Here's what I thought while struggling to get through the two-hour season debut of Grey's Anatomy a few weeks ago: Why don't I care more about the stars?

Ostensibly, this super-popular series is focused on Ellen Pompeo's fumbling Dr. Meredith Grey and her affair with (and later marriage to) Patrick Dempsey's Derek "Dr. McDreamy" Shepherd. But co-stars such as Sandra Oh, Isaiah Washington, Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight kept stealing the spotlight.

Here's a list of other shows that suffer from Grey's Disease, where you care about everyone on screen but the supposed stars.

Lost: Let's be honest: Ben Linus, John Locke, Sayid Jarrah and Sun Hwa Kwon have always been more compelling than the super-mopey characters at the show's center: Jack Sheppard, Kate Austen and James "Sawyer" Ford.

How I Met Your Mother: Neil Patrick Harris' charismatic womanizer Barney Stinson steals every scene he's in, but the show is supposedly centered on how Josh Radnor's Ted Mosby he met his wife.

Fringe: Forget about Anna Torv's tortured FBI agent Olivia Dunham. I'm always waiting for any scene featuring oddball scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) and the Icky Villain of the Week.

American Idol: Opened Entertainment Weekly and saw a story on the guy who didn't win the show this year, Adam Lambert, along with a nice blurb on another nonwinner, Alison Iraheta.

Ditto with reports about Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and former judge Paula Abdul. When's the last time you heard something about winners Ruben Studdard or Taylor Hicks?

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon: He's a charming guy who does the best Philbin this side of Dana Carvey. But let's be honest: From house band the Roots to his cheeky reality TV satire 7th Floor West, everything surrounding Fallon on this show is more interesting than he is.