To say House‘s season seven premiere has been highly anticipated by fans would be a gross understatement.  Since our DVRs stopped recording new House episodes, our Monday nights have been filled with poor summer substitutes and have left us scrambling for old House DVDs.  Or maybe that was just my summer.  Regardless, we open exactly where we left off: House and Cuddy attempting to move past their mutual pain and forward into a relationship that could redefine both of their futures.  This season‘s format-breaking episode "Now What?" provides plenty of material for discussion and opens the door to what should be a unique and perhaps sexier season of House.  Each sub-heading of this article is a name of an episode of House from a past season.  House develops major themes throughout its seasons and the past episodes title‘s themes coming up again serve to demonstrate this point.  "Acceptance" (Season 2)What struck me in this episode was the amount of honesty we saw from Cuddy and House. In the world according to House, everybody lies. But, in this episode, House and Cuddy proved that the truth is a powerful tool, except in the case of House keeping Cuddy‘s hospital trouble to himself. Cuddy has never been this talkative, nor as honest as she was in the whole history of this series.  As soon as she said those three magic words, every wall they had built around each other came crashing down.  Their acceptance of one another‘s vulnerabilities was beautiful to watch and I felt like I was witness to real intimacy.  Very little music throughout the episode and noises like bed creaks also helped to create intimate moments.  It was almost unnerving to see both of them talk like human beings, having real conversations while they sussed out what their lives might be like from here on out.  Of course, House‘s motto does hold true for Thirteen, who left without telling anyone the truth about where she was going.  This begs the question: have we ever known Thirteen?   Read more »

Monday was the official start of the fall season with 12 shows premiering on the major networks. With all networks going head-to-head, the ratings can predict what shows will succeed and which will fail.  Read more »

House can‘t keep Cuddy locked away in his fortress forever. "Selfish" is the writer‘s answer to the question of how "Huddy" will function once they return to work. This episode puts us right back to where fans feel the most comfortable: at the hospital and with a great case for House to work on.  Each member of House‘s team, minus the absent Thirteen, has an opinion, or lack of an opinion on House‘s relationship. I can‘t help but wonder if this was the writer‘s version of their divided audience members‘ opinions on the direction the series has taken in light of the House/Cuddy pairing: "in favor, indignant, and indifferent." This episode easily could have been called "Selfless," but that would have made us all use our brains a little less. In typical House fashion, the writers challenged us to question if being selfish is actually healthier than being selfless.  Clinic (Selfish Exhibit A)This week‘s return to the clinic opened with a bang. Granted, House is being somewhat friendlier, but his barbs haven‘t softened in the wake of his good mood. He‘s still throwing some amazing zingers at his ancient patient, telling him he has a bad case of "natural causes." Both the patient and his son served to reinforce the idea that coming clean with clear intentions and honesty, even at the risk of hurting one another, would have been better than the lies and omissions handed out to spare hurt feelings. This father and son pair were very similar to another pair of clinic patients, also senior citizens. In the season one episode, "Love Hurts," two older patients didn‘t want to tell the other that they both wanted less sex.  Afraid of hurt feelings, they each went to House separately to deliver messages and manipulate the other and in the end realized they should have just been honest with each other.  Read more »

We all want to know how the story ends.  Either the people at House are getting really meta, or I‘m reading way too much into their episodes. Let‘s start with the positive. Amy Irving, as a suicidal, but brilliant author of a Twilight-esque series (Jack Cannon), was great in her role. Perfect, actually. House, as an avid reader, was terrific as a geeked out fanboy and definitely didn‘t hide his love for what most people consider rather embarrassing. However, the episode lost me a little on the go-kart track. I‘m stuck with Wilson, crashed to the side while the race went on without me.Two Sides to HouseAlice Tanner‘s character was the strongest part of this episode, and it‘s no wonder.  She represents a side of House from about four seasons ago, or even House in "Help Me" before Cuddy came to the rescue.  She‘s dark, brilliant, reads people, and is completely unhappy and suicidal.  She‘s also not kind to strangers.  And she‘s in pain.  Usually House is trying to get rid of his patients, but this week, there‘s something at stake.  Not just the life of his patient (his alleged secondary concern), but the future of the patient‘s fictional protagonist, Jack Cannon.  It was surprising to see House be so candid with her about pain and happiness.  House is out of mental pain and he‘s functioning well with Cuddy by his side.  His future, like the future of his relationship with Cuddy is unwritten.  By the end of the episode, House is displaying irrefutable evidence that he does, in fact, care about people.  Hence, the "Shut up," on his way past Cuddy to the elevator.  God forbid people knowing House does care about his patients.      Read more »

"Massage Therapy" offered little depth to a show that typically dives deep. The themes for tonight‘s episode have been done before and it would have been refreshing to see something other than the "you have to make sacrifices to make relationships work" overall theme. This theme has cropped up in other episodes: season 6‘s "Moving the Chains" and "Ignorance is Bliss" and season 2‘s "Need to Know" just to name a few. So why is this one special? Or is it? To be fair, this theme has popped up and House has never been able to fully apply it to his own life. In "Massage Therapy," he‘s able to use what he learns from his patient and move forward. However, this is now two weeks in a row where something in the episode hasn‘t thrilled me. It has nothing to do with the acting, which is consistently stellar, but this week‘s POTW storyline in conjunction with House and Cuddy‘s scenes just didn‘t tie together in as cohesive of a way as this series is capable of, and that‘s where the episode lost me.  POTW  Last week‘s POTW was different and interesting. This week‘s bored me. Really?  Schizophrenia? And House and his team couldn‘t have figured that out? I had a hard time believing that a diagnosis like that would fly right under the radar. Brings to mind the theme of "Occam‘s Razor," (an episode of the show from the first season): The simplest explanation is usually the right one. And while the idea of coincidence typically is ignored, wouldn‘t a simple test have done the trick at the beginning of the diagnostic process? Maybe I‘m being too hard on the episode, but really, truly, I have the highest standards when it comes to this show, so if they are not met, a rather negative review is born. Jenny, Margaret, whatever her name was would have been more compelling if I had some sympathy for her. Last week‘s teaser gave us some insight into Alice Tanner‘s life, so we immediately felt for her. This week, it was a struggle to empathize with what‘s-her-name. Read more »

