LXB | When House jumped the shark

Having taken a deep breath after Halloween, I can now get back to League of Extraordinary Bloggers topics; something I'm excited to do. This week's assignment:

At what point did a pop culture series “jump the shark” and lose your interest?

I'll talk about House in a minute, but first I want to clarify something about shark-jumping. I had an epiphany about this a year ago when DC rolled out the New 52. I wrote an article about it for Robot 6 called "DC Comics and the Shattered Illusion." The premise was that "serialized fiction – whether in comics, TV, or even the movies – presents an illusion that it knows what it’s doing. That there’s a master plan being followed and if you’ll just stick with the story, all will be revealed and eventually concluded in an emotionally satisfying way that makes complete sense. This is of course crap." It's crap for superhero comics, it's crap for Star Wars, and it's crap for every J.J. Abrams show ever. 98% of the time, the creators have no idea how the series will end when they start it. They just introduce a great premise and hope for the best.

That realization helped me define what I mean when I use the term Jump the Shark. Instead of a vague realization that I've simply lost interest in a series, the Jump the Shark moment has become the point at which the illusion is shattered and I realize the creators have no idea where the story is going. According to Wikipedia, that was more or less the original usage of the term: "The point in a television program's history when the program had outlived its freshness and viewers had begun to feel that the show's writers were out of new ideas." One of the reasons I think Jump the Shark moments are hard to define though is because I don't believe that they're always followed by a complete lack of quality. House is an example of that.

For me, the show's Jump the Shark moment came about halfway through Season Seven with the episode "Bombshells." Three major things happen in it, but they're all connected. First, Cuddy finds blood in her urine and learns that she might have cancer. Second, at the end of the episode she breaks up with House because his reaction to her potential illness causes her to realize that he's not capable of having a real relationship. I was never a Huddy 'shipper, so I was cool with that, but I had a hard time with House's reaction to the breakup: He goes back on Vicodin.

After getting used to - and even liking - the idea that Gregory House was an unchangeable character for the first five years, the Season Five finale floored me by not only having him regret his drug addiction for the first time, but also check himself into a psychiatric hospital. To my complete shock, the show was moving forward and House was developing as a character.

He stayed on that course for all of Season Six and the first half of Season Seven. He was still an ass, but he was trying to be a better person. The show went from being a fun, mystery-of-the-week with a loveably loathable character to becoming an Actual Story. With "Bombshells" though, the writers seemed to have taken that development as far as they were comfortable. If House improved any more, he was in danger of losing his defining edge. So they pulled him back.

It's not that the show sucked after that. There were still some great, compelling episodes in the last season-and-a-half, but I was never able to take it as seriously again. Any further growth in House's character felt fake and cheap, because it was now just about getting him back to where he was in early Season Seven. I'd lost so much interest in the main character that I stuck with the show out of habit and curiosity, not because it was amazing TV anymore. Ultimately, I like where House ended up at the end of the series and I'm glad I stuck with it, but I had to fight some serious apathy there for a while.

TV Tuesday: House, Chuck, Grey's Anatomy, and Burn Notice

If you're further behind on TV-watching than I am then a) God bless you, and b) SPOILER WARNINGS
 
House – “5 to 9”

I never doubted for a second that Cuddy would pull that off, but otherwise, a fun episode. I liked the one that focused on Wilson too, so this was a great follow-up to that.

Chuck – “Chuck vs. the Mask”

Now that I’ve seen the episode, it makes this whole brouhaha look even more ridiculous. Forgetting the fan-entitlement angle, it’s just stupid TV-watching. Do these people really think that Chuck and Sarah aren’t eventually going to end up together? That’s not the only part of the show, but it is a big part. I’m as impatient as the next person to see it happen, but geez… let the people tell their story.

And if we’ve got to see Chuck and Sarah with other people for a while, they could be with much more annoying choices than Brandon Routh and Kristen Kreuk. I’ve always been fond of Kreuk and it’s great to finally watch her without the obnoxious plot-lines Smallville kept giving her. 

Grey's Anatomy – “State of Love and Trust”

I try not to talk about Grey’s Anatomy here, but I just can’t help it sometimes. When it’s doing its thing, there’s nothing better on television.

So, at the risk of sounding like a ‘shipper, I need to talk about Lexie and Sloan for a minute. I wasn’t that invested in them, but I did like them together and it’s annoying that they’ve broken up. Especially since Sloan’s daughter shows up just long enough to drive a wedge between him and Lexie, spark a Private Practice crossover, and then disappear. In the meanwhile, Lexie and Sloan both make mistakes so that even when the daughter leaves they still can’t get back together. I don’t know where it’s headed and I tend to trust the Grey’s writers, but it’s frustrating.

