Fox Broadcasting's "House" blunder...

My thoughts exactly!

 
Ok seriously, Fox Broadcasting made a huge faux pas last night choosing at the last minute to push the winter finale of [H]ouse, M.D. aside in favor of the Daytona 500. As Fox puts it they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to test out ratings for a prime-time sporting event on Fox. Now that's all fine and dandy to test the waters but you don't decide to do it at the last minute when millions of people are already set to watch a highly promoted episode of a still very popular television series in its final season, during February sweeps, with a one-month hiatus ahead!
  
And what's funny (well it wasn't initially) is that while House fans around the US were stuck with NASCAR, the Canadians were watching the episode on Global TV. Fortunately there's iTunes, Amazon and other outlets folks can watch the day after, but not everyone has access to those. I download my episodes through iTunes and now that I've seen it, I can't talk about it because I don't know who has seen it and who has not yet.

Before I forget, Fox has announced that the episode scheduled to air last night will air three weeks from now on March 19th. Yep. Three weeks. So those who weren't able to watch on TV last night,  haven't watched via Amazon, iTunes, Hulu or illegal means, and who by the time it airs three weeks from now, haven't accidentally read spoilers on the episode, can finally tune in and enjoy.  The phrase "that's so 27 seconds ago" seems appropriate here.

Some might ask what I would do if I had been in Fox's position. I don't know. But then again I hate NASCAR so I wouldn't have cared if they waited till today to broadcast or hell didn't broadcast it at all. Of course this morning Fox is showing unusually high ratings because of it but that's misleading because it's a once a year sporting event that was rained out. Normally the race is held during the day so this one time ratings boost means nothing unless Fox is thinking of adding NASCAR to its prime-time schedule which actually gives me a really good reason to drop Fox network from my DirectTV subscription once this season of [H]ouse, M.D. is complete.

I would definitely not want to be manning the phones in the Fox programming/scheduling department this morning.

[H]ouse, M.D. Episode 8x13 "Man of the House"

In an unusual move, I would like to begin with a few classic quotes from David Shore after Season 7 but before the start of Season 8:

"I want to say we’re very happy with [the coming season]. This has turned out to be a real opportunity. We’re really doing some cool stuff at the start of the season and it’s pumped some fresh blood into the show - not that we needed it."

*****

"But the stuff that I’ve always loved about the show is the House character and how he reacts, not particularly to romance, but to deeper life and death issues and issues of right and wrong and questions of how to live a good, moral life. And how he reacts to the [patients] who are brought in each week and to the regulars. Getting back to the fundamentals of these medical cases and these character cases. It’s not so much about the medicine; it’s about the characters. "

*****

"The green card marriage? We don't deal with that. He may be [married], but we don't deal with that. You know, everything has moved on. The world's changed. House is still House, and he tries to put the world back together. "

*****

 "So we've got some new faces, some new situations, new dynamics and we want to kind of get back to basic principles of the show."

*****

Yeah okay,  I just wanted to be sure I didn't dream up all that stuff he said over the summer. 

On to other things, I'm not going into every detail about the episode, if you saw it, then you know what happened, no need for me to rehash anything.

By revisiting the green card marriage that Shore specifically said he wasn't going to revisit, it's possible that they're trying to convey to us the extent of House's loneliness and his humanity. He likes Dominika, I mean who wouldn't? She's cheerful, friendly, and energetic...all the things House is clearly not. She just wants to stay in America, is that so bad?

Did anyone else notice House was awfully quiet during the green card interview? I did. The normally snarky pain in the ass was unusually quiet, probably because he knew that when it comes to fighting the feds, they'll always win.  In this case, keeping his mouth shut was probably the one thing that kept him out of jail, that and the fact that we all know there's no way House is going back to jail, not yet anyway.   I'm not even going to go into how ridiculous that interview was much less the whole idiocy of the green card thing. I do however, see the irony in House having to deal with the consequences of his actions. I mean seriously, how stupid can you be? The brilliant doctor, reeling from the breakup with Cuddy, tries to piss her off and and get her to object to the phony marriage, thus proving that she still loves him (she never said she didn't love him), goes so far as to marry this woman but oops...Cuddy's so pissed off at him she can't even object to it. House no doubt is wishing he hadn't done it but alas he did and if he thought it was just going to go away (as we did) it isn't, at least not yet.

