House 4.1 - 4.09

[selenak]

Aaaaand I've watched the rest of the existing House episodes.




When I saw the credits hadn't changed, I figured it was a cunning ploy to keep us from knowing whom exactly House would hire as his new fellows; I hadn't expected the original ducklings to be still on the show, so that came as a surprise. Mind you, I wonder whether they'll remain after 2.09 because right now, Chase has basically twenty seconds cameos, and Cameron has had some genuine scenes but as those revolved along the potential newbies and how House interacts with them, the dramatic reasons for them are gone. Foreman, on the other hand, does have a reason to be still around, not just from the Watsonian pov - i.e. that Cuddy was the only one willing to hire him - but from the Doylist: he still defines himself through House, whether in opposition or in parallel to him, which means he has still a narrative journey to make. Whereas Chase, despite minimal screentime, confirms the impression from last season that he outgrew this; look at the way he calmly told House that he was available for medical reasons but not if House just needed to vent.

The House: Survivor arc, in lack of a better term, really worked for me, as we got to know the newbies, and the writers took the trouble to make many of them into real people, not just, pardon the pun, numbers. I mean, it was obvious that Henry wouldn't make it as soon as it was revealed he didn't have a proper medical degree (no way Cuddy would let House hire him under those conditions), but he still remained around for two or three more episodes, and was so endearing I hoped he'd become House's Alfred. As long as he stayed in some capacity. It was also fascinating to see that House went from doing his usual indifference and insult stick at the start with them to being downright regretful and civil during the final selection ceremony.

As for the "winners": I was hoping Taub the plastic surgeon would make it, because he didn't have a precedent either on this show nor in what admittedly few other doctor shows I recall watching; he's not a youngling but House's age, he's small and avarage-looking, not American tv style handsome, and as opposed to 99% of the plastic surgeons tv and movies grace us with, he's not a satire or caricature. So I was delighted when he made the cut. Kutner, I have benign indifference towards so far; he's an enthusiastic puppy, which is fun to see, but I hope we get to find out more about him than just "the enthusiastic one". Amber/Cutthroat Bitch NOT making the final selection I had expected because I know tv, but it made me sad nonetheless, as she and her ruthless ambitious ways immediately pinged one of my character archetype kinks, and Thirteen making the cut as "The Compassionate One" was entirely too predictable. However, I have hope: I don't think we would have gotten a) the hints about Amber having a backstory thing with drug addicts and/or drug addiction and b) her final scene after she got fired if the show didn't plan on bringing her back in some capacity. And Thirteen in her scenes with Amber held her own pretty well; she may have an unrevealed inner bitch waiting to come out.

After all, the show did surprise me in a positive way regarding the manipulation of expectations. When House found the model-like CIA doctor outside, taking him up on his offer to hire her, I groaned, as she was far less interesting than any of the newbies, but in the next episode, the show used her to make a point about House, and managed to do so without making her into an "airhead" caricature; you felt for her when he dismissed her in the end (without wanting her to stay). Which brings me to something I might write an extra post about, as it's a phenomenon I have seen in several shows: I'd call it the "post modern having our cake and eat it" syndrome. Back when I was watching the first season of Life on Mars, I occasionally had the vague and uneasy suspicion that the shows' creators basically wanted to make a 70s cop show (you know, ye olde times when women were birds and cops were rough) but were too clever and too aware not know they couldn't do so without a gimmick that gave a current day audience a way out of feeling guilty for this, hence Sam as the pov character who is aware, and points out, just how sexist, racist etc. the attitudes on display are. But the first season was so well written and so layered that I thought I was being unfair. Then came the second season, and the second season finale and the very premise of the spin-off, and, err. Well. This is not the time to get into my issues about Life on Mars. Anyway, House I think is doing something similar, in that on the one hand, you have House the character indulging in sexual allusions with most women he meets and racist remarks to get under the skin of his fellows (whether Foreman or Cole), BUT not only do we have other characters pointing this out but the show lets him do so in an ironic way, allowing the audience to see take it as part of House's universal sarcasm. (I.e. when House wants to get Foreman out of his post-near death experience zen and finally says "I'm not above using the N-word if you keep this up" in season 2, we know he's being sarcastic, so we don't have to regard House as an actual racist who calls someone "nigger".) When he tells Cameron right at the start of the show that he partly hired her for her looks and in season 4 hits on a beautiful doctor with one "work for me" joke too many she then takes seriously, the show also provides Wilson, more often than not the authorial voice stand-in, to say "you're incapable of having an actual relationship with a woman, so you hire beautiful young women and make them emotionally dependent on you"; that way, we're reassured we're not meant to approve of House's behaviour or look away from the implications but regard it as part of his dysfunction. I'm in two minds as to whether or not I regard this kind of writing as slippery or legitimate. But it's definitely having-your-cake-and-eat-it. After all, where is the female equivalent of Taub?

