Comments on: HOUSE Season Premiere: Broken

By: switchkosterice

switchkosterice — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:05:21 +0000

@smarty

I saw it as he was taking his own step, not needing Wilson to be there for him. He could carry himself–somewhat. I’m not sure if it was intentional, but I couldn’t help connecting a bus on House to House’s Head/Wilson’s Heart either. I feel there was some connection between his journey on the bus and a nod to his past with the crash and Amber as well. It may just be coincidental, but that’s what I’d like to think.

By: switchkosterice

switchkosterice — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:05:21 +0000

@smarty

By: Smarty

Smarty — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:53:31 +0000

What was the significance of House taking the bus? Whey didn’t Wilson pick him up?

By: Grace

Grace — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:40:46 +0000

NO, Cameron will NOT commit suicide, and it is NOT the last season of HOUSE.
Just to be clear on those two points.
Also just wanted to say that I LOVED House with Stacy and I hope she’ll be the one he ends up with at the end of the series…many years from now.

By: gbbg

gbbg — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:02:13 +0000

@bertas

would she too commit suicide in the show then? or die in some way??

is this the last season of House by any chance???

By: bertas

bertas — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:02:25 +0000

Did you see this?

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/a179036/jennifer-morrison-to-leave-house.html

If it is true, I think it is a shame I quite liked Morrison.

By: gbbg

gbbg — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 02:22:01 +0000

It took me almost 4 days to finish it. Finally, I finish watching it and head over here straight.
Well, most of them already said it, so no point in repeating it again.
Dr.Nolan’s character was awesome. I was kinda worried when he asks House to visit him at the hospital, thought may be we will see House solving a case, and hence, add to his quest for the recommendation. But thankfully, not only was that avoided, but the real tender moment reflecting the understanding of one another and to show that House has made some improvement.
I too wonder how this change in character will determine this season, from the past 5 seasons of seeing House as a jerk. Too much mushiness isn’t part of this show, and any drastic show of it would ruin it for everyone of House’s fans. Having said that, I don’t want House to be his jerkself again, strike a balance I say.
I wonder how Wilson will take this…

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:53:58 +0000

I completely agree with you about Huddy. After the natural and tender, but brief, romance between House and Lydia, Cuddy seems shrill and neurotic. She and House have a history but I don’t think they should share a future. When House hugged Lydia, I believe it was the first time in the show that House has ever hugged anybody in a kind and supportive way. O.K., except Stacy (who for some reason I hate.)

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:43:13 +0000

Beth: The premiere will be available at Fox.com and Hulu next Tuesday. If you have the chance to record Monday’s 2nd episode, you can have a little House marathon on Tuesday night! If you simply cannot wait, iTunes or Amazon has the show available for a small fee.

Lisa: As Kath can attest, this recap took me a long time to write. The first draft was almost 1500 words, a little long for the folks who visit GMMR in between kids’ naps, college classes, or workplace responsibilities. Lin-Manuel Miranda was the young man who portrayed Alvie, and I’m afraid that his performance was not given proper due in my second draft. Miranda had a difficult task, working through a gamut of emotions while sharing the screen with Hugh Laurie. In every moment, the young actor was a spectacular revelation. Wouldn’t you love to see Alvie make a trip to Princeton Plainsboro to thank House for putting him on the road to recovery?

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:34:04 +0000

Twila: It’s been too easy to take Hugh Laurie’s gifts for granted, particularly when the show follows its traditional structure. This departure from the norm was just what we needed to realize what a unique talent we are enjoying. My hope is that House’s “emotional overhaul,” if that is what started in this premiere, was written at Laurie’s own urging, in an effort to keep the character fresh in a sixth year.

Philiana: I am also fighting a losing battle against my DVR inventory, so I feel your pain. The Castle premiere is one of the episodes I’ve been meaning to watch, so I look forward to chiming into your discussion this weekend. It looks like both threads will be continuing until next week’s episodes, so we’ll trade… (Congrats on graduating. Go Trojans!)

bertas: It’s a pleasure to have your wit and wisdom back for Season Six. You described the supporting players’ contributions beautifully, and I agree that Andre Braugher was a human presence above all else. His insistence that House “go inside and get some sleep,” was met with a nod that showed trust, rather than resignation or submission. House wasn’t taking orders from Dr. Nolan in a sign of defeat. He was accepting help from a doctor who had earned his respect. When was the last time that happened?

