Glitter Words

Saturday, May 10, 2008

REMOTE TVictim # 3: Private Practice, aired Thursdays at 9 (?) over Studio 23




Warning: My impressions of Private Practice are largely based on guesswork and speculation, with a small, microscopic part extracted from cynical and prejudiced views against hospital dramas post-St. Elsewhere.

First impression: what is Addison, McDreamy's ex (Grey's Anatomy, you know) doing in a spin-off? Is she the lead star here? Apparently, coz in the episode I watched, her opinion even as a wellness center newbie seems to matter. Musclebound Taye Diggs and award-winning Amy Brenneman are also cast as private practitioners, but Tim Daly's and Paul Adelstein's (loved him in Prison Break!) characters interest me the most. The smoldering looks and innuendos between his character and Addison hint at things to come. Hah. What a way to say, McDreamy can go to hell, preferably with Dr. Grey.

The show may boast of a powerhouse cast, but how long can they keep up viewer interest in alternative medicine? I would imagine that this fact should remain insignificant in the face of burgeoning relationships among the doctors. Seems likely in this particular episode where two African-American infants are switched at the nursery of another hospital, and the sick infant is brought in for consultation. What follows is so predictable, I was tempted to switch channels. I stuck it out until the end, waiting for another boiling hot lookfest between Addison and Dr. Pete the herbal medicine expert. Now that didn't disappoint me.

What Private Practice lacks, in my humble, non-medical opinion, is sustainability and connectivity between doctor and patient. The doctors seem too self-absorbed to be in any way attuned to the people who seek alternative healing. The premise lends itslef to early self-destruction, especially to those of us who get our escapist adrenaline rush from the zooming gurneys of E.R. and the acerbic storylines of House. Or I could be wrong. Maybe Grey's Anatomy viewers will throw some love at the wellness center, and keep the private practice alive.

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