OK, Jennifer Grey fans -- it‘s time to warm up your DVRs, because you‘re going to need them this Monday! In addition to her regular stint on Dancing with the Stars, Jennifer Grey will also be appearing as a guest star on Monday‘s House. Both shows air at 8 PM (ET/PT), and you can find Dancing with the Stars on ABC and House on Fox. Read more »

We‘re into season 7 of House, and things have heated up for our favorite (but horrible) doctor. This season promises new patients, new House team members and, of course, lots of Huddy action!Keep reading for House spoilers, season 7 news, cast information and more! You never know where you will find the truth... Read more »

Did I miss something here? If I‘m struggling to find an interesting angle in which to write this review, we have a problem. In an episode titled, "Unplanned Parenthood," House gets to be the parent he never wanted to be. This episode was far too on the nose, especially since the writers have yet to give any of the team members an interesting storyline this season. Last season at this time, Chase had killed a dictator, House was wrestling with his living situation, and Foreman and Thirteen were on the outs. I‘m happy to see that the writers are working more from a comedic standpoint, but really, is this the best we can do given the talents of the regular cast and a guest star like Jennifer Grey? I thought the other episodes were a bit lacking, but this one unfortunately takes the cake. Bear in mind I am one of the show‘s biggest fans, and my disappointment is coming from the high standards that the people over at House set a long time ago.  J-Grey AKA POTWJennifer Grey competed against herself tonight. Do you think she told her family to watch Dancing with the Stars or House? Either way, she played a 40-something mother that decided to have a baby. But it wasn‘t her first, and her daughter made that abundantly clear throughout the episode.  My hunch is that older daughter wasn‘t planned and lived her whole life feeling that way, whereas new nameless baby was completely planned for and popped out ready to be loved and cared for.  Unfortunately for nameless baby, mom wasn‘t long for this world.  Oh, the irony.  And then of course, Jennifer Grey‘s daughter ends up with the baby in another parenthood that was unplanned.  This episode reminded me of "The Down Low," that was heavy on humor -- House and Wilson both try and date their hot neighbor and treat an undercover cop that dies -- with a downer ending.  The big difference is that "The Down Low" was ultimately a much better and more thought-provoking episode.  Read more »

Today is apparently International Caps Lock Day on the Internet, and the BuddyTV writers aren‘t just celebrating: We‘re cele-berating, by using our caps lock key to virtually yell at the people on TV who piss us off.They may be kind of hard to read, but isn‘t that the point? It‘s clear these characters are in need of some serious tough love. Read them, then try your own!  Read more »

Tonight‘s episode of House marks the arrival of Amber Tamblyn to Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital. Tamblyn will play Martha Masters, a third-year medical student sent to play doctor with House‘s team (because of course a student is a valid replacement for a qualified doctor). Masters will join the currently all-male diagnostic team on the instructions of Cuddy. Read more »

It is the considerable opinion of BuddyTV that the people should not be allowed to vote. This morning the 2011 People‘s Choice Award nominees were announced and the choices are less than inspired. Sure, like a broken clock, some of the choices show an impressive exhibition of taste (nominating Ian Somerhalder‘s highly entertaining performance on The Vampire Diaries), but mostly, it‘s an embarrassment. Read more »

The last two episodes of House haven‘t been my favorites. Having said that, this one definitely redeemed the last two. "Office Politics" accomplishes everything a strong episode of House should. It provided interesting dynamics amongst the team, it tested House‘s relationship with medicine and Cuddy, and it set up dynamic parallels between new characters, old characters and the patient of the week.  "Office Politics" also explored one of House‘s age old themes: Everybody lies.  Patient Comes FirstDo not adjust your television. The annoying campaign commercial was just a part of the brilliant and timely, I might add, teaser at the beginning of the episode. If only this episode could have aired on Nov. 1! What‘s worse than a dirty politician? His campaign manager, apparently. Such was the case with this week‘s POTW, Joe Dugan. Joe wants to dirty up the already slimy Senate race, and in the beginning, Sen. Anderson is opposed. All it takes is a dip in the polls, and Anderson releases a dishonest commercial about his opponent; and of course, the POTW has no problem even taking the blame for the Senator‘s crossing of ethical lines.  Read more »

