Photos
Video
Will Practice make Perfect . . . an early look at the season premiere of 'Private Practice'
So I’m here at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in beautiful Beverly Hills. And what’s really strange about this year’s shindig is that we weren’t able to see any of the pilots before arriving, which makes talking to the stars and producers a little difficult.
It would be as if you read a brief synopsis of Romeo and Juliet and then had to interview William Shakespeare. So I hear it’s a love story that doesn’t end well, could you talk about that?
I got to see most of the new J.J. Abrams series Fringe when I arrived at the hotel (it was airing on the closed-circuit television) but I was also jet-lagged and desperately trying to find my other black shoe so I wasn’t exactly focused. I’ll save my comments on Fringe until I have a chance to give the series its proper due. To my great dismay, the cast of Fringe wasn’t here. They instead appeared via satellite from New York where they are filming the series. You know what this means don’t you? They are keeping me from my Pacey. That’s right, Joshua Jackson finally returns to series television and I am robbed of my chance of meeting him in person or asking my well thought out question, "You’re still totally adorable. Could you comment on that?"
The networks are showing the season premieres of many of their returning series. So this morning I woke up to watch Private Practice – you remember Private Practice, don’t you? The Grey’s Anatomy spin-off that was really bad yet I couldn’t stop watching (call it the Paul Adelstein effect). Well there are good and bad things to report about the second season premiere that will air on October 1 and guest stars Amy Acker (yay!) and a returning David Sutcliffe (double yay!) as Addison’s potential love interest. To use a chocolate analogy, to me before the show was like white chocolate (and as you know I don’t like white chocolate). The second season premiere is like white chocolate wrapped in a dark chocolate coating. I like some of the improvements they’ve made but the core of the show still needs work.
The season premiere does directly address one of our chief complaints from last season – how can a practice survive when they only see one patient a week and most of their time is spent ogling each other. However the things that bugged me most about the show are still there – including the positively preposterous dialogue. In the opening scene, Addison and Naomi go on and on about how they are not being kissed and Addison talks about her virgin lips. Later Sam laments to Pete that our women are giving us problems. These type of scenes don’t exactly inspire confidence.
To me the biggest problem the series had was that Addison had a personality change once she left Seattle for L.A. She lost all her gravitas and became a flighty, flirty woman who occasionally remembered she was a doctor. And I, for one, want old Addison back. Hints of OA (original Addison) are in the second season premiere and I can only hope this trend continues.
This all got me thinking of the returning shows, what do you think the biggest problem with the series was and what are your suggestions to fix it. Talk about it below.
Where are you? Where? Where? I really want to know
By now, you’ve probably all heard the news that William Petersen will stay on as a producer on CSI but will become a recurring character next season. My sister sent me an email this morning that said why oh why is Grissom leaving CSI?
I have to agree with the panic. As I discussed in May when talking about Gary Dourdan’s departure, unlike other procedural dramas, CSI is about the characters and the crime. I’m worried now that Sara, Warrick and Grissom are all no longer series regulars. Yes they will all appear in the season premiere but I think the show needs them on an ongoing basis. I’m not sure I’ll feel the need to tune in each week if Gil isn’t there. How about you?
CBS is making the season premiere of CSI available to us tonight so I should have more to report about CSI on Friday.
Best News of the Week
Arthur Frobisher is not quite dead yet. He’s feeling much better. Okay maybe he isn’t feeling better but reports of Arthur’s death in the season finale of Damages were greatly exaggerated. Ted Danson confirmed yesterday that he will return to the series when it comes back for a second season in January but he said that he didn’t even know how long he would be around for.
FX showed a preview of the second season to the critics and it looks great. Timothy Olyphant will play a man Ellen meets in grief counseling (and I also kind of read him as a potential love interest) and William Hurt has a connection to Patty Hewes that seems like she would rather forget.
But the absolute best scene that FX showed us was between Patty and Ellen where they are discussing the Frobisher case over dinner in a restaurant. It was chilling. I cannot wait for next season.
Where Have I Seen Them Before
Kathie recognized Rachelle Lefevre as the woman at Bruce’s work who the men had a bet about on Swingtown. She was Dana, the prostitute Jerry was dating on Boston Legal, the stripper who married Adam on What About Brian and Sue on The Class.
Kathie’s eagle eye also recognized J.P. Manoux as the man working with Brandon in the mail room on My Boys. He’s Neela’s boss Dr. Crenshaw on ER.
Diane recognized Brian Krause, Leo on Charmed, as the firefighter who turned out to be the bad guy on The Closer.
Diane and Joe both caught Percy Daggs, Wallace on Veronica Mars, as the boyfriend of the witness who got shot on In Plain Sight.
