Pilot Review: Private Practice

Private Practice
ABC. Wednesdays at 9
Cast: Kate Walsh, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Audra McDonald, Paul Adelstein, Amy Brenneman, KaDee Strickland

Ok, I’ll admit it. I watch Grey’s Anatomy on a frequent basis. I wholeheartedly hate Derek and Meredith, am actively rooting against this whole George and Izzie thing, and Christina breaking down after standing up Burke at the aisle was one of the best acted moments of last year in my opinion. I’m still flummoxed as to how Katherine Heigl beat Sandra Oh this year. However, while I watch Greys, there are very few characters on the show whom I actually like and root for. Christina and George are the good interns, and I don’t get how people cannot like Bailey. But my favorite character was probably Addison. Which is why I was happy to see her get her own spin-off.

I just kind of wish it wasn’t Private Practice, which just reeks of trying to be Greys, California Style. I mean, watching shows like Greys and this it’s a wonder that the medical community actually has time to save peoples lives and stuff like that with all their relationship drama. I liked Addison because while she succumbed to it, she seemingly realized she was succumbing to it and hated herself for it. Unfortunately, that Addison seems to have been lost somewhere on the journey between Seattle Grace and sunny LA. Maybe she’ll pop up in Eureka.

Yes, the Addison I loved is gone, replaced by an Addison who does things like dance naked in front of her open windows (Co-worker related hilarity ensues), stammer about not moving to LA over a kiss (which is such a Meredith thing to do, just without the whiny voice or anorexia), and can generally be seen eating some kind of baked good/ice cream confection and dishing gossip with her sole girlfriend. That’s intern stuff Addison, you’re supposed to make witty comments to Callie and sneer at Sloan when he makes sexual advances at you. Stop turning into Meredith.

But, alas, I digress. This review is about Private Practice as its own show. And I have to say, it kind of has its moments. They may be few and somewhat far in between, but at least one of the three plots in the pilot was actually pretty darn good. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the one that Addison was involved with, which struck me as being something that could completely happen in Seattle Grace. No, the one with Amy Brenneman and Paul Adelstein was actually pretty gripping television. I’m not gonna go into the one with Audra McDonald and Taye Diggs, because, well, I don’t want to talk about extracting sperm from a dead guy.

That one strong plotline, however, is not quite enough to make up for the rest of the show. I mean, Kate Walsh is still great. While this Addison may be a severe step down from Seattle Addison, Walsh still does a good job bringing energy and charm to the character. And no one else is glaringly bad. But it just kind of feels too much like a Grey’s episode transplanted to California, starring an older group of interns and attendings. So I’m kind of hoping that Addison decides that she preferred Seattle and heads back. Callie needs her, especially with George about to go all infidelitous on her (again). So yeah, the rating:

Rating: If There’s Nothing Else On…