My not so private thoughts about 'Private Practice'

"Private Practice" had probably the most memorable season finale last year.

But not necessarily for the right reasons. In a dramatic shift in tone, Violet (Amy Brenneman) was kidnapped by her crazed patient (Amanda Foreman) who performed a violent, certainly not medically approved c-section so that she could take Violet's baby. The finale was gory, unsettling, disturbing and right out of some sort of horror movie.

I didn't really get it then and, after watching Thursday's season premiere (9 p.m. on ABC), I don't really get it now. It still seems like a story arc undertaken just to get viewers attention and to bring some hype to a show that is clearly struggling creatively, has never quite lived up to our expectations or the promise such a strong cast offers.

That being said - there are some good things to come out of the story line. I think what happens will have a profound affect on the Cooper (Paul Adelstein)/Violent friendship. And since the show began, I've thought Cooper was the best thing about the show. We also get some nice flashbacks that flesh out Pete's (Tim Daly) back story. (Although the wigs used to make everyone look younger are definitely questionable).

But mostly I'm hoping that "Private Practice" can put this story arc behind them and get somewhat back on track. The bigger question, of course, is why I'm still watching "Private Practice?" I'm not sure. All I can say is that it's somehow reached that level of good, bad TV in my TiVo season pass manager. Will you watch the season premiere of "Private Practice?" Talk about it below.

Highlights of the Week Ahead

All times listed are Eastern Standard Time for September 28- October 4

I very interested to see what happens on "House" tonight (Monday, FOX, 8 p.m.). After last week's season premiere, it seems to me that Dr. House has to change - he can't be the cranky, cantankerous doctor we've known for five seasons. His time in the hospital has to, at least, somewhat transform him. It wouldn't be believable if he immediately regressed back to his former self. My only question is - will we want to see a kinder, gentler House? I'm not so sure. Andre Braugher is back this week (hooray!) as Dr. Darryl Nolan while the team treats a video game creator.

"Lie to Me" returns for a second season Monday at 9 p.m. on FOX. Mekhi Phifer joins the cast full time as FBI Agent Ben Reynolds and you'll also see Jennifer Beals again as Cal Lightman's ex-wife. Erika Christensen guest stars as a woman who thinks she's seen a murder. I still find the show a little too gimmicky (We get it. People make similar gestures when they aren't telling the truth.) and am worried that the only truly interesting character is Tim Roth's Lightman. I'll be curious to hear what you think of the premiere.

So you know it's the new season and I'm trying to remain positive. Therefore, let me start off by saying something nice about "Trauma," the new drama premiering Monday night at 9 p.m. on NBC. It has one heck of an opening scene. The promos may have already given too much away, but when I watched it for the first time, I found it exciting and shocking. Unfortunately after that opening scene, the series about paramedics turns into just another ho-hum, cliche -ridden medical drama, which was very disappointing. Part of the problem is that none of the characters truly pop although the show is chockfull of some promising actors including Anastasia Griffith (Katie Connor on "Damages"), Kevin Rankin (Herc on "Friday Night Lights"), and Derek Luke ("Antwone Fisher" and Boobie Miles in the "Friday Night Lights" movie). Most importantly the show is executive produced by Peter Berg, the man behind the genius that is "Friday Night Lights." I've reminded myself that I didn't love "Friday Night Lights" at first either (can you believe it?). So I'm holding out hope that the show improves. For now, two and a half out of five stars.

News broke last week that Heather Locklear will reprise her role of Amanda Woodward on "Melrose Place" beginning November 17. I'm so excited for that - as we all know - the original "Melrose" became "Melrose" once Heather hit the scene. This week (Tuesday at 9 p.m. on the CW), Jane (Josie Bissett) returns to announce that she has inherited the apartment complex from her sister. I'm holding out hope that Sydney faked this death too -- the show would be much stronger if she was still among the living. This week, the CW also begins rerunning "Melrose Place" Wednesday at 9 p.m. It replaces "The Beautiful Life: TBL," which was cancelled after only two episodes. It's times like these that I'm reminded what a cruel business television can be. Suddenly all these actors, producers, writers, and crew, who thought they had a job, are unceremoniously out of work. It's too bad the show didn't get more of a chance.

