Due to last week’s October nor’easter, I was left powerless to write up a review of House … and I mean literally, without electricity, heat, running water, not to mention my laptop … for four days. But when I did finally watch the episode this past weekend (Michael Nouri!), I turned to Keith several times (definitely when they consulted with Park’s old boss), including the end, and remarked that I just didn’t know how, after eight season the writing could still be so strong. Or is it just that Hugh Laurie is Hugh Laurie, and could act this role out of a shoebox, alone, and still be equally as entertaining?
With as much credit as I often give Laurie, this week, I’ve got to shout-out to the supporting cast members. I love that Charlyne Yi is an official cast member; like Ruby, I was concerned that she might not stick around because she doesn’t fit the typical Hollywood actress look. She adds so much to the team dynamics; she has no filter, yet it is so different from House’s lack of filter. It’s fun listening to the two of them insult people. I love that Chase and Taub are back, finally interacting with Park and Adams. Though I miss Taub and Foreman’s Bert and Ernie routine, I sense that we’ll get some gems from Chase and Adams, if the writers can just keep them from sleeping together. And perhaps Park and Taub will be the new Bert and Ernie … or at least Oscar and Big Bird.
House fell right into step, manipulating Taub as he always had … but my favorite part of the whole DNA quest was how he got Wilson into it, and the obvious pleasure Wilson took from revealing that the whole hospital had a betting pool on which babies were Taub’s. Either fatherhood has really changed him, or Taub’s high road of love with or without DNA is extremely temporary.
I can’t possibly not mention the renovations House made to the meeting space … and now we know why House had the construction going on at night. Wilson’s reaction was priceless. As much as I enjoyed the back-and-forth with orthopedics, I’m certain I won’t miss them as much now that House has remote-controlled access to Wilson’s office.
One thing that is perplexing me is that the confession aspect of the case-of-the-week wasn’t echoed in the storylines of the regular cast members. Often a theme will carry through an episode of House, but we didn’t get confessions from anyone else. I suppose it was hinted at with Adams not telling who cheated on her, and maybe even in the fact that Taub didn’t confess to wanting to know if he was the father of both babies. Maybe the distinct lack of confessing on the part of the team was meant as a foil to the blatherings of the patient, who didnt really have a lot to confess, when the team members do. Interesting.
What did you think of Chase and Taub’s return episode?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Nov 07, 2011 @ 22:32 EST5EDT
Two words: Jamie Bamber. Makes up for not getting him on Law & Order: UK anymore.
Although I made the mistake of having dinner while his skin was falling off. I won’t lie, I kind of choked.
It’s amazing how good the show can be when it’s just house being House and not all that crazy Cuddy BS going on. I’m now actually thankful she left the show.
I do wonder, three episodes ago House had no budget and no team, now he has a four person team? I don’t get it. And why is Foreman in a different office than Cuddy?
I think he got a ton of money from the patient in the previous episode, which is how he’s been able to afford all the new things (and people). Right?
Charlyne Yi’s char is my favorite one outside of House and Wilson
House is fun again. I wanted to root for Cuddy and House last season, but it really was a depressing relationship. I don’t want to see House moping over a woman any more than I want to see him strung out on Vicodin. I like to see him when he’s on his game, solving a medical mystery in his spare time, berating his team, messing with Wilson, just being himself at his sharpest. And I’d forgotten how much I missed House and Chase together – Chase really is like his son. Speaking of Chase – the beard is sexy, and I don’t generally like beards. :-)
You’re right, Deb – I’m really happy that Park is staying on because she provides a new perspective as a second-generation immigrant. Considering how many Asians work in hospitals, it’s remarkable to me that we don’t see more Asians in hospital shows. With Kutner I thought, hey, this is slightly realistic – they actually have an Indian doctor. But the writers wasted the character by de-Indianizing him. Really… his parents were killed and he was adopted by a white family? Lame.
In contrast, I really like Park. First of all, she has a Korean last name! They didn’t go the Kutner route and name her, I don’t know, Grubchek. Second, she has an Asian mentality: practical, no-nonsense, self-sufficient, quietly assertive. She sees things differently – like last week she pointed out that her cousin works in a sweat shop in China and it’s probably the best opportunity he has. Asians don’t come from a place of privilege and or a sense of entitlement, so her perspective is refreshingly different from the other doctors’. And I like her for being confident enough to wear that hairdo. She’s clearly intelligent without being a Wesley Crusher-type prodigy like Masters, and she’s confident and sassy, which is something Masters was not. She’s the only new addition to the show (i.e., after the shakeup of the original cast) that I have liked as much as the original cast.