I do like the hint though that Sloan’s loneliness is going to affect Callie and Arizona. First of all, that makes total sense, but more than that, I love those two – especially Arizona – so I’m all for spending more time on them.

Nice moments in this episode with Christina; especially the debrief on her relationship with Burke and how that’s affecting her current relationship with Hunt. That’s what I mean about trusting these writers. The characters may not talk about Burke much, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t make an impact on their lives or that they’re not thinking about him. He mattered. Still matters. And that’s very cool.

But the coolest thing in this episode was Jason Winston George’s showing up as an anesthesiologist. I love that dude. He was one of the best parts of both Eli Stone and Eastwick, so it’s about time he got some time on a show that’s going to be around for a while. I’m hoping they let him stay and become a possible love interest for Bailey. Not that Bailey needs a love interest, but if she’s going to get one – and if it can’t be Taye Diggs – it might as well be Jason Winston George.

Burn Notice – “Noble Causes”

I actually wasn’t looking forward to this one because the client was that annoying drug dealer from the pilot. But damn if it didn’t turn out to be really touching.

TV Tuesday: House, Chuck, and Castle

Could be some SPOILERS BELOW if you're not caught up on your TV.

House

I just today realized why it is that I've been cold towards Thirteen. It's not because she's a rather cold character herself. It's because she's not Cameron.



Chuck



NBC's suffering is my good news. They're doing so crappy in the ratings that they may be forced not only to air this season of Chuck earlier than originally planned, but to order more episodes as well.

Castle



More good news! Castle's been picked up for the full season.

I've totally been sucked into this show. In last night's episode, when Castle was trying to decide whether to keep his current gig or run off to write James Bond novels, I was so into it that I temporarily, but completely forgot that one of those choices would end the show and so was never a real option. I was a little disappointed at the agent ex machina resolution to the dilemma, but really... whatever keeps Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic doing scenes together.

Also, have you seen Castle's Halloween costume for next week? Yet more proof that Nathan Fillion is the Most Awesome Man Alive.

As if this picture wasn't enough:

TV Tuesday: She's got the creampuffs.

If you're not caught up on your TV: There will be SPOILERS.



Modern Family

First episode was hilarious even though I’d already seen a lot of it in one of those specials they run before the trailers at the movie theater. “She’s got the creampuffs” still makes me giggle.

Grey's Anatomy

I think this would have been much more powerful had I not read the spoilers on what was going to happen and all the behind-the-scenes stuff about why it had to. That was my own fault, but it is what it is. I had a hard time grieving over George when I understood the frustration that led the actor playing him to want to leave the show.

Still, grief in all its varieties was brilliantly written and acted by everyone. I may not feel a personal loss, but I can certainly empathize with characters like Bailey, Izzie, Lexie, Meredith, Callie, and even the girl George saved as they’re struggling to cope. Powerful stuff, which is why I watch the show.

The merging hospital storyline feels forced, but I’ll reserve judgment for now. I’m concerned that some of my favorite characters are going to get even less screen time this season than usual as the show tries to figure out how to ensure that no character or actor is indispensable.

The Mentalist

Not 100% sure about the new character, but I think I’m going to like Jane’s having someone around that he can aggressively antagonize.

Cho continues to grow into one of my favorite characters. To think that I sort of hated him when the show first started.

House

So far, so good. I’m really nervous about this show because I like who House has become: still troubled, but coping and learning to make connections with people. It’s once again one of my favorite shows because we’re actually seeing some character growth in House. I’d pretty much written that off as impossible and my interest in the show was falling. What I’m afraid of is his regressing to the cranky drug-abuser he was before, but deep down I believe that the show-runners are way smart and won’t settle for the safe, easy, less fascinating choices.

Glee

Weird. I haven’t actually liked Rachel before now, even though she’s a major character and I feel like I’m supposed to. After last week’s episode though, I’m actively disliking her. Strange choice the writers are making there.

On the other hand, Quinn has been a villain up to this point and now we’re being given reasons to like her. I don’t really know what the show’s up to and I like that.

I also like that Kurt’s getting even more screen time, because he’s awesome. And how much did you want to hug his dad for turning out to be a good dad? "He's so little" nearly broke my heart.

Glad to see more focus on Tina too. I was starting to think that she was going to be a glorified extra; padding to fill out the club while only two or three members got all the storylines. Apparently that’s not going to be the case and it gives me hope that Artie will eventually become more than the Kid in the Wheelchair.

Oh, and Kristin Chenoweth’s episode is this week. Hoping that turns into more.