How can you tell a sweeps month episode of House from a regular episode? Well, add in a dash of epidemic, put House in danger, kill a patient, and mix in a scantily clad woman.  In this week‘s episode, "A Pox on our House," we have all four pieces of the sweeps puzzle.  Of course, never for a second did I worry that House was in actual danger. The real Housian parts of this episode were his reactions to the possibility that he might die. And Cuddy‘s piece in that brought over from last week‘s episode. Now, there‘s no way that this argument is the end of their relationship, but it did throw an undeniable kink in the way things have been going, which I‘m assuming will be resolved by next week‘s episode aptly named "Small Sacrifices."A Very Sick ManGuilt is not an emotion we‘re used to associating with House. The only other times I recall seeing House feel guilty is when he‘s dealing with deaths, like Amber‘s and Kutner‘s. But, here he is, volunteering to do clinic hours to appease his guilt over lying to Cuddy. In season 5‘s "Simple Explanation," the episode where Kutner killed himself, Taub says to House, "You can‘t feel that much guilt without love." This is all the more apparent as House attempts to be extra nice to Cuddy to move past his feeling of remorse regarding his lie during "Office Politics."Early in the episode, he goes to Wilson, clearly conflicted about his lie, especially because he thinks Cuddy knows he lied. Now caught, does he come clean? Wilson‘s bro-y advice is to continue lying; it‘s no wonder these two are so successful at relationships. Love that he also sought out Masters‘ advice, but skipped over the marriage expert, Taub. Given the opportunity to make things right with Cuddy, who "of course" knows what‘s going on, House sticks by his principles and doesn‘t apologize. House‘s words and actions are in major conflict here, and I have to wonder if House will ever be able to admit real fault where his medical principles are concerned.   Read more »

Welcome to The GBU, a weekly column coming every Monday where I look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly on TV.TV shows like to inject fresh blood after a few seasons with new characters to spice things up. Sometimes the new additions fit perfectly, and sometimes the actors never really gel with the show. Read more »

FOX released its mid-season schedule today, and there are more big changes for American Idol. The show already has new judges and new rules, and now there are new days. The show is being pushed to Wednesdays and Thursdays, most likely to keep Glee safely where it is since the show is doing so well.  Read more »

This week‘s House covers familiar territory, but in the best way possible. We‘ve seen House renounce faith many times in episodes like  "Damned if You Do," "House vs. God" and "Unfaithful," (which was also written by Hoselton) but this time things are different. All those episodes were written when House was unhappy. This season, House is actually in a good mood. Could House‘s new lease on life change his stubborn principles? This week we get a window into how his perspective on faith and truth have been shaped by his current relationship. As an added bonus, we get two other relationships to compare and contrast in this season‘s strongest episode, "Small Sacrifices."  POTWThis week‘s patient made a bargain with God three years ago to save his daughter for the bargain price of annual crucifixions. House, of course, is chomping at the bit in attempts to bring his faithful patient over to the dark side. House‘s mission in life seems to be converting those that believe things he considers to be idiotic and disprovable. He can‘t fathom that anyone would believe in something so purely and unselfishly. When House attempts to disprove what the patient sees as fact, that God does exist, House gets what he always gets: another manipulation fitting of the patient‘s beliefs. We‘ve seen it in "Damned if You Do," "Here, Kitty" and even in "Love Hurts." Remember when Cameron and House went on their date and she told him if he treated her like garbage it meant he loved her, and if he was nice to her, it meant he was getting in touch with his feelings? Same thing. God is either extremely merciful in his existence, or something terrible will happen and it is God‘s way of punishing you for not living for him. Either way, the patient is never won over.  Read more »

We‘ve come a long way, baby! Since last year‘s Top Nine Huddy list, House and Cuddy have actually had on-screen non-hallucinatory sex, said "I love you" and have managed to make the show even more riveting. A job well done, House powers that be! This time last year, we were clinging to stripper fantasies, mixed messages and one real kiss in season 5‘s "Joy."  This year, we better show some appreciation for getting the real deal and as such, I‘ve designed an updated Huddy Top 10 Moments list highlighting moments from last December to where we currently are in House. Read more »

This morning the Golden Glode Award nominations were announced, and the TV side featured some truly outrageous nominations. While shows like Glee and 30 Rock picked up many expected nominations, who could‘ve seen someone like Scott Caan getting nominated for Hawaii Five-0? Or Piper Perabo for USA‘s Covert Affairs?The Golden Globes also gave love to new shows like Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead and The Big C. Read more »

Just two days after the Golden Globe nominations were announced, the Screen Actors Guild unveiled their nominations. While the drama side is rather predictable, the comedy line-up is full of surprises, including two nominations for TV Land‘s Hot in Cleveland.  Read more »

We still have some time to wait before House returns from its mid-winter hiatus, but at least there are now spoilers to occupy our minds until the show returns.  Read more »

Last night‘s People‘s Choice Awards were yet another example of why democracy doesn‘t always work. Sure, it‘s a nifty idea for government, but when it comes to TV, the people typically make bad or confusing decisions. As proof, look at the fact that the painfully unfunny $#*! My Dad Says was named Favorite New Comedy.  Read more »

The votes are in for the first-ever BuddyTV Fan Favorites, picked by you, the fans! There was some stiff competition among shows like Supernatural, One Tree Hill, Lost, Chuck, The Vampire Diaries, Glee, House and others.Check out the full list of winners:  Read more »

They come, they go. It‘s not just the patients that check in and out of the hospital frequently on House. Even the doctors and other main characters sometimes have limited stays on the medical drama. In upcoming weeks, we will see a new character arrive, a recurring character leave and an old character return. Read more »

