Customer Reviews

House, M.D.: Season Three

5 star:		(185)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

You have to give the "House" production team credit. Your show has the "American Idol" lead-in and is often the highest-rated scripted drama on TV. However, instead of playing it safe with disease-of-the week plots, "House" swung for the fences several times: putting its main character in jail and threatening him with prison; ramping up the conflicts between all six of the main characters; and ending the year with a big cliffhanger that threatened to cut the main cast in half. Even when a given episode wasn't advancing the progressive storyline, the writers attempted to push the envelope with several politically themed episodes.

Early in Season 3, the big storyline revolved around recurring guest star David Morse, a detective out to get House and his questionable supply of Vicodin. In previous years, lengthy story arcs were given to Chi McBride and Sela Ward: would House lose his job? would House get married? This year, the theme was: would House go to prison? Morse dominated his episodes by playing the rare character that wouldn't back down to House. Although some media critics grew tired of the plot, which perhaps went on 2-3 episodes too long, the resolution was clever and allowed House to keep his dignity (and his job) without having to sacrifice... anything.

Several subplots emerged throughout the season, such as the romance between Drs. Chase and Cameron (first shown in season 2), and Dr. Foreman's growing dissatisfaction with having House as his mentor. House's fascination (or, some might say, obsession) with his boss, Dr. Cuddy, reached new levels. By the end of the season, House faced near mutiny from his underlings... and still didn't seem all that bothered. Perhaps House was too busy counseling a patient to end his life, or faking cancer in order to get a supply of pain medications. Perhaps he was dodging the romantic advances of a teenager, or trading in his case for a wheelchair in order to recover his handicapped parking spot. The more outrageous the behavior, the better Hugh Laurie was in the role. He even upgraded his cane to a model decorated with stars.

Standout guest stars this season included John Larroquette as a man waking up from a decade-long coma, Joel Grey as an ailing doctor, Dave Matthews as a stunted piano prodigy, and the return of Charles S. Dutton as Foreman's dad.

While the "House" season DVDs are never what you'd call packed with extras, the tightly knotted plots and the rapid-fire dialogue makes this a great show to watch more than once. Also try and track down plot-lines that never quite went anywhere, like Cuddy's rumored pregnancy or her not-quite romance with Wilson.

"House" season 3 drew top ratings while continuing with the show's unflinching dialogue and medical situations. This may not have been a great year for "Grey's Anatomy" or "E.R.", so cruise on over to Princeton Plainsborough for a few hours of intense hospital drama.

That incredibly crabby doctor with the serious leg pain is back for the third season of the acclaimed medical series "House, M.D." And once again Hugh Laurie and company came up with another winner of a season, although in my opinion it was just a tad notch below the first two seasons. Still, "House" season three is still very much worth watching.

Laurie once again dominates season three as he did with seasons one and two, and come Emmy time he better be rewarded! (He's already won two Golden Globes and one Screen Actors Guild award for his portrayal of Dr. House.) Being snubbed for a nomination for season two was a crime! His performances throughout season three was probably some of the best acting that Laurie has done on the show so far, thanks in part to one major storyline early in the season. David Morse was introduced in the fifth episode as Detective Tritter, a cop who comes to the hospital as a patient. Guess which doctor he ends up getting? Before you know it, Dr. House starts off by treating him rude, and if that's not bad enough, pops Vicodin right in front of him. Later on, he arrests Dr. House for possession of drugs, and thereafter tries in every way to make the cranky doc's life miserable (such as when Dr. House has to go for days without Vicodin and ends up in rehab). In addition, these turn of events also put a disturbing effect on his team, as the cop pressures each team member to give him some answers about their boss. This was a very strong storyline, and Morse was excellent in the role of the ticked off cop.

