House Season Premiere TONIGHT 9/5 at 8pm

[mrchapel]

Just thought I'd post a note to fellow House fans.

PREMIERE DATE: Tuesday, September 5, 2006
PREMIERE TIME: 8pm (not 9pm as it used to be)
PREMIERE CHANNEL: Fox

Here's a link that lists all Fall Premieres:

http://www.tv.com/story/story.html&story_id=5718

What shows are you gearing up for?

 

[Get Smart]

New shows I'm gonna check out:

Heroes
Til Death
Ugly Betty

Old shows I'll watch fo sho:
LOST
Desperate Housewives

New season I'm watching now:
Weeds
Justice

 

[JBZ]

The Wire starts its fourth season Sunday night on HBO. One of my favorites.

 

[gmac]

I belive we are going through a period of great television drama and comedy. I'm sure everyone knows the shows which I am referring to.

However, I have one major beef at the American production system and that is that they do not know when to let good thing go. House was amazing in the first season and good in the second but the problem with these shows continuing on ad infinitum is that they have to come up with ever more ludicrous plot lines to keep the viewer engaged.

Network sitcoms, like Friends say, which are not generally very good, have to come up with, what, 30 episodes a season? No wonder the quality is diluted.

I cite, as an example of how things can be done differently, 2 British shows. There were only ever 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers made. The original (and far superior) version of The Office again has only 12 episodes plus 2 specials shown a couple of years later. Both are undoubted classics.

I'm not doubting the quality of a lot of American TV, it really can be fantastic (particularly HBO) but I just feel that somethimes they need to let things go.....

 

[mrchapel]

Originally Posted by gmac

I belive we are going through a period of great television drama and comedy. I'm sure everyone knows the shows which I am referring to.

However, I have one major beef at the American production system and that is that they do not know when to let good thing go. House was amazing in the first season and good in the second but the problem with these shows continuing on ad infinitum is that they have to come up with ever more ludicrous plot lines to keep the viewer engaged.

Network sitcoms, like Friends say, which are not generally very good, have to come up with, what, 30 episodes a season? No wonder the quality is diluted.

I cite, as an example of how things can be done differently, 2 British shows. There were only ever 12 episodes of Fawlty Towers made. The original (and far superior) version of The Office again has only 12 episodes plus 2 specials shown a couple of years later.

I'm not doubting the quality of a lot of American TV, it really can be fantastic (particularly HBO) but I just feel that somethimes they need to let things go.....

I agree with you. I'm not a huge, huge fan of American TV though. A lot of it is pure rubbish, except for, IMO, 24, Entourage, and House. I'm a big fan of the British spy drama Spooks (rebadged MI-5 on American tv's, which, interestingly, A&E is showing MI-5 at 11pm on September 15, but they're exactly one year behind because they are premiering Season 4, whilst Season 5 of the show is to premiere in the UK a couple of days later on the 18th.) If it wasn't for the internet and BitTorrent, I'd be behind. A&E completely pulled the show off the air for an entire year, and it still isn't promoting it. I'm quite sick of these cable channels (A&E and Bravo mainly) dumping what used to be quality programming in favor of crap reality shows. Sorry, end rant.

 

[gmac]

Oh, there is definitely an awful lot of garbage out there. But, I think, at the top end TV is better than it has ever been. 24, Entourage and House are all great - but I would say that 24 and House could be put to bed now.

Other shows that I think are awesome are Deadwood, Weeds, Band of Brothers (mini series), Six Feet Under, The Sporanos (again, has run its course, maybe overstayed its welcome), Arrested Development, and many others that i can't think of right now.

 

[mrchapel]

Originally Posted by gmac

Oh, there is definitely an awful lot of garbage out there. But, I think, at the top end TV is better than it has ever been. 24, Entourage and House are all great - but I would say that 24 and House could be put to bed now.

Other shows that I think are awesome are Deadwood, Weeds, Band of Brothers (mini series), Six Feet Under, The Sporanos (again, has run its course, maybe overstayed its welcome), Arrested Development, and many others that i can't think of right now.

Again gmac, I agree with you in reference to 24 and House could both be put down. Their format is predictable; although recent interviews with Kiefer Sutherland seem to clue that the new season of 24 coming in January will be a lot different than what we're used to. I hope that's the case, because the genre that 24 is in has a world of material to go off of. But I suppose the end game is the same; Jack saves the day. It would be nice to see Jack NOT save the day. Perhaps make it more real.

House on the other hand is still a young show compared to 24. I think a format change now would do House well. Let's see what this season as in store for us.

 

[gmac]

I'll admit that I didn't see a great deal of season 2 of House so I should perhaps reserve judgement - it just seemed that his constantly obnoxious behaviour, while initailly amusing, became, well, obnoxious......

Jack Bauer is a great character and I wouldn't presume to tell them how to pep 24 up - but I hope they do something to mix things up a little. Like, as you say, Jack not saving the world....

I thought Arrested Development had peaked and was starting to decline when it was cancelled.

Frasier is aprime example of what can happen when shows hang on too long - the last season was excruciating after giving us years of gentle pleasure.

 

[kronik]

House
Weeds

... are the two I'm watching.

Nothing else out there (that I know of) that's begging me to watch it.

 

[Soph]

House is nice fiction.

No Doctor exists like this for long; except ones that get fined and go to prision.

 

[odoreater]

I like House, but yeah, I'm not sure how much longer they can go for. I'm sure they can always think of weird diseases for people to have, but eventually it's going to get old. Entourage is awesome. The Sopranos - fuggedaboudit. Funny how really good shows seem to take place in New Jersey (House and Sopranos).

 

[gmac]

I just watched it - was bored by 40 minutes in and went to do other things.

Sorry!

 

[mrchapel]

Originally Posted by gmac

I just watched it - was bored by 40 minutes in and went to do other things.

Sorry!


It wasn't exactly the most thrilling opener; but gmac if you had seen the Season Finale a lot more would have made sense to you I am sure. He got shot by an ex-patient last season finale.

 

[gmac]

Originally Posted by mrchapel

It wasn't exactly the most thrilling opener; but gmac if you had seen the Season Finale a lot more would have made sense to you I am sure. He got shot by an ex-patient last season finale.

Yeah, I'd gotten that from promo material.

I just wasn't that interested in the two cases that were being looked at and the dynamic of the show seemed not to have changed.

But I'll give it another try next week - I love Hugh Laurie, have done for over 20 years since he showed up British TV. Did you know he rowed for Cambridge (or was it Oxford?) in the Boat Race? Do people in the States know about the Boat Race?

 

[LabelKing]

Yes, the Henley Royal Regatta.