Private Practice (TV Series) (DVD)

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Shows like this depend on plots and surprises, and so I won't spoil anything except to say there are plenty of nude situations (though parts are strategically covered), plenty of hook-ups, some complications, a few triangles, some feuds, and . . . well, basically everything Addison thought she was leaving behind, except for Seattle itself. Nine episodes are included here:

1) "In Which We Meet Addison, A Nice Girl from Somewhere Else"
2) "In Which Sam Receives an Unexpected Visitor"
3) "In Which Addison Finds the Magic"
4) "In Which Addison Has a Very Casual Get-Together
5) "In Which Addison Finds a Showerhead"
6) "In Which Charlotte Goes Down the Rabbit Hole"
7) "In Which Sam Gets Taken for a Ride"
8) "In Which Cooper Finds a Port in His Storm"
9) "In Which Dell Finds His Fight"

As I said, if you like "Grey's Anatomy, " you'll like this show. But you have to be a fan of melodrama, and you can't be a stickler for verisimilitude. At best, this show is a guilty pleasure, and what makes it so is the likable ensemble.

Video:
"Private Practice" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen and "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions. Colors are bright, there's no bleed on the edges--even with reds or oranges--and the level of detail is pretty good for a DVD. Shadows are murky, but then again, I don't know of too many standard def releases that offer more.

Audio:
The audio is also decent, with an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround delivering a nice balanced soundtrack that deftly modulates the dialogue, effects, and background music. Rear speakers don't get as much involvement as on most big-screen releases, but there's a nice wide spread along the front mains. Subtitles are in French and Spanish.

Extras:
A nice surprise here. Two bonus features are quite substantial, and really cram a lot into two half-hours. The first, "Kate Walsh: Practice Makes Perfect" spends a LOT of time chronicling the actresses early years and early struggles, with her brother and people who knew her when she was all but down-and-out in Chicago having plenty of interesting things to say about "making it" and lots of kind things about their friend or sibling. Then there's "Alternative Ensemble," which details how each of the actors was recruited and offers the same expansive blend of talking heads and testimonials. But both of these features feel far more honest than the run-of-the-mill bonus features we encounter all the time. These people aren't in it for the money, and both features make that amply clear.

Other bonus features include six deleted scenes, a blooper reel, and commentaries. On Disc 1, Walsh, creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes and executive producer Betsy Beers team up for a commentary on "In Which We Meet Addison, a Nice Girl from Somewhere Else." All the usual bases are covered, with a little "Grey's" overlap. I didn't listen to other commentaries (okay, there are only so many hours in a week), but on Disc 2 actors Brenneman and Adelstein team up on "In Which Sam Gets Taken for a Ride," and on Disc 3 there's a commentary from actors Diggs and Lowell on "In Which Dell Finds His Fight." Also included is a full-color fold-out map of the Santa Monica hangouts and brief-but-gnarly bios of the cast.

Bottom Line:
Engaging characters and warm performances--especially from Walsh and Daly--blunt the pain of familiarity and contrivance. But for my taste, "Private Practice" is a pill that's sometimes too hard to swallow.