DJ recognize Ryan McPartlin as Trina’s high school sweetheart on Swingtown. McPartlin was Riley on Living with Fran and Captain Awesome on Chuck.
And I can’t believe I haven’t pointed this one out to you before. Erin Daniels is Syliva Davis on Swing town. She was Dana on The L Word.
That’s all for today. Sorry this post is late but I’m trying to make sure that I don’t miss a second of the press tour. I’ll be back on Friday with hopefully a preview of the premiere of CSI, quotes of the week and more. Have a question? Seen a familiar face? Want to nominate a quote of the week or a topic for discussion? Write me at amytvgal@zap2it.com. Talk to you on Friday.
It's official, I want your job (even if you didn't get to meet Pacey!)
First Post! =)
Matt | Jul 16, 2008 1:37:46 PM | #Too Late =(
Matt | Jul 16, 2008 1:37:57 PM | #I so agree about wanting OA back. The funny thing is that when Addison did her guest return to Grey's toward the end of the year, she was way more OA than Private Practice Addison. I was actually just thinking about fall TV and what shows I might just pass on returning to, and I was considering quitting Private Practice, but now I may give it a chance. It all depends on whether the signs that OA was still there when she visited Grey's was actually a sign that the producers/writers/Shonda/whoever have also realized the personality shift that happened when they spun off the character and are looking to rectify that.
Sarah | Jul 16, 2008 2:29:06 PM | #I was watching the All Star game with my boyfriend last night on Fox, so of course they kept showing ads for their fall series. They were advertising Fringe when I suddenly sat up and said, "Pacey!" My boyfriend just looked at me confused for a moment and then moved on. :)
Angie | Jul 16, 2008 2:58:53 PM | #"I’m not sure I’ll feel the need to tune in each week if Gil isn’t there. How about you?"
Every bit of any CSI I've ever seen has left me stunned that shows this bad were ever made. You take Grey's Anatomy, now, I don't like that show at all, but I can at least comprehend how it might appeal to people with different tastes than mine. Same with, say, Desperate Housewives and Pushing Daisies. But the CSIs? It's like all the most brain-dead bits of some terrible Michael Bay movie ham-fistedly pasted together with music video editing, complete with laughably over-the-top dialogue spouted by a bunch of placeholders passing for characters, terrible "acting", and an insultingly stupid cops and robbers world-view. It's like The Wire, if The Wire were made by some 10% percentile 8 year olds who only ever thought about money.
Kublai | Jul 16, 2008 3:04:45 PM | #I agree about OA. I mean, I was never crazy about her when she was on Gray's but on Private Practice it wasn't about being a doctor; it was about the chick who made the Cadillac commercials. Maybe some people watching network TV can identify with that but I just can't.
They have to have some humanity other than how much sex than can have and she needs to learn to breathe through her nose instead of just her mouth. She looks like she's trying to imitate Elvis's sneer.
Sorry - it's hotter than crud outside and this show was one of my biggest disappointments last year.
Jan | Jul 16, 2008 3:29:47 PM | #I've never watched CSI for the personal stories (really what would be the point?) and have never understand why people obsess over the little personal details the writers dole out. I also think most of the characters are extremely replaceable. However, Grissom is the one character who is NOT replaceable. The show won't be the same without him. At least if the rest of the ensemble were intact they might be able to minimize the damage to the show, but losing Grissom, Sara, and Warrick at the same time is going to be pretty hard to recover from.
Mike | Jul 16, 2008 4:07:54 PM | #mmmmmmmm.....pacey......
saney | Jul 16, 2008 5:07:52 PM | #A week without William Peterson is a very bad thing.
Thank goodness for reruns.
CSI 's survival will desperately rely on whom in the supporting cast they boost, and who gets hired. The terrific episode where all the supporting cast were brought to the front to work on the guys mystery game was very encouraging. And its time for Marge and George (if he's ever been forgiven for the whole salary blowup) to surge above. Kublai, I couldn't disagree with you more about the quality of the shows and the incredible success of all three CSI's in network/syndication/gaming just shows they are just not for you.
Weiss C | Jul 16, 2008 7:05:11 PM | #Of course ALL the Fringe cast members were in New York. They've been taught that "Ducks Fly Together."
Aaron | Jul 16, 2008 8:14:46 PM | #How about GERALD MCRANEY on CSI Vegas? I think he'd be real good as he was on WOMEN'S MURDER CLUB those last final episodes.
Lisa | Jul 17, 2008 12:37:54 AM | #"You’re still totally adorable. Could you comment on that?"
Amy, if that doesn't win you a Pulitzer or Peabody your cuboards are destined to remain barren.
