Private Practice

...to watch.

Private Practice follows Addison Montgomery's move from Seattle Grace Hospital over to California after a disastrous few years on Grey's. Addison had an affair with Derek's best friend and their marriage fell apart, resulting in tough working conditions for Addison. She goes to visit her friends clinic in LA and eventually accepts a job there, moving away from Grey's Anatomy over to LA and the new show Private Practice.
...Then at the start of Private Practice, Addison's 'Grey's Anatomy' boss Chief Webber appeared for her resignation scenes, allowing for a smooth transition between the two. I felt this was very well done and made the move between shows quite seamless and good for the viewer.

As I mentioned, Addison was one of my favourite characters from Grey's Anatomy, so I hoped that they wouldn't change her too much for her 'leading lady' role on ... more

I am quite a fan of American hospital dramas, in fact I rather like American shows in general because the standard of programming is very high, and always very enjoyable. So far as medical dramas go, E.R. is my ultimate favourite, but I have also become a fan of Grey's Anatomy over the past few years. When I heard that they were making a spin-off from that with one of my favourite 'Grey's' characters, I knew it'd be something I want to watch.

Private Practice follows Addison Montgomery's move from Seattle Grace Hospital over to California after a disastrous few years on Grey's. Addison had an affair with Derek's best friend and their marriage fell apart, resulting in tough working conditions for Addison. She goes to visit her friends clinic in LA and eventually accepts a job there, moving away from Grey's Anatomy over to LA and the new show Private Practice.

The move between shows was very well done for me. Addison's move was hinted at throughout the third series of Grey's Anatomy, and there were also 2 special episodes on 'Grey's' where Addison visited the clinic in LA, also helping to introduce the new characters to the Grey's audience to get them interested in the show. Then at the start of Private Practice, Addison's 'Grey's Anatomy' boss Chief Webber appeared for her resignation scenes, allowing for a smooth transition between the two. I felt this was very well done and made the move between shows quite seamless and good for the viewer.

As I mentioned, Addison was one of my favourite characters from Grey's Anatomy, so I hoped that they wouldn't change her too much for her 'leading lady' role on Private Practice. Addison is an OB/GYN (basically a woman and baby doctor) and a Neonatal surgeon. This means that Private Practice is mainly based around babies, and is based in a fertility clinic called Ocean Wellness, where Addison is to be employed as their first OB/GYN. I thought that a drama based around fertility and babies would be interesting, and I wasn't disappointed by the show at all.

Although this is the basis of the show, they have also included some other medical elements into the show to appeal to a broader audience. Other medical practices involved in the show include Pyschiatry, Alternative Medicine and more serious illness called Internal Medicine. All of these practices take place in the clinic where Addison works, and these stories run in the episodes alongside the main baby-orietated storylines and do provide some relief from the sometimes emotional child stories.

Kate Walsh returns as Addison Montgomery, and performs absolutely brillantly, totally carrying the show and is a joy to watch. I loved her attitude and acting style in Grey's, and she really doesn't disappoint in this. Walsh portrays Addison's emotions so well that you are almost feeling them with her, her acting is incredibly strong, and she works very well with the new cast and makes a seamless transition from one show to the other. The only other cast member I was familiar with is Amy Brenneman who plays Psychiatrist Violet Turner, a troubled woman herself. Amy previously starred in hit court-room drama Judging Amy. Violet is quite a funny character, suffering badly after the break-up with her boyfriend Allan and despite the advice she dishes out to patients, she seems unable to follow any of it herself.

Audra McDonald takes on the roles of Naomi Bennett, a fertility specialist and co-owner of the clinic. Naomi is a headstrong woman who runs the clinic well but is struggling after her divorce from husband Sam, who also works at the clinic. Relations between the pair are a bit strained but I found their relationship to be very watchable and interesting, and I very much liked the actors in these roles. Taye Diggs plays Naomi's husband Sam, who is the Internal Medicine Specialist, and often has some intriguing cases! Paul Adelstein is Cooper Freedman, a paediatrician. He and Violet are very close friends, and I found the scenes with these two often quite amusing. Cooper is a bit of a bumbling character, but very passionate about his job.

Tim Daly is Peter Wilder, the alternative medicine doctor, and somewhat love interest of Addison. Things kicked off between the pair at Addison's first visit to LA and the clinic when they strike up a flirty relationship, and this banter carries on through the show with a 'Will they, won't they' type storyline which had some good twists and turns along the way. The final couple of characters are Dell Parker played by Chris Lowell, who is a receptionist and trainee midwife, and Charlotte King who is the local hospital's Chief of staff, and is played by KaDee Strickland.

Being based around babies for most parts, I was a bit unsure about watching this, as things showing ill babies and children often have me in floods of tears, but I found this to be an overwhelmingly upbeat show. Yes, some storylines were very emotional but this was well handled by an excellent cast, strong scripts and a very good soundtrack. There are a few scenes in particular which stick so strongly in my mind, they were that powerful and emotion-packed that I thought they were simply fantastic. Even during the happy moments, I had tears in my eyes because it was that well acted you felt like you were there right in the thick of the story, and it is testament to how good a show they have made here.

Part of this I feel is due to Shonda Rhimes, the creator and one of the executive producers of the show. Rhimes also created Grey's Anatomy, and the idea for Private Practice was hers. Judging by Grey's success, I hoped this show would be equally as good and it certainly is. It takes a typical medical drama and puts a new spin on it by being based around fertility and babies, and moves away from the typical ER/Grey's medical dramas we have come to expect. Don't think this means it isn't as exciting as those previously mentioned dramas, because it is but in such a different way. Rhimes has transferred a pivotal character from one show to another perfectly, and has created another hit show around that person, no mean feat I must say!

Private Practice was a show which I had high hopes for, and delivered on all accounts. It's great cast led by the brilliant Kate Walsh portrays the dramas, happiness and sorrow of working in the medical world fantastically, and features a wide range of medical cases to keep all viewers interested. The show is enhanced by a powerful soundtrack, featuring recent hits and old classics which just enhance already emotional scenes and really hit home. All 9 episodes were brilliant, very emotional and realistic and I very much look forward to series 2.

Season 1 in the UK was picked up by Living TV, who also have the rights to show Grey's Anatomy, so it did make sense for the channel to screen this also. The series began a few months ago, and last week screened the season finale. It has been picked up for a second series in America which is due to air in october 2008 in the US, so expect the second season to hit our screens next summer. The next season is actually a full season containing 24 episodes unlike the first which only featured 9 episodes. The first season will be out on DVD in the near future, a release date hasn't been announced but the product is on Amazon so will certainly have a release at some point.

For more information on the show, its cast, characters, and even a music guide, see the offical website at http://abc.go.com/primetime/privatepractice/.

Mai n Cast:
Kate Walsh ... Dr. Addison Montgomery
Tim Daly ... Dr. Pete Wilder
Audra McDonald ... Dr. Naomi Bennett
Paul Adelstein ... Dr. Cooper Freedman
KaDee Strickland... Dr. Charlotte King
Chis Lowell ... William 'Dell' Parker
Taye Diggs ... Dr. Sam Bennett
Amy Brenneman ... Dr. Violet Turner

Thank you for reading. 

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