Private Practice: The Complete Third Season

Private Practice's" third season, now available on DVD, has proven the show is nothing like Grey's Anatomy. Sure there is bed-hopping and medical drama, but the Kate Walsh series has finally adopted its own identity.

This season, Addison (Kate Walsh) is struggling with being a cheater, which she can only seem to deal with by trying to sleep with everyone in the cast. We also come to learn that her parents, played by JoBeth Williams and Stephen Collins, have a shocking secret that rocks Addison to the core. Violet (Amy Brenneman) is still struggling with her attack and forces Pete (Timothy Daly) to raise their son. Meanwhile, Sam (Taye Diggs) and Naomi (Audra McDonald) face the pregnancy of their teenage daughter Maya.

This season shows that Private Practice is going in its own direction. The show does still have crossovers with Grey's Anatomy cast members Chandra Wilson and Eric Dane. It also continues to focus on medical ethical issues. However, it also ups the soap opera drama. There are various shocking revelations and everyone gets embroiled in a love triangle. It seems a bit contrived to have every major cast member involved with two other characters. There is also the shocking death of a main character.
The changes this season aren't all bad. There is more Sheldon and Brian Benben proves himself to be a great addition to the show. Caterina Scorsone also joins the cast as Amelia Shepherd, Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd's black sheep younger sister who just so happens to be an experimental neurosurgeon.

The DVD doesn't offer much in the way of bonus features. There is a blooper reel you'd expect from a major series. There is also "Kate's Top 8" which features Walsh retelling her favorite parts of this season and really just seems like a way to package a "making of" featurette. The deleted scenes don't seem as relevant because most shows of this size don't film that much extra footage per episode.
Private Practice has gone in a new direction. Fans of the show should check out season 3 to see if the new direction is something they are happy with and enjoy a new take on the Grey's Anatomy universe.