Private Practices Pushes Bio-Ethical Envelope

I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy because the drama just got too frivolous for my taste. I was reluctant to make the switch to Private Practice, but after a string of successful episodes the show is quickly rising to the top of my must-see list.

At the very least, last night's season premiere earned Private Practice a season pass on my Tivo. The episode featured five relationships on the rocks and a medical practice about to crumble under some serious financial burdens.

But the show takes a non-traditional trajectory by tackling some dicey bio-ethical dilemmas. Is it okay for parents to conceive a child with the express purpose of using the blood from that child's umbilical cord to save the life of one of their other children? Should a doctor go outside of the law and against a family's wishes and tell a teenager who's planning to have sex that he's HIV positive?

Both of these issues were examined Wednesday night and they lead to some great debates today around the copier near my desk at work. Unlike it's parent program, Private Practice continues to do a fantastic job of combining new romance, relationship drama, family squabbles, comedy but above all--medicine. That's something the folks over at Grey's leave out more often than not.

This episode's central debates reminded me of one of my other favorites, Picket Fences. Both programs take traditional genres (police, medicine, and/or family dramas) and turn them on their ears a bit. It also intrigues me when shows can manage to be familiar and refreshing simultaneously.


Photo: Abc.com

This May Confuse The Regulars

Addison Montgomery is heading back to Seattle Grace...but just on a vacay. Kate Walsh is on break from Private Practice which is returning to ABC in the fall. In the interim she's doing a guest spot on Grey's just to confuse the hell out of people.

I'm sure the conversation with my mother will go something like this:

Mom: Doesn't this show come on Wednesday?
Me: This isn't Private Practice.
Mom: But it has the redhead on it. The one who looks like a horse.
Me: No, it's a guest spot.
Mom: So her show is canceled?
Me: She's just visiting.
Mom: But is she playing the same character as before?
Me: Before what?
Mom: Oh forget it. This is why I can't keep up with this mess.

And cue her falling asleep on the couch. Why does ABC insist on toying with the minds of our greatest generation?

Hump Day Updates

• There is just no excuse not to be watching Kid Nation. If these out of context quotations don't do anything for you then I'm out of ideas. Read some other blog.
  
• " Pelvis has left the building."
• " Those aren't igloos dude those are teepees."
  

• TLC is taking Pageant Place to the next level. On Miss America: Reality Check, all 52 Ms. America contestants are going to live in one house to see if their " smarts, attitudes and looks hold up in contemporary society." The ladies will participate in challenges and events leading up to the finale event. Even with Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) hosting, I think it's for the best this show is only four weeks long.
  

• Over the past two nights I've discovered I want to eventually find a guy whose personality is the combination of Yukon Cornelius and Dell from Private Practice. Yukon is obvious. Who else will slay abominable snowmen who get in my way? Dell is a recent discovery though. Tonight, he finally confessed his love for Naomi and it was so adorable. Too bad he confessed it to her ex-husband.
  
• " You know how many women think like that, and look like that, and laugh like that and care? One. So far I've met one. And yeah, she's out of my league in every possible way. But I don't care. She dazzles me. And I'm not stupid enough to hope that one day I'll meet someone like her when the time is right because I won't. I love her. Okay? And I guarantee you-I wouldn't make her cry."

Cue the swooning.

• An anti-whaling group named their boat Steve Irwin. Bindi Irwin had this to say before she was dragged to her next appearance.
  

3 Things About Private Practice

3 Reasons I'm Starting to Like Private Practice:

1. Grown-Up Drama. No more he-said/she-said. No more "I love you even though I'm married." The people seem real. Their problems aren't pathetic.
   
2. Interesting Medical Stories. The medical aspect of the show isn't forgotten. I appreciate the time and care the writers room is taking to think of maladies that are out of the ordinary but not too far-fetched.
   
3. Solid Acting. I know my love for Paul Kellerman (Prison Break) is no secret, but he is not alone in the "pretty good actor" category on this show. Tim Daly (Wings) was pretty convincing in his role as the angst-ridden widower tonight. (How's that for grown up drama?)

