"Animal Practice" (NBC)

Whether or not "Animal Practice" -- set in a veterinary clinic -- was intended as a re-imagining of a medical-based comedy (who misses "Scrubs"?) is up for debate, but what's not is that this show was an unfocused mess that put all its bananas in one monkey joke basket. Was it trying to be quirky? Was it trying to be campy? Was it trying to be cute or sarcastic? Who knows. It definitely didn't suffer from lack of exposure, ... more 

"Animal Practice" (NBC)

Whether or not "Animal Practice" -- set in a veterinary clinic -- was intended as a re-imagining of a medical-based comedy (who misses "Scrubs"?) is up for debate, but what's not is that this show was an unfocused mess that put all its bananas in one monkey joke basket. Was it trying to be quirky? Was it trying to be campy? Was it trying to be cute or sarcastic? Who knows. It definitely didn't suffer from lack of exposure, though: "Animal Practice" was heavily promoted throughout the Summer Olympics, even getting plugged by Bob Costas. Maybe if this hopeful comedy had used its promising ensemble cast (Justin Kirk, Bobby Lee, Joanna García-Swisher, Betsy Sodaro) more effectively, it would have stood a chance; but viewers failed to get hooked on the often-grating story lines. Here's hoping that Crystal, the capuchin monkey, won't give up on showbiz as a result. less