House M. D. - Season 6

Fantastic episode. An embarrassment of riches in the way Dr. Nolan got him to confront issues he's been skirting around for five seasons now. It was also an embarrassment of riches in that we got two hours with nothing but Hugh Laurie as House. When you think of a normal episode, he's probably only in it about 50 percent of the time. Getting to see him tackle his character with no medical mystery of the week as a distraction was incredibly rewarding.

Finally, it was nice to see him follow through. How many episode have been built around a social occasion or milestone that provides House the opportunity to finally connect, building it up so we really think he's going to reach out this time, only to end with him home alone playing his piano or guitar? The moment in the hospital after Freedom Master took his leap was big, the moment where he allowed two patients to help heal one another by understanding them rather than simply diagnosing them was huge, and House's visit to his Russian lady's, well, house, was epic. I was bracing for him to destroy yet another family through his self-destructive behavior, but no.

I actually feel like they earned him getting out in one long episode. I hope that the man that returns to Princeton Plainsboro is the man who rode off on that bus, though. I'll be really disappointed if things go back to the status quo again.

(On a technical note, I loved the cinematography for this story arc: Starting with Kutner's death, the picture got murkier and murkier until the season five finale looked like absolute crap. After detoxing, the picture was crystal clear but utterly desaturated and bleak. The color came back little by little until the voicebox scene where it flooded back looking warmer and more inviting than the show ever had before.)

Incredible episode.  One of the best of the whole series.  The cinematography for this was fantastic.. incredibly good.  I thought the entire setup, storyline and method of this show were fantastic. 

 

I kept looking around the room for House to figure out a medical mystery.  It was great in that it made the audience want to believe that.  And in the end, the medical mystery is that not all mysteries are apparent or can be solved.  Great, great stuff.
 

Maybe the best of the series.  Talk about coming back with some energy!

Agreed, I can't believe how good that was. After a couple of seasons of mostly formulaic comedy, they just knocked that out of the park.

I loved that they managed to get a House cure in there, by the time it happened I thought they wouldn't even go there. I love that the cure was one of the more miraculous depictions of the series, but it works so well all due to House's personal journey. It was very different and I'm sure will remain unique for the show, just how it should be.

At one point I thought the story was so good it could have made for a great film, but then quickly realized it wouldn't work nearly as well if we weren't already so familiar with House-the-man. I think that's what makes it perfect television.

And now, in a way, the show premiers all over again next week!

I doubt that there will be a reset button type moment to go back to normal, but at the same time, I could see if he jumps back a little bit since it's easier to change for strangers than for everyone he already knows.  That'd make sense to me, but just going back and resetting completely to normal would just annoy me on a show that's already done that way too many times.

Absolutely. I'm not expecting him to be as open with the Princeton-Plainsboro people as he was with Dr. Nolan. I am expecting him to build on what happened, though, so that behind the snarky one-liners he actually starts to integrate himself with those around him.

Speaking of which, I'd really like to see Andre Braugher return. Their 'friend' moments were nice.

What a poingnant episode of TV. I love the subject of mental illness, and even thogh I watch The Mentalist, this episode of house felt much more organic. The acting was great by all involved. All the other aspects (writing, directing, set..) were also spot on.

It was fascinating watching someone who functions at such a high level deal with also having mental illness. I think once House kicked Vicodin, he could have continued on without the treatment he received (most people do), but I'm glad he received it.

It had shades of One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest but I thought it was a great House movie style length episode.

Never doubt the power of House.. grew in ratings half-hour by half-hour, hour after hour.. up from last year.  In this environment, that's pretty amazing.  But Fox has got to be happy.  "Bones" opened up higher then last year, up.  "Fringe" had a very small (2%) drop from last year's 2-hour premiere, and "House" is up from last year.  Fox has to feel VERY good about their lineup.

Excellent, excellent stuff.  HOUSE is always at its best when it bucks the mystery of the week formula and this episode bucked it more than usual.  It actually felt like "House - The Movie".  In a way, that's exactly what it was.