(This is not just House, of course, but tv shows, especially American tv shows, in general: female characters played by actresses who aren't at the very least pretty if not beautiful are rarer than diamonds on a beach.)

While we're talking sexism turned palpable by using postmodern ironic quotation marks, another example is House challenging his fellows (or rather candidates for fellowships) to bring him Cuddy's underwear; again, we get Wilson pointing out that this is creepy, and I could have told you from the start House would fire the one who actually did it, not as he promised let said "winner" choose among two other candidates to fire. It's entirely ic for House, his ongoing struggle with Cuddy and the way it was sexualized from the start on this show, but as I said, I'm conscious of being manipulated here.

Sidenote: when I try to think of a tv counterexample that uses sexism, racism etc. as character traits, not in an approving way but also does not use another character to reassure the audience they're not meant to approve, the only ones I can think of are Deadwood and Rome where they're also part of a specific historic setting. Hmmm.

House on the one hand is calmer this season in his every day interactions, but on the other more blatantly self-destructive when he does go for that, as with the electrolocuting himself thing, which builds on his previously displayed issues with the idea of an afterlife and the need for proof, of course, but is still another step downwards for him. (Otoh, it results in two excellent character scenes - when Cuddy says "you hired her", her unspoken "and I hired you" is very much in the room, and then we also have House telling Wilson "I love you".)

Something else I noticed which the Survivor arc brought out: he really enjoys teaching, though he'd never admit it. Not just bouncing his ideas off other people or display how he's the cleverest person in the room, but teaching. You could extrapolate that from his interactions with Foreman, Chase and Cameron, but here it's brought to the fore, and as I said, you can see him getting from playing the entire hiring process purely as a mindgame to being genuinenly interested in his potential fellows and teaching them things other than how to bend the rules.

Now: when is the strike ending...?

Comments

[crossoverman.livejournal.com]

There are still three episodes of House still to air - one scheduled for Feb 3rd and two others for later (possibly March).

The having-your-cake-and-eating it stuff: I agree and I don't. Particularly, Life on Mars which I am certain was made just for the 70s cop show fun - but also to comment on the differences between the 70s and 00s. With Sam as the lead, the audience isn't really left to believe the rampant sexism is right.

On the other hand, with House as the lead, sometimes the show does cross the line. It balances out with things Wilson says, but House can be altogether terrible to his staff - and everyone around him. The series doesn't condone it, but we're under no allusions that House says these things because he knows it has power. Hard to say if he's sexist or merely knows how to manipulate - but it's definitely so close to the line, it's hard to call.

Very interested to see where the show headed now that Survivor:House is completed. I can't imagine the actors playing the original ducklings are particularly happy with being relegated to the background, though I expect more intermingling of the cast now it has been whittled down. Still, nine characters is a lot for any show - particularly one that is supposed to have a focus on one; that's a lot of extraneous characters to make fit each week.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

The series doesn't condone it, but we're under no allusions that House says these things because he knows it has power. Hard to say if he's sexist or merely knows how to manipulate - but it's definitely so close to the line, it's hard to call.

True. I remember a third season episode where Cuddy tells Wilson that she hasn't experienced House to insult just to insult (as opposed to insult because he wants to achieve something by it) with one exception, and when Wilson is disbelieving, she says that you can tell the difference because he really knows how to hurt if he wants to. (As the one exception was earlier in the episode when he told her she'd make a horrible mother, which she sees as a very different thing from their usual bickering and all his usual remarks about her cleavage, her dates etc., because it relates to something she has told him in confidence, the wish to have a child.) But even if we postulate that his usual brand of sexist remarks isn't genuine conviction but tool of manipulation - what difference does it make to the recipient, especially if the recipient, unlike Cuddy, doesen't know him? The CIA doctor being a case in point. As you say, it's hard to call.

Still, nine characters is a lot for any show - particularly one that is supposed to have a focus on one; that's a lot of extraneous characters to make fit each week.

It probably means that either someone else gets written out or they do what ensemble shows like, say, DS9 did, put a different focus on different characters each week. But as you say, "House" is a show with a clear lead who automatically has a larger percentage of screentime, as opposed to DS9.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

(This is not just House, of course, but tv shows, especially American tv shows, in general: female characters played by actresses who aren't at the very least pretty if not beautiful are rarer than diamonds on a beach.)

