House is Right

August 27th, 2008

House: An Advance Look

My editor, Arieanna Schwebber, got to screen the first two episodes of House season 5. She’s been sworn to secrecy on the specifics of the plots, but she does offer us this insight into the new season’s dynamics. You can read Arieanna’s blog at Gilmore Girls News.

House returns for its 5th season on Tuesday, September 16th at 8pm on FOX. I’ve had a chance to preview the screener for the first two episodes of the season, "Dying Changes Everything" and "Not Cancer", and have to say that we’re primed for the best season of House yet!

It’s evident right away that the dynamic of the characters has changed dramatically - there is a deeper emotional context to all the storylines. In "Dying Changes Everything," 8 weeks have passed since Amber’s death and Wilson is still in mourning. His relationship with House, his friendship (if you can call it that), has been shattered. Needing to make a change in his life, Wilson resigns from his position at Princeton-Plainsboro and, more importantly, resigns from House. Wilson tells House that he’s a "destructive influence" in his life and is no longer welcome.

This episode brings up a lot of questions. Does Wilson blame House for Amber’s death? Does House blame himself? What is friendship, and was House ever Wilson’s friend? Can a person change his or her outlook on friendship and life, and is it too late for Wilson & House?

Through all of this, there’s as much medical mystery as ever. The team has to solve a shocking medical condition that has afflicted a high-profile executive assistant with a strong Type A personality - this patient strikes a chord with Thirteen. The storyline for Thirteen is really gaining complexity and depth this season as she struggles to be a good doctor without her own medical condition clouding her judgment.

In the second episode of the season, "Not Cancer", a number of people have died very suddenly after receiving transplants from the same organ donor. There are two surviving patients - one dying and one still healthy - and the team must rush to save them. There is one patient here who has something important to teach House about his perception of the world.

Meanwhile, House has hired a private investigator (Lucas, guest star Michael Weston) to spy on his team and on Wilson - oh, and to help with the case too ;) The PI is a great character, very spunky, but he plays an interesting role with House. What the PI does is show House his own faults and desires - what House hasn’t been ready to hear. So the PI is kind of like his really blunt psychotherapist.

I think this season of House offers up a lot of opportunities for the characters to learn more about themselves, and maybe to change on fundamental levels. Is House capable of change? Of self-reflection? What makes House who he is - what determines his outlook on life? Can House find a solution to his own sadness?

The medical mysteries serve to fuel the emotional context of the episodes - they challenge all the characters to face their own demons, I’d say. Like Thirteen facing her own death and deciding how to live and what she wants to accomplish. Does it cloud her judgment or drive her to be a better doctor? I think it’s actually the latter, so knowing may be a blessing in disguise for her. It’s made her a better person and a better doctor.

A lot of the interviews with cast members talk about guilt and blame, but my read on the episodes was more about friendship and trust and change. A deeper context than just the Amber issue - Amber was the catalyst that exposed a lot of buried issues. It will be interesting to see how they play out through the rest of the season.

[Photo: © 2008 FOX Broadcasting]

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August 24th, 2008

Fry & Laurie Tackle Linguistic Conundrums

Linguistic elasticity…who else would have a comedy bit based on such a subject but Fry & Laurie? In this very funny clip, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry take a look at language. They humorously attempt to answer this question:

Is our English language, as we know it, capable of sustaining demagoguery?

Hugh Laurie’s “translations” are fabulous! You have to watch to understand how funny it is:

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August 24th, 2008

Weekend Links Roundup

One of the frustrating parts of writing about a television show is that the more readers notice you, the more the photography and copyright experts notice you too. And there are copyright laws that forbid sites from posting photos for which they have not been given express permission by the original photographer or publication.

So that means that even though I have so many of you well-meaning and wonderful House fans that send me tips about candid photos, I can’t publish a lot of them on this site.

But the really good part is that I can publish a list of links and allow you to go check them out all over the web. Just think of me as your information headquarters. ;-) And House fans, please keep sending those tips!!

