Pop Vultures

This week, Pop Vultures is taking a look at returning shows and offering snap judgments on their new seasons. Today, it’s House’s turn.

1. Compared to the previous season(s): House really shouldn’t be interesting anymore. It’s been trotting out the same formula each week for the last four years: someone with an obscure — and frequently disgusting — ailment appears at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital and is poked and prodded by House’s team. The doctors incorrectly guess the disease between 3-5 times, the patient gets steadily worse, and just when the poor guinea pig is ready to kick the bucket, House has a brainstorm and the patient is cured. Repeat next week. Shouldn’t we be sick of this by now?

And yet, we’re not. The writers continually find new ways to keep potentially stale plots interesting. Last season, they messed everything up by bringing in a whole new set of doctors for House to toy with, and it worked. Wilson was given a love interest that wasn’t House, allowing for all sorts of character — and relationship — development between House and Wilson. The show actually went somewhere, rather than stagnating.

So far, this season has done an excellent job of continuing that development. They surprised us by having Wilson break up with House, which opened up new directions for both their characters. While this season’s changes haven’t been as dramatic as the previous season, they still show promise. Mark: B

2. Returning characters: Well, they’re all great, aren’t they? Wilson is showing a backbone, something I’ve waited four seasons to see. Cuddy is still trying to outsmart House and even succeeding on rare occasions. The new doctors are actually becoming three-dimensional characters, with 13 coping with her own diagnosis and Taub’s personal life being explored a bit. Much like last season, Foreman, Chase and Cameron have very little to do, but rumor has it that they will soon be incorporated into the show a bit more. As for the reason most people actually watch the show — House himself — he is still as dark, rude, brilliant and broken as ever. Mark: A-

3. New characters: So far, we’ve only got one, but he’s excellent. Michael Weston has come on board as Lucas Douglas, House’s personal PI and rival for Cuddy’s affection. Though I dislike the whole love triangle that’s being set up, I do love this character. He’s clever enough to be a worthy adversary — and friend — for House, and charming enough to believably woo Cuddy. Sure, he’s a rebound guy after Wilson, but I’m hoping he sticks around for a bit. Mark: A

4. Current plots: This is the hardest one to judge, since the procedural nature of the show means that the underlying plots are revealed slowly over time. The disintegration of House and Wilson’s friendship was a long time coming, and I’m eager to see how each character copes without the other — and whether Wilson’s harsh breakup words cause any changes in House himself. I will agree to tolerate the romantic subplot so long as nothing ever comes of it, since I’m convinced that Cuddy is too smart to ever actually date someone as broken and cruel as House. Writers, I’m warning you now: if they ever get together, this grade will drop at least two full letters. As for the remaining characters, their storylines might not be particularly compelling, but the actors are handling them well, and I’m happy to see where they go with time. And perhaps that’s why this show earns such a high grade — I have enough faith in it to give it that time. Mark: A-

Overall grade: A-

What do you think of this season of House so far? What grade do you think it deserves?