When House goes home at the end of the day and sees his apartment turned asunder with Domika's shit everywhere, the look on his face seems almost relieved. He's been going home to just his scotch, vicodin and monster trucks so long he's lonely. Remember when Wilson stayed with him? Wilson cooked and cleaned (well they were supposed to take turns but you remember how well THAT worked out eh?). Wilson's early morning grooming habits annoyed House and yet he intentionally sabotaged Wilson renting another apartment because he liked having him there. Sure, Wilson threw a wrench into House's organized chaos, but he liked having him there. Same goes for Alvie. When Alvie showed up in Season 7 and sold some of House's stuff to pay for the paint to redo his apartment, House had a major fit. But ultimately he liked having Alvie there..remember them playing football in the apartment? House liked Alvie and as we recall, he also lied to help Alvie keep his citizenship status (Alvie was a US citizen but he couldn't find his birth certificate). So while Dominicka may drive House crazy with her goofy dancersizing to Amy Grant, at least there's someone there when he goes home from work, even if it is just a short time. We know Dominika will be around in episode 14 and 18 but hopefully she'll fly free and leave us after that. One can only hope.

I'm not overly concerned with any kind of relationship between House and Dominika. Like everyone else except Wilson, she wants something from him, in this case a green card. She told him she was too smart to fall for him and love is a big deal for a guy like House. After Stacy and then Cuddy, no way is he going to let himself fall into that again. Sure, part of it was his fault, his inability to communicate makes having a serious relationship problematic so given he couldn't make it work with the only two women he ever really loved, I think he's done going down that road. At this point, House is all about protecting himself.

My friend and television writer Mindy Peterman pointed out an excellent observation...that right now House is scared because he feels like he is not in control of his situation. Dominika has to live with him for six more months and if anything is out of whack she gets deported, he goes to jail (yeah right!). In a sense, it's like a prison sentence for him. Someone else is in control of his life at home and home is the only place House feels secure and safe where nobody can get to him. It's his haven and now he's got to share it with someone else and NOT because he wants to, but because he has to. Yeah I think he's scared alright. His whole world is being turned upside down.



During the episode House is back to his old tricks, baiting his team and pitting them against one another in an effort to pick a team leader. Frankly I don't think he cares about that, I think he's just in it for the fun. At the end when he's standing there outside the lab talking to Taub, it occurred to me maybe the only one fit to be team leader is the only one smart enough not to fall for House's shenanigans, hence Taub, who opted out of the antics. We were all told after the critics screened "Nobody's Fault" that the episode could make a difference for House, in that it could be game-changing but only if House actually got something out of it. Ok, did he? Where's the lesson House learned in Nobody's Fault? Or was there a lesson at all? Remember at the end of "Chase" he said "you re-evaluate your life after you make a mistake, you didn't, you just got stabbed." House's apology to Chase makes it clear he believes he made a mistake, but then this quote and his behavior last night negates that. I'm totally confused on exactly what House feels. 

As to the POTW, was there a POTW? I don't remember because see...there was so much going on with House, Dominika and the team prepping them for the interview, I just lost track of the medical part of this story. Which leads me to something else, I thought the powers that be were going to go back to the basics, with more focus on the medical cases and how House deals with them, rather than the annoying antics and subplot. If you recall, in Season 7, TPTB spent so much time on House and Cuddy's relationship, it became the sole focus on the episode, leaving the medical stuff in the background.  I say quality over quantity. Just as in Season 7, TPTB could have given us more quality House and Cuddy yet made it the subplot and not overshadowing the POTW, so too could they do that this season with the antics. What happened to balance?

All in all I'm not quite sure how to rate the episode. My favorite parts were Wilson attempting to be the English neighbor, House and Taub's interaction and bet at the end, and House going home with that look on his face when he sees that his new roomie has pretty much taken over his place. 

Before I leave you, I wanted to once again to praise the amazing way Hugh Laurie uses facial expressions to convey House's thoughts and feelings. It was done extremely well in this episode, as always. The man can say not a single word and yet you can tell so much about his character by watching his face and his eyes. Truly remarkable.

I am looking forward to Blythe (Diane Baker) showing up in the next episode. After seeing the five promos I will say that things aren't always what they seem. I'll leave it at that. I do hope we'll get an amazing interaction between House and his mom, who as it turns out does not know her son was in prison. House once referred to his mom as a human polygraph, we'll see if it still holds true. We deserve some quality time between Blythe and her son, I just hope at some point we get it.

Adios for now.

[H]ouse, M.D. Episode 8x12 "Chase"

Best thing about this episode:

1) The interactions between Chase and House.

2) House trying to nail Taub with the water balloons, paintball gun and other assorted objects.

Sorry but I'm still not sold on Park (as cute as she might seem) or Adams. Frankly I just see them as filler, but hey what do I know?

In the end we learned that House does care about Chase (of course we've known it all along but this reaffirms it for us), so much that he doesn't want Chase to make stupid and stubborn decisions that will end with him being miserable and lonely. That final conversation between House and Chase spoke volumes about how House feels about all the bad decisions he's made in relationships, how he threw away what he had with Stacy by pushing her out of his life and again how he threw away what he had with Cuddy, not just by taking the Vicodin to be with her after surgery but also that he couldn't just talk to her after the breakup, instead resorting to pills, hookers, with the anger and sadness building up in him to such a level that it forced him to act out in a physically destructive manner.