One of the reasons I usually break down into giggling fits at the most commonly used Heroes tagline - ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. Right. Leaving the unrealistic way of portraying work aside (we have either very rich people or cops and waitresses - no one is ever a insurance company clerk, and if they are, you can bet they are secretly spies), the only "ordinary looking" people who were ever on the show were the actors for Brian, Zane and Dale, and arguably Stan Lee. Obviously, it is a comic, but still, they are using that tagline.

Sidenote: when I try to think of a tv counterexample that uses sexism, racism etc. as character traits, not in an approving way but also does not use another character to reassure the audience they're not meant to approve, the only ones I can think of are Deadwood and Rome where they're also part of a specific historic setting. Hmmm.

I would add Mad Men to that, which seems to go a step further, because they want you to feel uncomfortable about the sexism and racism. Of course, it's also a historical setting, but it seems the polar opposite to Life On Mars in approach, because there really isn't any nostalgia.

Side-note: my defenses are breaking down, and I'll brace my hypochondriac urges and try to watch House, since your description really sound very intriguing.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

the only "ordinary looking" people who were ever on the show were the actors for Brian, Zane and Dale, and arguably Stan Lee

What about Bob, err, Stephen T.?

I would add Mad Men to that, which seems to go a step further, because they want you to feel uncomfortable about the sexism and racism. Of course, it's also a historical setting, but it seems the polar opposite to Life On Mars in approach, because there really isn't any nostalgia.

Yes and no, because as I recall just about every review of a Mad Men episode also included the line "I want Joan's (or more rarely Betty's) wardrobe!" And the interviews I've seen all have the headwriter mentioning how women responded positively to Don Draper/Jon Hamm because of his old fashioned masculinity, which makes me wonder just how criticial of Don's behaviour we're supposed to be. (I mean, obviously we're supposed to entirely disapprove of Pete, Roger et al when they're being sexist, and the way the season finale plays out gives me hope we're not meant to think "oh, poor, tormented Don, see, he does have feelings for his wife after all!", but those interviews make me uneasy.)

House: give in. It is intriguing. I actually like it much better than Mad Men though Mad Men is probably the smoother and better written show, but I dislike every male character and only have a distant sympathy for Betty, Joan and Peggy, so it gives me the same feeling Robert Altman's films give me. Whereas with House, even when I resent the occasional plot decision, I do like the characters. I care what happens to them.

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

What about Bob, err, Stephen T.?

Point, but he is a very well-known actor, and he is by no means a main character. Imagine Tobolowsky as Parkman. Or the actor for Zane as Peter. (This is certainly not very high in my thoughts about the show, it's just that I sometimes feel they are cheating a lot with the tagline, because they've not exactly stuck with that premise for a very long time. It's another version of having your cake and eating it. They can always claim to be a drama, but they are really more an epic adventure story. Which ,again, isn't wrong, just lying a little.)

as I recall just about every review of a Mad Men episode also included the line "I want Joan's (or more rarely Betty's) wardrobe!"

I admit that I've read very few reviews on Mad Men other than Couch Baron's on TWOP, but I'm usually too busy getting uncomfortable thoughts about lung cancer, and liver cirrhosis, and wondering which kid will be more wild in the late sixties, Sally or Glen-the-Dirvorcées, to admire the clothes. In addition, I strongly suspect Joan's dresses look good because Christina Hendricks has quite the classical figure, but I guess that's a given.
I've seen the "I want that dress" exclamation quite a lot with Pushing Daisies, although that one is bizarrely nostalgic, anyway.

As for Don being attractive because of his traditional masculinity, it's possible, but for me, the constant habitual lying and things like his jealousy around Betty didn't look to be portrayed as positive, and both are also traits of the traditional male. I suspect they could fall into that trap, though.

Mad Men in general: Oh, I love it, but I also love Robert Altman, and I think the comparison is apt. I do care about the characters, although I usually want to slap the men at least twice per episode. I guess I just like this sweeping, rather distant look. (I guess it appeals to the few parts of me that are actually genuinely sociologist. ;))

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Imagine Tobolowsky as Parkman.

Ah, but that brings us to the question of Greg Grunberg's looks. Personally, I'd agree with Audrey that he as Matt is "kinda cute", but it's the kind you think you can meet in a supermarket, not just in Hollywood. He and Masi Oka are the two most "normal" looking regulars. (Which is why it amused me to no end that Masi made it into the 50 Sexiest Men in Entertainment Weekly, and The Pasdar did not.)

