Farewell to the Sherlock Holmes of Medicine

If you've followed House on Fox Television at any point over the past 9 seasons, you are probably aware that the central character is one of the most brilliant, nihilistic, misogynistic and just plain rotten fellows to ever grace the airwaves.  Personally, I think Dr. Gregory House suffers from a form of Asperger's syndrome, as in nearly a decade he has yet to form a single normal relationship with another human being.  The closest he comes to having a friend is with long suffering fellow doctor James Wilson, who is now making Dr. House miserable by refusing treatment for terminal cancer.

House is played to perfection by British actor Hugh Laurie, who has been nominated year after year for Emmy Awards but has so far only won Golden Globes.  In 2012 he will no doubt be joined in this honor by Robert Sean Leonard (Wilson) whose suffering as an oncologist who now faces cancer himself has been heartbreaking and an agony to watch.  I have always loved Dr. Wilson best, as he was the Ying to House's Yang.  While Wilson provided sweet balance and kindness...exactly the kind of doctor you'd want at your bedside... House was the mad genius who always saved the patient. No matter how dire or obscure the diagnosis, House and his team found the solution.  Alas the sad doctor could never rejoice from his medical victories.  At the end of the day, House would always be alone, wrapped in pain and whiskey, torturing a few notes of a blues song from his piano keys.

With one episode left to go before the show ends forever, I hope Dr. House and Wilson can find some sort of peace from their enduring friendship.  It really has been one of the great "bromances" on television...right up there with Starsky and Hutch, Barney and Fred, and (my personal favorite) Spock and Kirk. I'll be there next Monday as their saga draws to a close.  Will you?  Here's a wonderful video montage of House and Wilson as we near the end.

A Few Good Shows that are NOT on Sunday Night!

While we all agree that Sunday night is a cornucopia of fabulous television programming, the rest of the week is not quite the viewing desert one might think. Last week, a number of established series had season premiers and there are a few that are off to a very good start.

HOUSE (Monday nights at 8pm on FOX), took the plunge by giving the brilliant, drug addled doctor a reason to stick to the rehab program for good. He and bosomy hospital Director Cuddy are finally an item. They kissed...they had naked sex...they're planning a European vacation together. It's all fraught with peril, of course, given that Dr. House is borderline Asperger's syndrome and almost completely incapable of a normal human relationship. Towards the end of the episode he actually said the "L" word to Cuddy, which I found touching. My more cynical sister Leslie said, "That's it then, we're looking at the last season for House!".

Moving over to Tuesday nights at 8pm on Fox, the Emmy award winning GLEE turned in a champion season opener. Starting with a full cast cover of Jay Z and Alicia Keys rap/song masterpiece "Empire State of Mind" and introducing a few fascinating new characters. Cheerios coach Sue Sylvester has a new nemesis with the towering and formidable football coach Beiste (The Panther). They clashed from the start, it was like watching butch gladiators fight it out in the halls of a public high school. New singers are being introduced as well, with the Filipina exchange student giving a goose-bump inducing audition.

Modern Family is the one to watch on Wednesdays (ABC at 9pm). Winner of the Best Comedy Emmy for their first season, Modern Family is living proof that broadcast television can still come up with a series that is fresh, innovative and absolutely hilarious. The season two open had Mitchell and Cameron building a huge pink Princess Castle for Lilly, while Phil and Claire try to get rid of the ancient family station wagon. The irrepressible 12 year old quipster Manny goes on a date, making his mom moan that "the leading cause of death among Colombian women is when their sons get married".

Saving the best for last, Thursday night features 30 ROCK (NBC at 8:30pm). Long a Flaming Nose favorite, 30 Rock dispels the myth that it's not possible to make a successful TV program about a TV program. Wait...that myth has never been true...what about The Dick Van Dyke Show? All the greats are back with Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) trying to merge with a new pilot boyfriend (Matt Damon!), and Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) head over heels for his uber-competitive TV newswoman doppelganger. There's trouble in paradise, however, as Kenneth the Page is missing. Has he gone over to CBS? Absolutely love the constant references to GE and NBC being sold to "Cabletown", a dig at the pending real life take over by Comcast.

There you have it, something to love for every night of the week! And oddly enough, not one of these programs is on cable. What's the world coming to? ;)

Nurse Jackie: Just What the Doctor Ordered

OK everybody....if you let your Showtime subscription lapse, it's time to re-up again. Dexter is around the corner and in another week, we will have one more cure for the Monday blues. Nurse Jackie premiers on June 8th at 10:30pm. If you'd like a sneak peak of this dark medical comedy, there are several options for viewing. The website is streaming episode one, YouTube is also streaming the whole thing and if you are a cable subscriber with On Demand, the pilot is posted there as well.