It was a big night for Glee as members of the foreign press kicked off awards season with the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles.The Fox musical series was named Best TV Series - Comedy or Musical for a second year in a row, with Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch taking home Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively. HBO‘s Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire was named Best TV Series - Drama, with Steve Buscemi named Best Actor - Drama. Katey Sagal was finally recognized as Best Actress - Drama for her work in FX‘s Sons of Anarchy, while Jim Parsons and Laura Linney were similarly feted.The Facebook drama The Social Network emerged as the big winner on the film front, winning four awards, including Best Motion Picture - Drama and honors for director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin. The quirky comedy The Kids Are All Right went home with two awards, including Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. Natalie Portman was named Best Actress - Drama for Black Swan, while The Fighter‘s Christian Bale and Melissa Leo took nods for Best Supporting Actor and Actress.The nominees for this year‘s major awards are listed below, with the winners in bold. The full list of winners can be found here. Read more »

House wants so badly to believe in justice and karma. All last season he tried to change so he could live a more positive life. In tonight‘s episode, "Carrot or Stick," it‘s all about the approach and in the end how that approach led to the appropriate consequences, or justice. This episode did a nice job of moving several plot lines forward and presenting some interesting questions regarding attitude and approach.  POTWWhile I wasn‘t overly sympathetic toward the patient (Driscoll) this week, I did enjoy the parallels he brought to the table and enjoyed that he was a strong military presence. I wish that the show somehow mentioned House‘s father since he was in the military, but maybe this was more of an homage to the way House was raised? Either way, I think a hint dropped for a viewer that isn‘t quite as obsessed as I am about House‘s father‘s way of discipline would have been nice. Driscoll‘s approach of straight discipline for his secret son obviously hasn‘t been working. In the end, the truth and his caring attitude captured his son, and we‘re left feeling some level of content for their broken family and more sympathy for a man who is fearful and misguided but trying to start over. And isn‘t starting over what House has been trying to do this season? Time will tell what kinds of consequences Driscoll may reap from a son he lied to all his life. Read more »

It‘s been far too long since a new House aired, and I was pleased to see the series return with a strong episode. While tonight‘s themes have been covered in the past, some new angles and the entrance of Cuddy‘s mother, played by Candice Bergen, helped this episode along.Her character was a caricature of even the most annoying Jewish mother.  Take George‘s mom in Seinfeld and subtract all of her nice qualities and we have Arlene, the blonde "shiksa" Cuddy calls mom. Not only do we get a big dose of family time with Cuddy, but we also get a sharper look at Taub‘s life and learn what it takes to be a hero.And Then a Hero Comes Along ...Is Jack the "Subway Hero"? Or was he actually selfish in his seemingly selfless actions? House will never believe anyone does anything completely selflessly, and why should he? He‘s been at this doctoring thing long enough to see enough patients come back from the brink of death and return to their old lives, selfish as always. But Jack rescues someone out of the pure goodness of his heart and something clicks for him: He actually can apply this freak selflessness to his everyday life! He very nearly does this before another opportunity comes along with his band Suicide Season. Perhaps the band name is speaking to his own version of suicide, in that he‘ll jump onto the subway tracks to save another, but he won‘t bother rescuing himself from mediocrity. This earns him a spot on House‘s loser line-up of former patients too selfish to do the right thing and let the people they love move forward.    Read more »

Anyone who has ever seen House before understands that it‘s a show in which medical, ethical and moral boundaries are crossed, intertwined, and broken. This week‘s episode, "Family Practice" did a nice job of providing several ethical benders, enough to keep even House on red alert. Because the patient of the week was someone we knew, Cuddy‘s nightmarish mother, Arlene (Candice Bergen), the usual format of the episode seemed shifted somehow, the same as in "House‘s Head/Wilson‘s Heart," when House and Amber became the patients and the mystery and diagnosis were even more interesting because we were invested in all parties involved.Like Mother, Like Boyfriend? Cuddy‘s mother Arlene is a piece of work. A pistol, even. When Arlene tells her daughter that she‘s forgotten how to be a real doctor, I was immediately reminded of House telling Cuddy the same thing in season 2. Is Cuddy secretly, or as it turns out, not so secretly, a masochist? Seems like she was raised with her mother being extremely hard on her. Then she goes to medical school, becomes one of the first women deans, dates Lucas (ew), then dates House, which is great, but who‘s fooling whom? A relationship with House is rewarding, but there‘s a lot of emotional drama to get through (six seasons worth). Consider how long it took Cuddy to admit her feelings for him. At any rate, it‘s interesting that Arlene and House both love Cuddy, but are by no means easy to love. Read more »

Yes, we‘ve seen a lot of ideas from this week‘s House before. In fact, much of the later seasons seem to be taking ideas from former seasons regarding the show‘s themes and tropes, but the bright spot in this particular episode is the angle from which House is coming. In "You Must Remember This," the patient of the week, Nadia, has a mysterious illness plus an uber-cool memory trick. She can‘t forget anything. But is her uniqueness isolating her from forming real connections to others? And what does this have to do with House and the qualities that make him different and typically alone?HilsonThe House/Wilson storyline in this episode wasn‘t atypical from anything we‘ve seen before. Meddle here, meddle there. Do mean things that are actually in someone else‘s best interest. Yada, yada, yada. What made this one special is that House is feeling guilt for something and his attempts to make Wilson happy through a subdued allergy torture are more transparent than usual. Cuddy hit the nail on the head when she accused House of feeling guilty for being happy. Yes, House wants his best friend to feel as happy as he is, especially since Wilson has helped House limp out of some dark situations, but does House need to resort to getting rid of Wilson‘s cat to force him to move forward with "Java the Slut"? I think not. And by the end, Wilson and House have an honest conversation. Imagine if that had happened first. Only in alternate universe House-land. Read more »

