Monday night, when Dallas was in the midst of what we consider an ice storm, my cable went out. Right before Chuck, no less. To get my mind off missing Sarah Walker, I decided to check out some shows online that I haven’t been watching — including Private Practice.

Much to my surprise, I quite liked it.

Last season, I gave Private Practice chance after chance to convince me it was worthy of my affection. Why? Two words: Kate Walsh. … continue reading

For a show that reported an entire season's worth of dismal ratings last year, The CW's Gossip Girl sure knows how to create a media buzz. In late April, Gossip Girl released a poster featuring Blake Lively's, character Serena Van der Woodsen, in the, er, throes of passion. Either that or she was about to let out an astronomical sneeze. The only text on the poster was a simple, but succinct "OMFG." The Parents Television council was outraged, calling The CW to task for using, "cleavage kissing to hype a kids' show."

I love the Gossip Girl marketing team because they never peddle the show as anything other than exactly what it is: a tawdry, teenage soap opera. (Which I watch, diligently.)

To hype season 2, the folks over at The CW released another round of posters similar to the "OMFG" set. There's a lot of skin, and some simple quoted text. "Every parent's nightmare," from The Boston Herald. "A nasty piece of work," from the The New York Post. And my personal favorite, from The Parents Television Council: "Mind-blowingly inappropriate."

After giving these ads a hearty round of applause, I got to thinking about other marketing campaigns. What if all network television shows went with this advertising approach, and turned the criticism of The Parents Television Council into their taglines? The results would look like — well, they'd look just like this: … continue reading

We're more than a month into the Fall TV season — time enough to figure out which shows we don't want to miss and which ones we miss on purpose. Sarah and Lori have been giving their week-by-week reviews of what they're watching in She Made Me Watch This, but if you're like me, you get so caught up in how adorable they are that you totally forget what they're saying. And some readers can't watch the vlogs for various reasons. So here's a slightly different forum for weighing in with your opinions of this season's series — after I weigh in with mine, of course.

Let's start with what was probably the show most anticipated by AfterEllen.com readers: Bionic Woman.

My one-word review: meh. The eye candy factor only goes so far. I just don't care about these characters. Even Katee Sackhoff can't hold my attention for an hour in a boring show. TiVo-worthy? Nope. … continue reading

It's "Must-See Bunny TV" in this week's episode of She Made Me Watch This! Of the 29 shows we started out watching this season, find out which ones are still on our must-see list (besides Bones), which ones we've given up (besides Private Practice), and which we're on the fence about (get it together, Reaper!).

Then we review two TV shows released on DVD this week: The L Word Season 4, and Veronica Mars Season 3.

Along the way, there's tangential reminiscing about Dynasty and Moonlighting, a pie chart, and a rant from Lori about why the road to hell is paved with insubordination.

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Watch it here now...

In this week's countdown of dumb, annoying, and downright exasperating celebrity and entertainment news, Lori and I take on Iggygate, the escalation of the Jennifer vs. Angelina war, and the debut of the new CBS show Viva Laughlin, which may well be the worst show in the history of television. Seriously.

Also, why Kate Walsh's good news makes us sad, and what Rose McGowan and Helen Mirren have in common.

Find out now! … continue reading

In this week's episode of She Made Me Watch This!, Lori and I attempt to answer some of the great questions of our era, including:

• which TV couple is gayer: Jamie Sommers and Sarah Corvus on Bionic Woman (NBC) or Cristina and Meredith on Grey's Anatomy (ABC)?
• which TV show is more depressing: Mad Men (AMC) or Private Practice (ABC)?
• who's hotter: Angie Harmon or Mariska Hargitay?
• why Sarah sees Buffy everywhere she looks, and Lori has a thing for vampire shows.

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Plus, Lori rants this time — twice! — complete with flailing of arms and strongly-worded declarative sentences. See what I live with, people? It's hard to get a word in edge-wise!

Last week, Private Practice and Bionic Woman were jointly, and depressingly, reviewed in The New York Times. The essence of the review appeared midway: "Both shows suggest that the easiest way to make a female protagonist likable is to dumb her down with self-doubt." I had planned to watch Bionic Woman but not Private Practice. However, I decided to check out both and see if the prognosis was as bleak as the reviewer suggested. My conclusion, not surprisingly, was both yes and no.

I started with Private Practice, which I'm not going to thoroughly review, except to say that it was disappointingly stupid. If Audra McDonald is going to do television instead of Broadway, then it needs to be good television, people!

For anyone unaware, Private Practice is the ill-advised spin-off of Grey's Anatomy (which I do not watch.) The show's opening introduces us to the other doctors in Addison's new practice. Fertility specialist Naomi (Audra McDonald), Addison's best friend, is sobbing on her bathroom floor eating an entire cake.

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I really hope you weren't planning to do anything but watch TV tonight. I'm cursing my Xanadu tickets. Nah, not really, but there's a lot to take in on the tube tonight!

Let's get the obvious one out of the way: Kate Walsh has her own Private Practice starting tonight at 9/8c on ABC. I'm giving it one episode to impress me, and if it doesn't, I'm done, despite my abiding love for Audra McDonald.

Next, it's finally here: Bionic Woman premieres tonight at 9/8c on NBC. … continue reading

For couch potatoes in the States, this week kicks off a courting period with our televisions. This week, the new and returning shows start premiering in all their finery in hopes of winning a spot on our dance card for the season. Who will stay and who will go? Well, much like real dating, for some it will take repeat viewings, and for others it will only take that first episode to know whether they’re all right or all wrong. I though I’d share my dating watching game plan for the new season. Yes, even the embarrassing stuff. I'm sticking to mostly broadcast though, 'cause cable is way too embarrassing. Yes, I'm talking to you, The Girls Next Door.

