DVD
REVIEW:
Private Practice
Season
One
09/17/08
This is the first season in a
series that is a spin-off of one of my favorite series of
all time “Grey’s Anatomy”. It takes Addison Montgomery
Shepard, Dr. Derek Shepard’s ex-wife, and moves her to Los
Angeles after her divorce, to make a change in her life and
work in a private practice as one of a group of doctors, one
of which is her best friend from medical school. The
aforementioned friend, Naomi, a fertility specialist, co-
owns the practice with her recently divorced ex-husband,
Sam, an internist, and an incredible group of physicians,
which include Pete, a specialist in holistic medicine, and
Addison’s new romantic interest, Violet, the psychiatrist,
and Cooper, the pediatrician. There is also the receptionist
and midwifery student, Dell, the office male eye candy and
resident surfer, as well as the practice’s affiliated
hospital’s chief of staff Charlotte who is as intelligent
and in control, as she is downright bitchy. This is an
incredibly faceted and colorful all star cast of characters,
that promise to keep you laughing, crying, and mesmerized,
but above all, entertained.
If you were expecting another version of Grey’s Anatomy, I
am very sorry to disappoint, but nothing could be further
from the truth. This series is extremely dramatic and
emotional, and while there is a lot of inappropriate
inter-office romance and chemistry, similar to Grey’s MO,
this series is a lot darker, with a lot more dysfunction and
real heartbreak. It deals with very real issues, and with
its subjects and drama that feel way too human, you get the
sensation that the situations are a little too real and hit
really close to home. This is a series most of us can relate
to on a very personal level, and the characters do a
magnificent job of showing all the emotion that these
situations deserve. The subject matter and characters will
really draw you in, but as intense as the series can get, it
also has just enough comic relief to give it the perfect
balance. The story lines of the main characters, as well as
the secondary stories of the “patients” that are treated at
the “Oceanside Wellness Group” are very believable, some are
comical but most are heartbreaking medical as well as
personal situations, real tragedies that can happen to
anyone, and have happened to people, a quality that makes
this series very relatable. Aside from the medical drama
that is the nature of the series, there are some real
emotional personal dramas that the main characters
experience, such as grief over the death of a spouse,
divorce, unspoken love, dealing with the growing and
changing of your children, and so much more. The very real
problems these characters face on a daily basis are too many
to list, but what I love about this show is that they don’t
handle things in a cookie-cutter, sitcom-y way. The
protagonists make mistakes, like real people do, and they do
the wrong thing, make bad decisions sometimes, and even go
crazy and make bad choices, but that is what real life is
like. Its very messy, chaotic, and painful, and I love that
this series makes a point of portraying just that . Also,
these are not kids, or young adults, at the beginning of
their lives, like Grey’s Anatomy , just starting out and in
a learning process. These are mature adults, already past
the learning curve, and realizing that it doesn’t get any
easier, and that the mistakes just get more painful, and
affect a lot more people, because now you have spouses and
kids in the mix, and if you don’t have those thing, then of
course, there is the loss of them or the regret of knowing
that you’ve wasted so much time and now are alone, and
wondering if its too late to do anything about it. This is
stark and cold reality at its finest, and that is what sets
it apart from Grey’s Anatomy and make it an extension of the
series, not just another spin-off.
VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)
AUDIO:
Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Subtitles - English, Spanish,
French
BONUS FEATURES:
Kate Walsh
: Practice Makes Perfect-Journey With Kate Through Her
Acting Career To See How She Landed One Of TV’s Most
Sought-After Roles : This feature takes you through
the life and career of Kate Walsh, from birth to how she was
cast in Private Practice. Includes interviews with family
members, friends, colleagues, both past and present, and
people in her entourage , such as assistant, manager, make-upo
artist, etc. This gives you a real look at her career and
it’s progression, and how she came to be where she is in
both her personal and professional life.
Alternative Ensemble : Behind The Scenes Of Private
Practice : This feature shows the beginnings of
Private Practice, its origin in Grey’s Anatomy series, and
how the story spun off of Addison’s life after her divorce.
It includes interviews from the cast and crew, and describes
how the show came to fruition, from the idea itself, to how
it was cast.
Two Extended Episodes : Unaired extended versions of 2
episodes : The pilot, Episode 1 “In Which We Meet
Addison, A Nice Girl From Somewhere Else”, and Episode 3 “In
Which Addison Finds The Magic”
Deleted Scenes : Unaired scenes off the
cutting room floor
Outtakes : An ensemble Outtakes and Bloopers
Commentaries : Optional Commentaries for some
of the Episodes
Review
By Helen
helen@smartcine.com
RATING BREAK DOWN:
FILM REVIEW |
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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BONUS
FEATURES |
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