Left with little chance to survive, the big network medical dramas seemed to have incurred an epidemic of low ratings last time.  They entered the fall season with a lot of problems, leftover issues and the fate of many characters hanging in the balance.  There was no doubt that one of the shows victim to this disease is ABC's Private Practice.  The Grey's Anatomy spin-off features Addison (Kate Walsh) growing further away from her original character.  She is almost unrecognizable as her former self, and the doctors she was surrounded with don't help either.  However, it seems as though the show is starting things anew, joining the ranks of the other medical dramas it emerged with. 

Though many easily blamed the infamous writer's strike, the problems still lay in the shows themselves.   Grey's Anatomy ended in a disastrous slump, turning more into a soap opera than a medical drama.  There was more focus in the moldy Derek-Meredith question than what was important: saving other peoples' lives. 

Another show that raised a few doubtful eyebrows was Fox's House.  The increase in the cast became inversely proportional to the quality of the stories.  Even though it had a bunch of great actors, the story didn't do them justice as it was scattered and uneven.  Meanwhile, NBC's ER had the challenge of a final season to face.  After 14 years, the doctors are finally hanging up their scrubs.  The question now is: will it exit the stage with a bang, or with barely a whimper? 

It seems as though the answer is positive, since everyone managed to dust off their troubles and jump back into action.  Series creator Shonda Rhimes has been doing a good job so far.  She's managed to shift the focus of her shows back to the medical side of medical drama.  Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice now face external, financial crises that surpass the personal lives of the characters. 

On Private Practice, Oceanside Wellness opened the season with literally very little on their hands.  The doctors, apparently concentrating more on their intra-office crushes, aren't seeing enough patients, leaving the practice completely broke.  The reason why they have to take time off their romances is Naomi (Audra McDonald).  She took out a second mortgage, didn't tell the rest of the board, and now she can't pay it. 

The new twist in Private Practice only opens up more dilemmas for the team.  There are fresh stories that can be squeezed out of the main idea, and a killer ethics crisis just makes things more interesting.  In addition to that, audiences are reminded why they liked Addison in the first place. 

Shonda Rhimes has been dealing the right cards.  Not only that, she's been targeting every problem with gusto.  House creator David Shore and executive producer Katie Jacobs seem to be going another way though.  They're keeping the fanatics' eyes on the main character, but have been adding and subtracting cast members as well. 

On ER, meanwhile, things are going great.  The series opened with a bang this season, making sure that the 15 seasons it pushed through didn't have a wasted second.  It's always done things differently, and that's why ER is one of the classic medical dramas the others look up to. 

Hopefully, all this positive treatment of the shows continues all throughout.  They might kick things off great, but it gets harder to maintain as the series carries on.  We'll see how things turn out on Private Practice, as it airs the episode “Equal and Opposite” tonight at 9pm on ABC.  Addison and Sam will attempt to bring the practice away from bankruptcy, while Violet deals with her ailing relationship with Cooper. 


-Maria Gonzalez, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: ABC, The Los Angeles Times
(Image Courtesy of ABC)