Monsters of Television

“Boring, Bimbo, and Bite-Sized.”

Disclaimer #1: I haven’t watched House since “Wilson.” That was the tenth episode of season 6. It aired November 30, 2009. I have no idea what’s going on in the show, beyond the fact that Huddy has happened, Cameron left, and Thirteen is gone  (for a bit) as well. Which leads to…

Disclaimer #2: My interest in this episode is more or less entirely motivated by Amber Tamblyn (and Jack Coleman! Holy hell! Awesome!).

So, perhaps, you may see this as a bad reason for me to review the episode. Matt and Nick, after all, are still watching it (though Nick is probably pretty biased at this point). But I figure this is a good time to see if I made the right decision in slowly drifting away from the show last season. After all, if Amber Tamblyn can’t convince me to come back, who can?

I left House for a couple of reasons. One was that I felt like the patients mattered less and less while character dramas became more and more prominent. In essence, the show that had started as a medical procedural with a fascinating character at its center had become a workplace melodrama with less-than-fascinating character at its center and lots of other relationships going on.  To be sure, this was something that had to happen at some point. Crazy medical zebras are really hard to keep writing every week, so I was prepared for the show’s premise to eventually fall by the wayside, but wasn’t thrilled when it did.

But the other reason was House himself. I was frustrated that the show had gone to the “It’s all in his head” well for three out of their five finales which, while occasionally entertaining, started to feel lazy. And then there was House’s (de?)evolution from brilliant jerk to massive jerkass who ruined his own show. In essence, I can only watch so much self-destruction until I get really bored/turned off by the events.

So imagine my surprise when I tune into “Office Politics” and find the show kind of reset to season 1 or 2 norms. House isn’t a horrible horrible human being (Don Draper seems to have less and less competition, doesn’t he?) , Chase is useless, Foreman is a jackass, and, well, Taub wasn’t there for those early seasons, but he’s still adorably schlubby. House and Cuddy are in a relationship, but at least they’re still genuinely teasing one another and not engaged in total mind games.

Indeed, I like that House is back in its roots (at least for this episode) so that Tamblyn’s Masters’ introduction feels organic enough (I’m not privy to the reasons why Thirteen left, and I don’t really care). But she, like the season 4 Survivor tryouts, brings a new dynamic to a show that clearly (based on Nick’s frustrations) needs something. That Masters is as intelligent as House (though maybe not as brilliant (yet)) and ethical in a way that Cameron only flirted with in the early going, creates a genuine dynamic for House and the rest of the Cottages to interact with. That’s exciting.

And Tamblyn performance is very good work. She’s child-like in her adherence to right and wrong, mannerisms (that lean in with the neck to say “No!” felt really smart, organic to me) and awkwardness. And she works really well with Laurie, which is what ultimately matters for however long her stay on the show is (Olivia Wilde is going to stop making and promoting movies eventually).

The patient of the week dynamic works well enough. While I would’ve liked more interaction between Coleman’s Dugan and his slimy, Hep-C infected senator of a boss, understandably the senator couldn’t be around for more than a scene.  Earlier episodes of the series would’ve plugged in a family member or friend or had House psychoanalyzing the betrayal to some deeper meaning and purpose. I would’ve liked to have seen Laurie and Coleman have more to work with in their scenes, but you can’t always get what you want.

What’s less exciting is Cuddy’s slow-mo, “Oh, a woman scorned; there shall be hell to pay” walk at the end promises a lot of relationship fallout for Nick to sort through next week. Pile it on top of the seasonal requirement of a quarantine episode (Smallpox! on your house!), and you’ll get a pressure cooker of an episode. At least it has Dylan Baker.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Taub’s annoyance that Masters didn’t remember him, initially, worked well enough for his general insecurity issues. Liked that he kept up with Foreman in basketball. And Chase was where? Gelling his hair?
• Cuddy hasn’t lost her taste for revealing blouses I see. A couple of times, in fact. It’s never cold in New Jersey, or that hospital is always very warm.
• “I smell like jail.”