TVSquad

Mainly because I watch Pushing Daisies at 8, but also because I can't find much else to watch at 9, I've tuned into the first two episodes of Private Practice's second season. During last year's aborted first season, I tuned in and out, curious to see how the Grey's Anatomy spin-off was progressing. What I found was a) a show that was too busy making its thirty- and forty-something doctors act as immaturely as the twenty-something residents at Seattle Grace and b) that Kate Walsh's character of Addison Montgomery went from strong and funny to whimpering and lovelorn.

The second development was especially disheartening, since Addison had become my favorite Grey's character by far, mainly because through sheer force of her acting ability, Walsh was able to turn Addison from a one-dimensional enemy of the Meredith-Derek relationship to the surgeon we rooted for the hardest.

But in the first two episodes, most of what I liked about Addison has returned. And what isn't there is on the way to coming back.

You know the one I'm talking about. After the writers strike ended last year in February, most of the networks made the interesting decision to just go ahead and shelve most of their freshmen series for the season, even if they'd picked up their "back nine" orders. Instead, they thought they'd launch the shows to big fanfare this fall, almost as if they were new again. Unfortunately, it looks like this plan backfired on them tremendously.

Across the board, those sophomore series that went on hiatus for more than six months are way down in the ratings. Apparently, absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder when it comes to the television landscape. It makes the instant gratification generation forget you existed. And stop caring.

My first true TV crush was probably Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life. Dreamy, troubled, with eyes like pools of water -- and he sure leaned great, didn't he? And then there was Casey McCall on Sports Night, Josh Lyman on the The West Wing ... OK, so maybe I have an overactive fantasy life.

Celebrities are no different from you and me. On AOL TV's new video interview series Outside the Box -- in which TV actors interview each other -- 'Private Practice' stars Kate Walsh, Taye Diggs, Tim Daly and Audra McDonald sit down and rap about stuff like Addison and Pete's "carnal destiny" and Taye's "tiny little dog" (not a euphemism ... I don't think).

One of two for today! This time we've got three copies of Private Practice - Season One on DVD for three lucky, random commenters. The DVD is available in stores starting today.

To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, September 19 simply telling us why you'd like to own this DVD set. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Continue on to see a clip from the DVD set ...

First he shaves the porn 'stache and now Grant Show has signed up to guest star on Private Practice. Is there something Show isn't telling us about the fate of Swingtown?

Well, hopefully not. Despite the fact that Swingtown's rapidly disappearing audience does not bode well for the fate of the series, Show's extracurriculars don't mean that anything is definite. As of now, Show is only signed on to appear in one episode of Private Practice early on in the season. He plays a flirtatious doctor who has ties to a series regular's past.

I've recently become a big fan on Swingtown, so even though the odds are against it, I'm really pulling for its return. However, if it doesn't work out, I definitely wouldn't mind him coming to Private Practice on a more regular basis. For me, that show's first season was super weak and quite frankly, it could use all the help it can get. Grant Show wouldn't even have to grow the mustache back--although it would be pretty awesome if he did.

It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.

While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.

I wanted to wait a bit before I posted about the ABC showrunner panel, because a) I already posted about the "news" from Shonda Rhimes about Katherine Heigl's statements, and b) I wanted to think about why these panels seem to be so much more informative than the individual show panels?

We'll get to that more later. On the panel were Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice), Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives), Silvio Horta (Ugly Betty), Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (Lost), and Greg Berlanti (seemingly the rest of ABC's schedule). As you'd expect, Rhimes got the Heigl questions, Lindelof and Cuse got the most esoteric questions, and Chery made the most jokes. The funniest line, though, came from Horta.

The photo to the right is of Dirty Sexy Money (and Eli Stone and Brothers & Sisters) EP Greg Berlanti, from the ABC show-runner panel. The reason why I post it is because ABC doesn't have any web-ready photos of either the DSM or the Private Practice panels for download, many hours after both panels. This despite promises that they would have web-ready pictures from the press tour up quickly. OK, cranky rant over.

Anyway, the panels for the two sophomore Wednesday shows didn't reveal all that much in the way of new info. We found out a little about what both Berlanti and PP creator Shonda Rhimes have in store, and how they deal with returning from such a long break (ABC held back the two shows and Pushing Daisies after the strike, making plans to restart in the fall).

After Jimmy Kimmel left the room, ABC Entertainment Steve McPherson got on with the business of facing the press at his executive session. I kicked it off with a question about Scrubs, following up on what Bill Lawrence told me in May about a possible "next generation" ninth season.

