Private Practice Season 1 DVD Review

Private Practice Season 1 DVD

 
Seat42f Says: Fed up with how life was going at Seattle Grace, Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) left Seattle behind and headed for the brighter pastures of Oceanside Wellness Group in LA.  The alternative medicine center happens to be run by Addison’s best friend Naomi Bennett (Audra McDonald).  Her partner in the group is Taye Diggs’ character Sam Bennett, Naomi’s ex husband, and Addison’s new next door neighbor.  Sam is the number one holistic medicine guru in the country, having written books about, and gone on television specials with, his special powers to heal.

The first season deals with developing some of the quirkiest characters currently on TV.  Naomi’s time is spent deciding between her love for her ex, and the crush that the super cute receptionist / midwifery student Dell Parker (Chris Lowell) has on her.  Pete Wilder (Tim Daly) practices Eastern medicine (think: acupuncture among others), has a not-so-dearly departed wife, and a huge crush on Addison that started the minute she walked in the door.  Addison at first returned the interest, but was last seen trying to date David Sutcliffe’s firefighter named Kevin.  Violet Turner is the resident psychiatrist (a shrinking Violet, imagine that, played by Amy Brenneman).  She has so many issues, the least of which is the fact that she can’t get over her ex-boyfriend, who is newly remarried.  Her best friend Cooper (played by Paul Adelstein) is a pediatrician who was harboring a secret crush on Violet for years.  After a painful realization that they couldn’t be best friends with benefits, Cooper embarked on a relationship the bitchy Dr. Charlotte King who works at the local hospital, and who doesn’t trust the medicine that the OWG does.

By the end of the season, it seemed like Sam and Naomi were going to try to make it work, Dell was left in the cold, Pete was set aside for Addison to date other people, and Violet and Cooper were friends again, but Cooper wasn’t telling anyone about Charlotte.

The DVD extras while not extensive do add a little bang for the buck since this wasn’t a full first season due to the writers strike. The extras include traditional fare like bloopers and extended scenes as well as two extended episodes and a behind the scenes look at star Kate Walsh. Fans of Grey’s Anatomy and especially Addison Montgomery will surely want to add this DVD to their collection.

 
DVD: C+
DVD Extras: B
 
 
Release Date: September 16th, 2008
 
Private Practice: The Complete First Season   
 
From the Golden Globe®-winning creator of Grey's Anatomy, ABC’s most compulsively watchable new series, Private Practice: The Complete First Season – Extended Edition, arrives on DVD September 16, 2008 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. The debut season of this critically acclaimed show will be available for the first time in a three-disc set with exclusive bonus features including deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes revelations.
 
BONUS FEATURES
• Kate Walsh: Practice Makes Perfect (Working title) – Spend some quality time with Kate Walsh
and get a taste of her life beyond the confines of the Private Practice set. 
• Alternative Ensemble: Behind the Scenes of Private Practice 
• Two Extended Episodes
• Deleted Scenes 
• Bloopers
• Audio Commentaries 

STREET DATE:  September 16, 2008
Feature run time:  Approx 394 minutes
Rated:    ‘TV-PG’ DLSV, Bonus Material Not Rated
Technical specifications may only apply to feature
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen (enhanced for 16×9 Television) 
Sound:  5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
Languages:   English