Sure "House" is the Hugh Laurie show, but lets not forget about the superb supporting cast: Lisa Edelstein as hospital administrator Lisa Cuddy; Omar Epps as neurologist Eric Foreman; Robert Sean Leonard as oncology specialist James Wilson; Jennifer Morrison as immunologist Allison Cameron; and Jesse Spencer as intensive-care specialist Robert Chase are all back for season three, and they're better than ever. For all three seasons these actors are given plenty to do in support of Laurie, and each of them does a great job playing off not only Laurie but each other. This is thanks to some terrific writing by creator David Shore and his writing team. They not only make this show compelling but smart as well. My favorite episode from season three is the one titled "Airborne", where House and Cuddy board a plane departing Malaysia that soon becomes a hospital ward when several passengers become seriously ill (including Cuddy); while back at Princeton-Plainsboro Wilson, Chase, Cameron, and Foreman try to solve a medical mystery on their own. This is a great episode, maybe the best overall episode of the show so far. It's not only thrilling and dramatic, but funny and shocking as well. Other great episodes include the second episode "Cane and Able", in which House and his team try to figure out why a 7 year old boy thinks he's being tortured by aliens, and the next-to-last episode "The Jerk", in which Dr. House meets his match with his latest patient: a teenage chess player with an arrogant attitude that's even worse than House's.

Despite this show's greatness, I had a few quibbles on the third season of "House". One season three episode didn't work for me (episode #12 - "One Day, One Room"). I found this episode kind of dull and not all that interesting. It's not real bad, but I just didn't seem to care about it all that much, which makes it the weakest episode of "House" so far. One minor storyline that was also kind of silly was the sexual hook-ups between Chase and Cameron, which featured them getting down and dirty in the hospital, in a patient's house, etc. And it was only for fun. Chase wants a relationship, but Cameron doesn't. This really isn't smart writing on the part of the writing team on "House". I think it was only thrown in their due to the real-life engagement of the actors who play Chase and Cameron (Jesse Spencer and Jennifer Morrison got engaged midway through season three). But in all fairness, I think this storyline would have worked better if the writers had done exactly what Chase wanted: let them have a relationship. These actors do look great together. I think a serious relationship storyline between Chase and Cameron would be awesome. Perhaps that might come later.

Familiar faces who show up for guest appearances during season three include: John Larroquette ("Night Court"), Kathleen Quinlan ("Apollo 13"), Joel Grey ("Cabaret"), Charles S. Dutton ("The Piano Lesson"), Piper Perabo ("Coyote Ugly"), Kurtwood Smith ("That `70s Show"), and pop star Dave Matthews.

The final episode of season three apparently will be opening the door for changes when season four debuts in the fall, as House lost his entire team (Foreman and Cameron resigned; Chase fired). I'm hoping that this will not be the end for some members of this great ensemble cast. I love this cast on "House", and if any one of these cast members leave the show or end up being let go, I will be very saddened by it. But this is the show's big cliffhanger for the summer. We'll eventually find out what will happen when season four returns this fall. And my fingers are crossed that all these cast members return.

This is the only show currently running which consistently holds my interest. Most programming these days is "reality" programming--which seems to mean watching anxious people locked in fierce competitions which reveal the worst human characteristics and are often ugly to watch--that's cheap, junkfood TV and it truly is a mindless waste of time. Dr. House is a breath of fresh air. With all his oddities, his demons, his arrogance, and his brilliance, he's an original character I find fascinating. He's locked in his own struggles, too, as are all the other members of the cast. To me the fictional show seems more real and valid than all the "reality" shows. It's a wonderful show and I look forward to each new episode. Hope the entire team makes it back this fall!

Someone would say you need a gimmick to make a show work (think Columbo's raincoat and cigar, Ironside's wheelchair, House's misused cane). House does misuse his cane, takes pain pills like penny candy and is an anti Doctor's doctor. However the show gets better and better , season after season

Some critics of this season of House which had been shot and recovers in the first episode and then David Morse (St Elsewhere) played a revengeful cop House disrespected in his clinic visit as a JUMP THE SHARK (a term when a show needs a gimmick in a story arc) season. I do not think so. The story arc added to the drama. Now we know House wont lose his license or go to jail, unless they canceled the show and FOX wants this hit for 2 more seasons...so we know the interplay between characters works so well asnd delivers well during this personal crisis story line.

After the COP arc, the show was back to business as usually, until the second story arc, where Foreman (Omar Epps) wishes to leave House's team and the hospital. Here is acting at its best this season. Epps and Lurie play the power struggle with a Liar's poker style. There is a climax which is at the end of the season which will throw everyone for a loop. Emmy voters there is still time, Lurie and Epps for Best actor and best supporting actor in a drama, OKAY?