"We do think there's an opportunity after (this eighth season)," said McPherson. "If any or all the cast is a part of that, I think there's a growth (opportunity) there. It's a show that, despite being moved around into like 17 time periods and really never being given the marketing support, has really performed unbelievably well on NBC." He went on to say that they hope "it won't be a one-season situation."

Other than that, most of the conversation revolved around the network's returning shows, which makes sense, since the network is only debuting a few new shows (none of which had pilots that the network thought were suitable for preview) this fall.

Outside the Box is an upcoming video interview series from AOL TV, where stars of your favorite shows sit down and answer questions from fans. This is your chance to (sort of) talk to celebrities!

We've already asked you to submit questions for the cast of Scrubs and the stars of Dirty Sexy Money, and next on deck are Kate Walsh, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs and Audra McDonald from Private Practice.

Practice has one of the sexiest casts on TV. Daly and Diggs and Paul Adelstein and Chris Lowell AND David Sutcliffe? Come on. That's not even fair. The show's first season was interrupted by the strike, but I'm hoping that the time off gave creator Shonda Rhimes space to refine the storylines, just like she did with Grey's Anatomy. When we left off, Addison had gotten her mojo back and asked police officer Kevin on a date. I'm hoping to see more of that (and "I don't get stood up. I'm Addison.") when season 2 starts.

If you've got a burning question for the four Practice stars, submit it in the comments below by Tuesday, July 15. Don't forget to include your first name and city/state. And try to come up with something other than "ur hot, will you marry me," OK?

Or Chuck, or Pushing Daisies, or Private Practice for that matter. With the announcement that FOX was going to offer a marathon of The Sarah Connor Chronicles starting on August 10th I got to wondering about the other freshman shows that made an impression on viewers before the Writers Strike abruptly ended their seasons. Many of these shows haven't been seen since the end of last year.

For Life, the last original episode to air was December 5th. With the second season premiere slated to air during the first week of October, it will be nearly a year since viewers had a chance to bond with Detectives Charlie Crews and Dani Reese. That's a bit of a concern when it comes to this show. On the surface Life is a criminal procedural. However, underneath there has been an second story about Charlie's quest to clear his good name for a murder he didn't commit. While the first arc of this story was completed in its "season finale," there is plenty of story to tell.

Shortly after the release of 2005's Crash in theaters, I remember reading that a TV series based on the film was in the works. I even pitched the story to a TV trade magazine, but the editor didn't go for it. She must have guessed the show would be years in the works, and she was right.

Three years later, a TV series is finally starting to gain some steam. The Hollywood Reporter just posted a story that five actors have joined the cast of the series produced by Don Cheadle, Paul Haggis (pictured), Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, Tom Nunan, and Bob Yari, all of whom were involved with the movie. Produced by Lionsgate, the series is anticipated to premiere on Starz in 2009.

Here's a rundown on the actors who've just signed. It's interesting that most of these folks are not big-name actors, which I find refreshing in an era where many mega-movie stars are crossing over into TV:

Last fall, Gilmore Girls' David Sutcliffe appeared in two episodes of ABC's Private Practice, the Grey's Anatomy spin-off. His guest starring stint as a potential love interest for lead character Addison (played by Kate Walsh) was set to last a few episodes but was cut short due to the writers strike.

Since the last episode of PP's short season aired, it was unknown if the actor would return as Officer Kevin Nelson, a cop that caught Addison's interest. The actor's schedule could have changed, the writers could have decided to bench his character, who knows?

Sutcliffe fans, fear not! In the latest edition of the "Ausiello Report Vodcast Scoop," Michael Ausiello interviewed Sutcliffe (the interview starts at the 1:17 mark in the video below) and was able to get confirmation that the actor will return to Private Practice.

Autumn may not look the same way it usually does on ABC in 2008. The network is seriously considering opening the new season sans new drama series. There will still be returning shows, including the dramas from 2007 which have been deemed successes by the ABC brass, including Pushing Daisies, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money -- but no new pilots.

A familiar face will be popping up at Seattle Grace before Grey's Anatomy goes on hiatus at the end of the season. Kate Walsh, a.k.a. Addison Montgomery, M.D., will return to the medical drama when her character makes a visit to the Emerald City. It'll be for just one episode, though. ABC has already picked up Kate's spin-off series, Private Practice, for the fall.

Executive producer/writer Shonda Rhimes confirmed that Kate Walsh will return to Grey's Anatomy for a guest bit this spring, but a definite date has not been pinned down. Five new episodes of GA are set to air starting April 24.