Point taken nonetheless. I remember someone - I think it was londonkds - saying something similar about Xander/Nicholas Brendon - that if Xander had been played by, say, Danny Strong who played Jonathan, which would have made him certainly look like the high school outsider he was supposed to be at the beginning, it would have been more realistic but the fannish reaction would have been very different. Though I think the Jossverse gets a pass because while all three shows did cast the Hollywoodian standard beautiful people, they never pretended that any of said people didn't look that good. When early Cordelia insults early Willow in s1 of BTVS, she insults her wardrobe, not her figure or face; we're never meant to swallow the usual high school movie idiocy of casting a beautiful actress who supposedly is taken as an ugly duckling just because she wears glasses.

(It strikes me each time I watch a British show, though, how much higher the percentage of "normal" looking people therein is. Though still more male than female. )

*uses icon of normal looking British person in lead of tv show*

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Ah, but that brings us to the question of Greg Grunberg's looks. Personally, I'd agree with Audrey that he as Matt is "kinda cute", but it's the kind you think you can meet in a supermarket, not just in Hollywood.

Depends on the supermarket... but, yeah, it's him and Masi, as opposed to James Kyson Lee, for instance, who is very good-looking, but gets dressed down a lot for Ando. Another example I have for londonkds' Xander/Nick Brendon phenomenon: Zachary Levy, who plays the main character on Chuck, is pretty stunning, and the thought that his character, who is very geekish, couldn't attract girls up until now, is frankly ridiculous. It's a point where suspension of disbelief escapes me a bit. (Interestingly enough, the guy watching the show with me, who has more "old school" geek looks, actually found him convincing. ;))

(Which is why it amused me to no end that Masi made it into the 50 Sexiest Men in Entertainment Weekly, and The Pasdar did not.)

They are a bit odd about The Pasdar. They also said his new hair sucked, while lauding Milo's new cut. Blind, I tell you.

(It strikes me each time I watch a British show, though, how much higher the percentage of "normal" looking people therein is. Though still more male than female. )

Indeed. And yay, Seven Icon! (answers with more traditional American Geekery)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Depends on the supermarket... but, yeah, it's him and Masi, as opposed to James Kyson Lee, for instance, who is very good-looking, but gets dressed down a lot for Ando.

I noticed, and not just in the Las Vegas scenes when they're all in suits, but Ando-the-dork is still believable because he really has zero idea of how to behave around wome.

Zachary Levy, who plays the main character on Chuck, is pretty stunning, and the thought that his character, who is very geekish, couldn't attract girls up until now, is frankly ridiculous. It's a point where suspension of disbelief escapes me a bit.

I've seen photos - though not the show - and I see your problem.

Entertainment Weekly:
They are a bit odd about The Pasdar. They also said his new hair sucked, while lauding Milo's new cut. Blind, I tell you.

Definitely blind. I mean, of course we all agree that The Pasdar needs Milo to dress him for his own fashion choices are indeed hilariously horrible on a reliable basis, but EW's objection was not to his dress sense, and how one cannot appreciate the hair, face and general physique of the man is beyond me. *g*

*uses not a Nathan icon anyway but one displaying actress whom American tv would never have cast as a Companion*

[wee-warrior.livejournal.com]

Re: Watching House: Would you recommend starting at the very beginning, or is there a smoother point to jump in?

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmm. I suppose you could start later, but you'd miss out the gradual introduction of the ducklings' and Wilson's backgrounds that happens during the first season, and the team dynamic getting established. The absolutely umissable s1 episode is the last but one, Three Stories, because that's crucial for House as a character and his background, but I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction episode, so yes, I would start at the beginning.

[mimesh.livejournal.com]

I only watched a few episodes sporadically last year. Do you know if they are currently airing season 3 or 4? I'm leaning towards season 3 because none of what you wrote about the fourth season sounds familiar. But hey, thanks to your House posts, I will try to catch the episode that's airing tonight. :)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

No idea, alas, I bought the dvds available here and err, acquired the others, but yes, I think it has to be season 3. Going by which dvds ARE available over here.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, have you read futuresoon's House/Heroes crossover? I read it before I watched a single episode, and it's a very good introduction to the show.*g*

[mimesh.livejournal.com]

Hee, yes. I love her crossover and rec'ed it on my rec list (http://mimesh.livejournal.com/59006.html?). This fic and your posts are the reason I'm really in the mood for House right now. :)

The last thing I remember having seen were the episodes about the prosecution against House but he got free because his friends lied for him. That was last year, though.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

That was the last one of the Tritter arc, i.e. around mid-season 3. And hey, thanks for reccing so much of my fic!

[mermaidrain.livejournal.com]

Supposedly we'll have "new" episodes of House at the end of the month, but who knows how many are left before the strike is over. =(