Maybe it‘s because I‘ve been watching a lot of Lost lately, maybe it‘s because I was expecting "Two Stories" to be like season 1‘s "Three Stories," or maybe it‘s just because I‘ve seen episodes of television like this before, but I was not confused by the idea of time in this episode. In fact, the story that this episode told unraveled in the most perfect way possible.  Everything in this episode unwound itself in the exact way it was supposed to, and it only made the episode more unique, at least compared to many other episodes of House. In this week‘s, "Two Stories," we get a lot more than the title bargains for, but the main idea of "Two Stories," is to show that there are two sides to every story, no matter how right you think you are. Or House thinks he is, which according to Cuddy, is always.Mirror, MirrorTypically, this is the spot I reserve in this article for the patient of the week, but this week, there was more than one person being obviously paralleled. In "Two Stories," we had a parallel House and a parallel Cuddy. And might I say, I loved the young girl. House‘s attempt to make the distinction between bossy and bitchy defines the House/Cuddy relationship to a T. And as young little House says regarding his version of Cuddy, "She‘s bossy, but she‘s usually right." Their entanglement, as writer Tommy Moran would have it, was similar to that of House and Cuddy. Manipulation plus misguided heartfelt need. The boy playing the young version of House was very sweet, even in his manipulations. His honestly was refreshing and our House, the allegedly wiser one, took some great notes with him after their conversation. Read more »

Do we always get what we deserve? Or do we get what we get? Can we have it all? This week‘s House seems to address those questions, framing them in our ever-flailing economic circumstances, and more specifically, the 2010 buzzword "recession." Recessions can be applied to all aspects of this episode, whether it‘s the slowing down of House‘s medical reaction time, as if Cuddy is his own personal drug, or it‘s our patient Bert who‘s been beaten down by the recession so hard that he is now having to clean up brain matter and blood at crime scenes. The rest of the team also faces their own personal slumps, like Master‘s lack of friends and Chase‘s meaningless, yet meaningful relationships. While this week didn‘t break any formats, even though the patient of the week died, House has hit a milestone, and that happened in the last three minutes of the episode.  POTWWith this week‘s episode entitled "Recession Proof," we knew we‘d end up with someone talking about the state of their finances. In the most obvious interpretation of the term "recession," our POTW has transitioned from being a head honcho in real estate to someone who cleans up blood. He has literally gone backward in his life and lied to his wife, played by Ashley Jones (of True Blood and soap opera fame) about everything. Masters snapped at Bert, telling him that if he had told the truth from the beginning, he might not have ended up in this horrible medical situation. Interestingly enough, Chase stepped in to say that one had nothing to do with the other. Does Martha, who is factual enough to be her own encyclopedia believe that people get what they deserve based on their morals or based on logic and facts?  Did Bert die because he lied to his wife? Or did he die because House is distracted, happy and trying to please his girlfriend? Or finally, do any of these events have anything to do with the patient‘s death coming right on the heels of his wife admitting to being wrong and pregnant?  Read more »

Things have been going pretty well for Cuddy recently. She‘s managed the impossible in maintaining a relationship with House. The hospital has run as smoothly as any hospital that employs House can hope for. She even won a fight with House when she got Masters inserted into the team.So of course she‘s doomed. Read more »

With the CBS comedies in repeats and The Bachelor airing a reunion special, last night should‘ve been a good night for NBC‘s The Event to return. However, when the dust settled, it turns out people weren‘t that interested.  Read more »

"Bombshells," indeed. Tonight‘s House promised to tantalize our senses, make us laugh, make us cry, make us sing. Well, it did that, but it didn‘t mention that the ending would press the reset button to the series! And that it would seem suspiciously like a finale, rather than a middle of the season episode. Through Cuddy and House‘s dreams and Cuddy‘s cancer scare, we see the relationship between House and Cuddy unravel. And more than that, we see House fall to pieces. This one wasn‘t for the faint of heart, and I‘m still processing what I really think about the episode.Getting to Know CuddyLast season when "5 to 9" aired, I figured we would finally understand how Cuddy thinks, her motivations and who she is. What I found out through that episode is that she‘s a busy working woman who loves her child, is frustrated with her sex life and comes to rely on House. In other words, duh. I believe she‘s an underdeveloped character. What an episode like "Bombshells" does is divide fans entirely. Some fans think Cuddy is acting completely out of character and thoroughly screwing up things with House. Others believe Cuddy is finally doing the right thing for herself. I am left wondering where I stand on this issue because, truth be told, I don‘t feel like I ever really knew Cuddy at all. What was she thinking, really, when she got together with House in "Now What?" Did she secretly hope that the selfish man with a whole lot of potential would change? Or did she convince herself that she could "get happy," and moreover, make him "get happy"? Read more »

Today FOX released its summer schedule with premiere dates for So You Think You Can Dance, Hell‘s Kitchen and MaserChef.  Read more »

When The Powers That Be decided to break up House and Cuddy, it became clear that they wanted to be showing off their favorite depressed, Vicodin-addicted doctor once again. To this I asked, are we really going to be getting something new? Or is this just the 2011 version of the pill-popping heartbroken doctor we saw after Stacy left? To be fair, he was in it a lot deeper with Cuddy at least as far as length and commitment go. And he was as happy as House is capable of. Well, tonight‘s episode started House‘s downward spiral and with some amazing musical selections, we‘re introduced to some new extremes of House‘s coping mechanisms. Make no mistake: The sunlight streaming in through House‘s hotel window was just about the only light in the start of what will most likely be a series of dark episodes.  POTWI found this week‘s patient interesting. Mostly because we didn‘t have to deal with him very much and his profession alone provided almost everything I needed to tie him and House together. A bull rider must be a risk taker. Whoever takes on what many consider a foolish profession has to be all in, 100 percent risky. House has always admired those who take huge risks and commit completely. It‘s why he loves the extreme monster truck rallies, enjoys his overly dramatic soap operas and revels in The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Regardless of their class, House lives for those who can do what he cannot. Be completely who they are with no regrets. Love and live fully.  Read more »

