As you say, I think it will be one of those things we'll appreciate more at the end of the season when we can view it as part of a whole.

But I am finding the unfolding of this adventure awfully jerky. Me too. I particularly disliked the shifts to Foreman, not because it was Foreman per se (points at icon, I actually like him most of the time), but because it pulled me out of the storyline of what was happening at PPTH around House - & what I fundamentally care about is House & his orbit, not Foreman's.

I've been lurking around here for a while but.... I couldn't help myself |D Pardon the ranting that's about to ensue... For me the main criticism for this season isn't the plot direction, but rather that the way it's being executed right now just feels so clunky and confused, like they're trying to shove too many things onscreen at once and not being able to explain anything properly, let alone have time for the little subtleties that used to be so abundant and enjoyable in this show (and is no one else missing clinic duty? :() Mmm... I think I'm in a minority opinion here and I'm trying very hard to like these new people but I'm just finding it impossible to connect with them at all - it's like they're shoving all this information about them in our faces but we haven't had the opportunity to find out about them for ourselves just through the way they act... kind of thing. For instance, I honestly would never have realised Thirteen was supposed to be 'mysterious' if it hadn't been pointed out every fifteen seconds that she was. What I liked about the old ones was that you could draw your own conclusions about the characters' personalities, rather than having it spelled out for you. I didn't necessarily love them as characters, but the way they all interacted with each other was endlessly interesting/entertaining, even from the opening episodes of S1. Here we are, four episodes in with these new people, and I still can't really see anything endearing about any of them. I know a lot of facts about them, sure, but I have no idea about the personalities or quirks of any of them other than the labels that have been slapped on their foreheads. And on that note, it's disappointing that these newbies don't even bat an eyelid when House does something completely random - there's no exchanging of looks or eyebrow-raising, just the attitude of "oh well, that's House for you lol". It annoys me that they all seem to have House all figured out from the get go, and even more annoying that House is so tolerant of all of them. Oh yeah, and S4 Cuddy makes me extremely sad. Anyway.... like people have said... I'm hoping that things will sort themselves out as the season progresses - it's still early days after all :'D

Hi, woohoo!! IMO many are reserving judgment - its early yet in the season, but I think you have some good points. Looking back, the only newbies I really feel any connections too are Scooter - who is gone - and CTB, who I like seeing interact with Chase & Cameron. The others - meh. You're right - its as if they forgot they aren't supposed to know House. And 13 - I feel like I'm being hit with an anvil there. I watched the rerun of Top Secret tonight - & while its not my favorite ep I really love the CCF interaction in that one & I miss it now.

I'm watching Bones (first time) and noticed the girl who was on House last week (playing Reina, the girl who "saw" dead people) is playing an investigator who can find anything out. So lots of sharing on the Fox lot. I like noticing stuff :)

...it's disappointing that these newbies don't even bat an eyelid when House does something completely random - there's no exchanging of looks or eyebrow-raising, just the attitude of "oh well, that's House for you lol". It annoys me that they all seem to have House all figured out from the get go, and even more annoying that House is so tolerant of all of them. I noticed that too woohoo, and find it inexplicable. Why are they doing that?

I'm thinking that House is so famous that everyone knows his reputation, knows what to expect. The people House interviewed with all knew it. Notice that they also know that Chase and Cameron were his former fellows and that Wilson is his best friend.

For my own taste, I'm noticing this being an every other episode season for me. Loved Alone, meh on The Right Stuff, LOVED 97 seconds, hated Guardian Angels, liked Mirror, Mirror.

it's disappointing that these newbies don't even bat an eyelid when House does something completely random - there's no exchanging of looks or eyebrow-raising, just the attitude of "oh well, that's House for you lol". I agree with Taiga'sreply to woohoo. Not only does House have a well-known reputation for extreme behavior, he even warned them of that when he had them all together in the scene at the end of the first episode, right down to telling them that he would demand that they do things that they may consider illegal or immoral. To my way of thinking, anyone who would clutch their pearls at the thought of House's actions would already be familiar with it and wouldn't have applied in the first place -- or walked out when they had the choice, like the nine that Amber "pied pipered" in "The Right Stuff." Edited because I'm getting people mixed up. Maybe y'all could go by numbers, just to make life easier for me?

Thank you, Namaste. But credit where credit is due. It's woohoo that you quoted.

As much as I liked the episode (and i saw the deeper aspects of it as well), I just long for a moment in this season that will simply take my breath away. A great MOMENT for House. All of the episodes have been good and very good. Enjoyable and even intriguing. But nothing's simply blown me away. Last season, multiple scenes in Meaning, Cane and Able, Informed Consent, LitS and the final scene in FFL blew me away (for the first five episodes). In season 2--Autopsy blew me away beginning to end, but like this season, the first five episode didn't quite get to me in Season 2. In season 1, I didn't start watching until Cursed, but I would say that there were moments from the pilot on in each episode that got me in the gut. I guess that's what I really miss.

There is a depth to the episode, but it was done without a "moment" or a "scene." It was deft depth, and I explored it in my BlogCritics review (which hasn't posted yet, so I can't post it anywhere else either--it should post shortly), but lacked that "wow" for me. ETA: Jeesh. That sounded a bit full of myself. Not like anyone's really waiting to hear what I say! :oops:

I found House's take on misery during his conversation with Brennan -- everybody's miserable, the best you can do is keep misery to a minimum -- to be quite telling for House's general outlook on life, though of course it was couched around him weaving a tale to keep Brennan from quitting so he wouldn't lose the money from the betting pool. Still, I think there are still a lot of House "truthiness" moments built in there, but not as easy to see. Maybe it's because House has a new team to hide himself from. They haven't seen him the way the old fellows did. They aren't going to ask the same questions necessarily, though of course Amber did hit the "did you think no one cared?" question in "97 Seconds." And its an interesting juxtaposition that in "Mirror Mirror" she thinks she always has to be right because no one likes (cares?) about her. House is going to be inventing new ways to hide -- or minimize -- his misery by putting on this front and playing to the newbies' expectations.

Newbies or oldies, I always found House's most illustrative depictions of misery when he was completely alone.