Fall TV So Far: Some reviews

Glee

I'm on the fence about this show. It has it's funny moments, but I'm not feeling most of the characters. Two episodes in and the kids in the Glee Club all still feel like stereotypes and clichés. The main character Will is supposed to be this nice guy, but he's creepily flirting with another teacher who's desperately in love with him even though he's married and - as far as he knows - has a baby on the way.

I've got three reasons for sticking with it for a while though. Jane Lynch is as hilarious as she always is, Victor Garber plays Will's dad, and Kristin Chenoweth is supposed to be in an upcoming episode or two. I'll watch Victor Garber in anything and I'm still not over my crush on Kristin Chenoweth from Pushing Daisies. And it's not like it's an awful show or anything. I'm just not sure I'd stick with it if not for those three actors.

The Office

Bullet proof. Things are changing around Dunder Mifflin, but as long as I keep laughing like I have been, I'm not worried.

Community

I laughed once during the pilot episode, but that was because someone was quoting The Breakfast Club. I'll always laugh at Breakfast Club references, if only out of fondness. And there's a certain Breakfast Clubness to the concept too: a diverse group of students getting together to study and survive their community college experience. That could be interesting, right? I thought I should give it a second week to see if it got funnier.

Didn't make it through ten minutes of the second episode. So not funny it hurt me.

House

Oh wow, did I love the season premiere. I only have one concern, but it's a big one. I'm not sure how they can top it. It was so beautiful and perfect that it felt like a series finale, not a season opener. Honestly, that's how I imagined the show should end and I'm seriously afraid to keep watching for fear of ruining the feeling I have about it right now.

On the other hand, I have a lot of faith in the people running the show and I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes. I'm just looking forward with a great deal of fear and trembling.

Big Bang Theory

Also bullet proof. Just keep Sheldon the same and you can screw around with Leonard and Penny's relationship all you want.

Castle

It's come to my attention that some people don't like this show. Those people are crazy. This is Nathan Fillion playing exactly the kind of character he was born to play, Stana Katic is a fantastic actress and - oh by the way - inconceivably beautiful, and the two are very funny together and have a ton of chemistry. The mysteries are also fun and interesting. It ain't CSI, but that's such a good thing.

My only gripe is that Susan Sullivan and Molly Quinn don't get enough to do as Castle's mom and daughter. They're around mostly to ground him and accidentally offer just the right piece of advice to help him crack the case and/or fix whatever's wrong with his relationship with Detective Beckett this week. But I like the two actresses enough that I'll happily take whatever I can get from them.

NCIS: Los Angeles

I've never watched an episode of NCIS, so I don't know what the rest of the world loves about that show. I caught the last half of the pilot for NCIS: LA though and I liked Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J enough in it that I'll be back for more. I really don't think I need another mystery show, but we'll see.

The Forgotten

TiVo insists on spelling it the forgotten like the show's logo does, but I can't make myself do that. The show's pretentious enough as it is.

When I was looking for promos to embed in my Fall TV Premieres post I found an old promo of The Forgotten that had another actor in what's now Christian Slater's role. I can only imagine that ABC saw how ridiculous the show was and thought, "Well... maybe if we put a movie star in it, no one will notice." It's a shame too, because I like Christian Slater and I think he should get a good series. I want to watch him in one.

But the pilot for The Forgotten had a crappy mystery solved because of wild logic jumps and sheer coincidences by people speaking cheesy dialogue in order to deliver a sermon that absolutely no one needs to hear. Is anyone really enlightened by the message that unidentified corpses have loved ones somewhere who are worried about them? Did we not know that? Does anyone benefit by being pounded over the head with it for an hour?

Eastwick

It's been a while since I've been able to get into a really good chick show. I think this is going to be one. The plot's intriguing, but what I really love is the cast. This looks like it's going to be a lot of fun.

FlashForward

I was very prepared not to like this. The next Lost you say, Ms. Network Marketing Person? I'll be the judge of that.

Well, I don't know if it's the next Lost (or if it even wants to be), but it is really freaking good. The first episode was thrilling, suspenseful, creepy, funny, touching, and I liked all the characters. Easily my favorite new show so far.

Modern Family
Grey's Anatomy
The Mentalist

Haven't watched these yet. Got 'em TiVoed though, so I'll let you know.

The Awesome List: Indiana Jones, Giant Monsters, Albert Einstein’s secret doomsday device, and the Return of TV

Indy's hat and jacket

IndianaJones.com has a new featurette about Indy's iconic look and trying to recreate it for the new movie.

Indy's trailer

Apparently, the teaser trailer for Indy and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be attached to The Spiderwick Chronicles when it hits theaters on Thursday. I also saw something on IndianaJones.com earlier today about the trailer's TV and 'net debuts, but I can't find it now. Either I've gone stupid (entirely possible) or the info was released prematurely or is being changed. I'll let you know which once I know.

