Private Practice - the night time Soap opera

Medical dramas have been a staple of prime time television for many decades. Private Practice tries to carve out a niche in this crowded space with a story about a group of attractive, successful and desirable medical professionals all collected into one private medical practice in Los Angeles, California. I have never been to California, so i cannot give an objective opinion, but where i live the ratio of what we would consider attractive to those who are not is nowhere near this high.

Unlike the show Private Practice emerged from, Grey's Anatomy, this drama seems to lean more toward a soap opera mentality. So far there are no evil twins or the immortal evil nemesis, but to keep up with who has or has not been together you would need at least a spreadsheet or wall chart. I find this unfortunate as the shows tenor is altered from a serious medical drama in some episodes to a raucous game of who is under who's covers.

You can check out Grey's Anatomy season 1 or Grey's Anatomy season 2 to see Addison Montgomery while she was still part of the Grey's Anatomy cast before moving on to Private Practice. She was in every episode of Grey's Anatomy during this season, so you cannot miss her. Grey's Anatomy episodes are chock full of action and dialogue, with Ms. Walsh hvaing her fair share as she told Addison's story to prepare us for her transition to the new show.

There is this fascination with anything in Los Angeles. There is some crazy idea that anything from California is so mysterious all of the depressed people from anywhere else will instantly be mesmerized and forever hooked on the concept. Perhaps that is an explanation of the success of L.A. Law, which ran on NBC at 10 PM on Thursday night for nine seasons. It may also tell us why the Law and order franchise is heading for the city of Angels for the fall television season of 2010.

This probably has a coincidental connection to the placement of Private Practice in the same area. The beaches, ocean and California lifestyle provide the setting for a much more liberal set of ideals for the characters of this drama to play with as we watch them live their lives. In fact many of the plot ideas on this show are very far away from the average main street reality.

Basically, this series follows the lives of seven doctors of various disciplines as they live their personal lives in the midst of a small medical practice in the city of Los Angeles. The name of the show reflects this arrangement as the group is able to make the decisions that affect their business directly as they answer to no larger authority. This provides fodder for radical and politically unfathomable situations many times as many of today’s hottest medical and social issues are put through the Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers production mill.

Private Practice is a spin-off from ABC’s other Thursday night power house, Grey’s Anatomy. The alumnus from Grey’s that got the plum Private Practice lead role is an actress by the name of Kate Walsh. Ms. Walsh played the character of Doctor Addison Montgomery, a world class obstetrician and Neo-natal doctor on Grey’s for the first three seasons before this series got off the ground.

Ms. Walsh joins old friends Sam and Naomi Bennett at their medical practice after her marriage to Doctor Derek Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy goes wrong. Addison is the best at what she does and just needs somewhere to do it. As it happens the practice needs her skills, so a match is made. Within the practice are six other doctors seeking to provide a comprehensive medical experience as they also work to live their lives. Addison finds much support and professional camaraderie here.

Kate Walsh plays the extremely capable if not whiny Addison Montgomery. For a woman with as much medical skill, her personal life is a mess. She is a forty something professional desiring to be a mother to be with little in the way of potential fathers for a baby. She usually finds another target in each episode and we are subject to her self examination about whether it is the right thing to do. I like Ms. Walsh and think she could have a much better character if the writers would allow it.

Tim Daly plays the role of Doctor Pete Wilder who is a doctor of alternative medicine. We don’t get a tremendous amount of information about what exactly Pete does, but his patients love him. I remember Daly’s great turn from the NBC comedy Wings and find his transition to drama intriguing and well done. The pairing of he and Walsh was brilliant as they seemed to be a great fit capable of creating a really good romantic anchor for the show. Unfortunately the writers felt other wise and this union was short lived.

Taye Diggs is in the role of Sam Bennett, the original head of the practice. He is a doctor that embodies the traditional television mantra of being able to do it all. Over the last two seasons he suddenly became a guy who could step in to perform complicated surgeries even though he had not done any in many years. Because this is television we are not so critical to get excited about this detail, but really couldn’t the producers have been more creative?

