This week’s House is the first episode of the series I’ve enjoyed in a long time. And not just because it hasn’t aired in three weeks because of baseball. “Known Unknowns” was reminiscent of House at its finest, early in the series. Unlike some episodes that seem like filler, this episode moved the characters forward instead of keeping them spinning in the perpetuity of their Princeton Hospital hamster wheel.

There were a lot of beautiful small moments to appreciate: Cameron sitting at House’s desk opening his mail; the jokes about Cuddy’s breasts being like Selma and Patty from the Simpsons.

“Why would you name them after somebody’s aunts?”

“Well, they’re always smoking.” Read the rest of this entry »

[Spoiler alert] My esteemed colleague Deb McDuffee buys that Chase really killed Dibala, (the mass murdering f*ck played by the always-marvelous James Earl Jones) on House this week. Oh no no no. It was Cameron. And this is how they are going to get rid of Jennifer Morrison.

It makes perfect sense: Cameron was told (by Dibala) to make a choice, that she doesn’t have the courage of her convictions, so she decided that he was going to die.

But even if I didn’t know that Morrison was leaving the show, I would think it was Cameron rather than Chase. She has killed before.

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Here are my picks, once again, for what I felt were the three best shows of the night:

Durham County — ION is currently airing the final couple of episodes of season one, but I decided to go ahead and finish up season two last night. Wow. Simply WOW. Brutal and disturbing, yet filled with great performances from the entire cast. It also set things up for what promises to be a crazy ride of a third season. Once that’s airing again, you can bet I’ll be posting about it more regularly here.

In any case, every episode of season one of Durham County was awesome, so episode four of that season (which is what aired on ION last night) would certainly rank up there as number one here.

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Okay, so maybe this isn’t earth-stopping news. But it makes me feel better. Based on the comments I had on my post about the season premiere of House, though, I was starting to wonder if I’d seen the same show. So, imagine my JOY when I found out that USA Today critic Robert Bianco didn’t like it either.

I thought Bianco nailed it on the head by comparing Season six’s premiere to an ABC AfterSchool Special. Look at all of these likable crazy people! Let’s hug! Blech. I still maintain that House’s treatment warranted at least a three-episode arc, if not the entire season. Why not juxtapose his recovery with the struggling diagnostics department under Foreman’s leadership?

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This is why I liked it: Well written! The veritable opposite of last week! Fine. The performances last week were brilliant. But tonight’s episode redeemed a lot of what seemed to be an over-simplification last week. Thank God House is still in therapy [with the great Andre Braugher!].

I have been worried about how the writers would handle the New-and-Improved Gregory House. I am pleased to report that they are handling it with grace and subtlety. House is still acerbic and funny (making balls jokes to Wilson as they attend cooking class), yet smart: figuring out that vinegar would slow the cooking of the outside of the balls while allowing them to cook thoroughly inside.

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Summer is coming to a close, which means two things. Many of the brilliant summer shows that cable gave us this year are over or close to, and its time for the fall premiers. Two of my favorite Virgin Diaries posts also found some closure, as Buffy finished high school, and Veronica just finished.

Defying Gravity

“Do you guys ever get, like really bad cramping when you clench your butt checks together like that?” — Wass

Greek

“He was a nerd but he was hot … it was just so confusing.” — Random ZBZ sister to Casey, about Max

“I had to fake a nosebleed to get out of there.” — Dale to Calvin, on how he supposedly escaped from Sheila at the party

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(Season Two, Episodes 14-16)

The longer I watch these back episodes of House, the more I ask myself this question, “Do I want to skip everything else when the new season starts?” Granted I know I would miss quite a bit, considering the three seasons I would miss. I would eventually see those, but obviously I can choose to wait, or, you know, not. What do you think?

More Wilson in this set is a good thing. I also, obviously — as I talk about the casting all the time – enjoyed the group of guest stars. If only the writers could find a way, more often, to break the pretty consistent formula that is each week’s plot, I’d be a much happier viewer.

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