Of course, 2 hours of Hugh Laurie, Franka Potente (German, not Russian), and Andre Braugher is hard to beat.  I absolutely expect to see Brauer back.  They connected, and House trusts him now.

Here's hoping this really  changes House as we move forward.

Trouble is the show now has to go back to its normal setting.  This episode has pointed out what the biggest problem has become for the show.

This single episode of House was the most moving and profound thing i've seen on any television show.

It's something that I as a viewer have been starving to see since I began watching.

I really can't find any words to sum it up so I will just say one...magnificent.

I sort of expected a piano solo type thing instead of him helping out with the rapping.

Not to knock House, but this is actually a perfectly normal pattern for TV shows.  Most shows on most nights build their audience every quarter hour as regular viewers who were late getting to the set tune in or people who get bored by other shows change the channel.  Anytime you see a show that holds steady or loses audience as it goes along, you're looking at a show that's in trouble. 

Anyway, I really enjoyed the premier. The first half, "House Flew Over the Cuckoos's Nest" was fun, and the second half was even better.  It will be interesting to see House 2.0 try to reintegrate into his old life, and especially to see how his relationships with Wilson and Cuddy are affected.  (I must say that I'm surprised nobody ever stated the obvious - In the hospital scene when House describes Andre Braugher's character as friendless, work-obessed and lonely.  He's describing himself, of course, but I wish that had been more directly acknowledged by somebody in the show.)  

From what we saw in the preview, I'm not so sure that House is going straight back into his old life.  I think there may be a week or two of working things through before he is 100% back to his old life, if indeed he ever is.

Regards,

Joe

 But hardly any shows grow year-to-year any more, much less grow their timeslot 170 percent over the previous year.

fantastic episode. I wish we had more of this style

Of course.  The year-to-year growth is impressive, but that isn't the point I was addressing. 

 

Regards,

 

Joe
 

I stumbled across this link today. It doesn't contain any direct spoilers but it's enough to disappoint you. :(


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33007929/ns/entertainment-television/

Yeah, without giving anything way, Ausiello over at Entertainment Weekly broke the news of that cast member's departure earlier in the weekend. I'm really disappointed, because the character in question is the one I'd most like to see more of.

Don't click on Zack's link if you don't want to know what actor/actress (and therefore character) is leaving the show.

I don't and I won't.  Thanks for the heads-up. 

Regards,

Joe

I was pleasantly surprised that Andre Braugher was back and I hope we will see House talking with his character every now and then in future episodes.  It appears that Taub left too quickly, since House is coming back to the hospital.  A bit convenient.

Me too. It's a way of holding on to the insight we got into "House" in the premiere without changing the fundamental nature of the larger show. He's also one of the only actors they've ever had on the show who can hold his weight in a scene with Hugh Laurie. I loved the direct cut from House lying to Wilson and Cuddy to come right out with the truth to Dr. Nolan. I also liked the juxiposition between Foreman being unable to admit his mistakes for long stretches of the episode and Dr. Nolan at the end admitting he was wrong without the slightest hesitation. It really showed how far Foreman, and to a lesser extent House, still had to go.

Not the most exciting episode. I think it was the show's chance to figure out how to manage the reformed House within the new framework. I was ready to throw something through the TV when he grabbed the vicodin bottle, and I was so happy they didn't go down that road. I'm really looking forward to next week.

I don't know if you guys know this but my friend told me that she read that Hugh Laurie is actually beginning to have leg problems because of all the pretend limping he does on the show, further adding that his doctor has told him he has to quit doing that.

So, either the show will end or House will be miraculously cured lol.

Yup.  Here's a link to the story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1214736/The-limping-Dr-House-wrecked-knees-says-Laurie.html?ITO=1490

I started hearing that around the summer before season 3 I think, which is why I was surprised the miracle cure at the end of S2 didn't stick.

It was nice to see the old team back together again for another hurrah, but I'm not okay with what Chase did. There's no reset button that reverses his betrayal of the Hippocratic Oath. Even if the autopsy ultimately proves that it was whatever he used the blood to fake, it doesn't change the fact that he intended harm.

On the other hand, I enjoyed House's storyline with the other House.