There are few things on TV I love more than cast members from old shows getting together again, which is why last night‘s House gave me goosebumps. The main course may have dealt with House‘s green card marriage, but the patient of the week was the delicious side dish.The patient was played by Christopher Marquette, who starred with House‘s Amber Tamblyn on Joan of Arcadia. As a result, the patient‘s deep connection with Martha Masters and their discussions about God were extra special, like truffles on your entree.  Read more »

Well, that was a charming episode.  If you like mock weddings, gadgets and a Law and Order: SVU type of ending. With every episode of House, there is something redeeming, but for this one, I didn‘t find much. It may not have been the worst of the season -- that still goes to "Massage Therapy" and "Unplanned Parenthood" -- but it certainly wasn‘t the best, and coming off of last week‘s poignant ending and amazing musical moments, this one just didn‘t do it for me.  POTWWe‘ve got a homeless guy as the POTW, and he‘s a liar that‘s been abused by his father.  Can you hear House now? "Everybody lies," is what he would say if it wasn‘t wholly unnecessary and obvious this week. Is this episode about redemption? Forgiveness? Moving on? Or the beginning of the point of no return? It‘s entirely possible that the POTW, whose name we‘ll never know was there to prove that there are some mistakes that we make that we can‘t and shouldn‘t be forgiven for. Has House already gone past the point of no return with Cuddy? Does her dumping him mean that she can never be forgiven? House played on her guilt during this episode and she let him until Wilson came around and told her to take the reins back. Does the patient feel guilt? And what are we supposed to draw from his fatherly abuse? That he is similar to House? We get it.     Read more »

House is on a brief hiatus at the moment, but that doesn‘t mean there‘s no news to get us through the next couple of weeks. Strange explanations, eagerly awaited returns and big guest stars are all on tap for future House episodes. Read more »

Welcome to The GBU, a weekly column coming every Monday where I look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly on TV.If you watched TV last week, you may have noticed a lot more shocking twist endings than usual. The device (popularized by M. Night Shyamalan movies) revealed some pretty big bombshells at the end of some of TV‘s best shows. Sometimes they were successful, but other times, they were just ridiculous.  Read more »

It looks like nobody watched TV last night. Maybe people were too busy taking advantage of the fact that national parks are still open for business, but viewership was down across the board on Monday night, resulting in some of the worst ratings for top shows.Both Chuck and How I Met Your Mother hit all-time series lows for total viewers with their new episodes, while House had its lowest-rated episode since the first seven episodes of season 1 back in 2004.  Read more »

It‘s been a long time since we‘ve seen Thirteen on House, but all that changes tonight. In the show‘s 150th episode, the numerically-nicknamed Dr. Remy Hadley (Olivia Wilde) makes her triumphant return after going AWOL at the start of season 7. Well, maybe not triumphant.The episode finds Thirteen getting out of jail, where she‘s been locked up for the past six months. The reason for her incarceration is one mystery, but what was doing before she got arrested is another. Most doctors crumble in front of House, but Thirteen reminds us very quickly why she‘s such a formidable force. She is every bit as good at manipulation as House is, and the two of them spend the entire episode together in an epic battle of cat and mouse.  Read more »

Tonight‘s highly anticipated episode, "The Dig," is highly anticipated for a couple of reasons. One, that Thirteen, who left after the season‘s premiere episode, is returning, carrying a rather large secret with her. And two, it‘s the show‘s 150th episode. Back when the show hit the 100th episode in season 5, there was celebration. But David Shore, the series‘ show-runner, made sure to mention in interviews that just because he hit 100, didn‘t mean the episode was going to be spectacularly different. "The Dig" offers up some new story lines for Thirteen and reminds us as viewers just how valuable her character is as a confidant to House and gives us a peek into just how raw and vulnerable House really is. POTWI‘m not thrilled with this week‘s patient. I would rather see what Cuddy is up to or more of House and Thirteen. This patient is a hoarder. But oh wait, it‘s his wife that‘s doing the hoarding, and in the end was lying to her husband the whole time about having the miscarriages that ended up causing the hoarding. Is the main message here that if we‘re not careful about dealing with strong emotions inside us, they will manifest themselves physically? Could this be alluding to House‘s crazy excessive marriage, hooker lifestyle, and hotel expenses? Regardless, the couple, even throughout all the lies, manages to stay together and work it out. Maybe Cuddy could catch a clue.  Read more »

The best thing about television is that 20 people can watch the same episode and have 20 different opinions about what they saw.  I have a feeling that this episode will most likely divide fans, but I‘m going to choose to dive in to what my first instincts were telling me regarding the episode.  I can sum them up in one word--one syllable, in fact: eh.  Don‘t get me wrong.  I liked the character of Martha M. Masters.  And she deserved a nice send-off since Thirteen is back and all is apparently rightfully and disturbingly back in place in House-land.  But seriously?  Enough was enough tonight.  And truth be told, I think the powers that be over at House were way more in love and invested in this character than I‘ll ever be.  POTWWho needs House when you have Martha? Oh yeah, I do!  I understand that this week was a not-so-subtle shift of the spotlight from House to Martha, but man, even the patient is all about mirroring Martha?  I suppose the parallels were nice. Both prodigies, both carving out their own paths at a very early age, and pushing themselves harder than they should.  The question the patient brought up early on for Martha was if Martha should accept that doing what she loves includes dealing with things she doesn‘t.  By the end of the episode, she answered that question in spades.  She ended up sacrificing her moral code, lying to the patient, the family, everyone, and Masters accepted that this was unacceptable.  The POTW did well to service the storyline, but I wasn‘t enthralled.   Read more »