Some will ask why only 4 stars..well there were so much of the Cop and Foreman arc, that there were not many of those single Episodes where House and his team acted like miracle workers. Sometimes you watch this show like its CSI for medicine, there was some of that..I wanted more.. well there is always next season! It starts in October

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

if you like dramas with arrogant doctors, this is the show for you. Seasons 1 and 2 were great, but I'd say this is the best of all three seasons...and hopefully more to come. You should definetly buy this season!!!

If you are watching HOUSE because you want cheap medical advice for your symptoms, you are misled, to say the least. I would give nearly anything to verbally joust with a doctor like this. He's painfully honest; accutely perceptive; adorable, in a rustic way; and at least you would know where you stand when he walked out the door. I had a vet like this guy, once, and it was so refreshing to get what you paid for. Too many doctors tiptoe around feelings, scared to death they will have to crank up the malpractic insurance coverage. Hugh Laurie does an awesome job of being a genius in his field, and a sarcastic S.O.B. who no one can truly hate. I have surmised that House will end up donating the sperm for Cutty's offspring... let's face it, they are two peas in a pod (lonely, somewhat despirate for love, and misunderstood most of the time)... but that doesn't take the series very far. And what's happening with the other characters? Would they REALLY leave the show? The interaction between House and new personalities would give the show a whole new twist... not to mention, those new folks would have some pretty big shoes to fill. All this said, I reccommend this series as a must have. On those rainy days, when nothing else is appealing on the tube... you can always count on HOUSE to give you intense entertainment and force the gray matter to unravel each plot, sub-plot, and ultimate plot's mystery.

From the outset let me say that this is a fun series to watch. That being said one should not put to much faith in realism being displayed. Most of the episodes of this series have become rather predictable i.e. patient is admitted, patient has convulsions. Patient gets Cat Scan or MRI. Patient nearly dies from various treatments. Patient finally recovers when correct procedures are found. The vast majority of the episodes follow this form. In addition one is left to wonder how the hospital could afford the lawsuits that would arise from House's caustic personality as he insults patients,guardians and co-workers with his verbal abuse not to mention questionable medical procedures. Finally for that added touch the spouse or guardian of the patient always seems to be present when the patient begins to have problems to add to the tension. The items that hook you on this program is not areas I have previously outlined, but rather the fun of watching a really cranky somewhat mentally unbalanced genius doctor go about his work. What will he say this week to abuse someone or everyone what rare disease will come to light to explain the patients problems. The backgrounds of the principal supporting characters are becoming more filled in and with this seasons certain tensions explode. As stated at the begining this is a fun show to watch it pulls you back in every week however, a growing soap opera feel now is starting to become more notable. The writers to their credit have allowed the occasional failure or patient to die something earlier medical shows tended to avoid which does enhance the series.

Give it a break people and relax. It is television, not every episode can win an Emmy. It is supposed to be fun and for my money it is the best show on TV right now. I own the first two season and have ordered the third already. Loosen up have fun and just enjoy.

The Season 3 DVD collection of House, M.D. has been out for nearly two months, and I've already watched it so many times that even my husband (who's not really a fan) can quote chapter and verse and tell you, from one line of dialogue, which episode I'm watching (yet again!) So it goes without saying that I highly recommend that you go out and purchase this set (in the lovely red box) to match the blue (Season 1) and orange (Season 2) collections, if you haven't already.

My suggestion is to watch the seasons and the episodes in order. Although House, M.D. is promoted as a procedural drama, the episodes also tell the fascinating story of Dr. Gregory House and the doctors who reside in his orbit. The Season 3 DVD set contains a hilarious blooper reel (my only complaint about it is that it is too short); a director's commentary on the mid-season episode "Half-Wit" (which guest starred Dave Matthews); and a behind-the-scenes look at "The Jerk" (a late season entry). Other extras include a look at the props, a peek at the production office, and some alternate takes of several scenes. (None of these additional extras, in my opinion, is particularly special).

My favorite extra on the DVD has less to do with the show than with its star. It is a recorded recording session of Hugh Laurie's band "Band From TV" recording Laurie's arrangement of "Minnie the Moocher." It's a rare look into the recording studio and into Hugh Laurie's other life (one of them, anyway) as a gifted musician.

