This season, Dr. House (Hugh Laurie, left) has been running a "Survivor"-like contest among a group of doctors vying to be on his team.
(Greg gayne/fox)
Critic's Notebook
These days, TV fans rate the health of their shows on a monthly - nay, weekly - basis. Thanks to the immediacy of Web commentary, we can all fret about how "30 Rock" is dying because the last episode was so slack; and we can celebrate the eternal brilliance of "30 Rock" because the new episode is so clever. We're like doctors reading TV EKGs.
Which brings me to "House," and this season's radical change-up, which has polarized the viewers of Fox's Top 10 show. At the end of last season, Hugh Laurie's Dr. House drove away the three members of his dream team - Drs. Chase, Cameron, and Foreman (known online, and herein, as simply CCF). And since September, he has acted like a deranged Jeff Probst, puppeteering a "Survivor"-like contest among wannabes for those three positions.
Tonight, at 9 on Channel 25, the competition arc ends, and we'll learn which lambs have been chosen for House's ongoing psychic slaughter - assuming he doesn't refuse them all and reassemble his old team.
I hereby officially cast my vote in the pro-"Survivor: M.D." column. While some have felt that the newbies plot has been more like extended preamble, I believe it has been a shrewd pre-emptive move. The "House" writers have wisely anticipated that, after three seasons, the CCF plots would soon be fully played out, that the character of House would need fresh blood to suck. That's what keeps the show moving forward, after all - watching House despoil those around him, young, old, sick, healthy, tall, short. By looking ahead and fixing what was about to break, the "House" writers displayed the kind of product control that has helped to make them the best writing team on network TV.
While it's satisfying to see House take on equals, including Dr. Wilson, the Watson to his Holmes, there's nothing quite as revelatory as witnessing his unedited brilliance devouring innocent minds. It's like watching "Larry David" cross paths with unsuspecting normals on "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Each of the new doctors vying to work with House this season, including a black Mormon whom House nicknamed "Big Love," has brought out new facets of House's prejudices and weaknesses. And the candidate known as Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) has brought out his strengths and compassion, as he confronted her about her possible Huntington's chorea last week. House loves to be in the role of teacher; that's where he most becomes himself.
In the game plan of "House," the characters surrounding Dr. McCranky are there primarily to draw out his rage and glory. On one level, "House" is a medical mystery series, and on another level it's about hospital politics; but on its richest, deepest level, it is a moral and emotional profile of this one doctor. Is he is a good man (he saves lives) or a bad man (he's cruel and manipulative)? Are his flaws (he's an irritable drug addict) mitigated by his efficacy (he really saves a lot of lives)? Is House a better doctor because he's so unfeeling? The show is about asking these questions over and over again.
The "Survivor" plot also gave "House" an opportunity to send up shows such as "Survivor." The writers created a classic reality scenario, including a carefully selected mix of ethnicities, a series of challenges (including, last week, House's demand to "Bring me the thong of Lisa Cuddy"), and immunity protection. And then they set House and his rabid political incorrectness upon the game, and let him heap continual ridicule onto each of the players and his or her methods. A few weeks ago, a film crew making a documentary about the team gave House an opportunity to riff on how reality cameras inevitably bring out grandstanding and vanity. There's nothing like watching smart writers shamelessly tease reality TV.
"Grey's Anatomy" has tried to change up this season, as well, but with much less success. On "Grey's," the new characters have only diluted the drama, which was already losing its essence after the departure of two central characters, Addison and Burke. There's no chance of "House" getting diluted, unless Laurie decides to leave. Like so many contemporary shows, "House" has a large ensemble of characters; but unlike most of the others, if Laurie left, the show would have to shut down.
The only problem this season on "House" has been the continued presence of CCF, which has seemed forced. Drs. Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Chase (Jesse Spencer) are in different parts of the hospital, offering advice to those wanting to replace them. And then Foreman (Omar Epps), so relentlessly glum, is watching over House's shoulder as a form of revenge. So far this season, they seem oddly peripheral and unnecessary, a bit of a drag on a show that continues to dazzle.
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. For more on TV, visit boston.com/ae/tv/blog/.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
