Here are the ratings for the final pre-strike episode of Grey's Anatomy, per Variety.

According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, the battle of the final firstrun episodes produced prior to the writers strike went to ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (17.6 million viewers overall) over CBS vet "CSI" (18.1 million viewers overall), although the Eye entry drew the most overall viewers; both shows were on the low end of their ratings range.

Probably due to the fact that the episode isn't finished yet (I've had this confirmed by ABC), the final pre-strike episode (the one with no production involvement and completed completely by the network) Lay Your Hands on Me has been pushed back from January 3 to January 10. Haunt You Every Day will now air on January 3. Stay tuned as more updates come in.

Great news! ...that's also depressing at the same time. Grey's Anatomy will return with it's final all-new episode, Lay Your Hands on Me, on January 3. This was the final episode completed before the strike, and Shonda Rhimes (and the rest of the Grey's staff, for that matter) had no part in its production. Whether this will be our season finale or not is yet to be determined, but it is very likely that it could be. However, beginning on January 31, Lost will be stealing the Grey's Anatomy timeslot to play out its completed 8 episodes. This raises concerns and questions. Like, if the strike ends, and both Lost and Grey's Anatomy go back into production to finish out the season, who gets the Thursdays-at-9 timeslot? Will the Lost viewers be jerked around again? Or will we be jerked around? My concern, honestly, is that Lost will do so well in the timeslot that ABC will move Grey's Anatomy for its fifth season to an all-new timeslot, which, let's face it, would probably really really suck. There's so much up in the air...we'll just have to wait for the strike to end, Lost to premiere, and ABC's fall schedule to be released (which it will sometime in May/June 2008). Stay tuned for more info.

Here's the scoop from Ausiello at TVGuide.com...

You mentioned a while back that George's mom was returning to Grey's Anatomy. Did the strike push that back? That's what I'm hearing. According to my Seattle Grace mole, Mama O'Malley's return — originally slated for November sweeps — was delayed until Episode 11, aka the show's final pre-strike episode. That probably explains why George had little to do during the just-wrapped two-parter. Why'd they move her out of sweeps? Well, per my spy, when it became clear that eppy 11 might be the final hour of Grey's we get in a long time, the script underwent "massive rewrites" to ramp up the drama and add several cliff-hangers — one of which involves George's old lady. "They're pretty big bombshells," says the source. "Basically, everyone's futures are left up in the air." Well, not everyone's. As I reported in this week's Ausiello Report vodcast, by the end of the episode there will be little doubt which direction the Mer/Derek/Rose triangle is headed in. [Basically, Derek will dump Meredith's "whiny ass" for Rose.]
Earlier this season, you teased that someone's getting divorced on Grey's Anatomy, and it's not who we'd expect. After reading your Bailey/narration spoiler, it has me thinking that it's her. I can neither confirm nor deny that Bailey will be getting a divorce this season on Grey's Anatomy.

[cringes]

That Rose and McDreamy kiss took me by surprise, even though I sorta knew it was coming! Is she sticking around on Grey's? I think I want her to. But I'm not sure. Well, then you and the Grey's producers have something in common. Thanks to the writers' strike, the fate of Rose (Lauren Stamile) has not been set in stone, but I'm hearing the producers do dig her, and chances are very good that she sticks around for a good long while whenever the show returns.
The last two episodes of Grey's were fantastic. I think I'm liking this show again! Is the rest of the season any good? I've actually heard the next episode (the last of this season if the strike doesn't go away) is the best one yet. It is Bailey-centric, and Chandra Wilson narrates it, all because something awful happens to someone she loves very much. Prepare to cry and howl. And yes, it is related to her home life and that marital ickiness that has been rearing its ugly head of late.

Thanks to Kristen at E! Online.

After weeks and weeks of speculation on what exactly could be Bailey's tragedy - and the cause of her narration replacing Meredith's for an episode (Lay Your Hands on Me), it seems that some people at the ABC Message Boards have finally unearthed the truth behind the tragedy. Read with caution, cuz it ain't pretty. (FYI, you can change your vote in the poll to the right after reading this, if you do so choose.)

dappybee says...
Either Bailey's husband or son dies when a book shelf falls on him. That is why she will narrate 1 episode.
dolphcharge says...
Well, according to the sides, it is Tuck (her son) who gets crushed by the bookshelf... How do we know someone dies?
LILBAIL3Y says...
I read that Callie saves Bailey's son and she is suppose to offer Callie her job back, but I don't know how true that part is.
icankillyouwithmybrain says...
It makes sense that Callie is the one who saves him because I read that Tuck breaks like 3 ribs. Bailey might offer it back in desperation, thinking "I should have been home", or out of guilt. But I doubt Callie would take it back or that Bailey would REALLY want to give it up.

UPDATE: Here's Michael Ausiello's Vodcast, where he's got a self-proclaimed "graphic re-enactment" of Bailey's tragedy. It's the whole thing, so you'll get some scoop on your other favorite shows, such as House or Supernatural as well! Enjoy.

The strike has begun...and it's already beginning to take their toll on TV as we know it. Some TV series that were set to premiere...won't. Late night sitcoms are in repeats. Heroes is having its season finale in December. And it appears as though Grey's Anatomy will be as well. Of course, there is always the off-chance that the strike could be resolved in a week...or two weeks, and nothing will be effected. However, it's not looking good. Rumor has it this strike could last a long time, possibly as long as the last writer's strike (which lasted an unprecedented 22 weeks). In this event, Grey's Anatomy has only completed 11 out of 23 ordered episodes...meaning that our season finale would be episode 411 Lay Your Hands on Me (and also the introduction of Joshua Jackson's character) and would probably air sometime in December, instead of the scheduled January 2008 (because what would be the point of holding one episode over to 2008 if there were no more to air?). So, brace yourself. Because things aren't looking up and we may be getting a season finale when we don't want one. And brace yourself even more, you MerDer fans, because things in the potential finale are not looking up for them either. Take a look at this quote from Patrick Dempsey:

"The next couple of episodes are going to be completely different with what happens with Meredith and Derek...I’m looking forward to that change and that movement...I just want the characters to continue to grow and to work things out realistically. Derek and Meredith’s relationship has gone as far as it can go. I don’t think it’s going to go unless she commits to marrying him or goes into therapy and starts working on herself. We’ll have a cliff-hanger with this last show [411 Lay Your Hands on Me] and there will be a resolve that seems to be permanent." Source: TVGuide.com

Take a deep breath and notice the keyword: permanent. And keep in mind that everyone who works on the show also loves Meredith and Derek, so there's no way they can stay apart forever. For God's sake, this is Grey's Anatomy, and that must mean something!
Nevertheless, brace yourselves...these next few weeks (or months) could be pretty rough. Stay tuned for more updates.