Mr. Diggs demeanor is pleasant, making him a very likeable character. You root for Sam to find happiness. Perhaps his paring with Addison will lead to happy days for both of them in the coming seasons.

Audra MacDonald plays the role of Sam’s ex-wife Doctor Naomi Bennett. I am not sure where the producers are going with this character as she has two distinct personalities, a fiery forceful one and one with a thick does of contrition after she has gone ballistic at least every other show. Perhaps we are not privy to enough personal information about our own doctors to realize this is normal, but I wish the characters had more strength written into their plot roles. Women have the ability to be strong, but these characters are portrayed as perpetually weak and unable to cope in their world.

I was surprised to learn Ms. MacDonald is a Tony award winning actress, as she does not impress me as the strongest member of ths ensemble cast. While I imagine the role she fills here is not comparable to her role on Broadway, I would expect more of a presence from this actress.

Paul Adelstein fills the role of Doctor Cooper Freedman, the Pediatrician of the group. Cooper is all about the children, which are present in every show in some way. Cooper is a long term bachelor who has connected with Charlotte King, the chief of staff at the local hospital. Cooper wants to have a relationship but also has a strong sexual desire to be fed. Charlotte is up to this challenge, but some of the things in her personal life cause Cooper some heartburn.

I would like to see Mr. Adelsteain pay more attentio to his method on screen and not bow his head as much. If this is part of the producers attempt at character depth I find it mainly distracting and would suggest the character be prtrayed a bit differently.

Amy Brenneman, the title character in Judging Amy, plays the psychiatrist in this office. Ms. Brenneman is certainly believable as she portrays the person who digs to the root of everyone’s problems. Recently it has been her life layed bare for all to analyze as she suffered a horrific attack by a woman convinced she had stolen her baby and inserted it into her womb, only to have the crazy person cut it out and leave her for dead.

I enjoyed Ms. Brenneman in Judging Amy and find her capable of bringing this character to life as she deals with the problems of the entire staff on a weekly basis. She mirrors Ms. Walsh’s whininess however, which seems to be a trend of this show.

KaDee Strickland plays the sassy but beautiful Doctor Charlotte King, chief of staff at the hospital the Private Practice staff uses for all their practice needs. Ms. Strickland came to the show during the second season, but was made a regular in the 2009-2010 season. She is a great fit to the show as her unwillingness to take any grief from anyone is a welcome change from the wimpy reactions of many of the other female characters.

She and Cooper make a great couple, probably the best on the show. We have to wonder though if they can remain together as this show follows the Grey’s Anatomy formula of having everyone trade partners on a regular basis.

Brian Benben, Michael Patrick Thornton and James Morrison portray doctors in a competing medical group one floor above Oceanside Group’s office. Benben is Doctor Sheldon Wallace a contemporary of Violet, Morrison plays the owner of the Pacific Wellness Enterprise and a love interest with Naomi as does Thornton as a geneticist with physical limitations named Gabriel Fife.

Depending on the strong lead in of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice did very well in its rookie campaign with an average audience just in excess of eleven million. This was a welcome result for ABC as their Thursday might line up had consistently finished second or worst to the long running powerhouse NBC Thursday line up which still had ER finishing its extensive run. Since that first season however, the ratings have softened some to barely threaten double digits in the following two seasons.

Seasons 1 & 2 of this series are available for purchase on DVD. As always the DVDs have special features for the devoted Private Practice fans that will illuminate some of the behind the scene thoughts and strategies that determined the shows track. The third season of the show will be released just before the kickoff of the fourth season.

Shonda Rhimes is the name most associated with this show as well as Grey’s Anatomy. She has been able to create two shows able to hold their own in the treacherous world of scripted hour long dramas, which is no small feat. Many have been able to take credit for one show, but Ms. Rhimes can boast these two as well as a new one coming to ABC in the fall of 2010. She was recently named as one of the 25 Most Influential in television by TV Guide.

Only 40 years old in 2010, it seems MS. Rhimes has a long and bright future in the world of television. It will be her task along with others to try the stem of erosion of television audiences to alternative media. Let’s hope she can begin that with this show.