Last night, reality competition reigned supreme, cops followed close behind and several shows proved that reruns really don‘t bring in the viewers.CBS‘ Dancing with the Stars ruled the night, with 19.59 million viewers the first hour, and 22.16 million the second -- typical numbers for the celebrity dancing competition, which is second in weekly ratings only to reigning champion American Idol. Check out our recap of last night‘s DWTS!The only show even close to touching DWTS‘ ratings last night might surprise you. The little show that could: Castle. Read more »

Let‘s face facts. The end is near, and House, the series, may need to step up and provide a little "change." Interestingly enough, tonight‘s episode addresses some of the audience‘s burning questions about whether House considers changing. He‘s has been a cynic for as long as we‘ve known him, and that didn‘t change even when he was in love with Cuddy. He may have been happier, but he remained cynical. However, throughout the series, House has had a romantic streak. With Stacy, he wooed her with a cute note, with Cuddy, he brought her back her medical school desk.While House might not believe in the good of people, he does know how to bring a smile to a woman‘s face. So why is this important? Throughout last night‘s episode, House watched from the sidelines as yet another one of his patients was duped. This week‘s House was about how the idea of hope may change your outlook on things. If House and Thirteen had been more positive about the outlook of the patient‘s love life, might things have turned out better for the lottery winner? What about Foreman? Even though he‘s stressed out, at least he‘s in control of it. Should he accept that he is who he is or have a more positive attitude about his life and attempt to change?POTWAnyone think of Lost with this week‘s patient? He certainly seemed as lovable as Hurley, trying to find love the best way he knows how. Cyrus, the millionaire, was as optimistic as we‘ve seen on House, knowing and trusting in his heart that once he found the woman he was supposed to be with, it would make him the happiest to be with her and support her financially. Does the patient‘s trust in everyone around him make him a happier person or an ignorant one? Remember the genius patient in "Ignorance is Bliss"? He deliberately made himself dumber to be with the one he loved.  Is this man doing the same thing in order to remain just a bit more hopeful about love?  In the end, he may have found the right woman, but her morals could be just as questionable as the fake Jennifer‘s. More food for thought: Was his brother just trying to make Cyrus happy? Or was he solely hoping to get away with some cash? Read more »

"Do you think I can fix myself?"  House asks, eyes wide, vulnerable posture.  "I don‘t know," Cuddy answers.  One year after "Help Me," we‘re still not sure, but House has taken it into his own hands.  There are no easy fixes. If anyone should know this, House should. But perhaps House feels that, after exploring all the difficult ways to fix his leg and his pain, he‘s opting for a drug trial that seems relatively simple. And after all, if it works on rats, it should clearly work on humans. (Note the sarcasm.) What interests me here is why House, one of the most intelligent characters in prime time television, would do something that is clearly not a medically sound idea.  The reason is the same reason House has always had for doing something that lacks logic. Any slim chance it has to fix House‘s pain makes even the most experimental and dangerous of drugs, treatment, and/or therapy worthwhile. But will fixing House‘s leg pain cure his emotional strife? Wilson doesn‘t think so, but I‘m a little less sure. Let‘s start with the dual patients.  Patients of the WeekThere were really three patients this week, one being our own Dr. House. But for now, let‘s stick to the first two. With the boxer, House is clearly wanting to get a diagnosis. There has to be a logical reason for the boxer losing his match other than a fair loss.  And of course, House will be the one who absolutely has to find it. As usual, House gives a rather lame ulterior motive (a $50 bet and being wrong) in order to conduct his medical research on the boxer, but we know it‘s about more than that.House confides in the boxer, telling him that there‘s got to be a physical reason why he‘s losing so much, why he‘s so unhappy. If he can just fix the boxer and prove that healing the physical problem fixes the mental one, then can‘t he do the same for himself? Read more »

Overtime during the Heat/Celtics game might have contributed to some of the falling ratings for primetime television last night, with Chuck, Dancing with the Stars and How I Met Your Mother all dipping considerably in viewers from last week. However, a few resilient shows managed to weather the ratings slump. Read more »

The doctor will be in, again. In a predictable move given the show‘s solid ratings and strong presence at awards shows, FOX officially renewed House today for an eighth season. This follows news yesterday that the network renewed animated shows Family Guy and The Cleveland Show.  Read more »

This review of House‘s newest episode, "After Hours" (airing Monday at 8pm on FOX), almost didn‘t happen. The first time I tried to watch an early copy of the episode, I had to turn it off half-way through. It includes a scene so incredibly disgusting and disturbing that it made me physically ill and I had to turn it off or risk extreme nausea.But I settled my stomach, went back for a second viewing (this time fully prepared for the horror to come) and it was definitely worth it, because this is one of the most important episodes of House ever.  Read more »

