privatepractice

Private Practice continues to get better and better, although I like the more lighthearted stories better than the heavier stories like Violet's baby trauma this season. I'm actually more geeked about a few tiny scenes that occurred in the past few episodes.

The series started out in 2007 with Addison moving into her new beachfront pad and dancing naked around the house. It turns out that co-worker Sam lived in the house right next door and saw her naked through the window. Of course, Addison was mortified, but it set off a little undercurrent of sexual tension that's been sort of lingering there since that first episode. Both have had other love interests, though, including Sam with ex-wife and Addison's best friend Naomi.

This week's Private Practice brought a nice meaty part for Chris Lowell, who plays the part of surfer-dude-turned-receptionist-turned-midwife Dell Parker. If you haven't seen the episode yet and want to avoid spoilers, read no further!

When an explosion ripped through Dell's home, it landed his wife Heather and daughter Betsey in the hospital. The big reveal is that Heather had, in fact, NOT given up drugs -- as she'd led Dell to believe -- and was cooking up some meth in the kitchen with Betsey in the next room. While Betsey escaped mostly unscathed, the explosion caused severe burns on Heather's entire body.

At the hospital, Dell was seriously ticked at his wife, telling her nearly comatose body that, in essence, he hated her and hoped she would die. The other part of the equation is that Dell refused to let Betsey see her mother, wanting to shield her from the monster -- both figuratively and physically -- that her mother encompassed.

So what do you think? Should Dell have allowed Betsey to see her mother at the hospital? And was Pete right in wanting to force the issue?

Watch clips and episodes of Private Practice at SlashControl, and read my interview with Chris Lowell at AOL's InsideTV.

Dell's house explodes on 'Private Practice' with his wife and daughter inside, sending a badly burned Heather and unconscious Betsey to the hospital where the staff uses heroic measures in an attempt to save their lives.

Dell's troubles don't end there, however. It's revealed that Heather was cooking meth in a homemade lab and was responsible for the explosion, and now Dell must come to terms with his dying wife's role in nearly killing their daughter.

Watch the video after the jump.

Although Chris Lowell says he's "no Zac Efron," we beg to differ. The boyish actor has co-starred with everyone from Kristen Bell (one of his best friends) in 'Veronica Mars' to George Clooney in 'Up in the Air.'

But you might know him best from his role as Dell Parker, the receptionist-turned-midwife on the hit ABC show 'Private Practice.' If you've been missing Dell from the show this season, never fear. He has an "explosive" episode coming up Thursday night, in which his wife and daughter land in the hospital after a fierce explosion in their home.

We caught up with Lowell, who after apologizing for his raspy voice and noting it's because he's ill and not sexy (again, we beg to differ), gave us the skinny on playing a surfer dude, being typecast as an assistant and working with George Clooney.

There was indeed no shortage of drama, danger and needle-induced squeamishness in last night's 'Private Practice' episode entitled 'The Hard Part' starring Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery.

Charlotte, Cooper and Violet work together to assist a newlywed who took Viagra and suffered a poorly-timed reaction to the drug. In order to alleviate the drug's side effects, the new husband undergoes a procedure involving a gingerly-worked needle. Ouch! And, if that wasn't painful enough, it's learned during the procedure that his new wife is pregnant with another man's baby despite a vow both husband and wife took to remain virgins until wedded. Ouch again! We're not sure what hurts more. Wait ... it's the needle ... definitely the needle.

Watch the full episode on SlashControl after the jump.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have spoilers for: 24, 90210, Cougar Town, Desperate Housewives, Eastwick, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother, Grey's Anatomy, Lost, and NCIS. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

'Grey's Anatomy' and its spin-off, 'Private Practice,' are at it again with their crossover episodes.

The Ausiello Files is reporting that Walsh will come back to 'Grey's' in early January for a top-secret plot centered around Addison, Mark and Leven Rambin, who recently joined the cast from 'Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles.'

Apparently, Addison returns to Seattle at Mark's request to perform surgery on Leven's character. But, as executive producer Shondra Rhimes spoils, the plot will extend back over into 'Private,' when a complication has Mark transfer the patient back down to L.A. again (so much for the plot being "top secret").

With Grey's Anatomy and its spin-off Private Practice starting new seasons, I decided to refresh my brain with the previous seasons of these two ABC shows. So this week's Jane After Dark was all about the dreamy doctors.

I've been on board with Private Practice since the beginning, and was especially interested to see what happened with Violet and her baby in the season three premiere. Happy ending there, thank goodness! And while Grey's Anatomy has certainly ebbed and flowed since it began in 2005, I've stuck with it because I've grown to love the dysfunctional characters with all their baggage. It makes my life seem just that much better.

Grey's Anatomy, Season Five

There were parts of this season that drove me a little nuts, like Izzie having "mind-boggling sex" with dead Denny. That whole storyline made me want to jump off a roof, but there were plenty of highlights to the season, as well...

I've been waiting all summer to see how things turned out for Violet and her baby on Private Practice. Let's face it. Things looked bleak at the end of season two when Violet's baby was hacked out of her by a crazy person, and they didn't look any better at the beginning of season three. So I was pretty ecstatic with how things turned out.

I must admit, though, the way things were going, I really wasn't sure who was in that casket that started the episode until we were getting close to the end. It wasn't small enough to be a baby's casket (thank goodness), and I was pretty sure Amy Brenneman was planning on sticking around, so it was unlikely that Violet was in the casket. Still, it was touch and go there for a while, and either one of them could have died.

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

This week we have spoilers for: 24, 30 Rock, Damages, Desperate Housewives, House, Lost, Melrose Place, Private Practice, and Ugly Betty. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)