tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post806434049722333201..comments2024-03-28T18:01:28.997-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: House, "The Tyrant": We stand on guard for theeAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-9817559964158958742022-03-01T15:11:00.606-05:002022-03-01T15:11:00.606-05:00I just want to know what is that song on the end s...I just want to know what is that song on the end scene. Classical, strings. Anyone? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10424837409850183154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-35971202868103550592009-10-12T17:03:54.781-04:002009-10-12T17:03:54.781-04:00The differential and medical procedures are finall...<i>The differential and medical procedures are finally taking a back seat to the characters... From mid-season 5 until now, it seems like the writers have finally opened their eyes and realized what we fans have known all along....the characters are more important than the plot. </i><br /><br />I disagree, the show always had good characterization with episodes such as Damned if You Do in season 1 which showed up something about every one of the six original characters. The difference is that back then it was subtle and stemmed naturally from the central medical plot. By mid Season 4, the patient was often nothing but a whopping great anvil to set up the soap opera that was what the show became.<br /><br />An equal problem is what they are doing with the characters. Some people love House/Cuddy (although I find it so unrealitistic and painfully bad I can't wait for it to end, which it won't) but does anyone at all care about Foreman and Thirteen's relationship and whether they will survive the crushing idiocy of his ego? Their never-ending plots are a waste of mine limited TV watching time and I'm starting to resent that very much.<br /><br /><i>One of the things that made "The Shield" my favorite show for so long was how you could never guess where the story was going to go, right up until the very end.</i><br /><br />Sadly, I can tell you exactly where House is going to go. House and Cuddy will continue to be teased going nowhere until the last episode because to actually do it would kill the relationship; Foreman and Thirteen will continue to suck monstrous amounts of screentime to very few people caring; Wilson will be used only enough to keep people watching the show; Taub will continue to have occasional crises very few care about, and Cameron will be backburnered again because she is more popular than Thirteen and a threat to House/Cuddy fantasies.<br /><br />And whatever progress House makes in either his relationsips or pain relief will be reset to baseline after the next sweeps period.<br /><br />The problem with this show is that it has become all too predictable. And not in a good way.Ariadnenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-27361334707976791062009-10-09T12:16:13.217-04:002009-10-09T12:16:13.217-04:00I really enjoyed "The Tyrant" for the wa...I really enjoyed "The Tyrant" for the way they showed Chase's dilemma and House handling Wilson's downstairs neighbor. That would not have been shown or written in seasons 2 or 3. The differential and medical procedures are finally taking a back seat to the characters.<br /><br />It seems like this show is in transition. In the first 4 seasons, it was more about the procedures, the strange cases and House as an addict/Dr. Crabbypants. From mid-season 5 until now, it seems like the writers have finally opened their eyes and realized what we fans have known all along....the characters are more important than the plot.<br /><br /><br />It seems like the writers are taking more risks than before, and they've certainly paid off. The premiere, a 2-hr episode with House + a cast of unknowns, was a huge gamble, and it ranked right up there with 'Three Stories'. <br /><br />I think people who expect the show to be the same week after week are in for a rude awakening, at least I hope so. One of the things that made "The Shield" my favorite show for so long was how you could never guess where the story was going to go, right up until the very end. Hopefully the writing staff of "House" will keep taking risks and surprising us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-54025500997714343882009-10-07T23:18:24.554-04:002009-10-07T23:18:24.554-04:00Despite being quite formulaic, this was the best e...Despite being quite formulaic, this was the best episode since Season 3. A single, non-exceptional episode using the old team shows what an unmitigated disaster the past two years have been. This episode worked because Cuddy was sidelined and used as a hospital administrator instead of us being asked to buy her as interested in House (there's less convincing chemistry there than between Foreman/13 for anything but comedic angles), 13 was mercifully mostly absent, and Foreman was reigned in, crucial to a character whose only interesting element is his adversarial relationship with House. The return of the original team serves as a reminder that you can successfully be formulaic and still make a quality show if your characters actually work together. <br /><br />Based on the self-congratulatory crowing I've read in interviews with the showrunners over the past two years, and the news that Jennifer Morrison is being forced out of the show, it's clear that they're going to run it immediately back off the rails. These are people who believe that they handled Kutner's exit and the House/Cuddy storyline from last season well. Only Weeds has strayed farther in recent years from what made it compelling than House.