House’s sixth season is now cooking with gas

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.

House and Wilson are still snapping at each other like boxing turtles too. House managing to have a dog pee in Wilson’s toilet while Wilson booby traps his plumbing to find out whether House is using Vicodin is vintage House also. My colleague Rich Keller wondered last week, in the comments, why I wouldn’t want to see a character’s growth. I don’t want to see it when it’s boring. I find self-improvement boring enough when I initiate it for my own life: I don’t want to be bored by seeing House do it too. If House were self-righteous or trying too hard to be polite, the show would get pretty old pretty fast. Duh, right?

My favorite part of the show was when House revealed that he had been the one to submit the patient’s diagnosis online. I have to admit, I didn’t see that coming. I absolutely loved it.

Clacked by Jen Creer
on Sep 28, 2009 @ 23:34 EST5EDT