c

Turn your front yard into a crime scene! Have your significant other, or a friendly neighbor who happens to be walking by, lie down on the sidewalk or driveway, and trace their body outline in chalk. Pick up some yellow "Police Line Do Not Cross" tape, and decorate your front door or TV room. Since this drama is set in Vegas, I suggest an "all-you-can-eat" potluck buffet. Ask guests to bring food in glass serving dishes, to achieve a cohesive look on your buffet. One of my favorite aspects of CSI is the production design. The lab always seems to have a cool, green luminescence. This effect makes me think of all the light-up cocktail items, available in most party stores and on line at Glowsource. Keep the lights low, and let your living room glow with blinking green ice cubes and illuminated stir sticks.

CSI Miami – CBS, Season Premiere September 24, airs Mondays at 10:00/9:00c

Turn your front yard into a crime scene, like I suggested in the CSI party above, only make it Floridian, by sticking a bunch of fake flamingos in the lawn! This spin-off series is just as popular as the original, with the fabulous flair of Miami! Brighten up your party, South Beach style, with neon color novelties, like palm tree swizzle sticks, or hot pink cocktail napkins. Serve Cuban cuisine, a Miami staple, or consider a simple menu of soft tacos with a variety of toppings. Most grocery stores sell fully cooked, rotisserie chickens, which you can slice up for the tacos, and then round out the buffet with items like canned black beans, white rice, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, and a selection of salsa. What would a Miami party be without Mojitos! Put a spin on this Latin libation, by offering Pineapple or Banana flavored rums!

We want to see your version of our ideas, and your fabulous ideas that only a loyal fan could dream up. Maybe you'll see your name up in lights, or rather, your party photo featured in our newsletter, The Party Line. So, start planning, and please visit Ask Jeanne, my Q&A section for help. For more ideas, be sure to check out: TV Show Parties for Cops, Robbers, Heroes & Hotties, and Comedy & Reality Shows!