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-46575568701714939062009-10-07T18:34:19.515-04:002009-10-07T18:34:19.515-04:00more on mirror therapy<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/19/mirror.therapy/index.html" rel="nofollow">more on mirror therapy</a>Pamela Jayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135379188588301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-65070086850079894872009-10-07T18:32:20.491-04:002009-10-07T18:32:20.491-04:00@anonymous - thanks@anonymous - thanksPamela Jayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135379188588301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-1373427177561563272009-10-07T17:11:01.625-04:002009-10-07T17:11:01.625-04:00I may not be able to explain why, but after being ...I may not be able to explain why, but after being able to sleep through House last season, suddenly it's more interesting than it's been in a long time. (maybe cause he's not chasing Cuddy? I have no clue).<br /><br />I'm finding Foreman interesting, 13 pretty and far less annoying, I've probably always liked Cameron (except when she was too righteous for everyone else), and Chase is interesting now too (maybe absence/heart/fonder)<br /><br />House and the final scene with neighbor was just great. (was the mirror necessary to that? I know the duct tape was!)<br /><br />And House and Wilson are still nice - though RSL needs to get fewer haircuts. (hey, i'm female and 50 and sorry, HL doesn't do it for me. I've decided to avoid the wounded alpha male we discussed on our House list. of course Wilson can be just as wounded as he likes. I don't know enough about RSL to care.)<br /><br />This is an arc, right?<br />Omar is always plugging on Twitter. <br /><br />Maybe the fact that he *is* on Twitter is affecting my view of his character. But if I were to say "good job," I'd say it to the writers.Pamela Jayehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06135379188588301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-5029937319230890932009-10-07T14:00:42.991-04:002009-10-07T14:00:42.991-04:00If Princeton Plainsboro had an HR department, the ...<i>If Princeton Plainsboro had an HR department, the head would have told Cuddy to reassign Thirteen to a different department.</i><br /><br />Bwaaah! PPTH used to have an HR dept - it got conveniently forgotten about when the whole Survivor arc stupidity started, along with the legal department (remember all the lawyers in s1 - 3? Stacy?) & PPTH's Board (you know, the one Cuddy reports to & Wilson was a member of). About 90% of the stupid on House over the last two plus seasons can be directly traced to their convenient jettisoning by the writers.Liciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04049771344561461122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-17345248510295853912009-10-07T12:19:22.478-04:002009-10-07T12:19:22.478-04:00mirror therapy is evidence based and of use in pos...mirror therapy is evidence based and of use in post stroke rehabilitation, crps/rsd, and phantom pain see www.mirrorboxtherapy.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-71392723174354707472009-10-07T11:16:26.103-04:002009-10-07T11:16:26.103-04:00The repercussions of last night's episode will...<i>The repercussions of last night's episode will be playing out for awhile and I imagine will play a part in how Jennifer Morrison exits the show in November while Jesse Spencer doesn't. </i><br /><br />That's what I was thinking, too. Wish I could unlearn that bit of casting news!deznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-59636473773246793142009-10-07T00:31:51.855-04:002009-10-07T00:31:51.855-04:00Most organizations have a policy where people in a...Most organizations have a policy where people in a relationship cannot be in a supervisory position.<br /><br />If Princeton Plainsboro had an HR department, the head would have told Cuddy to reassign Thirteen to a different department.Wes covingtonhttp://allthepresidentsbooks.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-91426221728085912252009-10-06T22:38:44.353-04:002009-10-06T22:38:44.353-04:00Did anyone else, by the way, note House saying som...Did anyone else, by the way, note House saying something about Thirteen like "It's not like she's the most beautiful woman in the worl--"? A nod, perhaps, to Wilde's recent nomination by some lad mag or other (Maxim, maybe?) as the hottest chick on the planet?filmcrickethttp://filmcricket.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-66070297259295116782009-10-06T21:06:30.673-04:002009-10-06T21:06:30.673-04:00This episode showed that they never should have me...This episode showed that they never should have messed with the original cast. The new team can't hold a candle to the old. The new actors aren't in the same league with Jesse Spencer who deserves Emmy consideration. Can you imagine Olivia Wilde trying to measure up to James Earl Jones? I don't think it's an accident that they brought Chase back for this episode. His character can sell the moral dilema and is a sympathetic enough character that the audience just might let him get away with murder. Speaking of Emmys, JEJ deserves one for sure. I'm looking forward to how this plays out for Chase and I'm looking forward to more stellar performances by Jesse Spencer. Let's just hope he doesn't get backburned again so we can find out about such important things 13's favorite pasta instead.