Private Practice: The Complete First Season – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

Available at Amazon.com

You knew it was just a matter of time before a spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy was created. It seems like all television shows with great ratings and a loyal audience is bound to have a spin-off. (Joey, anyone?) There was just too many interesting characters floating around the set of Anatomy for it not to have one. While most spin-offs are created to target the same key demographic that loved the original show, more times that not spin-offs fail to become hit shows themselves. Frasier and Angel are two of the most recent examples that did succeed and thus proved this rule. But could Private Practice be another exception that breaks that trend or will it quickly be forgotten after the novelty wears off?

Private Practice follows the life of Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd (Kate Walsh). After Addison was turned down for the Chief of Surgery position at Seattle Grace and her ex-husband, Dr. Derek Shepherd, continued to chase after fellow doctor, Meredith Grey, Addison decided to make a change in her life. This change involved giving up her high-pressure surgical position and moving to sunny Los Angeles, California to work at a “hippie”, communal medical clinic where she would be lucky to see one patient a day. When she initially arrives at her new job she finds that her recently divorced friend Naomi Bennett (Audra McDonald) has not told any of her colleagues that she has hired a new doctor to work at the practice. Thrown by this, they blame it on the tumultuous relationship between Naomi and her husband Sam Bennett (Taye Diggs), who also works at the practice. Other wacky characters that work at or around this clinic include Addison’s old ex-, Pete Wilder (Tim Daly), the alternative medicine doctor; Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman), an entirely neurotic and sensitive psychiatrist, who not only catches the eye of Pete but also is dealing with personal baggage herself; Cooper Freedman (Paul Adelstein), the hunky pediatrician/internet dating pervert who may or may not have romantic feelings for Violet; control freak Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland), the Chief of Staff at the closest real hospital, St. Ambrose and who Cooper meets on the internet for discreet sexual encounters; and (Chris Lowell), the part-time surfer, part-time receptionist for the clinic that all the female employees drool over.

The storylines of Private Practice seem very similar to Grey’s Anatomy as you might expect. There’s lots of loving going on inside and outside the clinic. There may be too much of that, in fact, which is always pointed out as a negative for its predecessor as well. But the environments that both of these shows exist in are completely different. While Grey’s Anatomy is more intense, Private Practice is more laid back. The medical emergencies are not nearly as serious; they seem to only be there to give some of the characters on the show more depth.

Speaking of the characters, they are definitely wackier in Private Practice and this goes along well with the settings of both shows. But the acting on this show is just as good as Grey’s Anatomy. This is a great ensemble cast, who all have had experience on other television series. Kate Walsh’s character was likable enough on Grey’s Anatomy that it is believable that she can be the center of her own show. Really, though, all of the characters are people who can have an opinion on and care about. If there is something negative to say about the characters, it’s the same thing as the storylines. There seems to be a lot “forced bed-hopping” going on among the clinic employees.

Season one of Private Practice was a good taste of a show that should appeal to Grey’s Anatomy fans at first. This series could find its own audience later due to the laid-back nature of Private Practice, which is a sharp contrast to Grey’s Anatomy. But the elements that some people don’t like about Grey’s Anatomy still show up in Private Practice, since the same writers and creative team is behind that show. In the end, you really can’t judge the first season of Private Practice too much, though. The writers’ strike shortened the first season even more, so we won’t have a better idea of which side of the fence this “spin-off” falls onto until season two has been completed. What we have seen so far looks good and could have the potential to be great, but only time will tell if Private Practice could either be the next Frasier or the just another Joey looking to cash in on a hit show.

Episodes:

Disc One:

Episode 1 – In Which We Meet Addison, A Nice Girl From Somewhere Else
Addison resigns from Seattle Grace and heads to the Oceanside Wellness Group in L.A. where she was offered a job. Although, it seems that Naomi didn’t consult the other doctors when hiring her. Meanwhile, a father is frustrated with his daughter when she hides the fact that she’s pregnant. When complications arise Addison, Pete and Dell work together to make sure that baby and mother survive, as pain-free as possible. Jenny, a woman who has been seeing Violet, starts counting the tiles at a department store. To investigate what triggered it, Cooper and Paul and a shop assistant assist Violet. Meanwhile, when a man dies of a stroke, Naomi, Sam and Charlotte argue over who should get his sperm – his wife or his mistress.

Episode 2 – In Which Sam Receives an Unexpected Visitor
Two couples are involved in an unfortunate baby switch and the doctors must handle and solve it. Sam treats a client that may upset Naomi. A grandmother goes to extreme lengths to stop her son killing himself with alcohol, but her plan backfires.

Episode 3 – In Which Addison Finds the Magic
Addison and Pete treat a recently married couple who are having sexual problems. Cooper is trying to figure out why four siblings are all suffering from the same mysterious illness. Maya tells Naomi she’s been hoping her and Sam would divorce since she was in the third grade. Meanwhile, Violet is trying to convince a patient to leave her husband, even though she is having trouble letting go of her ex-boyfriend who is now married.