The more I watch it, the better it gets. My fear? It will betray me like Greys did. I don't want to compare the two because it's like dating siblings and constantly bringing up the other one. However, if you're brother's a jerk, then chances are, you've got a little in you as well.

I'm going to give this show a chance. But the second it starts to turn on me, I will cut it out of my line-up faster than you can say Lost.

At Least Taye Diggs Is Super Hot

I took notes, minute by minute, while watching Private Practice. You're Welcome. For those of you with TiVos, consider this your spoiler alert. And if this isn't extensive enough for you, try this out for size.

Minutes: Notes

1: How is Addison affording that house on the shore? That's a Kate Walsh house, not an Addison Montgomery house.
2: I've missed Amy Brenneman. If only Tyne Daly could come back.
6: Taye Diggs is so hot.
9: "I want Ken's sperm now." I want to watch something else now.
18: One kiss changing your entire life? Unless someone slips you some tongue while they're giving you mouth to mouth, I don't think that's happening.
27: Remnants of Greys rear their ugly head; First sign of extended metaphor/sappy music.
34: Why would you set up your hippy-dippy medical clinic 10-20 minutes form the nearest hospital? They've needed it twice in one day. Their premiums must be outrageous.
37: Holistic Doctor Guy (Tim Daly, Wings) just said, " I can treat her so she won't feel any pain." WTF? Who let Mind Freak near the patients?
43: I'm so bored. I'm going to have BBQ for dinner and I'm getting two sides. I've earned it.
50: Cue the extended metaphor/melodramatic music
55: Moon Zappa must have really dug deep to get that very ethereal crying noise to come out. You only hear that at funerals. She's the best actress on this show. I hope her character is recurring. It was so good, I won't even make a Valley Girl comment.
56: The shows ends when Addison proves she has a bigger ego (and Adam's Apple) than Kanye West. " I saved her life. I saved your asses. I'm a world class neo-natal surgeon and I'm here to stay." And in"It's Britney Bitch" fashion, she goes on to say, " Welcome to the new Oceanside Wellness."

Bitch.

This should be very interesting...

Hump Day Updates

Not since they started selling popcorn for a quarter at my elementary school have I been this excited for a Wednesday. Blame it on lackluster summer shows or genuinely intriguing fall premieres, but I have an inkling fall hump days are going to be the ones to beat.

Here's what I'm watching tonight and more importantly, what I'm not:


Kid Nation (Left): I haven't been this amped to see children cry, sweat and put themselves in harms way since American Juniors. This show is living up to all of the hype and then some. However, it is kind of sad when you discover that children are just as calculating, if not more so than adults. Except this one. He's just plain cute.

Private Practice: I keep calling this show Private Parts, making for confusing conversations with my parents and colleagues. But seriously, Greys has sucked since season 2 and I'm ready to lend my loyalty to Addison and her band of wacky doctors. Plus Paul Adelstein (Prison Break) is in the cast and he has yet to let me down.

Dirty Sexy Money: The premise of this show reminds me of Arrested Development. We all saw how well that went. It's an hour long though, Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) stars, and knowing ABC, the show will have some sort of intrigue or dead narrator. I'm crossing my fingers for both.

Other things I plan to record or catch later:
Kitchen Nightmares
Top Chef
The War

Things I'm Avoiding Like The Plague:

Back To You: I like Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer, but it's time to give the shows to someone else. Especially you Fraiser! You've been playing the same pompous asshole for 25 years.

The Bionic Woman: First, I refuse to give Isaiah Washington another chance so soon. Second, the pop-up ads for that show slowed down my internet beyond belief and kept me from searching IMDB. And since the image was so big, I couldn't avoid clicking it. Plus, this looks like it could be a better movie anyway.

There is a lot to sift out before I make my final Wednesday line-up though and nothing is firm yet...except Kitchen Nightmares.