['House' - 'Now What?']

Every rabid 'House' fan has been twitching with nervous anticipation about House and Cuddy's relationship, which officially went from cold indifference to full-on bloom at the end of last season's wrap-up.

It's one of the more interesting relationships on television now because the two are almost professional rivals (he's the patient-saving miracle worker and she's the sensible hospital administrator) and 'House' isn't your typical romantic medical drama. The hero doesn't always get the girl in the end or even keep her, for that matter. Love is for chumps and hearts are things you stick in people to keep them alive. It's the anti-'Grey's Anatomy.'

Of course, even Dr. House, the man with the concrete blood pumper, has a soft spot for Cuddy, and now we get to watch TV's current reigning cantankerous curmudgeon try to (gasp!) trust another human being with his soul and emotions once again. It's like watching your little one learn how to ride a bike for the first time, only with less bruises, bleeding and bodily disfigurement.

The season premiere wastes no time picking up where it left off with the audience's collective jaw still dangling from their skulls as Cuddy confessed her love to House just as he's about to cave into his Vicodin demons. The opening scene is a virtual tunnel of erotic silence as Cuddy cares for House's wounds in a bit of twisted medical foreplay, like the pottery scene in 'Ghost' or the famous food fetish scene in '9 1/2 Weeks.' All you hear is the slow, methodical sounds of sexual tension slowly growing until Cuddy famously caresses House's badly damaged leg and kisses his haggard skin. If pressing your lips against shards of dead skin isn't true love, then ... well, you know the rest.

Of course, the next morning, the couple faces that all important question: "Now what?" Indeed.

Here is where the episode drags on a bit as Cuddy and House find ways to pass time while avoiding just about any contact with the outside world. Naturally, House is weary about letting his colleagues know that he and Cuddy are an item and it gets a little predictable because he's naturally wary of every human with a pulse, but the script finds a new way to deal with an old TV cliche.

After Robert breaks into the house (a funny scene in which House catches him stuck in his kitchen window at "sword-point"), he finally admits that he and Cuddy are together. But when she suddenly disappears from the screen leaving House in a state of bewildered shock, we are treated to the same emotion. Could it be that he had just been dreaming these wonderful tender moments as a form of subconscious expression? Was she really there or was it the drugs talking? It's a great curveball for every snooty viewer who thinks they know what's coming, myself included.

And anyone with a working set of neurons could have guessed that House would try to cut Cuddy loose because of the demons he still faces, but the reaction was an interesting surprise. Things could still go downhill, but House's willingness to at least try to make things work show he's grown as a character and a person. Moments like that are the reason why we watch shows for so long because we want to see the characters grow just like the rest of us have to. It gives us another reason to stay connected to them.

The premiere also found an interesting way to segue into the medical mystery of the week as the hospital's only remaining neurosurgeon has to overcome an illness in order to keep the ER from losing its medical status. The condition isn't as serious or even life-threatening as most of the illnesses or conditions that saunter through the hospital's halls. However, it still offered an interesting conclusion that had me running to the Internet to look it up, and guest star George Wyner -- who will forever be burned into my memory as 'Fletch's' alimony hunting attorney and Colonel Sandurz from 'Spaceballs,' even though his acting resume goes to a much deeper caliber -- does a nice job of playing a stoned neurosurgeon.

It's an ambitious start to what's sure to be an interesting and enthralling season and these days, you can't ask for more than that from a major network show. Well, you could, but all you'd get is derisive laughter and a TV executive's door slammed in your face.

'House' airs Mondays at 8PM ET on Fox.