The advantage to watching Season 3 on DVD, besides the glorious color and richness of the print, is that you can watch episodes one after the other with no breaks, no commercials, nothing to interrupt the flow of the narrative. Broken up as it is aired, it is easy to miss the cohesiveness and story arc of Season 3. As I see it, the season unfolds in four separate acts (on five DVDs). Act 1: Episodes 1-4 (concluding with "Lines in the Sand"), followed by the bridging episode "Fools for Love." Act 2 (also known as the "Tritter Arc" among fans was) was bridged into Act 3 with "One Day One Room," which concluded with "Fetal Position." "Airborne" led fans into the season's final act. The following "road map" is intended to guide you through some of the glorious subtext and motivations (as I saw them) that suffused the series's third season. These are the things that can be easily missed in casual viewing, but that draw me back to this show week after week and viewing after viewing.

Act I--The Happiness Scale. The season started out hopefully for Dr. House, in the aftermath of his near-fatal shooting and subsequent treatment with the veterinary drug ketamine, a radical procedure that would, if it worked, end House's pain to the point where he could exercise, do physical therapy, and regain the use of his leg. Side note: This is why you should also watch Season 2 before Season 3. We first meet the new (and maybe improved) Season 3 House all sweaty and running! Pain free and cane-free! However, House's Season 2 finale hallucination had convinced him that "meaning" was lacking in his miserable, lonely existence. And Season 3, as much as anything, is about House's search for meaning and humanity - and for healing. House's Season 3 journey is also about change--change that is within his control, and change that is not.

But from the start, House is at a loss as to how to insert meaning into his life. So much of season 3 is about things that House cannot control, such as the terrible disappointment of the ketamine treatment's failure. There is a devastating scene in Episode 3 ("Cane and Able") where House tries to push himself on a treadmill in the dead of night. He's in terrible pain, desperate, trying to deny the pain its final victory. Then there is the tragedy of that episode's final scene, made even more tragic by the musical backdrop of the song "Gravity," as House seeks out the familiarity of his cane, his face awash with defeat.

Season 3, Act I concludes with "Lines in the Sand," as House tries to understand how parents could devote themselves to an autistic child. As he had wondered about the patient's wife in the season premiere, so, too, he wonders how the boy's parents can be fulfilled by the all-consuming task of raising their needy son. What is the meaning they derive from it? Are they happy? House connects with the autistic boy, and for his efforts is rewarded with a gift that I think both stuns and moves him. It is also in this episode that House engages in what appears to be a power struggle with the Dean of Medicine, Lisa Cuddy (who alternately tries to both control and protect Dr. House), over something seemingly trivial - the replacement of House's bloodstained carpet - that actually gets to the heart of House's control issues. That carpet was something he could control when everything else in his life was spiraling away from him. It had become, in effect, his anchor. He doesn't want it replaced.

Act II--Les Miserables. As Act II unfolds, things spiral completely out of House's control. He offends the wrong patient, a vindictive detective who sees House's relationship with vicodin as a menace to society. House has found his own personal Javert. He sees Detective Michael Tritter (played by David Morse) simply as a bully. If you ignore a bully, House postulates, he will go away to harass an easier score. House's refusal to deal with Tritter as a serious threat digs him into even deeper trouble, sweeping everyone around him into the maelstrom. But through this personal nightmare, House still endeavors to come to terms with the role of "meaning" in his life and in others'.

The episodes "Son of Coma Guy" and "Merry Little Christmas" are specific examples of House's continued journey. In "Son of Coma Guy," House helps a man (played by John Laroquette) make sense of his own tragedy by enabling the man to make the ultimate sacrifice. It's a poignant moment, driven not by ego or the solving a diagnostic riddle, but by respect for one person's desire to make his death meaningful. House, who is often accused of not caring for anyone but himself and having no interest in a patient beyond solving a diagnostic puzzle, risks his career and his freedom by assisting the man's suicide at a time when, had Detective Tritter found out, it would have ramped up House's legal difficulties exponentially.

The second act of Season 3 also explores the value House places on being "normal," picking up on a thread from "Lines in the Sand." House decries being "inside the circle" and the "circle queens," who endeavor to re-mold anyone "outside the circle" (as House sees himself) to fit inside it. House appears to revel in his uniqueness, his outsider status a badge of honor. In "Son of Coma Guy," he romanticizes a Japanese Buraku (outcast) physician he knew as a kid living in Japan as his role model for becoming a doctor himself.

