Test Pilot #44: The Shield Debut date: March 12, 2002 Series legacy: One of the best cop dramas, and series, of all-time Hello, everyone. Welcome back to your favorite discussion of television pilots on the internet, Test Pilot. Today we conclude our survey of the contemporary police drama. Hopefully we have done a fine job … Continue reading Test Pilot: File #44, The Shield
Tag: Gregory House
Goodbye, House: Ranking the seasons of House
With House airing its series finale this evening, I thought it was time to bust out a list or two. I love House and I love lists. It seems only fitting. First up, one of the lists I “do best”: ranking the seasons. Obviously, the finale could have some influence on the placement of season … Continue reading Goodbye, House: Ranking the seasons of House
Review: House, “Nobody’s Fault”
I’ve said this a few times this season, but House has few good ideas left. Don’t get me wrong, I still like the series quite a bit, and I think this season has been mostly solid because the writers finally realized that the few remaining strengths of House are twofold: Hugh Laurie and moderately amusing … Continue reading Review: House, “Nobody’s Fault”
#TVFail Entry 14: CSI:, “19 Down”/”One to Go”
The accused: CSI:, “19 Down” and “One to Go” (Season 9, Episodes 9 and 10) The crime: Embodying the internal tension between character and procedural in contemporary network crime series Television’s failures are supposed to be obvious. From the overhyped non-starters that flop from the very beginning (hello, FlashForward, Lone Star) to the much-discussed clumsy … Continue reading #TVFail Entry 14: CSI:, “19 Down”/”One to Go”
Review: House, “Charity Case”
Even at its lowest point (which was definitely season five, by the way), House has never been a bad series. It has turned in some really tepid episodes – and even those are relatively rare – and for the last three seasons, the series has been generally coasting, but there’s still something about House … Continue reading Review: House, “Charity Case”
Season Premiere review — House, “Twenty Vicodin”
House is pretty much out of ideas at this point. The series spent the majority of last season focusing on the House-Cuddy relationship, a decision that made half the audience swoon and the other half vomit. I was somewhere in the middle on Huddy, but it always sort of felt like if the series was … Continue reading Season Premiere review — House, “Twenty Vicodin”
2010-2011 season wrap: House
With the 2010-2011 television season officially over, I'll be taking some time over the next week or so to look back on how some of television's best fared this season. General thoughts: End dates are not normal in television and most series limp towards the finish line. This is often more true for series with procedural … Continue reading 2010-2011 season wrap: House
Season Finale — House, “Moving On”
For a season finale, "Moving On" is not an entirely exciting episode. In fact, this episode includes one of the season's most obvious commitments to a medical case. At various points of the episode, I found myself just slightly bored with the proceedings. But despite all of that, "Moving On" is exactly what House ends as … Continue reading Season Finale — House, “Moving On”
House, “After Hours”
When heading into a season finale, there's always a danger of ramping things up too much. The desire to make everything seem MORE IMPORTANT and MORE URGENT is always there, especially for drama series, but it doesn't always work in the context of the episodes that came before it. Histrionics for histrionics sake is never, ever a … Continue reading House, “After Hours”
House, “The Fix”
UGH. I have no problem with House going to extremes at the end of its seventh season. This is a series that likes to pull out "big" moments and twists during the final few episodes every season, so I expected season seven to try to accomplish those same goals. It's part of the series' storyteling DNA … Continue reading House, “The Fix”
#TVFail Entry 2: House, “Simple Explanation”
The accused: House, "Simple Explanation" (Season 5, Episode 20) The crime: Presenting a terribly manipulative version of the "Very Special Episode" gimmick. Television’s failures are supposed to be obvious. From the overhyped non-starters that flop from the very beginning (hello, FlashForward, Lone Star) to the much-discussed clumsy conclusions of series we were convinced had it all planned … Continue reading #TVFail Entry 2: House, “Simple Explanation”
House, “Changes”
There's a weird thing going on. I think I'm the biggest critical supporter of House left. I'm not really sure how this happening, especially when I spent a good portion of the last two seasons thinking that the series should be cancelled. I'd like to think I have mostly high standards. Maybe I do, maybe … Continue reading House, “Changes”
House, “Last Temptation”
Thirteen's back, so naturally that means Masters has to leave! Okay, that might not be the exact logistical explanation for the transition between last week's very good episode of House and this only-okay episode of House, but it does seem a bit obvious that this series refuses to have two female characters on the team. … Continue reading House, “Last Temptation”
The TVS List: Three broadcast series that need to be canceled
Note: I'm hopefully going to have more time to write things here over the next few months, so I'll be trying to bring back the weekly list feature. Trying. Anyway, here's the beginning of that attempt. It's spring, which means it is the time of year that everyone takes to the internet to stump for … Continue reading The TVS List: Three broadcast series that need to be canceled
House, “The Dig”
I'm willing to face the consequences of this statement: I actually like Thirteen. I know that many House fans have hated her from the beginning because she was more or less replacing fan favorite Cameron, and I can see their point of view. The way that Cameron was shoved not-so-gently off the stage so that … Continue reading House, “The Dig”
