I don't know what's up with all these people jumping onto the House bandwagon after one decent episode. "Wilson" and "Broken" were one time episodes that won't happen again. Obviously House is about House, not Wilson, and structure of a medical drama prevents House from being in a mental ward all the time. To say that "Wilson" is indicative of the whole show and puts trust back into David Shore and Katie Jacobs (whoever wrote that for the LA Times is being silly) is completely ridiculous. Looking at the season, there have been some very poor episodes and fewer decent ones. Why would one good episode change all of that?
There are a variety of factors that make an episode good, notably the concept itself. An episode using Wilson as the main character breaks the monotonous mold, and allows Robert Sean Leonard, a great actor, more screen time to shine. It's already a recipe for success. Some above average writing and the episode is set to make everyone go "wow!!!!!!"
The problem is that it was a very special episode that won't be happening anytime soon. Unless David Shore/Katie Jacobs decide to do several Wilson episodes per season, "Wilson" has no lasting effect on the show as a whole. The next episode will continue to have the annoying stories we've come to hate. Let's be realistic here, the same people were working on the show before "Wilson" and the same people are going to work on the show after "Wilson." There's no need to scream from the rooftops how great the show is.
Sorry if that was too long. I was reading some other reviews and comments, and got mad that people thought one episode instantly made the season great, and renewed their interest in the show. It would be like showing a smiling African and everyone forgets about Rwanda and Darfur.
I wasn't enthralled by the episode as everyone else was. It was nice to seen House diagnosing from another point of view -- the team rolling by was splendid -- but the Wilson story was about average. If it had been House diagnosing Tucker instead of Wilson, I think we really wouldn't have cared, especially without Cameron to narrate the sob story.
Wilson added almost everything to the episode. His interactions with patients are much more personal, and perhaps too personal. He ends up giving a lobe of his liver to his friend who turns out to be a douchebag. Surely House wouldn't have done that. But he did save a life, and House is still his friend.
Score: 8.9/10
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
10 comments:
Yikes! Sorry you didn't like my review. This post seems more like a review of my review than a review of the episode! I thought the episode gave a fresh perspective on House and his character development and recovery. There's a Cuddy-centric episode coming up in the new year; I'm looking forward to seeing House through her eyes, too.
--Carina MacKenzie, LA Times
I think my post was directed towards a lot of the reviews out there, but your praise of David Shore and Katie Jacobs caught me especially by surprise since they bungled the past few seasons so badly.
I agree that the episode was good, but I guess we disagree about the show in general. My opinion of House has gone down dramatically while you seem to still like the character arcs.
Anyways, everyone has their opinion and can justify it every which way. Thanks for commenting.
Hey TvObssessed, I'd like to see you write and produce a show and keep it interesting for six years. You are gay, get a life.
I totally agree that TVObsessed is gay. Isn't it funny how some people never accomplish anything in their lives and try to cover it up by being critical of other people's accomplishments? Oh wait, that's not funny, it's sad. At least you proved you can spell douchebag, which should come in handy next time you fill out your name tag at a Douchebag Convention.
Dear TvObsessed,
I might like you if you weren't so fucking pathetic. Get a life. I agree, you are gay. And I don't mean that as a deragatory term to any homosexuals out there, I would never dream of comparing them to a loser like you. I know a lot of gay people who are actually intelligent and have lives. I guess I should apologize for using the term "gay" in that manner.
From now on whenever I feel the urge to describe something that is dumb or lame as "gay", I will instead say, "TvObsessed."
For example, "Hey Jimmy, have you ever seen that show The X-Files? Man, it is so fucking TVObsessed!"
That sounds a lot better than saying, "Hey Jimmy, have you ever seen that show The X-Files? Man, it is so fucking gay!"
Hmmm...first comment by crazy person at 11:05 and second comment at 11:10. I wonder who wrote them.
And since when was criticism "gay." And when did any television critic out there write and produce a show? That's right, never.
Based on your fascist ideas, I have to fall in line and love every show because I've "never accomplished anything."
Okay. Please look out fallacy and come back. You have no textual evidence and yet you make wild speculation for no apparent reason than I suspect because you are a rabid fanboy that watches House reruns all day.
theh, it's kinda lame to call someone names for their opinion. Although I disagree with you about this episode, I too think the writers should come up with more good stuff this season, because so far the quality of the writing hasn't been as great as it could be.
Dude,
I agree with you for the most part--this episode was only "good" because it was different from what we have come to expect.
To be honest, part of me stopped liking HOUSE when they started caring story lines through the entire season, but that is neither here nor there. It would be nice to see them get rid of all the team members, and bring in a completely new group.
Oh well? What can be done? It's probably better for me not to be loosing a TV show of interest.
"your praise of David Shore and Katie Jacobs caught me especially by surprise since they bungled the past few seasons so badly."
There was a noticeable attempt to freshen the show with the 'Survivor' arc in season 4 but the gambit ultimately failed due to the final casting decisions; Olivia Wilde's 13 then went on to ruin season 5.
I've never seen so much airtime devoted to such a lightweight character. I can only assume that somebody from her family put a horse's head in David Shore and Katie Jacobs's bed.
I actually agree with you. House is on a downward spiral and has been for a long time. It's not surprising, because things can't possibly stay fresh on a show like House and it's not soapy enough to be be ER-like with it's longevity. I think the writers need to have an end in sight because right now it seems like they're just flailing around in the dark.
That said, I enjoyed this episode, only because of the amount of Wilson we got. RSL deserves better than turning Wilson into some House-Cuddy go between like they have been doing. This episode proved to me yet again that the real strength is in the characters of House and Wilson. Everyone else is expendible.