Episode 4 – In Which Addison Has a Very Casual Get Together
Addison invites her fellow Oceanside Wellness co-workers to her house for a get-together, but no one RSVPs; the wife of Violet’s ex boyfriend visits the wellness center for medical treatment and Violet is none too happy about it. Cooper counsels a young patient who is lovesick, and Sam appears on his first talk show promoting his self help book.

Disc Two:

Episode 5 – In Which Addison Finds a Showerhead
A flirting patient named Andrea causes a male nurse to feel uncomfortable, even though he feels the connection. Later, the same male nurse must treat a woman who is not at all pleased by the fact that she’s being treated by a man. He also helps treat a runner named Nicole. A very young girl drops by the clinic because she thinks she may have an STD. It really is the girls best friend. She has ghonerrea.

Episode 6 – In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole
Pete treats Charlotte’s insomnia, Naomi goes on her first date since college and a patient asks Addison to conceal her fertility from her husband.

Episode 7 – In Which Sam Gets Taken For A Ride
While Sam answers a dangerous house call, love or at least sex is in the air at Oceanside Wellness as Pete and Addison decide to take their relationship to the next level.

Episode 8 – In Which Cooper Finds a Port In His Storm
Cooper returns to the online dating game with surprising results, Addison goes on a date with one of Violet’s patients, and Naomi and Sam make a house call at a convent.

Disc Three:

Episode 9 – In Which Dell Finds His Fight
The Oceanside wellness center takes on the fertility of one of its previous couples, Addison is conflicted about her status in the dating world and Cooper begins a secret affair.

The video is given in anamorphic widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, which is enhanced for 16X9 TVs. The transfer is great with minimal grain. It’s slightly better than the original presentation on TV, which is quite good since the original presentation looks fantastic as it is. No major problems at all.

The audio included is in English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound. The dialogue comes out loud and crystal clear. There is not much music in this show, but the little that does make its appearance also comes out loud and clear. Like the video, the audio quality is excellent for a TV show like this. No problems here either.

Audio Commentaries
There are three audio commentaries on this set for three separate episodes. Shonda Rhimes (creator), Betsy Beers (writer), and Kate Walsh (actor) comment on the “In Which We Meet Addison, A Nice Girl From Somewhere Else” episode. Paul Adelstein (actor) and Amy Brenneman (actor) comment on the “In Which Sam Gets Taken For A Ride” episode. Chris Lowell (actor) and Taye Diggs (actor) comment on the “In Which Dell Finds His Fight” episode. Overall these are all pretty entertaining and informative. The one with Kate Walsh and Shonda Rhimes is the best since it includes both a cast member and creative team member, but the other two are funny as well.

“Alternate Ensemble: Behind the Scenes of Private Practice” Featurette
This runs 14 minutes and it’s your standard behind-the-scenes featurette. We hear from the cast and crew as they talk about this series. Just your usual fluff piece pumping up the show.

“Kate Walsh: Practice Makes Perfect” Featurette
This runs 32 minutes and it’s all about Kate Walsh, of course. We talk to the crew and the cast of both Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. We also get to talk to her family as well, which is different. Pretty good in-depth biography on Walsh. So fans of her will surely enjoy this.

Outtakes
This runs three and half minutes and it’s your usual gags and bloopers. Fairly funny and there is one bit where Kate Walsh almost flashes the cameras.

Deleted Scenes
There are 6 scenes that didn’t make the final cut of all of the episodes this season. These total 11 minutes.

Extended Episodes
Episode 1 entitled “In Which We Meet Addison, A Nice Girl From Somewhere Else” and Episode 3 entitled “In Which Addison Finds the Magic” are the only extended episodes and they are only extended by a few minutes each. Basically, there are some scenes in each of these episodes that could have gone in the “deleted scenes” section since they don’t add much to these episodes.

Rent this season to get a taste of what Private Practice is all about. If you are a hardcore fan of Grey’s Anatomy, you will probably enjoy this series. If you absolutely loathe Grey’s Anatomy, then you probably won’t like this show. However, the shows are different enough that you can be a fan of one or the other. We will have a better idea of what this show is all about in a full second season.

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Buena Vista Home Entertainment presents Private Practice – Season 1. Created by Shonda Rhimes. Starring Kate Walsh, Tim Daly, Audra McDonald, Taye Diggs, Amy Brenneman, Paul Adelstein, Chris Lowell, and KaDee Strickland. Running time: 394 minutes. Rated: NOT RATED. Released on DVD: September 16, 2008. Available at Amazon.com

I'm not embarrassed to say that my favorite television show of all-time is The O.C. I live by the motto "you can't fight fate!" More importantly, I watch WAY too much television, but I do so for the benefit of everyone reading this now. So to my mom and my wife, I say thanks for reading! To everyone else that might stumble across this, remember TiVo should be your best friend!