It occurred to me over the weekend that if "Samantha Who?" had aired as part of ABC's new Wednesday night two-hour comedy block, we might be watching a third season right now. That show just never got the time slot or the promotion it deserved. Okay moving on . . . two other new comedies join the ABC line up this Wednesday. Kelsey Grammer stars as the title character in "Hank," premiering Wednesday at 8 p.m. on ABC. In the pilot, Hank, his wife Tilly (Melinda McGraw, remember she had an affair with Don Draper last season), and their two children move from Manhattan to Tilly's hometown of River Bend, Virginia. The pilot was completely re-shot and the revised pilot is much improved - there were a few moments where I genuinely laughed out loud (especially at McGraw's spot-on delivery). But I didn't laugh enough and Grammer really is playing a version of a character we already know all too well. Three stars.

Grammer's former "Back to You" co-star Patricia Heaton headlines "The Middle." Heaton is Frankie, a beleaguered mom of three trying to balance work, parenting and getting older. Neil Flynn (the Janitor on "Scrubs") moves into a starring role as Frankie's husband Mike. Most of the pilot's laughs come from the children particularly Atticus Shaffer as Brick, who simply cracked me up. I liked this show but it's one of those shows where I'm not sure I'll feel compelled to watch it every week. Three and a half stars.

So I have to know was it distracting to you to see Seth MacFarlane, the man behind "The Family Guy" and "The Cleveland Show," on "FlashForward" (Thursday, ABC, 8 p.m.). He was one of the guys at the FBI trying to come up with a theory about what was going on. I found it slightly distracting to see the voice of Stewie but I figured many people aren't aware of what MacFarlane looks like. So did you find it distracting? Word is MacFarlane will appear in several episodes this season. This week Olivia (Sonya Walger) meets the man she saw in her vision. By the way, if, like me, you can't take the stress of Thursday night TV, ABC will repeat this week's episode of "FlashForward" Friday at 8 p.m. Don't count on this though - next week "Ugly Betty" returns for a fourth season Friday at 8 p.m.

Were you as disappointed in the second episode of "Community" as I was? I wanted the show to get better but last week was beyond goofy - like the show was trying to convince us that it could be funny when it so clearly wasn't funny. This week John Michael Higgins guest stars as professor at 9:30 p.m. on NBC.

You know how sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm only watching a TV show and the characters aren't real? That's EXACTLY how I felt when we found out Sara and Grissom are married on "CSI" (Thursday, CBS, 9 p.m.). I was so happy that those two crazy kids had finally found a way to make it work. Such good times. But other than that the episode still felt a little off to me. I'm still not sure the show has found the right balance in the post-Grissom world. This week, the team investigates the murder of a porn producer and a drug dealer.

Well it's around this time that I come up with my "Project Runway" nemesis. I can't stand Nicolas. All he does is talk about the other contestants and criticize their designs. I couldn't believe he won last week. Even though this season of "Project Runway" (Thursday, Lifetime, 10 p.m.) is totally lackluster, I can't seem to stop watching. Although one interesting thing is Tim Gunn's new attitude. I can't remember him ever bad mouthing a contestant to other contestants like he did with Johnny. Yes it certainly appeared that Johnny lied about what happened to his original design but it was still bizarre to see Tim Gunn stoop to that level. I also think Lifetime made a huge mistake not debuting the show over the summer - now that the new season has started there's just too much to watch - especially on Thursday night. Are you still watching "Project Runway?" Talk about it below.

Don't forget that the "Seinfeld" reunion begins on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" this Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO.

Why do the Walkers torture me so? I'm beginning to hate, hate, hate an illness story line. I kind of think they are becoming the drama equivalent of when a sitcom suddenly adds a younger child when the original kids are getting too old. Disease is becoming the go-to move when show run out of ideas. While I think this is much better than discovering another long lost Walker and I acknowledge that family dramas are probably the most challenging in terms of ongoing story lines, I still don't want Kitty to be sick. This week Kitty struggles with telling Robert the truth about her health on "Brothers & Sisters" (Sunday, ABC, 10 p.m.).

That's all for today. I'm back on Friday with a review of the new CBS drama "Three Rivers," plus this week's familiar faces and quotes of the week. Have a question? Seen a familiar face? Want to nominate a quote of the week? Write me at mailto:amytvgal@zap2it.com or follow me on Twitter. Have a great week. Talk to you on Friday.