Fall TV Review: Private Practice

Call me a liar. I swore up and down that I would not have anything to do with Private Practice. But due to my pure laziness, I did not get up to change the channel after Dancing with the Stars concluded. Therefore, I was forced to stick through the entire series premiere of Addison Montgomery Does L.A. despite my previous claims otherwise. Well I guess that means that I have to make some kind of review on it, so here it is.

When I first heard that there would be a spin-off of Grey's, I confess, I was a bit hurt. Why tamper with a beautiful thing? Everybody loves Grey's, and taking one of the best characters off is just going to hurt it. Plus I did not think that Addison could function without McDreamy and McSteamy and Alex. And when I watched the sneak peek last spring, I was disgusted. Well, I guess I can rescind some of my animosity. But that doesn't mean that Private Practice was spectacular.

I saw in the spin-off a few Grey's characteristics. First of all, there was the goofiness of Addison's naked dancing. Then of course there were the obscure medical conditions; an old man dropped dead amidst his attempt to provide a sperm donation and a woman spaces out in a shopping mall, counting tiles. Not to mention there was the crisis-17 year old Lucy almost dies while giving birth. Those things made me happy and kept me watching. And Addison did hold her own without any arm candy. She is proving to be a strong female character. Plus there is the interesting character of Del, the surfer slash midwife-in-training slash Zac Efron lookalike. I guess those things, coupled with the fact that my life is booooorring, mean that I will set a series recording of this show on my DVR.

But Private Practice is still not Grey's Anatomy. And hey, maybe after tomorrow's season premiere, that will be a good thing. Unlike Grey's, PP moves way too slowly. I cannot believe it took almost the entire episode for the therapist to coax Jenny off the mall floor. Plus there isn't much chemistry between the characters yet. This may change. I think the whole concept of the holistic practice as opposed to the surgical ward is a downer too. It just screams "boring!!" to me. Total yawn. I could totally nod off for 10 minutes and not miss much.

Plus I don't think PP has the potential to deliver quote-worthy lines and catchphrases. Except maybe a "gnarly, dude" out of Del. We'll see.

I'm torn. It could have been worse, but it could have been better.