By: Erik

Erik — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:20:30 +0000

switchkosterice: Based on the show’s penchant for “bait and switch” twists regarding House’s state of mind, I understand your view of his interactions with Lydia. If the events of this episode have little to no long-term impact, then a huge opportunity will have been missed. Specifically, it would be interesting to see Cuddy & House do less verbal sparring and delve into what they could/could not be in a real relationship.

Chris: Welcome to the discussion. I added you on Twitter and I look forward to reading your comments in the coming weeks. The significance of the music box was not 100% clear to me either, which led to the note about English majors who are better at identifying imagery and other literary devices. Though I lacked the proper phrasing to explain those scenes, the power of each actor’s performances grabbed my attention and never let go.

blvnyrslf: I am pleased that you enjoyed the episode, despite a healthy skepticism about whether House’s mood changes would stick. Looking forward, I think many of us will be disappointed if “Broken” serves as a graphic novel, rather than as a turning point in the good doctor’s legacy.

zeronex: It is difficult to imagine House going about his day-to-day activities without taking his colleagues down a peg. On the other hand, I don’t think House lost his core while staying at Mayfield. Could he strike a delicate balance between sarcasm and compassion? We’ll have to see…

By: Don

Don — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:01:17 +0000

The episode was something. No question. The thing that makes me uneasy about it is…it feels like in this episode House outgrew the stage that he has been occupying for the last 5 years. They say you can’t go home again.

Im not sure House can either. He lived in that Princeton Plainsboro world and everything that mattered to him was there, or in orbit of there.

And now his world is bigger. I’m not sure he can fit within the confines of the show’s very comfortable premise anymore. This episode feels like House is casting off all of his baggage and setting a course for somewhere new.

Which could be very good or very aimless depending on how much thought the writers have put into “House: Chapter 2″

By: Lisa (aka lmr)

Lisa (aka lmr) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:45:13 +0000

I was on Jet Blue flight last week and as part of their looping programming on the seatback TVs was a special on building the Mayfield set for this show. I am not a regular House fan but based on seeing that footage decided to watch. I was blown away. What I think I like most is that it wasn’t an easy fix or a 119 minute lead up to a miraculous breakthrough for House. Instead we’re left wondering how far he can progress once he’s back in his real world. I think he can blend the genius and curmudgeon-esque riffs with just a hint, a hint of the compassion he found at Mayfield. I hope so as I think it will be wonderful to watch. My favorite moments were with Alvy; frst when he bails Alvy out on stage, next when he hugs Alvy at his re-birth party, and last when Alvy goes up to ask for his meds at the end after watching House at the bus stop. The actor playing him stole my heart.

By: Beth

Beth — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:28:17 +0000

I am behind on my tv watching. And I am hoping that I can find House on demand. Thanks for your recap.

By: bertas

bertas — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:57:20 +0000

Erik,

welcome back and I’m very happy to be reading your recaps again

So lets get on it with it lol I loved the first episode. And it would be easy to put it all on Hugh Laurie who was a) brilliant and b) should really, REALLY smile more!
But I think casting of every single patient was spot on. I do hope going forward we will see same formula applied once again to the patient of the week.

Loved Braugher. Loved him. He totally owned the character. And it was refreshing to see that someone can command respect and stand up to House but on a very basic human level – don’t know if I’m making any sense with it but thats the impression I got.

And I loved Franka Potente (after I stopped thinking she might be another hallucination that is I know her from Lola rennt and I have to admit I was a bit puzzled when I heard she was cast as a love interest. But all of it was so sweet and tender and so unlike House maybe that really is a way to go forward – bring in some fresh blood and a love interest that is not connected to House’s team in any way. To be honest the pissing contest/teenage courting House and Cuddy had last year does pail in comparison.

I think the true test will be the second episode. He does want to get better. But as zeronex already said before me does this even compute with the whole premise of House? In the long run I think it would be a cop out/laziness on writers part to have him go back to his old ways – oh look we completely break him to pieces and in matter of episodes he is back to his old ways. Writing an episode like this one does take immense effort. Presuming we go back to the usual formula next week I’m not sure they can keep the momentum going.

By: Philiana

Philiana — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:47:40 +0000

I am so behind on TV (still haven’t watched Sunday’s MAD MEN!), but had to leave a comment and say that I can’t wait to read your recaps!

