Private Practice is the new fall show that I was most excited about. I loved the character of Addison Montgomery on Grey's Anatomy, and I certainly felt she was the best choice to spin off. I thought the "pilot" aired as part of a Grey's episode was good, and I liked most of the cast choices. Several episodes into the new season, the show is not bad per se, but it's not quite as good as I hoped it would be.

So what's wrong? I think part of the problem is that thus far, almost all of the drama has centered on the patients. From what we've seen of the personal lives and interaction between the doctors, none of them are particularly likeable, and none of them are acting their age. I thought that with spinning Addison off and taking her away from the Grey's interns, we might get a show with more mature, emotionally healthy characters. (Well, I guess if they were too mature and emotionally healthy, the show wouldn't be much fun, but still, I'm not sure the Addison character has stayed consistent.)

This week things began to look up. Sam and Naomi's amicable but boring divorce got a little bit more interesting as they faced an STD crisis with their thirteen-year-old daughter. It turned out to be a false alarm, but still made them examine the way they are dealing with things.

Last week, we found out that Cooper's relationship problems stem from the fact that he has an unrequited, undeclared thing for Violet. Predictable, but at least it adds a little depth to his character. Speaking of Violet, we finally got to meet Allan this week. He's played by Brett Cullen, who seems to be making a bid to appear on every show on TV. In the past couple of years alone he's been an Other on Lost, a detective on Desperate Housewives, an absentee dad on Friday Night Lights, and a discount retail magnate on Ugly Betty, among other things. I have a hard time believing that there is such a shortage of leggy, floppy haired, 45-ish actors who can do varying degrees of Southern-ness. Bill Pullman doesn't seem to be busy these days...

By far, my favorite storyline of the night was Dell's attempts to perform his first Pap smear. He is so sincere and adorable about his "midwifery." I like that he's getting more to do, both in the medical practice and on the show.

It appears that Charlotte King, from the local hospital, is going to be a series regular, as she seems to somehow become involved with at least one patient each week. It also seems like there might be a little bit of a flirty/argue-y thing going on between her and Sam. That's fine but...is it me or did they decide to give her a terrible Southern accent within the past two episodes? ("Y'all"? Really?)

Private Practice is a solid show, but without the Grey's connection I'm certain that it wouldn't be doing nearly as well in the ratings as it currently is. It still has the potential to be a great show, so let's hope for continued improvements during the November sweeps.

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Amy Kane spends as much quality time with her television as possible, when she's not busy at her day job as a cube dweller.

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