House Series Finale

With the House officially over after eight seasons, all I can do is sit back and reflect.

Reflect on the eight seasons of drama and humor the British-born actor, Hugh Laurie, playing an American character has brought us. Think back to eight years ago when all the promos for a new Fox show DURING the 2004 World Series. Seeing the "House" logo on the backstop at Fenway or constantly hearing "YOU'RE RISKING A PATIENT'S LIFE!" Remembering how it became a joke on Boston sports talk shows because it was on in between EVERY inning. Yes folks 2004 was that long ago. And "House" debut a week after Keith Foulke under handed a tapper back to the mound, off the bat of Edgar Renteria, to Doug Mientkiewicz to give the Sox their first World Series in 86 years.

(Ok now that my Sox tangent is done back to "House.")

Every week every time you thought you had the diagnosis figured out or the problem solved, nope House/Laurie/Shore pulled the other end of the string like a we were a cat they were dangling catnip in front of us. (Or to go along with the theme of the night, we were House and they were dangling Vicodin.) And they did it yet again with the series finale.

I mean really after eight seasons we should've seen it coming. As soon as the building came crashing in on "House" leading "House" to his eventual demise, you can not tell me your eyes did not shoot to the nearest clock to see what time it was. At the point, my clock (and I'm going off memory) read 9:52 and I'm thinking how are they going to fill eight minutes? Of course they would do the Kutner thing and have everyone... including Stacey and Cameron... mourning the "death" of their lost boss, friend. And yep wouldn't have it any other way just as Wilson was talking about his good friend his cell phone rings. Why wouldn't you know it's a call from his "dead" friend?

House faked his own death. (By the way, did anyone else notice the new DirectTV commercial during the show about the guy who faked his own death and went to his own funeral in disguise? Nice sense of irony...even though it was probably planned.)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. He falsified dental records and would no longer be able to practice medicine just so he could have an extra five months with Wilson. The ultimate of head fakes. Maybe after eight seasons, House really did learn how to love and care for another human being as Hilson (House & Wilson) drive off into the mountains with the 1949 song "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) playing in as we go to the credits. Can't say it wasn't anti-climatic.

Ok so I've been sentimental for too long. I was thinking during the first hour of the season finale, the look cast and crew look back, what were some of the best episodes of "House?" And I came to the conclusions that most of them were during season three. You may not agree with this list but this is my blog.

First off season three will forever be known as the Tritter Season. Tritter bringing House up on drug charger, forging prescriptions from Wilson and taking it out on everyone for seven episodes. And even if some of the episodes weren't good from a Patient of the Week (POW) stand point, they were good because of the secondary (or primary) storyline. (The only one I did not like in this seven episode stretch was the second one 3.06.)

So let's start with the Tritter Seven (or Six in my case)...
1. Episode 3.05 "Fools For Love" - the episode that kicks of the seven episode of Tritter v. House
2. Episode 3.07 "Son of a Coma Guy"
3. Episode 3.08 "Whac-A-Mole"
4. Episode 3.09 "Finding Judas" - Et Tu, Wilson? Wilson rats out House.
5. Episode 3.10 "Merry Little Christmas" - Stubborn House refusing to take Tritters 48 hour deal
6. Episode 3.11 "Words and Deeds" - the POW episode wasn't that great but it was all about the trial

Let's stay within season three and go back to season premier "Meaning" with House miraculously cured for two days thanks to Cuddy's ketamine treatment after getting shot by an upset former patient. "Cured" two patients although Cuddy and Wilson want to keep the fact he cured the guy from him because he cured him with really no medical proof.

Next on my list is Episode 3.04 "Lines in the Sand" and the start of House's downward spiral leading to his head on collision with Tritter.

Let's fast forward to midway through the season with House's POW featuring the son of gypsies in "Needle in a Haystack" in episode 3.13. The kid's parents don't agree with medical treatment but conclusion of the case was the kid (Jake Richardson) swallowed a toothpick.

Episode 3.14 "Insensitive" where the POW really intrigues House because she can't feel pain.
Episode 3.19 "Act Your Age" where the POW is a six-year old girl but has symptoms of an 80 year old grandmother.
Episode 3.21 "Family" POW is a young patient of Wilson's who was supposed to be getting bone marrow from his brother but his brother sneezed and got sick...Foreman officially turns into House
Episode 3.23 "The Jerk" -- House meets his match, in the form of 15-year old chess prodigy and House sabotages Foreman's interview at another hospital and has the rest of the PPTH staff chasing ghosts to see who really sabotaged Foreman

Check back tomorrow when I rank in order my top House episodes.