"Merry Little Christmas" is the first of several episodes where House helps give another outsider--another "freak" like him--the chance of a normal life. And it becomes clearer and clearer that this is something House seeks for himself. This theme echoes the Season 2 finale, "No Reason," in which House ultimately decides to risk his genius for a "normal" life. The encounter with Tritter (and the nearly tragic events of "Merry Little Christmas") lead to House's voluntary stay in a drug rehab program. But we are led to assume, by House's own words, that neither rehab nor his brush with the law have any effect on the good doctor.

The Tritter arc bridges to Act III with "One Day One Room," which contradicts the assumption that House was left unchanged by his encounter with Detective Tritter. I think rehab put House in a particularly vulnerable emotional place, despite his best efforts. And it is at this vulnerable time that Eve, a young rape victim, enters into his sphere. She simply "wants to talk" to House - and only to House. But he resists connecting with her, questioning why she would even want to connect with him, until he can no longer push back. And when she wears down his resistance, getting deeply under his skin, House reveals to her that he had been physically (and probably emotionally) abused by his marine pilot father

Although being an abuse survivor doesn't come close to fully explaining House's motivations, personality, or behavior, it does begin to explain why he so very much needs to be in control of his out-of-control life. I believe that he had never told anyone about the abuse until that moment in a room with a stranger. That, of course, is part of House's MO: revealing things about himself to perfect strangers (and to us, the viewers) rather than risk doing so to those who know him the best.

Act III--Baby Steps. After the heaviness of the first two acts, we get the humor of "Needle in a Haystack" before embarking once again on House's journey to "normal." We get hints in "Insensitive" and "Half-Wit" that House is doing a lot of reading about experimental pain management - something to help himself. Wilson believes that House is depressed and needs to begin to reach out to people, rather than relying on drugs and the faint hope of healing himself through radical, experimental, and dangerous procedures. "It will shorten your life," Wilson tells House in "Insensitive," regarding an experimental treatment for pain. "Shorter but normal," House retorts.

But in "Fetal Position," we do witness House begin to reach out, take baby steps. Back in "One Day One Room" House had revealed to Wilson (and to the rape victim) that he visits a jogging park (even though he can no longer run) to "watch and imagine." In "Fetal Position," more of his torn inner life is revealed. House makes plans for a vacation that someone in his physical condition cannot possibly take with ease: The Galapagos Islands, Vancouver Island, the Andes. He imagines, he desires. But to actually do would require bigger steps towards change than he is emotionally able, or willing, to make.

Act IV--Resignation. Season 3's final act is fueled by Foreman's decision that he has no stomach for House's game. He sees himself in House (I don't, but, hey, I'm only a fan) and doesn't like what he sees: a cold, misanthropic, unemotional machine. No heart; no soul. Meanwhile, House continues his baby steps towards change. Whether they are fueled by the antidepressants Wilson was surreptitiously slipping him for at least one or two episodes, who knows? But House allows himself the pleasure of a young woman's company and an ongoing flirtation with Cuddy, something he would have never done two years ago, or even one year ago. Our change-averse, out of control doctor has edged closer and closer to becoming part of society.

Then, in the finale, House does something we've never seen him do: kick back and relax with a patient's spouse. The scene towards the end of the episode perfectly bookends the season premiere, in which House had nearly forced himself to spend time with his family, trying awkwardly to access his own humanity. As he told Wilson, "I didn't even know how I was supposed act." But in the finale, he has, in the end, resolved that issue, as he enjoys tequila and cigars with the patient's husband, keeping watch on the man's recovering wife.

This would not be a review of mine if I didn't make special note of the extraordinary Mr. Hugh Laurie, OBE. His portrayal of one of the most prickly and difficult characters ever written for network television is breathtaking in every episode. He is a joy to watch as he deftly tells House's story. He so completely embodies the character, and is so completely in the moment in every scene, that every episode is simply a master's master class. Three words to conclude: buy it. Today.

(originally published at Blogcritics.org)

I thought I'd grow bored with the series long before now. But...no...not only does House continue to grow and change, showing signs of humanity (the jury is still out on how MUCH compassion he has and whether he is more self-serving than not) but the other characters are being allowed to grow in surprising directions.

If you are already a fan of this show, then I expect you'll probably want to get this. If not, don't start with the newest boxed set but go back and watch all the episodes. The dialogue is among the sharpest and wittiest out there.

Oh, yeah...if you are the internet searching type, there are some hilarious bloopers to be found on various websites like You...well, you know the name of the site, don't you?