What's now Doc?

So what's up now for Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) and the rest of the gang? House M.D season 4 finale was shown last week, and it certainly brings up some really interesting questions. While I'm not particularly liked this season for reasons I'll explain below, the finale thankfully brought something good in the series.

Season 4 started with House diagnosing a case on his own. After disbanding his team at the end of the previous season, House is adamant that he can work alone. Well, he's not actually disband them though. Foreman (Omar Epps) feared that he'll turned into House the longer he spent time around him and he resign. Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) too has had enough and also resign. Only Chase (Jesse Spencer) that was fired against his will, even though House gave the reason that Chase already learned everything he needs to know from him.


But after subsequent events Cuddy managed to convinced House to hired a team, but House being House, he didn't do conventional interviews. Instead he selected them through 'reality show' elimination process. He gathered all 40 applicants and inform them that he'll eliminate them one by one after each case, and the remaining 3 will be his team.

This is what I think the weakest part of the series though. Even though the series initial idea was 'CSI against germs', where House and his team must find the cure to mysterious illness, the show has evolved into something much more interesting in its 3 year run.


When House began the contest, it decrease the amount of personal interaction between House and the applicants (in subsequently with the patient) because of their sheer number. The best moments on previous seasons was when House is at odds with the people around him. House idea that love, humanity and faith is stupid constantly clashed with Foreman's values, Chase's beliefs and Cameron's ideals. And that's what makes it good. I love the way House constantly undermined his team, but he also secretly admired them in different ways. I also like the way House seemed to take Wilson for granted, but came through when Wilson finally need him. I also like the fact that Cuddy, who as his boss, often clashed with House, but there's a hidden fondness between the two of them, as both know each other like no other person do.

When House finally picked his team, the show was a little better (Although one could argue his team can be predicted since some names are too well known to be just another guest star), but I regretted that the writers can't come up with something new, since this new team, was essentially the old team but with different people.


Taub (Steve Jacobson) was the only people in the team who's willing to stand up to House and provide a medical diagnostic that House could appreciate, much like Foreman. Kutner (Kal Pen) wants to impress House so much, and willing to take the risk, much like Chase. 13 (Olivia Wilde) is gorgeous, idealistic but with a damaged past, which pretty much is what Cameron is all about.

Throughout the season, I can't help comparing it to previous seasons, because even though it has some great moments (Frozen was an excellent episode), it lacked what made it good in the first place.

However the last two episodes brought back what's good with the series and increased it tenfolds. In the 15th episode, aptly titled House's Head, we take a journey inside House mind, he suffered mild amnesia after the bus he was riding had an accident. It was interesting and superbly done, as House only remember someone's dying but he can't remember who because he can't remember anything before the accident. The last episode deals with the after math of the previous episode, and more importantly asking questions about House friendship with Wilson and Cuddy too (No, not THAT kind of question you perverts). I always wondered why Wilson put up with House all this time, and after the finale, I wondered no more.

All in all, this bad season was rescued by the superb finale, and thankfully this made the next season a whole more interesting.

I Have A Cunning Plan..

When my friends said that I should check out Rowan Atkinson's old comedy show The Black Adder(1983), I admit that I was a bit skeptical. My only experience with Atkinson comedy was Mr. Bean, and while it was funny at times, his physical humour was sometimes too much and too gross for my liking. So I kinda ignore his advice. However, when WGA strike means that I run out of new TV shows episodes (namely House M.D), I reluctantly turn to this show.

The result was unexpected. I was completely hooked, from the first season to the last. I watched all four season in order in about just a week. I laughed so hard on every episode, that I hardly remember when's the last time I did so.

The series revolved on the lives of Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) and his descendants (also played by Atkinson). Each of the four season potrayed each generation of Edmund Blackadder. From the coward and dumb Prince Edmund Blackadder in the Dark Ages, to the cunning and smart Captain Edmund Blackadder in WW I era.

The comedy was nothing like Mr. Bean. Here, the jokes are much more cerebral and located in the dialogs. It pokes fun at just about everybody, notably the French, the Scots, the Germans, and even the English themselves. Most of the humour owed to Atkinson and the cast brilliant delivery. Atkinson brought sarcasm and witty to a new level, especially on second season onwards, and the other actors compliment him perfectly. Tony Robinson, who played Baldrick (and his descendants) in each season was the target for most of the jokes as Blackadder's servant/busybody.

It helped that the rest of the supporting cast was also a group of good actors. The talented Tim McInnerny played his role as Lord Percy Percy (and later Captain Darling) wonderfully. Hugh Laurie and his comedy partner Stephen Fry, fresh from their successful turn out in their comedy show, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, join the cast in the second and third season, while Miranda Richardson played as the child-like Queen Elizabeth I in the second season.

Futhermore, in it's fourth season, set in WW I era, it pokes fun and criticized the wastefulness of war in a funny and touching way. It's very rarely to see a comedy show that can managed to bring a serious message like that, and didn't feel out of place.

I don't know what else to say, but go and see this.