MONDO EXTRAS

Longtime Grey's Anatomy fans, curious newcomers, naked-dance enthusiasts: ABC wants everybody to watch Private Practice. So what better way to bring us all together than with a one-hour clip show, masquerading as an episode of Grey's Anatomy, that recaps Addison's past and psyches us up for her future? Plus, a sneak peek at a scene from a forthcoming episode of Private Practice! Plus, the world premiere of a new music video for some song by some guy! Can you stand the excitement? And here to guide us on this entirely scripted and completely uncritical stroll down memory lane are: the stars of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice? Nope. Okay then, the creators and writers of Private Practice? Not hardly. The editors of People magazine? Why, yes!

Perhaps you're wondering when People announced its new role as the publishing arm of ABC's promotional department. Or perhaps you're thinking, "Objectivity, schmobjectivity—this is Grey's Anatomy we're talking about! Who doesn't love Grey's? Who doesn't prize a hit show like Grey's above…oh, for example, professional credibility?" And if trading your last shred of journalistic integrity for an opportunity to appear on network television shilling for a new show that hasn't yet aired is wrong, then the editors of People magazine don't want to be right. They're gonna love Private Practice like nobody's loved Private Practice, come rain or come shine.

Let's start things off with People person Jess Cagle (who, as Ali G might say, is a man), who takes us back to the first appearance of Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd. There she is, all in black, storming in to disrupt Meredith's happy life with McDreamy, who -- surprise -- turns out to be her husband. Cagle and friends remind us, "When we first saw Addison, we hated her…she was intimidation personified." "She was very glamorous, chic, cool, assertive, basically everything that Meredith was not." I wasn't watching Grey's when Addison first showed up, so I guess I should accept these impartial magazine editors' impressions of how it played out, but I'm disinclined to trust them, since they're very obviously reciting lines. I wonder if there's someplace I can go for a less filtered look at viewers' first impressions of Addison? Perhaps somewhere on the internet?