After watching "After Hours," I wonder: Why is it that we don‘t see more episodes like this in a House season? Is there some rule that we must always remain true to the standard formula? Must we always have a diagnosis at five or six minutes before the hour is up? And more than that, do we always need a patient of the week? Most of the episodes I‘ve liked throughout the series have either broken with format or taken the cast out of their usual element. This episode is no exception, with all characters being pushed to their physical and emotional limits. With one episode left, we‘re right back to the feeling we had after the first episode this season: Now what?Foreman and Taub I‘ll start with who I felt were the least compelling pair. And might I just say, it wouldn‘t be May sweeps without FOX trying to shoehorn in a scene with strippers. Note that we‘ve seen strippers on House in May in seasons 4, 5, and now 7. Thus endeth the stripper rant. At any rate, Tiny Taub, of all people, managed to knock up his young ginger girlfriend of the moment. Sigh. I really wish I cared more, but since it all ties back to House, I‘ll say this: Taub finally grabbing on and taking some responsibility may be foreshadowing of House doing the same. I‘ve heard interviews with David Shore saying that people can‘t change. House needs to make a change and at the end of its seventh season, it can‘t be a small Housian step. It better be big and noteworthy.   Read more »

Finales ruled Monday night, with Chuck, Castle, Hawaii Five-0, and How I Met Your Mother all enjoying hefty ratings increases with their season finales. And of course Dancing with the Stars fared well. We also said goodbye forever to a few shows.Castle wrangled a whopping 13.21 million, while Hawaii Five-0 managed 9.83 million. Both shows featured huge cliffhangers in their season finales, leaving fans hungry for more. How I Met Your Mother had 7.11 million viewers. Chuck‘s season finale drew 4.47 million viewers. All four shows are returning next season (Chuck for its final 13 episodes), but fans have a long summer ahead of them. Read more »

Upon hearing the devastating news that Lisa Edelstein would not be returning to House for season 8, I decided I had to give her a proper farewell by attempting to create a list of some of her best moments on the show. This hasn‘t been an easy task. In nearly every episode, there are Cuddy scenes that I love because they‘re either hilarious, poignant, dark or bold. Cuddy has served as a love interest for House (arguably since the pilot episode of the series) and as his superior at work whose impossible task is to keep him in line. In season 7, the romantic feelings between House and Cuddy were finally, albeit briefly, explored. Whatever your opinion is on the break-up, or "Huddy," Lisa Edelstein‘s presence on the show has been a staple in the series, and her leaving will be creating a huge void for the writers to fill. I always saw House and Cuddy as an epic couple, two people that everyone knows will inevitably end up together in the end. Her leaving has thrown a serious wrench in my prediction of the future of the series, and I have to wonder, what will happen to House without Cuddy? Furthermore, how will Cuddy be replaced at PPTH? For now, let‘s pay tribute to an amazingly gutsy, funny, intelligent female character: Lisa Cuddy, and the wonderful actress that plays her, Lisa Edelstein. Read more »

Last year after "Help Me," I jumped off the couch and started screaming and running around my house forcing one of my roommates to re-watch the last five minutes with me. The year before that, I sat, glued to the couch, tears running down my cheeks, fully moved by House‘s plight and Cameron and Chase‘s walk down the aisle. This year, my jaw dropped, my eyes widened and I screamed at my television, "Are you kidding me?" Don‘t forget to insert the most convenient expletive.Finally, the moment I‘ve been waiting for since "Bombshells" has arrived. House and Cuddy have a real conversation! And House admitted he was hurt! Gasp! Is this the kind of groundbreaking writing that‘s supposed to make me ache for next season? Because I had low expectations for this finale, and most of them were met and exceeded. "Moving On" is just as literal as it sounds. Cuddy‘s moving on -- right off the show in fact. House is moving on, to Hawaii, and with the Losties apparently. And of course, our Patient of the Week is making choices that will impact the rest of her life as well. Stick a fork in this finale: it was over before it even started. And what‘s so incredibly frustrating is that this show is capable of so much more than it‘s producing. More on that later. First up, our Patient of the Week. Read more »

More season/series finales last night, with House, the (now cancelled) Chicago Code and The Event (also cancelled) all airing their final episodes of the season. Dancing with the Stars aired its penultimate episode of the season, with the finale happening tonight.House‘s season finale, which saw the departure of actress Lisa Edelstein, was down from last week. It saw a 6% drop versus last week, and a 23% drop versus last year‘s season finale, with 9.03 million viewers. Unfortunately for House, this is a finale low for the series. You can check out our House recap here. Read more »

Stars are dropping like flies from many of television‘s top-rated shows. And the latest casualty comes from NBC‘s newly-renewed Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. According to reports, star Christopher Meloni will not be returning for the series‘ 13th season in the fall. Read more »

This is a diagnosis not even the great Gregory House could‘ve called. According to TVLIne, House star Lisa Edelstein, who plays hospital administrator Lisa Cuddy, will not be returning for the show‘s eighth season.  Read more »

FOX released its 2011-2012 schedule today, and as expected, it‘s all about The X Factor. The new Simon Cowell-led singing competition featuring Paula Abdul (thus making it Idol 2.0) will continue to fill the same three-hour Wednesday/Thursday block currently held by American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance.  Read more »

With this week‘s Bones episode, fans are going to get their first peek at the potential Finder spin-off series. Brennan and Booth will travel to Florida to investigate a murder, enlisting the help of Walter Sherman and company in order to track down a key piece of evidence.Bones and Finder series creator, Hart Hanson, spoke with reporters about the shows via conference call. While he was careful, not to give away too many spoilers, as is so depressingly often the case, there were more than a few tantalizing tidbits. Read more »