I watched Nurse Jackie tonight and was quite impressed. Edie Falco, surely one of the finest and most accomplished character actresses working today, gives a no nonsense performance that is full of surprises. And here's the best part: from this time forth, we will never have to wonder who Dr. Gregory House (Fox Broadcasting) should hook up with. Calling Dr. House.... we've found your perfect woman. She's a workaholic (like you Greg!), addicted to pain killers (ditto for Dr. House) and super smart. Does House suffer fools gladly? No. Neither does our Jackie. She saves lives and she leads a double life. It's a match made in heaven.

Check out the preview below or go to the website and watch the whole thing. It's another winner, thanks Showtime!

Why Do We Love the Bad Boys of TV?

It occurred to me the other day that many of the most popular male characters on television today are so relentlessly unlikeable, they never would have had a chance in a prime time show 20 or 30 years ago. They are bad to the bone, and yet we love them; just look at all the Emmy awards, critical acclaim and sky high ratings these guys deliver.

In fact, our love affair with the bad guys is so prevalent on TV today, it's difficult to find a central character in a series who isn't terrible, or at the very least hopelessly flawed and unforgiven.

Ground zero for popular evil-doers is Tony Soprano, loving mafia patriarch and homicidal maniac. Poor Tony is now floating around a diner in New Jersey forever, but we have many naughty spawns to keep us entertained. The Nose bloggers have made no secret of their love for Showtime's Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer who carves up his victims with no more thought than what you would give to buttering a slice of toast for breakfast. Then we have AMC's Walter White (Bryan Cranston) on Breaking Bad. Every one's favorite high school chemistry teacher is secretly cooking crank in a Winnebago, and urging one of his former students to murder the drug thugs who get in his way.

Less murderous, but just as mean in his own anhedonic way is Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) on Fox. This pill popping Vicodin addict never met a patient or co-worker that he liked, but we tolerate his inhumane behavior because of his brilliant diagnostic talents. He has the bedside manner of Godzilla. I just hate him. I'd rather see Dr. Mengele if I woke up in the emergency room, but I'll never miss an episode.

Now we also have the very troubled Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) on fX, returning for a fifth season of Rescue Me. He's usually drunk or high, he cheats on wives and girl friends and he hates his dead father with a passion. He is the embodiment of anger (I think that's why we love him, everybody is so angry these days) and when he isn't boiling over with existential rage, he's jumping into flaming buildings to save complete strangers.

Is there any main male character out there who isn't bad? Don Draper on Mad Men (adulterer), Homer Simpson (donut glutton and screw-up), Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock (selfish TV Titan without a soul).

I remember hearing once that the original pilot for All in the Family had one of the lowest research testing scores in the history of television. People just couldn't believe that Archie Bunker could say such awful things. But good old Archie was really a marshmallow, underneath his bigoted barbs. Today's bad boys would eat him alive!

More Emmy Updates!

Nice to hear them remember the late Dwight Hemion.

Don Rickles wins as Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program! Lovely acceptance speech, very funny and also heartfelt. Very sweet that he always honored his beloved mother Etta in his remarks. Nice man, obviously. Great win!

Outstanding Direction for a Drama Series -- House, House's Head. Surprised it wasn't Mad Men, would have liked Breaking Bad, but nice speech by the winning director Greg Yaitanes. Congrats!

Outstanding Writing for a Dram Series -- Matthew Weiner for the pilot of Mad Men. Excellent choice, nice speech. Good win for a great series!

Great TV Tonight on Fox -- "House" and "Fringe"

Let's go out on a limb and declare Tuesday nights on Fox the most exciting night of broadcast television around. Tonight we've got the season preem of House starring Hugh Laurie, who just got a big raise for his role and at the same time signed on for several more years of the show. He's also up for an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and we'll find out if he wins this coming Sunday. (As great as he is, I'm afraid I'm rooting for somebody else, but what the heck.)

Then at 9pm, episode two of the intriguing new J.J. Abrams series Fringe which premiered last week. Jane gave it an enthusiastic review here, and I second it. I'm looking forward to more adventures and can't wait for tonight's episode. Here's a preview:

That's our recommendation for tonight! You just couldn't do better anywhere else!

Hooray for Hulu on MySpace TV

OK Nose fans, here is an excellent tip. You have to check out the new "hulu" feature of MySpace TV. It is a fabulous site if you want to watch streaming videos of Fox and NBC television programs past and present. Want to see Simpsons or the latest House programs? Are you a big fan of 30 Rock? How about classic TV like Adam 12 or Alfred Hitchcock? From Bionic Woman and Bones to Queer Eye, you can find it all here. It's quick, and it is easy. You can also find the newest Internet "mini" programs like QuarterLife and RoomMates. I highly recommend...these little shows are episodic and only a few minutes long. Perfect for a lunch break at work if you have high speed access, no corporate firewall and a progressive company that won't fire you if you are surfing the net. Nose people, you know that I am not one to post plugs, but this is a good tip for TV people, so go see for yourself and bookmark it.
Here is the link, and have fun.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=281211598