[Please Bring Back Preston Burke!]

Just because its that time of the month for me and I am insanely missing Burke on Grey's and crying/tearing up at his every mention and screentime on the show. "It's all because of the estrogen!" Dang it. Anyways, just wanted to say that I am in love with the fictional character, Dr Preston Xavier Burke, the perfect man. Sigh. Woohoo! BY MIKE DUFFY FREE PRESS TV CRITIC When "Grey's Anatomy" happily found Isaiah Washington, the actor knew exactly what sort of TV doctor he did not want to play: The arrogant, standoffish, token Dr. African American. "That kind of person can be done without a chip on his shoulder," says Washington. "I didn't want to be on a successful show and just put in a box." Minority medical mission accomplished. Dr. Preston Burke isn't just another stereotypical incarnation of Eriq LaSalle's Dr. Peter Benton on "ER." Burke's more evolved. He's started to open up and reveal shades of emotion. He's flawed, he's funny, he's taking a chance on romance. Heck, you might even say he's the Other McDreamy. When "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes found Patrick Dempsey to portray Dr. Derek Shepherd (aka Dr. McDreamy) and then chose Washington to portray Dr. Burke, everything clicked. "It meant we could have two leading men and two leading men in very different ways," says Rhimes, whose clever mix of drama, comedy, soap opera and hot doctors in love has become the highly-rated sensation of Watercooler Nation this season. Given an XL push by a post-Super Bowl episode that attracted 37.9 million viewers, "Grey's Anatomy" has even displaced the "Desperate Housewives" of Wisteria Lane as the most appealing part of ABC's Sunday night juggernaut. "This isn't a traditional medical drama. I've always said from the beginning, we're a relationship show with surgery," says Rhimes. "It's never about the patients. It's about how the doctors feel about the patients." Though "Grey's Anatomy" is anchored in the emotional odyssey of Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), the show's moody heroine, Washington's Dr. Burke is a prominent example of the show's impressive, almost matter-of-fact diversity. People of color just happen to be in key positions of authority at Seattle Grace Hospital. Besides Dr. Burke's no-nonsense surgeon, Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is the avuncular chief of surgery. And Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is the gruffly humane senior resident in charge of training the interns. "I'm a post-Civil Rights baby. I'm not trying to make a point. This is just the way the world looks now," says Rhimes, 36, one of television's few female African-American series creators and show runners. Rhimes, who spoke during a phone interview from her "Grey's Anatomy" offices in Los Angeles, had grown weary of programs that feature just "one black doctor in the hospital and one black cop or one Latino detective on the force." On "Grey's Anatomy," multiculturalism is a casual fact of life. Half the regular cast are minorities, including Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), the Asian-American surgical intern who has captured Dr. Burke's heart. But Rhimes avoids playing the race card in her stories. "There's never going to be 'a very special episode' of 'Grey's' about race. I hate that sort of thing," says Rhimes, who first earned recognition for her screenwriting on such films as HBO's "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge" and the comedy "The Princess Diaries 2." Washington initially auditioned for the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd before Dempsey was cast as the dashing brain surgeon. But the actor was thrilled when Rhimes promised him that Burke wouldn't be fitted for the standard-issue, black-male emotional straitjacket. "Race will fall away if you show the humanity of people," says Washington. But when "Grey's Anatomy" premiered last spring, Dr. Burke made a chilly first impression as a perfectionist cardiothoracic surgeon who kept his emotions rigidly in check. "He did start out sort of stone-faced," says the 42-year-old Washington, who talked during a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. "But he's evolved into someone we see as an effective leader and someone who learns how to love and be loved." One of the most illuminating hours of "Grey's Anatomy" came with last fall's Thanksgiving episode, where Burke proved to be a culinary magician. "That's when Burke started to come out, not merely as an attending surgeon who's dating an intern but as a fully dimensional guy," explains Washington. "We discovered that he's someone who cooks, he's someone who has compassion." The live-in, odd-couple romance of Dr. Burke and Dr. Yang has become one of the most touching and funny attractions of "Grey's Anatomy." Writing that charming, quirky relationship has been a ball for Rhimes, who was hit with a happy thought when she imagined Dr. Burke's story. "I couldn't wait to put him in a romantic relationship," says the producer. "We have a cast that can be really dramatic and really funny. It allows us to do so many things." Burke has been revealed as a deeply honorable man with an almost military bearing, not surprising since Houston native Washington served in the Air Force before becoming an actor. But the scenes between Dr. Burke and Dr. Yang have also offered another window into Burke's soul, says Washington, noting that, "Nobody else really knows Burke. But he's been able to show levels of vulnerability to Cristina." An African-American surgeon and an Asian-American intern in love? The not-so-secret joy of "Grey's Anatomy" is that anyone can relate. "Being after 'Desperate Housewives' has allowed a large number of people to discover our show," says Shonda Rhimes. "But they stay and come back each week because these characters feel like people you know. And no matter what race they are, you see yourself in their problems." The multicultural medicos of Seattle Grace Hospital * Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.). Seattle Grace's married chief of surgery is a stern, caring physician and recovering alcoholic. He's also caught up in an extramarital emotional affair with a former colleague, Dr. Grey's Alzheimer's-afflicted mother. Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). Behind her back, the interns refer to their demanding senior resident as "the Nazi." But Bailey has a big heart behind all the bluster. And now that she's a new mother, she's even more sympathetic. Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington). Seattle Grace's serious-minded attending surgeon is a laconic perfectionist in the OR. But ever since a feisty love named Cristina Yang walked into his life, the Other McDreamy's displayed elements of his sensitive, fun-loving side. Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh). The brainy, ambitious and easily perturbed surgical intern has bark and bite. But through the romantic serendipity of finding a potential soul mate in Dr. Burke, she has also flashed a softer personal side. Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez). The forthright orthopedic surgeon has taken a romantic fancy to the Dr. McNebbish of Seattle Grace, George O'Malley (T.R. McKnight), who needs to get beyond his pathetic obsession with Meredith Grey.[COLOR=red]