Oh, Television . . .

So, even though I am holding fast to my breakup with Grey's Anatomy, I decided to give Private Practice a shot. The fact that I'm writing this while the show is still on should give you some indication of how that went.

I turned it off at about the half-way point (although I was surprised that it hadn't been on for much longer--that's how it felt) because it is, in a word, stupid.

Twice--twice!--I needed to comment (out loud, to myself, which is how I roll when watching TV): "This is the worst exposition EVER." Seriously. The show starts with the chief lecturing Addison about how she shouldn't go flitting off to L.A., so she decides--because it's so relevant, and so believable--to describe the rest of the title-credits characters to him. And, by happy coincidence, to us! And then, the Evil By-The-Book Hospital Administrator (gee whiz, she's going to cause those wacky-but-loveable private practice doctors a lot of trouble, you can tell!!) corrects Taye Diggs when he calls her Amanda** because "My name is Charlotte**, and I'm the Chief of Staff here, as you know perfectly well." WOW, writers! You just taught me her name and who she is, by cleverly inserting it into the dialogue!!!

[**: I don't remember the mistake name or, ironically, her actual name.***]

[***: I needed to edit this later to add that, actually, her name is Charlotte. Dangit!]

And don't even get me started on the plot. Just, for your own sake, believe me when I say that the main plot and all the little supporting-character plots are even worse than the "banter." (More sample dialogue: the "cute" "surfer" boy receptionist says to Addison, "You don't respect my midwifery skills, do you?!" . . . No, seriously, don't get me started on the plot.)

* * * * * * * *

In related news (it's related because . . . I saw it on TV tonight? Because it also involved Patrick Dempsey? Although with Private Practice, it was that I didn't have to watch him being a jerk anymore. The commercial made me think, "Patrick Dempsey, what are you doing?!"?), I just saw this trailer. Clearly, this movie will be awful, but that gag at the end with the bicycles? Pretty funny.