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'Private' Needs More Practice As ABC Reassigns 'Grey's' Doctor To New Series

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 25, 2007

Spinoffs are hard to pull off, as fans of 'Grey's Anatomy' will discover when 'Private Practice' sets up shop at 9 p.m. Wednesday on ABC.

Kate Walsh, a supporting player on 'Grey's,' gets to carry the load when her Dr. Addison Montgomery character moves to a private clinic in Santa Monica, Calif.

Walsh's character has always been stronger and more interesting than the whiny Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). But in her new setting, Addison has been dumbed down a bit because 'PP' aims to be more whimsical than 'Grey's.'

Suddenly, she's like a giddy girl who just can't get it together.

OB-GYN Addison left Seattle Grace Hospital and ex-hubby McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) for this?

Other than the change of scenery and a new set of faces, she's in for the same bickering, ego conflicts, melodrama and sexual misadventures.

There also will be a couple of medical problems to struggle through each week, which is tougher to pull off at a 'wellness center' than a hospital.

'Grey's' became a hit largely because of the variety of the supporting players, from Sandra Oh as the ever-stressed and depressed Cristina to Emmy winner Katherine Heigl's emotional wreck, Izzie.

Walsh's new supporting players include some familiar faces, such as Amy Brenneman ('Judging Amy'), Tim Daly ('Wings,' The Nine' and 'The Sopranos') and Taye Diggs ('Daybreak,' 'Kevin Hill'). These and other supporting players look good enough to be dreamy in their own right. And multiple Tony winner Audra McDonald has some acting chops.

What's different from the 'Grey's' formula?

Creator Shonda Rhimes says they won't be doing surgery. 'We will explore the world of alternative medicine,' she said in a recent interview. 'There's the world of psychiatry. There's the world of fertility. There are a lot of great areas of medicine and the way a wellness group works that allows us to really tell some new stories that we are excited about.'

Rhimes says the tone of 'Private Practice' is a 'little bit lighter and that there is a little bit more fun to be had.'

She describes 'Grey's' as 'high school with scalpels' while 'Practice' is 'more grown up, more like a squabbling family than a group of competitive interns.'

Of course, we might forgive the young hot-blood interns for messing up now and then, but when the supposedly professional docs do it on 'Private Practice,' it seems forced and just dumb.

There are a psychiatrist with an odd love life and a sex-obsessed pediatrician, and the doctor/owners of the clinic (McDonald and Diggs) are bickering ex-spouses.

In both environments, Addison was an unwelcome intruder at first.

'I think there's also something compelling about taking a character and just kind of plopping her in a new environment at 39 years old and just seeing her flail like a bug on her back,' Walsh says. 'It's creatively challenging and interesting to me.'

She adds that the characters in this show have all attained their dream and are at the apex of their careers. 'And yet they are sort of a mess personally,' she says. 'It was the same on 'Grey's.' I think that's what makes it compelling and interesting and identifiable.'

Of all the new fall series, this one should start off with a big tune-in. But it may not have staying power. It's up against 'Gossip Girl' (The CW), 'Kitchen Nightmares' (Fox), 'Bionic Woman' (NBC) and 'Criminal Minds' (CBS).

NEW TONIGHT: 'Bones' and 'House' return to Fox tonight. Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is in denial that he's suffering from the loss of his entire staff.

On CBS, 'NCIS' and 'The Unit' return with new episodes leading into 'Cane,' a new sweeping drama about a Cuban-American family that has built a sugar cane empire in South Florida. Jimmy Smits, Nestor Carbonell and Rita Moreno co-star.

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