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-37459494655246206092009-10-06T19:51:42.210-04:002009-10-06T19:51:42.210-04:00I have a question that stemmed from watching this ...I have a question that stemmed from watching this episode. Did we ever find out the real reason why House fired Chase after Foreman quit (and led to Cameron quitting as well, and began the torture that was the 'new' team)? I only remember House saying something like, 'We need change'.katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-56644346449829651872009-10-06T19:49:24.391-04:002009-10-06T19:49:24.391-04:00I never really liked Foreman in general, but it se...I never really liked Foreman in general, but it seems like he's being a real jerk lately. The only way to save the relationship is to fire your girlfriend? seriously? He used to at least be self-aware enough to know he was being a jerk and becoming more like House, but now he's just doing it and attempting to justify it. <br /><br />Yeah, he could have quit. Yeah, he could have stopped being a jerk, and thank God Cameron called him on it, because there wasn't anyone else in the show that could have. Coming from House, it would have just made him mad, and coming from Taub or Thirteen wouldn't have sunk in, he'd have brushed it aside. <br /><br />If I was Thirteen, I'd have dumped him <i>last</i> week. Now she's just coming off as stupid. <br /><br />Otherwise, I liked this episode for all the reasons everyone else stated. I like the ethical dilemma that might stretch out, I like the focus on Chase for a change, and I like that House <i>appears</i> to be changing. Sure, he'll probably go back to his usual self by the end of the season, but the illusion is working for the moment.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03942502449985475645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-38498495847896922342009-10-06T18:58:56.915-04:002009-10-06T18:58:56.915-04:00I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn'...I'm glad I'm not the only one who wasn't any more interested in Chase and Cameron all hour than Foreteen. I won't deny that I watch the show for House/Cuddy and House/Wilson scenes but I also know that House needs more characters than just those three. They really need to figure out how to use them better though.<br /><br />I actually like the old format that Alan finds boring so after last night, I think a team made up of Epic Fail's 13 (I hated last season's 13), Chase, and Taub would be my dream team.<br /><br />Mainly though I just disliked last night's episode. I didn't like the overtly political nature of it and the House/Wilson storyline grated. House's antics felt stale because he was essentially on his own with them, the House/Wilson wasn't fun since he kicked House out of his apt, there wasn't any House/Cuddy, an overload of C/C doesn't interest me anymore than too much Foreteen, and I still hate Foreman. Definitely my least favorite episode in a long time.Michanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-42040470847845442622009-10-06T16:37:46.825-04:002009-10-06T16:37:46.825-04:00amyp3, the whole 'Foreman is dating Thirteen&#...<b>amyp3</b>, the whole 'Foreman is dating Thirteen' shows how different the old show was than this version. In season 2 Chase told Cameron she couldn't be in charge of the department because she had asked House for a date and slept with him, and next season Cuddy warned Cameron against dating Chase, someone on the same level as she was.<br /><br />Season 5, Cuddy had no problem with Foreman being in a relationship with Thirteen who is a fellow in the same department in which he is an attending, and by season 6 she's okay with him being her boss. The show was never truly realistic but now it's not even trying to make sense any more.<br /><br />On to the show. And this is the show I waited around more than two years to finally get back to.<br /><br />James Earl Jones turned in a wonderful performance as a despicable man with some logic to his reasoning.<br /><br />House was snark and brilliant as usual but he also showed some growth. Finally.<br /><br />Foreman continues to bore me but at least when Chase and Cameron are in the scenes, they can call him on it for real as opposed to the flapping Taub and Thirteen do. (The continuing Foreman/Thirteen drama was the weakest part of the episode. Can't they get rid of Thirteen for even one episode?)<br /><br />Finally, a decent medical episode for Chase and Cameron. (And it's worth noting that a board I lurk at has revived the 'ethical debates' thread after more than two years of nothing tp say.)<br /><br />In the episode Cameron told Foreman that he was generally a reasonable person except when he's made a mistake and then he retrenches and refuses to admit to it. That struck me as a metaphor for how Shore has handled replacing the original team with the new one -- a big mistake but instead of fixing it, he retrenched and compounded it.<br /><br />In this episode, House learned that he didn't have to "double down" as Wilson said, his usual modus operandi, he could address the problem with the neighbour, admit his mistake and reach a solution that made things better for them both.<br /><br />I hope David Shore can do the same with the fellows old and new, realize where he made the mistake and fix it instead of retrenching and forcing even more Foreman/Thirteen and Taub on us. I think the show badly needs both Chase and Cameron back.Ariadnenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-63418190321132917852009-10-06T16:36:09.979-04:002009-10-06T16:36:09.979-04:00The repercussions of last night's episode will...The repercussions of last night's episode will be playing out for awhile and I imagine will play a part in how Jennifer Morrison exits the show in November while Jesse Spencer doesn't. Good thing she saved that dead husband's sperm.Edward Copelandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12463676135131274426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-31700340005286039262009-10-06T15:04:02.480-04:002009-10-06T15:04:02.480-04:00This episode starkly showed how much better the sh...This episode starkly showed how much better the show is when Peter Blake writes the episodes. And agreed, House is more interesting than anything else going on and the repeated attempts to give supporting characters something to do just falls flat. <br /><br />I have negative interest in the Foreman/Thirteen relationship, mostly because even after five years, I don't give a damn about Foreman. I do adore Olivia Wilde, but I just don't buy their relationship or believe they have some sort of connection. <br /><br />But Hugh Laurie is, as always, brilliant.kimshumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18005838506598631616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-58072427523255126162009-10-06T14:58:51.632-04:002009-10-06T14:58:51.632-04:00Isn’t firing someone *because* they’re your girlfr...