Monday, April 19, 2010

Pardon the Interruption: Mourning the Death of my Respect for House Writers.

My sister will handle the official review of this week's episode of House tomorrow (we're altering our schedule a bit to rotate the classic fandoms in and out of the rotation while all of the active canons are running new episodes), but I need to get a few angry words off my chest regarding the direction House (as a franchise) has taken this season.

I would like to think that my co-author and I have each developed a relatively sharp skill for critical analysis (or what the fans call "meta") over the years. Now all of us are prone to bias our analysis toward our world view, especially when it comes to entertainment and artistic expression, since any derivation of meaning is inherently subjective and since we WANT to be fulfilled and venerated by what we watch and read. So I'll admit right off the bat that my hopes and desires for the future of House (the character and the franchise) are subjective and biased if the fans on the left will do the same.

Here is how I read the show's basic message (and I know my co-author largely agrees with this assessment, but she can chime in when she gets a chance to see this new episode and the previews for the next one or at any time if I've got her opinion wrong) up to and including "Brave Heart" (the earliest part of 6th season) House is a reducto ad absurdem for what can happen to a man who irrationally (how ironic) clings to pure rationality in a universe that is inherently filled with contradictions and mysteries that cannot be solved with science. His misery echoes the misery of just about every atheist/secular rationalist I've ever met (granted, it's more extreme for the purposes of entertainment). He went so far as to convince himself that he was happier alone because relationships with other people were too irrational and confusing for him to handle well. Through "Brave Heart" his recovery from madness and addiction was consistent with a man slowly but surely embracing the reality that a big part of the human existence is accepting the left side of your brain as well as the right side (the rational and the emotional/intuitive, the functional and the artistic). This is step one toward recovering any possibility of developing faith. Maybe we can't ask House to come all the way back to God...that's a tremendously long road...but it would be nice to believe that he can at least come to respect the faithful.

However, as sixth season has worn on, I'm seeing some very disturbing trends not only in House's development, but in the writing of all of the ancillary characters. My co-author and I are in the process of feuding over thirteen, so I'll start with her. Many in fandom irrationally jumped to the conclusion, following the announcement that she was bisexual, that thirteen was an evil slut. I have defended her character for a long time because I didn't have anywhere near enough data to suggest that her priorities were in fact that messed up. She had a momentary lapse when she was dealing with a death sentence diagnosis of Huntington's Korea. We witnessed her going through a CHIPS-style drug binge and sleep with random girls for a short while before deciding to fight to extend her life and make a difference in House's department.

Even last week, after her very salacious game of truth or dare with Wilson, I was annoyed with Wilson for assuming that her bisexuality automatically implied that she was into multiple simultaneous sex partners and enjoyed her smacking down that notion (though I was not impressed with her general attitude toward Wilson's love life or the necessity for his being a "bad boy"). But this week, we find out that thirteen suggested Wilson should give his first ex wife another chance because although she knew it was likely a terrible idea, she figured Wilson would discover that on his own and he'd "get a few weeks of great sex" as a reward. If that is how she treats relationships...if those are her priorities, then she will never again have my respect morally.

But before my sister goes on the rampage declaring that I am upholding an unreasonable double standard, let's keep the party going and look at the big issues I have with the OTHER characters. How about Taub next, hm? The writers almost...ALMOST...had me excited that they were going to argue for the value of a healthy, morally grounded marriage based on work, compromise and genuine love. And then Taub flirted with a nurse. Oh yes, and in the scenes from next week, we are treated to a patient in an "open marriage" (an arrangement that is NEVER healthy, no matter how vociferously people want to try to argue in the affirmative), and an apparent discussion between Taub and his wife about whether theirs should also be an open marriage. Far from advancing in maturity, Taub seems to be back-sliding too. I hope I'm wrong...I hope Taub and his wife will realize the folly of this discussion and find morality again - for their own sakes and for the sake of my blood pressure.

On to Chase and Cameron. Until last week, Cameron was actually a great example of the lack of emotional health that always seems to underpin the desires of anyone seeking empty casual sex. She feared intimacy and feared her developing feelings for Chase and it drove her to (a) have what she wanted to believe was meaningless sex, (b) become blind to Chase's character flaws, (c) look for every possible excuse to escape her relationship with Chase and finally (d) take the easy way out and run away at the first sign of trouble in their abbreviated marriage. That's a great series of events to demonstrate the psychological dysfunction behind society's view of sex today. So yes...until recently, I believe Cameron was a way bigger slut than thirteen. I expressed my anger on this site when she blamed House (still in the middle of his gradual recovery) for Chase's bad behavior and the demise of her marriage. Last week's Chase/Cameron plot was going very well for me...Cameron FINALLY admitted her role in her own problems. And then they had bonus night. As thought "sex with the ex" is ever a healthy thing to do. So apparently...Cameron hasn't really matured at all. She's still perfectly fine with the same flawed philosophy that landed her in the divorce bin at age 30. And I'm supposed to feel affirmed by this? It was certainly written as though it was to be taken as a touching moment. Excuse me while I hurl.

How about Wilson...they had him FINALLY moving toward breaking his bad dating habits...his short relationship with Amber was probably the only one in which he was monogamous, because it was probably the only one where he chose the woman based on ACTUALLY RESPECTING HER, rather than some baser sexual/emotional need to be a knight in shining armor driven by a deep inferiority complex. I had hoped after Amber's death that Wilson would continue to grow up...continue to seek out the positive gains he was making in the 4th season. I had hoped that his next relationship would be better thought-out than what we've gotten instead. He continued bird-dogging the chicas...tried to beat House in a competition for a woman whom he allowed to believe he was gay. And now, he's going out with his first ex-wife - and I'm guessing...sleeping with her...after having connected via facebook (REALLY, WRITERS????). The very DEFINITION of repeating ones' patterns includes going out with the same woman multiple times and expecting a different result. You cheated on her for a reason, Wilson. She was a soul-sucking harpee that you thought you deserved and then you let your weaker morality take hold of you. Any reason to think it won't happen again? Any reason for us to believe you're becoming a more moral person? You have noble desires...but no will power at all. *headdesk*

Foreman? Oh yes...I've got a few words on Foreman too...like perhaps that he fired his girlfriend because he didn't respect her enough to allow her to be his equal in the workplace. And then he expected her to come back to him without expressing any remorse for that action? Foreman is House with people skills. That's not a compliment, you jack ass. And he's not making any gains either. But I'm supposed to be fine with that.

The ONLY character here who is, for the moment, escaping my wrath is Cuddy...mostly because we haven't had much screen time with her character in recent weeks with the exception of one outstanding episode featuring her in a new light. But she, too, has a history of saying things like "I like sex" to justify sleeping with a guy she just met on a dating website, and I am not all that impressed with the dynamic in her relationship with Lucas either. But at least they're monogamous and relatively straight with each other. At least Cuddy has a sense of self-worth and dignity. At least she can correctly see how screwed up it would be to date House.

This show is going entirely the wrong direction for my liking...I will continue to watch and hope that some of these characters eventually get their comeuppance for all of this bad behavior and maybe grow a little as people, but based on the social commentary I've heard in recent episodes that actually involved patients (most of whom have led outrageous lifestyles for the sake of episode shock-value), I am not holding my breath. House has been destroyed by Hollywood depravity until the writers prove otherwise.

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