Giant Robots are stupid.

According to TechRepublic.

Oh, wait. No, they're not.

Says Jeremiah Tolbert.

Three Days to Never

According to Bookgasm, Tim Powers' Three Days to Never contains all of my favorite things: "hidden histories ... spirits, spies, talking disembodied heads, dybbuks, time travel, Charlie Chaplin’s quest for magical power, Albert Einstein’s secret doomsday device, and about a million other awesome things." So totally sold.

Welcome back, TV.

With the WGA strike all but officially over, TV Guide has a new strike chart up predicting when we'll start seeing new episodes of our favorite shows. Here are the ones that interest me:

Battlestar Galactica: Returns April 4 with first half of 20-episode final season. Production on second half could start as early as March. Airdate for those TBD.

The Big Bang Theory: Expected to shoot 5 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May.

Burn Notice: Production on Season 2 expected to get underway in late April. New episodes could start airing as early as July.

Chuck: No new episodes until fall.

Grey's Anatomy: Expected to shoot 4 to 7 new episodes to air in April/May

House: Expected to shoot 4 to 6 new episodes to air in April/May.

Jericho: Seven episodes remain. No additional episodes expected for this season.

Lost: Six pre-strike episodes remain. Six additional episodes could air this season.

Men in Trees: Eleven pre-strike episodes remain. No additional episodes expected this season.

The Office: Expected to shoot 5 to 10 new episodes to air in April/May.

Private Practice: Slim chance it could return with 4 or 5 new episodes this season. Either way, it'll be back in the fall.

Pushing Daisies: No new episodes until fall.

Scrubs: Four pre-strike episodes remain. Four additional episodes will likely be shot; unclear whether they'll air on NBC or go straight to DVD.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Five pre-strike episodes remain. Future beyond that TBD.

10 Fictional Characters I'm Thankful For This Year

10. Atomic Robo (Red 5 Comics). He's a brand new character and I'm just getting to know him, but he was built by Tesla and he fights giant ants, so I think we're gonna get along just fine.



9. Thirteen (House). I love that she's mysterious and that House doesn't quite know what to make of her. Hope she sticks around.



8. Black Canary (DC Comics). She's come a long way from just being Green Arrow's girlfriend. They got it backwards when they called her new book Green Arrow and Black Canary.



7. Wonder Woman (DC Comics). The perfect woman.



6. Ben Wade (3:10 to Yuma). If you haven't seen the movie yet, I don't want to spoil it by going into too much detail about why he's a great character. I love though that he's a villain who sketches. Too many bad guys express their creativity through music; usually the violin or pipe organ. Having Ben use pencil and paper was a genius touch.



5. Remy (Ratatouille). He reminded me what it means to be a true individual.



4. Sarah Walker (Chuck). You can keep The Bionic Woman. Hell, you can have Starbuck too for all I care. Sarah's the best butt-kicking woman on TV.



3. Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy). I couldn't care less about him when he first showed up on the show, but with Addison gone to her own show, I love how lonely and not-so-cocky McSteamy suddenly seemed. I've loved watching him try to find his place this season.



2. Miranda Bailey (Grey's Anatomy). Okay, forget what I said about Wonder Woman. Bailey's the real deal. Her struggle to balance career and family is remarkable because it's so honestly and realistically portrayed. I seriously almost lost it when she broke down and sobbed after finally being rewarded with the Chief Resident position.



1. Elizabeth Swan (Pirates of the Caribbean). As far as I'm concerned, the Pirates movies are all about her. She's a pirate, a butt-kicker, and Keira Knightley. Lucky, lucky Will.



Happy Thanksgiving! Which characters are you thankful for?

Allison Cameron and the Harry Potter Whatsit

Okay, JJ, you've got my attention again.

Even though I'm too much of a nerd to completely ignore JJ Abrams' Star Trek movie, I lost a lot of interest in it once I realized that it would not, in fact, star Young William Shatner as James T. Kirk. Putting Dr. Cameron from House in it though -- regardless of whatever her role turns out to be -- has me excited to see it again.

Okay. Actually the Karl Urban news a while back did that already, but now I'm really excited.

Hm. Speaking of Urban and Dr. McCoy, Abrams has said that Jennifer Morrison won't be playing Yeomand Rand, but has Nurse Chapel been cast yet?

And if she is playing Nurse Chapel, is that a demotion?

James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing?

Does anyone have any real information (as opposed to speculation) about what this is? It just screams, "Hoax," (or maybe, "Fan fiction," at best) but it's a really well-designed one if it is.

Update: "Hoax" it is. (Thanks to my buddy Charles for the info.)