Has House jumped the shark?
House, what has become of you?
I faithfully watched and loved the first three seasons of House. But in the fourth season, the script writers appear to have gone on strike early…
House’s team from the first three seasons (Foreman, Cameron, and Chase) are, confusingly, halfway in and halfway out of the show.
The "reality show" subplot to select their replacements was briefly amusing but is now a silly diversion. None of the potential replacements are as strong as the originals.
The cases this season lack a satisfying dramatic or emotional arc, and are more than usually implausible. Insight, diagnosis, and treatment come out of the blue in the final 30 seconds.
The ultimate cause for my fear that House has jumped the shark? In a recent episode, it actually was lupus.
Update: The votes for House on JumpTheShark.com still say overwhelmingly that House has never jumped the shark. Is this denial, slow reaction time, or am I just being too pessimistic?
6 Comments so far
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Heretic! I thrilled when it was lupus. It gave me hope that someone will actually be diagnosed sarcoidosus.
And I’ve really enjoyed the reality-show theme. I don’t watch the show for the team. I watch the show for House. And anything that causes House to act more House-y is good enough for me.
By Scott Haug on 11.29.07 4:28 am
i’m not sure it has jumped the shark but it does seem a little lost. kind of like TV drama in general. the backlash against the long story arcs like lost and 24 has left us with shows that are trying to wrap everything up in 44 minute bites and, well, some stories just don’t wrap up that neatly. house was at its best when house was personally struggling with his pain and addiction, and his snarky attitude was just a facet of that. now he is all snark with no underlying motivation.
By john ludwig on 11.29.07 5:52 am
[…] Has House jumped the shark? - I’m not sure, it’s not as good, but still better than most shows out there. […]
By Around the web | alexking.org on 12.03.07 7:00 am
House has unquestioningly jumped the shark! The show’s meat and potatos was unravelling the characters that we already had a stake in. I call it the David E. Kelly Syndrome… changing the cast leads to dropped ratings, actors quitting, and the end of a potentially tremendous show. It was my favorite show, I even went to see Hugh Laurie at the actor’s studio, and read his book. It’s a damn shame… unless they bring the former ducklings back with more interaction and face time, i’m out.
By daria on 04.12.08 11:47 am
House has jumped the shark. Last night’s episode included lots of big leaps over lots of big sharks. Cuddy doing pole dancing on a city bus, a mystery lady having to ask House 72 times what her necklace was made out of when anyone who grew up during the period of “Jurassic Park” movies could have answered in no time, House in a hyperbaric chamber, House and the bus driver, etc. etc. If there was any doubt before, it has been erased. House has jumped the shark.
By Jennifer Johnston on 05.13.08 8:55 am
Yes, House has jumped the shark. It was difficult for me to explain this concept to my daughter (watching House is our one mother-daughter bonding activity) since it is normally rather shark-jumpy, but now I will send her this link and all will be revealed. That said, yes, watching Laurie is what makes it worth it even when the writers are obviously smoking way too much pot for our own good.
By amanda hamilton on 05.20.08 5:39 pm
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