Last May, the response to my Talkin’ TV blog post on the disgusting and disturbing season finale of ABC’s "Private Practice" hit an unusually high level.



Fans of the "Grey’s Anatomy" spin-off clearly wanted somewhere to vent about the cliff-hanger in which a very pregnant Dr. Violet Turner (Amy Brenneman) lay helpless on the floor in her home as one of her psychologically disturbed patients planned to extract the baby with some cutting instruments.



The 65 respondents to the blog used such adjectives as "mortifying," "gratuitous," "heinous," "cheap," "exploitive" and "stupid" to describe the plot line in a series about a group of doctors and friends who work together in a medical practice.



"We were trying to watch ‘Private Practice’... and without warning the producers turned the show into ‘Criminal Minds,’" wrote one respondent.



While most people writing hated the finale and some even said they would never watch the show again, a minority defended the story line and called it "riveting." Some people reminded those who hated it that they were watching a TV program and not real people.



But my favorite response came from a writer who put the episode in perspective.



"The writers accomplished exactly what they were looking to do," the respondent wrote. "People are talking about the episode and the series."



Exactly.



The question going into to-night’s season premiere at 10 on WKBW-TV is whether those viewers who vowed to never watch the series again will — or should — make good on their promise.



My advice: Give the show a second chance. The opener is sensitive, creative and emotionally moving as it deals with the pressure on Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) to save her friend’s life and protect her colleagues from massive guilt.



Sure, there is little too much blood, along with too many looks at the open abdomen for this squeamish critic, but that’s becoming more common on medical shows these days.



The episode also skillfully deals with old psychological wounds that are tied to the guilt some members of the medical group are feeling about Violet’s life-or-death situation.



But at least the show has returned to its life-saving roots. In much the same way that "CSI: Miami" explored the formation of its team in its season opener, the roots and formation of the practice are movingly explored in flashback form. Violet’s current love, Pete (Tim Daly), looks back at his hiring years earlier by his friends Sam (Taye Diggs) and Naomi (Audra McDonald) at a difficult time in his life.



Along the way, viewers get to see how Pete has grown emotionally and how the practice’s personnel have practically become family. There also are some strong subplots, including one involving the guilt felt by Violet’s best friend, Cooper Freedman (Paul Adelstein), for failing to save her from the deranged patient.



Since Shonda Rhimes writes both series, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the story line about the friendship between Violet and Cooper is similar to the friendship story line in the "Grey’s Anatomy" premiere between Izzy (Katherine Heigl) and George (T. R. Knight).



After all, the true meaning of friendship is at the core of both workplace shows. In "Grey’s" and "Private Practice," close friends can shout at each other when they disagree and then forgive and even learn a thing or two about themselves from their arguments.



Of course, sometimes things go too far and it isn’t as easy to instantly forgive. Those disappointed fans of "Private Practice" should judge for themselves if they can forgive the violent twist that ended last season.



But you could argue that this beautifully told opener may make the answer easier than some unhappy fans might have thought it would be.



Same old story



While we’re on the medical beat, the premiere episode of CBS’ latest series about a transplant hospital, "Three Rivers" (9 p. m. Sunday, WIVB-TV), has been revised and recast. Unfortunately, the diagnosis is the same: A star vehicle for soft-spoken, hazel-eyed lead Alex O’Loughlin ("Moonlight"), there is nothing original or special about it. Its tone transports viewers back to medical shows in the 1980s.



O’Loughlin stars as Dr. Andy Yablonski, a transplant surgeon who is the star at the Pittsburgh hospital. He has a great bedside manner and his charm could help President Obama sell his health care program. Alfre Woodard is the head of surgery and Katherine Moennig is the judgmental doctor who is trying to live up the legacy of her father, who founded the hospital.



On Sunday, the doctors deal with cases involving a 26-year-old pregnant woman with heart disease; a teenage boy with a disease that might have taken Dr. Gregory House a week to diagnose; and a native Ethiopian who needs a heart transplant and is a big fan of Dr. Yablonski.



The hour has a sweet twist that decries Middle Eastern stereotyping and is loaded with heart, no pun intended. But this ground has been covered extensively before, especially on a canceled 2007 TNT series, "Heartland," that was also set at a Pittsburgh transplant hospital and starred Treat Williams.



TV Reviews



"Private Practice"



???½



(Out of four)



10 p. m. today,



WKBW-TV Channel 7



"Three Rivers"



??



9 p. m. Sunday,



WIVB-TV Channel 4