DVD Review: Private Practice - The Complete First Season (Expanded Edition)

The cast of Private Practice.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

After watching the entire first season of Private Practice, it's easy to see why Kate Walsh's agent insisted that the pilot for the show be a backdoor episode of Grey's Anatomy. The two shows are similar in one respect but very different in another. While Grey's Anatomy balances medical drama with a healthy dose of personal conflict, Private Practice takes things much further. Private Practice is infused with a big dose of soapy melodrama that often tends to dwarf the medical crisis of the week. Somehow, this type of levity works at the Oceanside Wellness Center, where the midwife is a surfer dude and one doctor practices herbal arts and acupuncture.

I wrote in an earlier review of Grey's Anatomy that I thought it was a good show, but I've never been a big fan. Surprisingly, I found myself glued to Private Practice. I found that the characters and the actors who portrayed them, just pulled me into each episode. Kate Walsh is extremely likable as a top neo-natal surgeon who tries to ratchet down a bit to fit a more relaxed California lifestyle, as is Audra McDonald as Dr. Naomi Bennett, the center's fertility specialist/endocrinologist and the one who brought her to the center. Taye Diggs is well cast as Naomi's ex-husband, Sam, the resident internist who's written a bestseller called Body Language: The Mind Body Connection. Then there's Dr. Cooper Freedman (Paul Adelstein), a pediatrician with one of the best bedside manners you'll ever see, but a scary fascination with kinky internet sex. Dr. Pete Wilder (Tim Daly), who, despite a medical degree, has opted for alternative medicine and is the center's expert on acupuncture and holistic treatment. He's also an egotistical jerk, convinced that Addison came to California because they once shared a kiss. Not to be left out, is the Wellness Center's psychiatrist, Dr. Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman) who has her own set of relationship issues. Those are the partners in the Center. Rounding out the characters are: Dell (Chris Lowell), a surfer who's learning to be a midwife and Dr. Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland), who's Chief of Staff at nearby St. Ambrose Hospital, where, the Center's cases-gone-wrong usually end up.

Addison and Pete,
heating things up.
© ABC Studios. All Rights Reserved.

This ensemble works remarkably well together and gives us characters that are easy to care about. We watch them go through everything from a traumatic water birth to s babies switched at birth scenario. Despite the series medical angle, much time is spent on the doctor's personal lives. They talk in front of patients about personal matters, have sex in the office and sit around eating a lot of cake. If you're expecting deep medical drama, you'll probably want to skip Private Practice. If you're a fan of Grey's Anatomy or would like to watch something with a dramatic sensibility a step or two above Scrubs, than Private Practice is for you.

Nine episodes are included in Private Practice - The Complete First Season.

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"

Private Practice is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen and "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions. Colors are bright and the level of detail is pretty good for a DVD. Good transfer for standard definition.

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 play as on most big screen releases, but there's a nice wide spread along the front mains. Subtitles are in French and Spanish.

Private Practice - The Complete First Season has some fairly substantial bonus features:

• Kate Walsh: Practice Makes Perfect - Takes a fairly extensive look at the actress's early career struggles. The piece includes interviews with her parents, brother, and other who knew her during those early years.
• Alternative Ensemble - Details how each of the actors was recruited and offers the same expansive blend of talking heads and testimonials.
• Deleted Scenes
• Bloopers
• Audio 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." 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."
• Full-color fold-out map of the Santa Monica hangouts and brief bios of the cast.