As to House and Taub, well I bought the idea that House was trying to teach Taub that self defense classes are great but you can't protect yourself from the unexpected, not completely. House's methods are unusual but they work. As Taub said, House does make them better. And that he does.

I particularly enjoyed the final scene when Chase resumes his seat at the DDX conference table, House looks at him and nods/smiles ever so slightly and Chase acknowledges. I loved it. So much said in those moments. That is who House is, remember he's a man of action not words.

The story of my life: Give me one moment in time...

I was in high school in the early/mid 1980's and when Whitney Houston made her debut, I was mesmerized by her as was the rest of the world. She was young, beautiful, talented and an absolute sweetheart. Everyone loved her. I loved dancing to her music and I was just in awe of her talent. I can remember wishing I'd been born with a voice like hers. At that time, I would have given anything...

When I was a little girl, I talked a lot, I had a lot of friends and I liked to be around people. I was reading when I was three years old and I don't think I stopped talking since! When I became a teenager I hard a hard time with peer pressure. There was nothing "wrong" with me but then again there isn't anything wrong with most teens who go through what I went through. When you're a teenager there are always some people who don't like you either because of your hairstyle, the way you dress or just because you are you. I had just as much spunk, personality, intellect and looks as the other girls but I didn't really have many friends. I still don't know why. When I was in high school I wanted to be popular, I wanted to be liked and be like everyone else. I really didn't feel like I fit in until I was a Senior. I made my mark by becoming a member of the yearbook staff and an editor of our school paper, writing the editorials, something which came naturally to me. It was then people began to take notice. They liked reading what I wrote and that made me feel good. 

Shortly after I graduated from high school in 1987,  I joined the military and was among peers, people like me, and for the first time I was accepted--I mean really accepted. I was among people like me and it felt great. I didn't have to try so hard to be liked. In the years after, I slowly began starting to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do with my life. Up to this point it's gotten better, though I hit roadblocks quite often, I still pick myself up and go on.

Twenty-something years later, here I am still working on my dream of becoming whoever it is I am supposed to be. I am working full-time, working on my History degrees, writing fiction, blogging, and making people laugh. I've often told my friends and family and even my psychologist that I'm trying to find myself, I want to be great. And they keep telling me "Jess, you already are" but at times it's not enough, I have to feel it. I feel like my entire life I've struggled to be someone great, that I have this destiny I am supposed to fulfill.  People tell me all the time how great I am but I don't feel it as strongly as they do. I wonder if it will always be like that. I think when it finally hits me, it's going to be the most incredible and best feeling I've ever had in my life. Nothing like a self-epiphany to change your life, right?  While I know my struggles aren't any better or worse than anyone else's, I feel that we can learn from each others experiences. If my journey can help someone else, then so be it. It's nice to know one is not alone in one's struggles. At least that's how I feel. 

Why am I writing about this now? I suppose it is because I was so incredibly moved this weekend remembering Whitney Houston while watching her performance at the 1989 Grammy Awards when she performed the song "One Moment in Time". It's always been on of my favorites. Whitney Houston's death is more to me than just another celebrity dying young. It's about the loss of someone I really admired in my younger years. It's about someone I grew up with, someone who inspired me, an icon of my teenage years, someone who worked hard to achieve her dreams and like the rest of us, she had her own share of troubles. Sadly her troubles were always made public and she struggled with some things many of us will never have to deal with. 

I don't think there is any other song that describes my life better than Whitney's "One Moment in Time". Every day of my life I work to find my own moment in time. I hope that Whitney knew how many lives she touched and I thank her for her grace, talent and humanity and for being a part of my generation and my life.

 

 

Each day I live

I want to be
A day to give
The best of me
I'm only one
But not alone
My finest day
Is yet unknown

I broke my heart
Fought every gain
To taste the sweet
I face the pain
I rise and fall
Yet through it all
This much remains

I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity

I've lived to be
The very best
I want it all
No time for less
I've laid the plans
Now lay the chance
Here in my hands

Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will feel
I will feel eternity

You're a winner for a lifetime
If you seize that one moment in time
Make it shine

Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
Then in that one moment of time
I will be
I will be
I will be free
I will be
I will be free.

[H]ouse, M.D. Episode 8x11 "Nobody's Fault"

I'm a little late with this but better late than never. My critic/writer friends have said all there really is to say on this ep, I'm just giving you my two cents worth.

I liked this episode. I loved the photography, the use of the hand held camera and the 360 degree circle in which they used to film the interrogations. I thought Jeffrey Wright was a strong and formidable opponent for House and House drove me crazy with his sarcastic comments.