Rishi | Jul 17, 2008 1:17:45 AM | #mmmm pacey... does this mean no grey's guest arc? *sniffle*
*clears throat* i liked private practice until the dadddy class stealing at which point i turned it off (mid-scene!) and haven't decided if i will ever return.
and CSI? just can't watch it. i'm always shouting at the tv "take pictures!" or "put on your damn gloves!" or "illegal search!!!" and i'm not even a lawyer... seriously, every one of their cases would get tossed in court.
sassinak | Jul 17, 2008 5:13:13 AM | #Honestly- I like Grissom but like someone else mentioned, the episode where the lab rats were featured was really good. My personal favorite is George Eads and as long as he's on the show I'm watching. So, in summary, while I like William Peterson in front of the camera I won't turn it off when he leaves. I also hope they get someone really great to replace him and I hope they give George Eads more to do. I hope that Jorga Fox's return is only for Warrick's funeral and then so she and Grissom can run off into the sunset together because I've never liked the Sara Sidle character and I never liked her and Grissom together so the faster she leaves the better for me.
The only other CSI I watch is CSI:NY and there are three reasons I watch that show- Mac, Danny & Flack. Three attractive guys that I think are also decent actors. I actually prefer CSI:NY over the original and I DO NOT watch Miami at all. I did in the beginning but it turned into a total joke, and not a good one.
I noticed ALL of those "Where Have I Seen Them..."'s while I was watching the shows and I never think to e-mail Amy with them. I need to remember to do so!! Although, most of what I watch is at least a day or so behind since I watch everything on Tivo. I haven't watch live TV in years!
genniel | Jul 17, 2008 5:39:53 AM | #I hope (vainly, I'm afraid) that they don't bring in a middle-aged, well-known actor to directly replace Grissom on CSI. Given the history of the squad, the normal development would be for Catherine to be promoted, possibly for Nick to take her place, and new, younger characters to take over entry-level positions. I wish the show would do that.
Tego Livi | Jul 17, 2008 5:41:38 AM | #Genniel, you gotta email Amy! It's very exciting to see your name mentioned in her column...........yes, I was mentioned TWO times this week for my research, something I take very seriously.
Kathie | Jul 17, 2008 6:39:38 AM | #Private Practice just started in the UK and I have to say... I can see the "so bad you just *have* to watch!" factor. I mean, the dialogue was painful and the storylines were ludicrous - seriously, SPERM WARS?! In the first episode?! - but I love Addison (and Cooper, love!) too much to give up. Glad to hear that they're retooling, though, I've only seen the first episode and already I miss the surgical aspect (and I have a hard time buying Addison would really give up on her neo-natal surgical programme just because she didn't make Chief).
And I just want to say, I love Eli Stone but I am adamant that they *must* have more song-and-dance numbers! When you've got amazing vocal talent like Victor Garber and Loretta Devine, I think it'd be rude not to use them :)
Patrick | Jul 17, 2008 6:56:55 AM | #Yes, well Kathie is not the only one in the family who gets her name mentioned - I've been known to spot people and Amy has credited me, too. But we are all very proud of Kathie's "eagle eye"!
Ginni | Jul 17, 2008 6:58:53 AM | #Well- By the time I watch the shows it is at least one or more days later (still haven't watched Project Runway or Weeds yet) but I'll try to anyway. I actually HAVE had my name in Amy's column- once for a WHIST sighting and once for helping out with the Amy Awards a few years ago. That was pretty exciting. I'll see what I can do to get more mentions.
genniel | Jul 17, 2008 7:48:04 AM | #Fox certainly has been hyping the premiere of 'Fringe' lately. There were promos during the American Idol finale in May, and of course, I saw about a million ads during the MLB All-Star game. I will admit that I screamed, "PACEY!!!!" the first time that I saw the commercial during the AI finale. After I calmed down a bit, I also noticed that the pilot episode had two of my favorite 'Oz' alums, Kirk Acevedo and Lance Reddick. :-) Most recently, Acevedo was seen in 'The Black Donnellys' and also 'Law & Order: Trial By Jury'. Reddick was last seen on 'The Wire'. I definitely will check out 'Fringe' this fall, but I fear that Fox might cancel this series quickly if the ratings aren't great (see also: Firefly, Wonderfalls, Drive). Too bad about not seeing the cast in person, though. :-(
You shouldn't give away the killer's identity in the new episode of the Closer. It's enough to identify the occupation for "where have I seen".
Eleanor | Jul 17, 2008 8:32:22 AM | #Suggestion on how to fix Bones' "worst plot twist of the season":
The new season opens with Temperance getting out of the shower and we realize the whole "Zack is Gormogon's apprentice" episode was just a dream she had the night before.
CT | Jul 17, 2008 8:43:10 AM | #I totally agree with Amy deserving a Pulitzer! She would make Joseph Pulitzer proud!
Fran | Jul 17, 2008 9:31:24 AM | #
Zap2it Twitter Talk
