It's nice to see something other than indifference toward Foreman. For a character who has so much to do and so many storylines, he doesn't inspire much passion or discussion. Cameron was polarizing, equally loved and hated. Chase was pretty much loved with a little hate thrown in. Thirteen is pretty much universally hated with a rare bit of love (or at least tolerance). Foreman has never gotten a response proportional to his part. So I applaud you for spreading a little of that rare Foreman love.

For me the problem with Foreman is "So much time and effort, for so little pay off" sindrome. Every season we have to watch episode, after episode dealing with some Foreman Issue and when the arc is over I never feel like I learned something new or something that would make me care about Foreman. The thing is the writers have left some many interesting threads about him that could be explored, beyond 14 or ForemanisHouselite. When the rumours about 14 began I was excited thinking about the 13/ForemanMom conection, it was never mentioned. When Foreman fired 13, I was truly expecting some sort of exploration about dating at work ethics (sort of a trial run for the H/Cu), but it was at most a halfhearted effort. When I read queenzulu version of Foreman, I keep thinking why can TPTB give Foreman half as much thought? They keep telling us things about him that are difficult to believe because what they actually show us (in painfully long arcs) is so different. But then the problem TPTB have with telling a coherent story arc for more that 2 episodes is not limited to Foreman.

From the Bombshells thread: I do think this was supposed to be ironic (along with the spectacle of thrice-divorced Wilson offering relationship advice). However, I remember also that in "Now What?" Foreman was prepared to travel to Rome with Thirteen as just a friend when he thought she was leaving PPTH for medical treatment. Before that he was in fact prepared to link his life with hers romantically as well, willing to sacrifice his career to get her experimental drug treatments that might offer even a temporary reprieve. So I do think that we are meant to see Foreman's romantic arc parallelling House's in several significant ways. As far back as season three "Insensitive," House predicted a romantic future for Foreman of striving, frustration, and loneliness that was closely modelled on his own experiences. The fact that both men got into deeply passionate committed love relationships at late stages in their lives is by design, I think. Granted, ever since Foreman spent an entire season (S3) running around saying "I'm better than you House so I'm quitting. And quitting. And quitting." he gets absolutely no benefit of the doubt from me. I despise him. And this is how I see his relationship with Thirteen: She is gorgeous and she is dying. He wouldn't have to make the long-term emotional commitment of flossing next to her for 40 years so... He pushed her to enter the drug trials he was running. He rescheduled his most promising patient so Thirteen would stay in the program and he lied about doing it. Thirteen: Sticking your most improved study participant in my face. Is that your way of getting into my pants? Foreman: I don't make the schedule, and if I did, I wouldn't use it as a social lubricant. And this is the first I’ve heard of Janice improving at all. So, hey, thanks for the good news. House: It’s the only hunch we've got. If I really wanted to torture him, I’d manipulate a clinical trial in the hopes that he'd sleep with you. Foreman: Are you suggesting I got Thirteen in that trial because of some personal — House: I think you got her in because of your usual Messiah complex. I think you messed with the appointment schedule because of your "I like to have sex" complex. I checked the logs. You moved your most promising patient right before her. False hope being quite the aphrodisiac. He started sleeping with her while she was his patient (and, unlike Wilson, he maneuvered her into the emotional doctor/patient relationship specifically in order to sleep with her.) Then he decided he was in love with her and he broke ethical codes to give her an unproven medication without her permission. As a result she was blinded. He basically told her that he did it "for her." (It's your fault I did this.) And this is the man who didn't go to his mother's funeral. (Unlike House's relationship with his father, Foreman supposedly loved his mother.) By the way, I'm not giving Wilson a pass on sleeping with a patient. It was unforgivable. But at least he didn't plot and plan so he could have sex with his patient the way Foreman did.

I can't help it, I still love Foreman. He gets the Heavy Exposition duties in the show week after week. One of the few things I've enjoyed about this season is watching Foreman get to do something other than standing around. I hated the retconning of his character from street-smart ex-thief to sniveling little boy whose brother was the bad seed.

In the above, I forgot to mention that, having maneuvered into the relationship with Thirteen, when he got promoted and they were having a tough time establishing a new working relationship, his solution was to fire her. That way he could keep her as his girlfriend and have her hold his and and tell him that he's wonderful. :roll:

Exactly Poeia. Sometimes I think none of the characters are supposed to be likable in concept, but depending on who's talking, some are liked, even loved. Some not so much. Foreman with Taub is amusing as is Foreman with Chase, but it's Chase and Taub that are the amusing ones.

I've always maintained that Foreman isn't supposed to be likeable. He plays a part in telling House's story, with his role partially informed by being part of a more normal medical authority process. He's the guy who had his wild days and "reformed" and accepted the rules to contrast against House who refuses to accept rules. (Yes, Cuddy plays the authority card as well, but they can use Foreman to show all the little moments that don't rise to the level of higher authority -- the guy you work with on your team who's constantly reminding you to file the right paperwork.) As such, Foreman was always intended to be something of a stick in the mud. Which is why it was so fun when he played the team on the raise issue last season.

I agree that he's supposed to be the guy who, in the land of no fun, has a really sensible piece of property. It isn't until you combine that with his other personality traits (smug, condescending, arrogant, etc.) that you reach "vile."

I'm rewatching all the episodes and I watched Euphoria yesterday. Funny how I really suppress that ep yet his sticking Cameron with a needle that might have infected here was the beginning of my being unable to tolerate his existence. I didn't have a real problem with his writing up Andie's case, knowing Cameron was also doing it. There was nothing admirable about it but he's told us since the first episode that he is only working for House in order to advance his career. When House told Wilson that Foreman isn't the "rise above the fray guy he likes to think he is" that was an understatement. He waltzes around, announcing that the is morally superior to everyone he works with (sometimes in almost those words) yet he'll scream at Cuddy that he won't forgive her for not breaking the law (and possibly going to jail) if it will save him. He'll do a bone marrow extraction on a child with no anesthesia and blame House for his decision to do so. I know he's supposed to be so smart because the other characters (House, Wilson, Vogler) tell us so (although we learned in Lockdown that Taub is smarter and so was Masters) but I really wish they'd show us instead of telling us. I certainly don't think he's dumb -- he wouldn't be on House's team if he were -- but I've never seen anything to indicate he's a better diagnostician than other members of the team.