I rather enjoyed House's attempts to solve the case while Chase was near death in the ICU. We know House likes Chase, they've grown on each other over the years. We watched Chase go from an asshole to a really likeable guy. Also, we know exactly what House does when someone he cares about is sick...he hides his emotions and deflects in an attempt not to feel the pain we know he feels. While I was watching the episode I was yelling at my TV "House shut up, stop talking about the case and ask how Chase is doing?" but then I realized that I really didn't want him to do that because it's not his style. House does care, it's just that he shows it in the strangest ways. As Chase told Cofield, House was there by pretending not to be there, or something to that effect.

Once again we have an episode that questions whether or not Foreman can control House. In the episode "Family" several years back Foreman told House he didn't want to be like House but House told him he'd been like him since he was eight years old. That Foreman continues to sit in on the DDX's and that he's always around House and the team makes me think he's a lot happier working in diagnostics than in administration. Clearly, the only one who could control House was Cuddy. Why? Because House respected her, they also had a history. House may not have admitted it, but you could tell when he did listen to Cuddy. She was like the other half of his brain.  Foreman doesn't have that and he can't control House, House is in his head. That's one of the reasons Cameron resigned from her position as interim Dean when Cuddy was on leave with Rachel. House was so far into her head she couldn't think objectively when dealing with him. She could never tell him no just like Foreman can never tell him no and that's going to get Foreman in big trouble.


I thought it was interesting they way they delved into House's process and finally asked the question is the damage he causes worth the lives saved. In the end, we could have no other conclusion than what we received because that would mean House would go back to jail. That could never happen.

I really liked it at the end when House apologized to Chase, because you knew he meant it. House has only apologized three times on the show that I recall. He apologized to Wilson over Amber's death, he apologized to Cuddy for lying to her, and he apologized to Chase after he was stabbed. In each of those three cases, House felt he was responsible. Even when he apologized to Cuddy, while he made it seem to Wilson as  if he only said it to appease Cuddy, I felt he really meant it. House is a man of actions more than words which is why we don't often hear what's going on inside him.

It seemed to me early on when Cofield was interviewing Park, Taub and Adams, the three of them were attempting to cover for House. Now neither of them really likes House but they do learn a lot from him and they do know he is brilliant. Did they feel they needed to cover something up? Did they feel he'd dome something wrong? I just got that feeling that they were defending him when House clearly wasn't even defending himself.


It was interesting that Cofield changed his mind at the last minute. House was furious and rightly so. House is always willing to defend his methods even if it means well...in this case, going back to prison. Remember in Twenty Vicodin he wound up in solitary confinement and serving some additional time because of his stunt trying to treat his fellow inmate. He knew he was right and he was willing to pay the price for it. That's the House I like, willing to stand up for what he truly believes is right. Generally he stands by what he believes in even when it gets him into hot water. He was pissed off because Cofield betrayed his own principles and House hates that. Cofield truly believed House was wrong and in House's mind he should have stuck with that. Cofield changing his mind because the patient's wife intervened shouldn't have changed anything because if Cofield felt he was wrong, then that's his decision. The patient intervening doesn't suddenly change anything and make House right. House knew he was right all along, a patient's wife thanking him doesn't make it so. I don't blame House for being pissed off. Cofield sold out (or did he?). House doesn't respect that. He would however have respected Cofield for sticking to his guns. But then he'd be back in prison and where would that leave us?

Again, House is a man of actions, not words.

All in all I liked this episode  for a variety of reasons. Most of all in the end it did keep me asking the questions: Who was at fault and Are House's methods right or are they wrong?

Charging higher tuition for science/tech/engineering/math degrees?

Every now and then this Institution of Higher Education gets these wild ideas that I just can't deal with.  Sorry, but I vehemently disagree with the idea of charging higher tuition for credit hours in science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors. That's part of "the vision" of a possible "autonomy" for UF.

Note the majors listed just happen to be those which Florida Governor Rick Scott is trying to push students into because he thinks the degrees in those areas are more valuable in society.

What message does this send? Students in certain programs are better than the others? But at the same time charging those "special" students more? Seriously?

To a STEM student: "Oh I'm sorry but we have to charge you 1/3 more in tuition than everyone else because it costs us more to educate you because you're in a special field, one that is underrepresented and we pushed you into because it's the only way you will find a job that society deems worthy."

To a non-STEM student: "See, it's like this, you're a History major and basically you have no possible shot at getting a real job when you graduate so we're going to charge you the same as always so you will get the hell out of here and make more room for more no-life, no-job-prospect liberal arts majors. Face it, you're not as valuable to us but don't worry cause we're sticking it to the STEM students too by pushing them into those majors and charging them more.