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television

Deus Ex Machina

So if you know me, you know that I don’t watch much tv at all. For the past year or so, it’s been 3/2 hours: 1 of House, and 1/2 of Family Guy (I recently picked up 30 Rock during the lull known as “exam week”. I think it’ll make it into my schedule). Even so, I’ve managed to whine a lot about both.
Family Guy is starting to suck. The first 4 seasons were great, but I’m not really seeing the same depth as years past. One of the reasons I like that show is more than just the ridiculous part, but the really clever jokes thrown in (one of my favorites is a reference to the famous court case “brown vs board of education” in this episode). Now, either I’m getting dumber, the references are getting more obscure, or they aren’t there. In ‘ne case, I’m not enjoying the show near as much as I used to.
House has come off as a real disappointment recently, as well. House is centered around, uh, Dr. House, who is a misanthropic doctor addicted to Vicodin. Of course, the true charm comes from him being sarcastic, caustic, while still brilliant. This, of course, creates a constant conflict as people around him try to change him, and this is a really great storyline… the first time. As far as I can tell, the reason why he keeps on lapsing back is that if he were a happy, nice guy, the show would be ridiculously boring. If he was thrown in jail, then Fox would effectively be double-booking “Prison Break”. If he went through successful rehab, we’d have a throughly one-dimensional character. In essence, the driving point of the series is the one thing that they really can’t afford to touch.
Which is where the title comes in. See, the just-ended plot line involved House being badgered then prosecuted for his drug use by a policeman. In today’s episode came the grand finale, when House enters rehab to prove that he’s willing to change, and then has his court battle. Of course, neither of those can go against his character: so, in the court battle, he’s saved by a last minute lie by his boss, and in the latter, he’s apparently been using drugs throughout the program.
How convenient.

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