Animal Practice

The current average score for this show is 5.4 which seems somewhat unfair considering 'How I Met Your Mother' has a 8.5 average score and should have been put to rest a long time ago.

Animal Practice is showing on ITV2 in the UK and has a good time slot of 8pm and deservingly so. It arrived on this channel without much fanfare and I caught sight of it during a channel flick and was lucky to catch the pilot in a re-run slot.

I have not seen anything else of Justin Kirk's work but I like his performance in this. His timing and delivery tread a suitable caustic between the comedy and mild drama elements of the show. I particularly liked the episode where we got to visit his relationship with his mother.

Tyler Labine is a favourite comedy foil from other shows like Reaper and Invasion. His goofball approach is its useful sharp self here and he and Kirk play off each other well.

The lack of any hint of a laugh track also helps the watcher also make their own judgment on what works and what doesn't and I find myself laughing at the intended point with ease.

The final icing on the cake for me is the comedic use of 'Dr' Rizzo. Is this character what got the show cancelled? Is there too much reliance on Rizzo? Maybe, but I can't say that seven episodes in Rizzo grates on me. In fact I enjoy the Rizzo moments greatly.

I see that the show got canned after eight episodes in the US, ITV2 will at least be showing all thirteen and I will be watching until the end.

7/10.

1.Best stuff is from the animals. 2.So sad it's camp. 3.Laughable how the vet is even likable. 4.Wrong demographic. 5.If you want to feel better about yourself. 6.The real actor is the monkey. 7.It is a good learning tool how to make a better show. 8.Cute animals. 9.Slapstick comedy. 10.Pretentious enough to make you feel like a rich man looking down on poor folk.Really if you want to watch go ahead just remember this is NBC comedy . Normally don't they have have good stuff 30rock, Parks and Recreation,SNL.I just watch because I wanted to see animals behave in douche bag habitat an they survived if i was a talent scout for a cutesy movie I would hire the animal handlers.Some if not all the material is antiquated it is campy and camp is good wholesome fun.

Dr. George Coleman (Justin Kirk) is the top veterinarian at Crane Animal Hospital in New York. His ex Dorothy Crane (JoAnna Garcia) inherits the business and becomes his new boss. There's also a monkey.

I can't decide if this was way too stupid or not stupid enough. Maybe an over the top parody isn't expected to work on the networks and that's why they held back some. But if you put a monkey as a main character, you might as well go all the way. I love the actors here. If not for them, I'd probably never watch this. It didn't help that NBC advertised it so hard. It was never going to be a broad based hit.

Laugh out loud commentary on human behavior. I agree with prior reviews that this is a smart comedy. I haven't laughed out loud from a TV show that much in a while. Every line and scene is well thought out and clever.

It almost seems like a guilty pleasure to be able to watch it. I tend to be a sarcastic person myself. Maybe that's part of the appeal to me. There are multitudes of such moments.

I should point out that this show has definitely grown on me with each episode. Each character adds depth and dimension.

I highly recommend this show!

Apparently in the USA people write reviews under the assumption it must be a 10 or 1 star rating. Wasn't there a book called Shades of Grey? Probably the meaning was lost by all the steamy content.

Let me be very clear, whoever gives this show a 1 star rating does not consider the work behind a show, there are tons of animals, animal trainers, real veterinarians etc... Some credits for ambition and professionalism please.

Justin Kirk successfully played "Uncle Andy" on Weeds for 8 years, he grew in this show and in the end he carried it. NBC hired him to do exactly what he did on Weeds and he is doing it and he is doing it will. If you liked him in Weeds you will like him here.

The problem with a mainstream audience is that they don't understand sarcasm too well when it is subtle and Justin Kirk is all about subtle sarcasm. Remember Arrested Development? Now that it was cancelled it is the best rated comedy show on IMDb, while it was on FOX people didn't get it. That is the problem with Animal Practice too, it is too smart for it's audience. Every word counts in a Justin Kirk monologue but that doesn't transport when the audience is here to watch cute animals and skips on the subtle shots at House, Emergency Room, Private Practice etc... The writing is too smart and for those who see Justin Kirk for the first time they can't get a hold of his character right away. Those who know him from Weeds understand the concept of his character right away.

I believe this show could do well, it doesn't need much to do well, unfortunately they have to mainstream Justin Kirk's character so the people who think inside the box understand what he is up to.