House 08x03 - ‘Charity Case’
In many ways, House is about taking ideas and themes that the show has explored in previous seasons and finding new ways to gain mileage from them. Just three episodes into this, the show’s eighth season, and it already feels like we’re treading on some seriously familiar ground. Which, at this point, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I think House lost any serious claims for credibility as a serialised drama at least two seasons ago. So, for long-term viewers such as myself, as well as probably most people out there who bother to watch each week, there’s no great feeling of disappointment to see the show going through its motions.
This week’s episode was perhaps most interesting simply for the number of characters bouncing around. Charlyne Yi as Dr Park, introduced last week as the first member of House’s team v.4 (or something), is a refreshing addition, even if some of her delivery is horrendously stiff at times. Unsurprisingly, Odette Annable will fill this season’s role of Attractive Female Doctor (otherwise known as Dr Adams), previously played by Jennifer Morrison and Olivia Wilde, who also makes an appearance, but presumably won’t be sticking around as she is a megastar now or whatever. To catch you up, Foreman is now the Dean of Medicine, which works nicely, considering his unwaveringly smug demeanour. However there have been no signs of Chase or Taub at this point, though I can only assume they’ll be back soon. Wentworth Miller (hey, remember Prisonbreak?) plays the PotW, an inexplicably rich guy who can’t help but give money away. Oh, and Wilson’s still hanging around playing the role of House’s conscience. Lots of people.
The main theme of the episode tends to centre upon ethical relativism, specifically the politics of giving and receiving, with Miller’s character pathologically incapable of keeping himself from giving his worldly possessions (and body parts) away, and Dr Park seemingly incapable of accepting charity. As is often the case, House manipulates the different situations to his advantage, both in terms of getting his fix (as in successfully diagnosing the patient, via an epiphany during a chat with Wilson, as if you didn’t know that already), and in seeing his team rub up against one another. All in all it was a comfortable 40 or so minutes of television, falling neatly within the cookie-cutter variety of programming, but at this point in the series’ existence, I personally have no issue with that.
