Tag / Charlyne Yi

by jim

Post Mortem – House

After 8 seasons, Hugh Laurie and the folks at Fox and Universal decided that the time had come for the adventures of Dr. Gregory House to come to an end.  And, frankly, it was about time, as the show, which had been a favorite and a ratings hit, had started to become a bit stale.

There were numerous times over the course of the series where House was changed, and any one of them could have given the show more to work with.  Instead, all of them were discarded over the course of a few episodes, putting House right back where he started.  As the seasons wore on, the charms of the original premise started to wear a little thin.  Bringing in a new team of doctors had given the show a creative boost in the fourth season, but doing so again this past season did not, despite the best efforts of Odette Annable and Charlyne Yi.

At the end, House went out the way he spent the entire run of the show, by breaking the rules to get what he wanted. In his wake, he left behind a legacy of 8 mostly strong seasons.

by jim

The Doctor Is Out

There’s an old idiom in sports that it is better to let a star player leave one year early than to let him hang on for one year too many.  On Wednesday, Fox announced that House would be wrapping up its run this May after 8 seasons.  Unfortunately, it may have stuck around for one season too many.  As I mentioned last month, Odette Anabel and Charlyne Yi have injected some fresh blood into this season, but, overall, the show is tired.  Moving Omar Epps into the Lisa Edelstein role hasn’t really panned out.

That being said, the show was a strong performer for many years, and introduced us to many memorable characters, including Thirteen, Cutthroat Bitch, and, of course, House himself.  I will be looking forward to whatever Hugh Laurie decides to do next.

by jim

Midseason Review – Mondays

Continuing our look back at the fall television season and what is coming up this winter.

CBS

How I Met Your Mother – Based on the season premier, we are no closer to meeting the titular mother, and the surprise reappearance of VIctoria will likely kill some time.  By adding another tease (who will Barney marry?), the show seems intent on giving its critics more ammunition, but could avoid it if they start paying off on some of these “mysteries”.  Meanwhile, after a season that stretched his dramatic acting skills, the first two episodes of the season gave Jason Segel more comedic moments.

I still enjoy the show and am not one of those people who think they absolutley need to get the whole mother meeting out of the way, but the writers do seem to be treading water somewhat, almost as if they are deliberately not introducing the mother, but they don’t know what else to do at this point.

2 Broke Girls – The first episode started off kind of weak, but it got better later in the half hour.  I’ve been a big fan of Kat Dennings dating back to The 40 Year Old Virgin and Beth Behrs seemed to have some chops as well.  I’ll give it a chance.

The show has gotten better, but it still seems to be missing something.  I do think Behrs has been one of the shining stars of the new season. 

Hawaii Five-O – After a mostly popcorn-fun first season, the show returns with a new recurring guest star in Terry O’Quinn.  That in and of itself would be a reason to turn in.

 Continues to be a fun show that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  O’Quinn has been entertaining in his occassional appearances.

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