<i>Isn’t firing someone *because* they’re your girlfriend illegal – like some type of reverse sexual harassment?</i><br /><br />Yeah, I wondered that last week. Foreman could be on the other end of a major lawsuit. <br /><br />This show has pretty much always been about Hugh Laurie for me (and a bit about Robert Sean Leonard). This week Laurie was, as usual, awesome, but as happy as I was to have a little less Foreteen in my life, the return of Chase and Cameron didn't do much for me, and Jones did his best with really weak material.<br /><br />I stopped watching this last year once it went up against <i>Chuck</i>. I'll keep watching it for now, but once the Olympics are over, it'll be bye-bye Princeton Plainsboro, hello Buy More for me.filmcrickethttp://filmcricket.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-26716334455881595632009-10-06T14:03:26.010-04:002009-10-06T14:03:26.010-04:00Does anyone else think that Cameron might be a LIT...Does anyone else think that Cameron might be a LITTLE angry when she figures out that the medicine she gave JEJ was the dose that killed him, i.e. that her husband used her as a tool to commit murder?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-87247523689062705852009-10-06T13:52:23.862-04:002009-10-06T13:52:23.862-04:00By the way, does anyone (Alan?) know the specifics...By the way, does anyone (Alan?) know the specifics behind the main credits never changing after Thirteen, Taub, and Kutner officially joined the team?Bixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03924119954199649577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-56027593561555433522009-10-06T13:23:08.183-04:002009-10-06T13:23:08.183-04:00Isn’t firing someone *because* they’re your girlfr...Isn’t firing someone *because* they’re your girlfriend illegal – like some type of reverse sexual harassment? They totally lost me there – it just seemed so heavyhanded and unreal. And then the dull Chase/ Cameron storyline this week, which was handled like something out of a 1970s Dr. Welby or Medical Center episode.<br /><br />I’m one of those who became bored with House (the character’s) same old same old the past couple of years. But, as others have said, this year the show really is nothing without his presence. However, it’s not that the others have always been so uninteresting –they’ve just become 2-D more recently, it seems to me. <br /><br />So we’re in kind of a no-win situation. <br /><br />I keep saying I’m going to stop watching and I may finally do that now. (It took me a similarly long time to wean myself from the maddening mess that was/ is Lost.)amyp3https://www.blogger.com/profile/15749860471251983915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-44093224722526498262009-10-06T12:52:25.652-04:002009-10-06T12:52:25.652-04:00Personally I really enjoyed the return to the old ...Personally I really enjoyed the return to the old team. I found the episode really highlighted both irrelevant Taub really is & how annoying & one-note 13 (& Boreteen, for that matter) is. Meaty ethical issues with CC&F - bring it on. I wish that the writers had taken the time to expand the script & make this a two hour episode - more JEJ is never a bad thing & I'd have liked to see less shorthand for some of Chase & Cameron's thinking.<br /><br />I'm in the camp that found the premier (Broken) incredibly cliched, Epic Fail a case study in why ever putting Olivia Wilde & Omar Epps on the same screen is recipe for disaster & both episodes a complete waste of time. The writing & required suspension of disbelief in The Tyrant pushed my limits, but it was worth it to see two amazing performances from JEJ & Jesse Spencer. And I think the next few episodes following the fallout for Chase will be very interesting to watch, particularly when House finds out about this (& you know he will).Liciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04049771344561461122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-33344303181313334292009-10-06T12:12:18.702-04:002009-10-06T12:12:18.702-04:00Yeah, I disagree too, I thought this was the stron...Yeah, I disagree too, I thought this was the strongest episode in a while. Part of that was surely nostalgia for the dynamics that made me love the show in the first place, but it was mostly House and Chase. Jesse Spencer has always been great on this show, and interesting in that he got blamed for being a teacher's pet and yet he was the one who sold out to Vogler. Giving him so much heavy lifting was fantastic. JEJ was great too, and having Chase decide to kill him was one of those things that while I saw coming within the framework of the episode, it was unexpected overall.<br /><br />Foreman has grown tiresome, but I kind of like Thirteen better now that she's trying to show Foreman what a jerk he is.<br /><br />I dunno, this episode totally had me, and the True Blood joke, Marciano and House mime act all elevated it big time. I'll be sad if you give up.Hatfieldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01184680741873873714noreply@blogger.com