Zeitungsartikel, Interviews, etc.

Ask Matt: The Killing, House, NCIS, Idol, Army Wives, Grey's and More! - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com Achtung: sehr hohe Spoilergefahr!

  Spoiler 

Question: Are you (or is anyone else) getting as annoyed at — and tired of — House as I am? The show has been on for seven seasons, but it seems like watching the last two episodes (jumping off the hotel balcony, and then getting married) was like watching the first season. It's the same old thing. A mystery disease of the week which usually gets resolved so quickly I sometimes have to "rewind" to find out what it was and what the cure was (if any), and in the interim it's House's same old Vicodin-addicted, malicious abuse toward anyone and everyone. It was novel the first season, but I like to see characters evolve a little bit over time. I was encouraged at the beginning of season 6 when he was detoxing, and Andre Braugher was excellent as his shrink. I was really interested to see if they couldn't take the character in a different (better) direction. My husband even started watching again (he'd bailed after season 1) when House turned half human. But as soon as the nastiness and abuse started back, he bailed again.

It seems like the writers are one-trick ponies on this show. They can't seem to get past his being nasty, malicious and manipulative of everyone around him. And when he got married a week or so ago, I almost had a headache from all the eye-rolling at his antics. He really out-a-holed himself! As far as I'm concerned, this show has run its course. I don't really care if it gets renewed, as I don't think I'll watch anymore. But there are just too many other shows that seem interesting to waste any more time on the same old crap from House every week. The show is either long overdue for a serious character makeover, or it's run out of creative gas: maybe both! Hugh Laurie is a better actor than that, and Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, et al., deserve better. I can't be the only one who notices this, can I? — KC

Matt Roush: I'm sure you're not. The ratings for House are still solid enough, but not what they used to be. And what you're describing is the sort of fatigue that often sets in with any long-running series, especially one as formulaic as House (in the medical mysteries, at least). House gets knocked from all sides, though. When it changes things too drastically, like firing the original team and bringing on the new characters while sidelining a fan favorite like Cameron way too early in the show's run, we complain for good reason. The House-Cuddy relationship for a while seemed like a promising sea change this season, but it quickly became overdone and didn't seem to go over well for many viewers. And then there's House himself: reforming or pretending to and always backsliding. The producers are reluctant ever to change the basic nature of his character, but I agree it's frustrating to watch House and House seem to regress — and the green-card rebound marriage may be its most insultingly infantile storyline to date — much of this a function of a show refusing to age, or bow out, gracefully. (Many are saying much the same thing about The Office continuing without Steve Carell.) This cast can still rise to the occasion when given one — Hugh Laurie and Olivia Wilde are quite good in this week's episode — but it's no secret those moments are fewer and farther between.

Ask Matt: The Killing, House, NCIS, Idol, Army Wives, Grey's and More! - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com Achtung: sehr hohe Spoilergefahr!

  Spoiler 

Question: Are you (or is anyone else) getting as annoyed at — and tired of — House as I am? The show has been on for seven seasons, but it seems like watching the last two episodes (jumping off the hotel balcony, and then getting married) was like watching the first season. It's the same old thing. A mystery disease of the week which usually gets resolved so quickly I sometimes have to "rewind" to find out what it was and what the cure was (if any), and in the interim it's House's same old Vicodin-addicted, malicious abuse toward anyone and everyone. It was novel the first season, but I like to see characters evolve a little bit over time. I was encouraged at the beginning of season 6 when he was detoxing, and Andre Braugher was excellent as his shrink. I was really interested to see if they couldn't take the character in a different (better) direction. My husband even started watching again (he'd bailed after season 1) when House turned half human. But as soon as the nastiness and abuse started back, he bailed again.

It seems like the writers are one-trick ponies on this show. They can't seem to get past his being nasty, malicious and manipulative of everyone around him. And when he got married a week or so ago, I almost had a headache from all the eye-rolling at his antics. He really out-a-holed himself! As far as I'm concerned, this show has run its course. I don't really care if it gets renewed, as I don't think I'll watch anymore. But there are just too many other shows that seem interesting to waste any more time on the same old crap from House every week. The show is either long overdue for a serious character makeover, or it's run out of creative gas: maybe both! Hugh Laurie is a better actor than that, and Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, et al., deserve better. I can't be the only one who notices this, can I? — KC

Matt Roush: I'm sure you're not. The ratings for House are still solid enough, but not what they used to be. And what you're describing is the sort of fatigue that often sets in with any long-running series, especially one as formulaic as House (in the medical mysteries, at least). House gets knocked from all sides, though. When it changes things too drastically, like firing the original team and bringing on the new characters while sidelining a fan favorite like Cameron way too early in the show's run, we complain for good reason. The House-Cuddy relationship for a while seemed like a promising sea change this season, but it quickly became overdone and didn't seem to go over well for many viewers. And then there's House himself: reforming or pretending to and always backsliding. The producers are reluctant ever to change the basic nature of his character, but I agree it's frustrating to watch House and House seem to regress — and the green-card rebound marriage may be its most insultingly infantile storyline to date — much of this a function of a show refusing to age, or bow out, gracefully. (Many are saying much the same thing about The Office continuing without Steve Carell.) This cast can still rise to the occasion when given one — Hugh Laurie and Olivia Wilde are quite good in this week's episode — but it's no secret those moments are fewer and farther between.