A lot of us here at TV Squad have been listing that for which we are thankful. Like many of the others, I feel I have to start with my wife and family, and my friends. And I'd also add the comedy community in Boston, where I work, and beyond, for giving me something worth writing about and following day after day, year after year.
But this is a TV site, so the big part of this list is the things I am thankful I can see on the rundown TV in my office that makes a horrible cranking sound when I try to play DVDs, ot downstairs when I'm not bothering anyone by trying to catch up on thirteen discs of the Steve Coogan Collection.
My Local Library
Don't laugh. I have a rule that I won't watch an episodic TV series unless I've started it from the beginning, which means I wind up missing a lot of shows everyone else is screaming praises for.
(S06E09) "There's no point in putting a band together if we're not going to play any gigs." - House
I'm torn over the best way to tackle this review of "Ignorance is Bliss." I have far more bad things to say about the episode than I do good things, yet I loved it. The outcome I (and presumably most other fans) want to see (House and Cuddy together) is hopefully going to be achieved. This just isn't my ideal path to get there.
This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.
This week we have spoilers for: 90210, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Gossip Girl, House, NCIS, Parks and Recreation, Private Practice and Smallville. (SPOILERS FOLLOW!)
If you happen to be house shopping in the Brantford, Ontario area of Canada -- and if you're a British sci-fi fan -- I've found the perfect ivy-covered drive-by cutie for you.
Obviously, the current residents are huge Doctor Who fans -- unless most Canadians keep evil robotic killers in their home. I have no idea what the cuddly snow creatures to the north do with their free time -- besides crowding up against the U.S. border for warmth.
A closer inspection of the housing listing doesn't make it clear if the alien artifacts come with the jacuzzi, but I doubt you get the whole package with your down payment. But, if the Tardis is part of the deal, you can travel 30 years into the future when the mortgage is paid already off and move in for free.
(S06E07) "I'm living my life. For the first time, I'm not going to change that because of how it might affect him -- or you." -- Cuddy to Wilson, who asked her what she sees in Lucas
I just want to shove House and Cuddy into a room together and let them figure out their relationship. It's clear that even though she's trying to be happy in her current relationship, she just can't get House out of her head, no matter how much she declares that she has or is going to.
I feel for her, because once they end up getting together -- if they don't by the time the series ends, I'll be ticked -- she'll have a long road ahead of her. Or not. People change. There's a good heart beating inside House's damaged psyche. It could work.
(S06E07) "Well, I feel bad. I haven't named your testicles." - Cuddy
We're all thinking it, and unlike euthanasia, I see no reason to keep mum -- House is firing on all cylinders right now. Actually, let me clarify that -- House the character, not House the show, is firing on all cylinders right now. Anything going on in Greg's periphery at the moment is sensational, absolutely electrifying drama.
Everything else? Not so much. If anything, "Known Unknowns" did nothing more than highlight something we've seen countless times already. Namely, the paralyzing effect House's absence has on his team. They're inept without him. What did I glean from the case du jour? Some annoying teenager got sick from eating oysters. However, I gleaned plenty from the rest of the hour.
Rules are meant to be broken... especially for these ten television characters. For them, the rest of the world has one standard to live by and they have another. It makes them interesting and fun to watch... you just wouldn't necessarily want to be the person having to deal with them because they could drive you to distraction. Here's my ten pack of characters who live in a world of their own, according to no rules except their own. From the not-too-bad to the really bad.
10. Patrick Jane, The Mentalist
You would think that as a consultant to the CBI -- California Bureau of Investigation -- Patrick Jane would be compelled to uphold the rules and regulations of the department. However, Jane is a free spirit when it comes to office protocol. He does his own thing. For instance, bugging the office of a CBI higher-up is definitely not kosher. Jane doesn't care; he did it anyway and will probably get away with it.
This past Monday's episode of House, "Brave Heart," showed us a side of House that we've seen bits of this season, but finally got proof of - he is getting better. Granted, a healthy House means a return to many of his old shenanigans but apparently it also means trying to forgive the past.
House's military brat upbringing was brought to light in season five's "Birthmarks" where we saw House say good-bye to his father - a man he didn't seem to have too much love for. In this past Monday's episode, House took a cue from Wilson (who'd been conversing with Amber) and before dozing off to sleep, he spoke to his late father admitting that maybe he'd been focusing on the wrong things because there had been some good times.
Well... what good times? There was no context to back up House's claim. Now we have it. House producer Greg Yaintanes has posted a deleted scene, a flashback, where young Greg recalls some of those good times. I never pegged House as an ice-cream cone fan. Take a look.
(S06E06) "I've crossed some line and I'm having trouble getting back to the other side." - Chase
Another week, another case that no one cares about... well, almost. Ever since House's visit to the Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital, it's been tough to get invested in anything other than what he's going through. Each week, the case du jour has been largely disposable (save for Dibala) as nothing really relates to anything else. However, it seems like David Shore and Co. must've realized that too because "Brave Heart" made a good attempt at bringing what's become a very segmented story back together.
(S06E05) "I understand you're a fan. I'll have my guys send over a signed glossy." - House
We're getting deeper into the fall TV season, so it was only a matter of time before even the good shows started to falter a little. Not every episode is going to be an instant classic, and House is no exception. You know it's not a good sign when the only thing you find enjoyable is House comparing himself to Kobe Bryant, which, by the way, is dead on -- especially since he's no longer in charge. Foreman is the Phil Jackson to House's does whatever he wants and still wins #24.
I always look forward to watching House on Mondays. Since about season two, when I think the show really started to develop its secondary characters, I have been hooked on the writing and amazed at the kind of outlandish plots I would tolerate that I would never be able to pass by on, say, other medical dramas. But I'm looking forward to tonight's episode with a bit of trepidation. And that's because they may have finally found an outlandish plot I can't quite get past.
For those who still have last week's episode on DVR and are likely to write us letters because we spoiled it for you - SPOILER ALERT. Then again, why are you reading something about tonight's episode if you haven't watched last week's episode yet?
There. Consider that fair space between the alert and the actual spoiler info. From here on out, you have no one to blame but yourself.
In this week's episode of House, James Earl Jones played an African dictator. Much of the plot centered on whether he should live or die, and whether the doctors should make that decision in order to save innocent Africans that he would kill if he survived.
Ok, here's the thing about this. Jones is undoubtedly a great actor, but he didn't seem like an evil dictator ready to wipe out half the population of his country. He seemed more like his character Terence Mann in Field of Dreams, a kindly old guy who needed to be shown the way.