MONDAY:
8 p.m.: Chuck (NBC) I’m going to give this computer geek and the CIA superspy odd-couple comedy a shot. I’m not in love with its cutsie premise, but what the hell, it’s Monday. Why not? And that’s it. I don’t watch Heroes. I know, audible gasp. While you’re at it, go ahead and gasp some more — I don’t watch Lost either. … continue reading

So, the AfterEllen.com legal department told me I had to put a disclaimer on this post. They kept talking about possible liabilities and class action suits resulting from injuries related to mass fainting spells and/or hearing loss due to uncontrollable squeals of delight. So I’ve decided the only prudent way to proceed is to ease you slowly into the facts. So here goes. Prepare yourself. First of all, it’s about Kate Walsh.

All right, that seemed to go well. Do you need a sip of water? No? Fine, let’s move on. So, Kate Walsh is dancing. OK, now I’m pretty sure you need that glass of water. Hold on, I’ll get it. All better? Good, now I want you to sit down for this last part. I mean it. Are you sitting? It’s Kate Walsh dancing in (deep breath) nothing but a towel. … continue reading

Sometimes, we writers let the words get in the way. We string together sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph in our efforts to entertain and enlighten. We pontificate. We expound. We dissect. But sometimes the best thing we can do is shut up and let stuff speak for itself. So here goes.

I believe the only words needed here are hummana hummana hummana.

How hot is that? The reason for the crazy, calling-all-engines, four-alarm smoking sexiness was Kate Walsh’s bachelorette party this past weekend in Las Vegas. The future Private Practice star partied hearty along with her former Grey’s Anatomy costar Sara Ramirez and 16 other friends. Exactly how hearty? … continue reading

This is a live blog from the bi-annual Television Critics Association conference. See more TCA live blog posts here.

The last panel of the day — and the three-week TCA conference — is the much-anticipated Grey's Anatomy spinoff Private Practice, starring Kate Walsh (#14 on The AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List, for good reason). There are double the normal number of people in the audience, and on the stage, with creator Shonda Rhimes in the middle flanked by Taye Diggs and Kate Walsh.

ABC rolls the promo for Private Practice, and it focuses mostly on Addison's story line on Grey's Anatomy. Clearly they're still retooling the spinoff after the critical lashing the back-door pilot received in May.

Shonda fields a few questions about how she's handling the pressure, but she doesn't really say much. Not saying much, I'm about to discover, is her MO. When it comes to saying something while saying nothing, the woman has skills.

Kate's asked about her reaction when she found out about the spinoff, and she says she was "in bed at 3am reading it like a teenager emitting screams of joy, like a super-top secret diary of someone else's that I'd just found." I start to picture that scene, but stop when I realize it's interfering with my ability to focus on the panel.

A reporter asks why Audra McDonald replaced Merrin Dungey, and after Shonda jokes, "I don't think we can go wrong with a four-times Tony winner," she says they were rethinking the character of Naomi and needed someone "strong and tough." Um, have you ever seen a show called Alias? Evil Francie can kick some serious ass! … continue reading

Don't you hate it when your little-known special favorite undiscovered talent hits the big time? I mean, there you are, nurturing your fandom even when nobody else cares, remaining true to the cause even when all hope is lost — and then, BAM, your personal project gets a huge break and everybody starts shouting her name and you look like just another member of the unwashed masses.

I think that's about to happen to me with Audra McDonald. The Broadway star, heretofore reserved for me and Rosie O'Donnell and my girlfriend (no, we're not all the same person) and theater aficionados, has landed a role that will make her a household name. McDonald will play the BFF of Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) in the Grey's Anatomy spin-off Private Practice.

In the spin-off pilot — technically a May episode of Grey's — the character of Dr. Naomi Bennett was played by Merrin Dungey, aka Francie on Alias. According to the L.A. Times, "No reason was given for the change in direction" from Dungey to McDonald. It seems to have something to do with "fine tuning," which is obviously fine for McDonald and less than fine for Dungey. Francie doesn't like coffee ice cream or fine tuning! … continue reading

Over the past couple of years, ABC has become the most-watched network among women ages 18-49, and the network that brought us Desperate Housewives isn't about to give up its mantle this fall. ABC announced today that it has ordered seven new dramas, four new comedies and one new alternative series (an Oprah Winfrey feel-good philanthropy reality show) for the fall 2007 season, and nearly all of them aim to lure in female viewers. Here are the highlights:

Private Practice: The Grey's Anatomy spinoff about Addison Montgomery's (Kate Walsh) new life in Los Angeles after leaving McDreamy and McSteamy behind. Here's a shot of the entire cast:

Pushing Daisies: This one-hour "blend of romance, crime procedural and high-concept fantasy" is about a man who can bring people to life (or kill them) with a touch. Word is that this is one of the best bets this fall, and it stars Kristin Chenoweth (Running With Scissors). Here she is seducing us all with a pie: … continue reading

It’s nice to see that Ellen DeGeneres has finally learned how to throw her weight around Hollywood. In an interview taped earlier this week and airing today on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Grey’s Anatomy doc Kate Walsh told Ellen that she still wasn’t sure if her spin-off Private Practice was getting picked up for the fall season. With that, the Great Panted One sprang into action. I guess after hosting the Oscars and winning 6 zillion Daytime Emmy Awards (seriously, does she need a warehouse to house them all?), Ellen was feeling out her clout.

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To take Kate off pins and needles, she called ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson live on air to get the scoop.