Yesterday, the creators of the hit show “House” announced that at the end of this, its eighth season, Dr. House and his cast of characters would fade into the distance.

“The decision to end the show now, or ever, is a painful one, as it risks putting asunder hundreds of close friendships that have developed over the last eight years,” said executive producers David Shore, Katie Jacobs and Hugh Laurie, “but also because the show itself has been a source of great pride to everyone involved.

The producers have always imagined House as an enigmatic creature;  he should never be the last one to leave the party.  How much better to disappear before the music stops, while there is still some promise and mystique in the air.”

Now’s as good a time as any for a post-mortem on one of the quirkiest, most interesting character shows of the last decade. “House’s” focus on a thoroughly unlikeable character was risky, and it paid off; the creators’ decision to make him a thoroughgoing atheist constantly at conflict with others subtly made the case for the bankruptcy of his ideology.  Or, at the very least, it offered philosophical contrast.

Most famously, “House” featured a very pro-life episode in 2007, “Fetal Position,” in which an unborn child reached out of the womb and touched House’s hand, mirroring the famous photograph. That was mirrored by a pro-choice episode that same season that made the case for abortion for a religious rape victim. That was House’s style.

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This Sunday, the 62^nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be handed out to some of the best shows and actors from the past year. Although some shows and performances were snubbed, there are numerous nominees that are worth rooting for during the award show which will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon. In the midst of a lot of previously-nominated shows and performers, there are also some newcomers and previously-overlooked nominees that are worth getting excited about.

In the best drama category, the highly-acclaimed and perennial winner “Mad Men” will be facing some mildly tough competition. It will be up against HBO’s “True Blood,” Showtime’s “Dexter,” AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” ABC’s “Lost,” and CBS’ “The Good Wife.” Even though “Lost” just aired its final season, many expect that “Mad Men” will walk away with its third consecutive best drama award. Several of last year’s nominees for this category were snubbed this year (“House,” “Big Love,” and “Damages”) along with at least one departing show that had previously won this competition (“24”).    (more…)

I’ve criticized the show House in this space before.  House is a main character who is beginning to cross the line from likable to crotchety, despite Hugh Laurie’s greatness.  His sidekick, Wilson, is far more interesting dramatically.  And the show itself is amazingly predictable: somebody has a seizure; opening credits; wrong diagnosis; commercial; wrong diagnosis; commercial; wrong diagnosis; commercial; correct diagnosis indicated by oblique reference in the B story; conclusion; end credits. 

But at least House is well-written. It’s also a relatively balanced show, even though House himself is an open atheist.  For example, Season Three of House featured two abortion episodes: “Fetal Position,” which was so pro-life that it included a mockup of the famous image of a baby’s hand holding an operating doctor’s; and “One Day, One Room,” an episode in which House convinces a raped patient to have an abortion.  Despite the show’s overall liberal tilt (see Wilde, Olivia), there is at least an attempt to be evenhanded. (more…)

Last week’s episode of the Fox Network medical-mystery series House included a Big Event meant to shock the show’s viewers and send the story line in an interesting new direction, as one of the main characters of the series was killed. As it happens, the show’s fans figured out exactly who it would be, several days in advance of the program’s airing, as the kind of public conversation the Internet makes so easy enabled a mass pooling of information and instant critiquing of same. (more…)

When script writers run out of something else to say (e.g., there are only so many times they can say everyone is uninsured and miserable about it), guns and gun makers are easily available to demonize. “Life” and “House” have both gone after guns in recent episodes.

Life’s episode “Initiative 38″ has a fairly unbelievable plot: a woman working on an initiative to ban handguns is murdered and there is one major suspect, P&K, a gun company. Here is some of the dialogue:

Detective Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis): We are saying that someone came here to kill your wife. Can you think of who that might be?

Harold Amis: Yes, I can. Initiative 38.

Woman who works for Initiative 38: Initiative 38 is a comprehensive ban on handguns. Lisa was working to get it passed. (more…)

Kal Penn’s character killed himself on “House.” Kal Penn didn’t commit career suicide by accepting a job in the Obama administration. Penn is merely taking Tinseltown’s love of politics to another level. While it’s not unprecedented for the stars of B-movies to find themselves in the White House, it certainly is unusual. Political activism didn’t hurt the careers of Oscar winners Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, and George Clooney. Their Oscars might be seen as recognition of that activism. After all, their awards came as a result of performances in rather politicized films. If Kal Penn felt typecast as a player in raunchy college comedies, he should have no such worries after his sojourn in Washington, DC. He will be a celebrity among celebrities. Roles will be there for the taking. Just watch: the critical acclaim that escaped him in ”Van Wilder” will have no trouble finding him, and Harold will be wishing that he had followed Kumar to the White House.

According to the Wall Street Journal (and linked in the headlines), actor Kal Penn–known best as Kumar, a pot-smoking, fun-loving, trouble-seeking character in the profoundly stupid Harold and Kumar series–is leaving Hollywood to work in the Obama administration:

Penn, best known for his roles as Kumar Patel in the “Harold & Kumar” movies and most recently as Dr. Lawrence Kutner on the television series “House” told EW.com that he will be associate director in the White House office of public liaison.

“They do outreach with the American public and with different organizations. They’re basically the front door of the White House,” Penn said. “They take out all of the red tape that falls between the general public and the White House. It’s similar to what I was doing on the campaign.” (more…)

Shangri-la and Brigadoon and Bipartisan.  Three mythical places.  One of which few Republicans have seemingly ever heard.  Because if there is one thing we can take from the first weeks of the “New” Washington, it’s that the (liberal) Democrats are incompetent (old news, really) and the Republicans are disingenuous when it comes to bipartisanship.  Oh, sure, they talk up the swellness of President Obama every chance they get.  And will continue to do so as long as his approval numbers are above fifty percent.  But most GOPers tend to become like children who dance hysterically in a sandbox when it comes time to play with others.

Despite all the sit-downs Obama had with the Republicans – apparently too many for Speaker Pelosi’s tastes – and despite the fact that the House version of the Stimulus Bill contained specific tax breaks for which the Republicans had asked – though not to the degree they wished – not a single GOPer would break ranks, step up and vote for the bill.  A surprisingly “my way or the highway” attitude for the minority party whose eight years of good cogitating was a major factor in whipping America into the stellar fiscal shape we find ourselves. (more…)

The Fox network’s “House M.D.” has never been very friendly towards guns. The last show of season 2 found House shot by a disgruntled former patient. In the ninth episode of season 5, someone demands medical treatment at the point of a gun. The just aired twelfth episode entitled “Painless” brings up guns again, though in a less dramatic and more subtle way with a character named Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) going through the adoption process. When the child welfare official comes to check on Cuddy’s suitability to care for the young child, the first question the official asks is, “Any guns in the house?” The only other question was whether she had any pets.

Obviously the academic research shows that having an accessible gun in the home saves lives, but I had a more basic question: I decided to check to see if a question about guns was likely to lead the questions on one’s fitness to serve as a foster parent or to adopt a child. American Adoptions is licensed by the state of New Jersey to provide home study services for people preparing for adoption. Their home study guide has a lot of questions on a person’s criminal record (arrests and convictions), whether they have ever been reported for child abuse/neglect (seems more important than gun ownership), and marital status and history – but no questions about gun ownership. (more…)