I'm guessing last night's Very Special Episode of "House" was a love-it-or-hate-it proposition for most people, though my reaction was more in the middle. I appreciated the attempt to avoid the formula, laughed at the early clinic scenes and even enjoyed House's struggle to be human for five minutes with his patient, but I really hope the writers don't want us to think that House's Deep, Dark Secret explains everything about why he is who he is.The Cameron story, meanwhile, missed the mark, assuming there was a mark in the first place. And I'm not sure the first episode after the Tritter quagmire is the best time to do a non-formula episode. Better to get back to doing what the show does best for at least a few weeks before trying to reinvent the wheel again.
What did everybody else think?
In the words of In Living Color's movie critics Blaine and Antoine, Hated it!
ReplyDeleteI don't want to learn more about House; I want him to be who he is, and without the possibility of mellowing out. Boo.
I liked it. I got lots of nice shots of Hugh Laurie's beautiful eyes... ;-)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I liked the use of Cuddy's leverage to make him do something out of his comfort zone, I liked how he made it palatable to himself by turning it into a puzzle. It's not the best thing they've ever done, but I did like it.
Liked the rude House clinic moments. HATED the forced relationship between the rape victim and House. I just did NOT believe for one second this girl would suddenly latch on to House and want him around to talk to and then make him dump his 'big secret.' The writers gave me no reason to believe the relationship and how it developed.
ReplyDeleteWorst "House" episode ever. :-(
The homeless guy story was also bad. He wants someone to remember his life by dying painfully? I thought that was the stupidest thing ever. Wouldn't it be more meaningful to talk to her about his life, his time on the street, what got him there, etc. But, no, he goes for very horrible death. That'll make 'em remember me!
So disappointing. Please go back to the formula, writers, please! And you're right, Adam, I don't need to know why House is the way he is. Just let him be the character. That's it. If they want, they can give us new fuel for his negative fire...but that's all.
I just found the whole thing extremely weird. It reminded me of the Quantum Leap finale.
ReplyDeleteEspecially the Cameron stuff. I kept hoping I would wake up soon.
Between this and the miraculous leg that had tons of missing muscle but can still Run Eight Miles for two episodes and then cannot again, I think the writers have completely lost it this season. I find myself wondering what they are on.
Pam
Liked the episode a lot except for the Cameron subplot which bit the big one. I don't think House will ever mellow out...this was just a minor aberration in a lifetime of antisocial, manipulative behavior.
ReplyDeleteI hated, hated, hated, hated this episode. It was the worst episode of "House" ever, by a wide margin.
ReplyDeleteWhat a piece of junk.
For the most part, I really hated this episode. The usual one-liners were enjoyable. The rape victim was not. The whole thing made no sense to me at all. Clearly just a device for House to have philosophical discussions and explore his inner victim. Bleh.
ReplyDeleteIronically, it was the highest rated episode ever (Fox's highest rated drama in 10 years). Maybe some American Idol viewers enjoyed it...
The episode would have been far more entertaining (and maybe even poignant and groundbreaking) had Katheryn Winnick and Geoffrey Lewis played each other's roles.
ReplyDeleteBut it wasn't as bad as a few weeks ago, when they wiped a man's memory just so they could have a thematic resonance with the idea of House "starting over."
Anon
I can't think of a more tedious episode.
ReplyDeletewow that's a lot of hate out there. i didn't HATE this, i just didn't love it. but i'm guessing alan is a bit off for most on the love it or hate it, 'cause no one here seemed to love it. but i was torn, between liking it and thinking it was bs, i didn't mind "the big reveal" because house has revelead things in the past and they go into the box of what we know of why he is what he is, but the certainly don't fill it up. and truthfully i like seeing hugh lurie get to act out of the formula because i think it showcases his range. but the cameron scene did bite :)
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed. One tidy, glib explanation for all of House's misanthropy. I'd like to believe House is more complex than that. One of the congtinuing mysteries each week was trying to unravel House's personality, his arrogance. Is this supposed to be the answer?
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about the ouse is released because supposedly the drugs he thought were real were fake. A real catharsis.
I guess what bothers me most is that this non-representative episode may have squandered its big Idol lead-in. House is usually one of my favorite shows; but new viewers may have been turned off by this overly talky essay on the meaning of life.
Wow... I'm apparently much less discerning than I like to think I am.
ReplyDeleteIt had a couple of week spots, and they'd better un-arc the Cameron thing next week... but I didn't think it sucked at all.
Why does everyone seem to think that this was supposed to be The Answer regarding House's misanthropy? This is a well-established character throughout three seasons, and this is just something that adds up. If David Shore had let us in on this secret at some point early during the first season, than yes, it would have been sort of like a shortcut to character development. "Oh yeah, we have a dude who hates everyone because he was abused a child."
ReplyDeleteBut what we got here was more like "You've known House for so long. I think you wouldn't be too surprised if I told you that he was abused as a child." I didn't see this as an explanation, merely as something that just makes sense.
This was not my favorite episode of House, but it wasn't the worst either. It's inspired a lot of interesting debate both on and offline. To me, that's succesful television.
ReplyDeleteThe people that are saying they don't want to learn more about House confuse me. I'm not saying there's anything wrong about that, but I don't understand it. What makes House interesting is that there isn't ONE reason he's the way he is. There's many reasons. Finding out what goes on inside his head is fascinating (to me.) The fact that his dad wasn't a warm fuzzy kind of guy shouldn't surprise anyone that's watched the show.