By: Twila

Twila — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:16:13 +0000

I thought the writers did a great job in showing House’s progression from
detoxing from Vicodin to learning to cope with failures as well as sucess..
his relationship with Lydia was so sweet and innocent…I hope she appears later on..and Alvie, I hope to see his progression…to get better like House….no one but Hugh Laurie could pull a 2 hr show like he did..
I thought it was great! As the words on the bus, “Proceed to Success”..sorta a good slogan for the rest of the season.

By: zeronex

zeronex — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:42:49 +0000

I don’t think that he will emerge as a new man because it just wouldn’t fit in with the show. If they change house’s way of looking at things, it wouldn’t be House anymore. Maybe he will reflect on how he’s been living his life for the past years for about one or two episodes, but eventually he’ll be back to his old self again.

By: blvnyrslf

blvnyrslf — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 02:35:47 +0000

I AM AFRAID THAT SINCE THIS EPISODE WAS SO TOUCHING, TOUCHY-FEELY, REALLY, IN THE BEST SENSE OF THE WORD, THAT THIS ONE WILL ALSO TURN OUT TO BE ANOTHER OF HOUSE’S HALLUCINATIONS AND THAT IT, TOO, WAS ALL A “DREAM.”
FANTASTIC ACTING, REALLY MOVING AND VERY SURPRISING; WAS NOT AT ALL, EXPECTING IT TO TAKE THIS TURN…
BUT, THEN, WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN GLIMPSES INTO HOUSE’S HEART, WITH THE CORTISOL INJECTION IN THE EPISODE, “MEANING” AND HOUSE DID THAT ALMOST ANONYMOUSLY. THERE ARE OTHER INSTANCES OF HOUSE’S BREAKTHROUGH PHILANTHROPY…BUT IN THE SEASON SIX PREMIERE…HIS ATTITUDE SHIFT WAS, WELL, SHOCKING. TOO SHOCKING AND TOO SUBSTANTIAL A CHANGE TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SHOW’S PREMISE: THAT OF A “MISANTHROPIC” CHARACTER WHO JUST HAPPENS TO BE AN M.D.
THERE WERE SOME IRREGULARITIES IN THE 2-HOUR EPISODE THAT WERE CURIOUS: WHY WAS THE HALDOL ADMINISTERED ORALLY? ISN’T INJECTION QUICKER? IN REAL MENTAL HOSPITALS, FRATERNIZATION IS STRICTLY VERBOTEN. CHEEKING IS CONTROLLED BY MORE SCRUPULOUS OBSERVATION AND THE URINALYSIS WOULD HAVE BEEN TOTALLY OUT IN THE OPEN TO AVOID THE OBVIOUS. BUT, WHAT A DELIGHTFUL EPISODE, ALL KINDS OF WARM FUZZIES AND FROM HOUSE HIMSELF, REAL OR HALLUCINATED.

By: Chris McLaughlin

Chris McLaughlin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:18:38 +0000

Totally agree with you, this episode was risky, and took me completely by surprise. After the second commercial break, I was wondering where the rest of the cast was (I try to stay off twitter leading up to premieres). After the break, the story really started kicking in, completely engrossing. A couple moments were a little off to me, one was the music box discovery, and the sudden effect it had on the cello player. House’s rapping was a little too cheesy for me, but necessary for the scene. I loved the connection with Lydia, very believable and heart-breaking, as in Lydia’s suggestion:”let’s just enjoy the experience,” and confession “I thought we had the perfect ending.” I’m excited to see the old crew back next week, especially Chase and Cameron, but thoroughly enjoyed the “Tony Award” winning performances and writing by the good people from HOUSE.

By: switchkosterice

switchkosterice — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:02:17 +0000

In regards to Lydia, I loved her chemistry with House, but I never did see it overcoming my rooting for Cuddy, honestly. It always seemed completely separate and irrelevant to me, like something/someone/type of relationship House had to go through to get to the point he did by the end of the episode. I don’t think it’s a game changer.

By: Erik

Erik — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:42:10 +0000

Kyle: Thanks for chiming in. Because of the business of Hollywood, we often see better representations of dramatic situations on the small screen, and this premiere was, for me, a more emotional journey than “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or “Awakenings.” Were there specific scenes that have stuck with you since your first viewing?

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:36:36 +0000

The whole time watching this episode, all I could think was “this is better than some feature films about mental institutions”–I’d rewatch this any day over a certain “acclaimed” Jack Nicholson film of a related theme. I loved this episode