Here are some photos you might enjoy checking out:

• Perfection is intensely annoying - HL blog has posted some candid photos of Hugh Laurie at LAX and Heathrow airports recently.
• Here’s a gallery of screen shots from a recent House season 5 promo video.
• These are some Hi-res versions of Hugh Laurie during the recent Band From TV performance.
• And, of course, here are Hi-res versions of Jesse Spencer at the same Band From TV performance.
• And these are some Hi-res photos from a very hot Olivia Wilde photo shoot.
• This is an equally hot photo shoot with Jennifer Morrison.
• Here are some outdoor portraits taken of Jennifer Morrison at 2002 Sundance Film Festival.
• Here are some more Hi-res photos of Jennifer Morrison at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.
• This may be my favorite dress that Olivia Wilde has worn. These Hi-res photos were take at the Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock launch party.
• Check out this amazing red dress Lisa Edelstein wore to an event where Takashi Murakami Honors Marc Jacobs.
• And finally for this week, these photos were taken of Lisa Edelstein at a House press conference.

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August 24th, 2008

Fry & Laurie Examine the Word “Gay”

Here’s another hilarious bit from Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry from the first season of A Bit of Fry & Laurie. They take a look at the odd use of such British terms as “Gay.” And in their characteristic style, they take things far off in some strage direction, leading to nothing less than funny silliness. I love them!

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August 24th, 2008

Fry & Laurie: Dancercise

Many thanks to Grace for tip about this hilarious clip from Hugh Laurie’s former British hit show, A Bit of Fry & Laurie. It all starts with Stephen Fry telling us the “definition” of dancercise….and gets more absurd from there. I couldn’t help but laugh and hope you will too:

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August 21st, 2008

Latest House Season 5 Behind the Scenes

FOX just released this new behind the scenes video for the premiere of House season 5. It contains little snippets of each of the nine cast members talking about the show and their roles in it. And, yes, it seems that all nine of the characters will be featured more regularly!! See what I mean:

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August 21st, 2008

Breaking News! Hugh Laurie Will be a Presenter at Emmys

ABC just released the news that Hugh Laurie has officially been confirmed as one of the award presenters at this year’s Emmy Awards.

He has been nominated three years in a row for Best Actor in a TV Drama and has yet to win (I hope this is his year!) House is also nominated for its second year as Best TV Drama.

No word yet as to which award he’ll be presenting, but I’ll keep you posted.

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August 15th, 2008

Another Band From TV Clip

I found another good clip from the free Netflix concert last Saturday with Band From TV. This clip is a bit grainy, and it’s not up close, but you can hear some of the songs and Hugh Laurie singing! And you can see Jesse Spencer playing violin up there too. Gee, I wish I could have been there!

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August 15th, 2008

TV Guide Interviewed Band From TV

Here’s a clip where TV Guide interviewed the band members of Band From TV at last Saturday’s concert. They talked a bit to Jesse Spencer and showed a number of bits with Hugh Laurie & Jesse playing onstage.

It looks like the group is getting more and more acclaim these days and hopefully that means we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the future. Apparently, lots of stars want to join them, so the group may keep growing in size too. Check it out:

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August 14th, 2008

More House Spoilers

TV Guide’s Mickey O’Connor gives us a couple of new spoiler nuggets for House in season 5. They aren’t huge, but I hope you find them interesting anyway:

At House’s TCA session all I saw was Hugh Laurie, Robert Sean Leonard, Omar Epps and the “new team.” Does that mean that Jennifer Morrison (Cameron) and Jesse Spencer (Chase) are no longer part of the show? — Kerry
Mickey: Very observant, Kerry, but I’m told their absence is not significant. Both Morrison and Spencer remain series regulars. In fact, an upcoming ep promises to shed new light on the couple.

Any romantic relationships for Dr. House this season? — Stephanie
Mickey: There’s a rumor that he and Cuddy will stop circling and start canoodling this season, but you didn’t hear it from me!

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