(S06E16) "I'm going to be dead in a few hours. Your secrets couldn't be safer, unless you're keeping them from yourself." - Nash to House

'House' entered into one of television's most overused cliches last night: the "randomly stuck together somewhere plot line." It's happened so many times that attempting to count all of them would require a NASA scientist, a team of fact checkers and one of those slick-looking slide rules that only a handful of people left in the universe know how to use.

This time, the team gets separated into different parts of the hospital during a lock down. Each has their own interesting stories to tell as they whittle away the hours, and each have varying degrees of success.

We've known for a while that Dr. Foreman (Omar Epps) on 'House' has a brother named Marcus who wound up in prison -- a victim of the troubled early years that plagued Foreman as well. Now, thanks to an upcoming parole hearing, Marcus will finally have a face. Entertainment Weekly reports that Orlando Jones will be appearing on 'House' in the role of Marcus Foreman.

Jones ('Mad TV,' those 7-Up commercials) is a bit of a chameleon when it comes to the acting roles he's taken over the years, so there are a ton of different ways he could take this character. He could go the comedic route and have Marcus be representative of every urban stereotype Foreman despises.

(S06E07) "I'm living my life. For the first time, I'm not going to change that because of how it might affect him -- or you." -- Cuddy to Wilson, who asked her what she sees in Lucas

I just want to shove House and Cuddy into a room together and let them figure out their relationship. It's clear that even though she's trying to be happy in her current relationship, she just can't get House out of her head, no matter how much she declares that she has or is going to.

I feel for her, because once they end up getting together -- if they don't by the time the series ends, I'll be ticked -- she'll have a long road ahead of her. Or not. People change. There's a good heart beating inside House's damaged psyche. It could work.

(S05E21) "You manipulative little bitch ..." House to Wilson.

After last week, we could all use a little breather from epic drama, right? Most of this episode was a complicated and not-too-enlightening game of cat and mouse between various parties that ended up being more amusing than annoying, thankfully. There were a few moments when I felt like I was watching Grey's Anatomy...and no, I'm not talking about the surprise ending.

(S05E19) Before we jump into an excellent episode, can someone please tell me what happened in the last minute of this episode, right after House stepped into the elevator and his vision began to get all blurry? It looks like Fox ran House a minute or two later than normal, once again, because my DVR cut off right in the middle of House talking to Wilson. Did anyone else have this problem? Or is it just time for me to get a new DVR?

Regardless of my minor technical glitches, this was an almost flawless episode that turned the focus back onto medicine and patients, while artfully weaving in the personal stories of the main characters.

(S5E15) "You're a wuss. Part wimp, part puss." -House to Wilson

We get yet another religious patient this week. Father Danny, who is running low on the big F, ends up in Cameron's ER after getting a late-night visit from Jesus. House initially grabs the case as a way to mess with Foreman and Thirteen, but it turns out that Father Danny might have a real problem.

We've explored religion before on House, but this one of the times when it hasn't worked so well. Father Danny's lack of faith is a good opportunity for Taub and Kutner to engage in a philosophical debate, about God, faith and the nature of suffering, but this all feels like ground the show has covered before.

(S5E13) "What's going on with everyone today?" -Kutner
"It involves House, Foreman and Thirteen which means it's either dumb, dangerous or tragic..."-Taub

Is House actually becoming a nice guy? One of the most interesting things about this episode was the absence of his trademark jerkiness. Whether he was dealing with an upset Cuddy or trying his best to counsel a disbelieving Foreman, House not only seemed sympathetic, but empathetic as well. I was surprised by the genuine concern he showed for Thirteen and Foreman during the blindness scare and his willingness to be Cuddy's whipping boy.

Again, the patient of the week wasn't very memorable to me. I find myself not even really caring about them aside from how their illness will reflect the doctor's personal problems. That conceit has gotten so obvious it's hard too look past it and see the patient's as real people who are suffering. Is anyone else having this problem?

(S05E12) Last spring, I went to hear Ira Glass give a talk about his popular NPR radio (and now TV) show This American Life. He outlined the formula for the show's success, and he also talked about House. Websites have documented the formula for every episode: Every episode is essentially the same. So, why does it work every time? Last night, I was hooked by Emmy the trainer rolling down stairs, and I was then hooked by the discovery of her surgery. I know that every single diagnosis and test and treatment is going to be bunk until the big, strange reveal at the end. However, it's almost like I am the same as House with my need to know what that weird reveal is going to be.

(S05E07) I always enjoy watching House, but later, when I am thinking about it to write a review, comes the true test of whether or not I really liked the episode. Or, more accurately, then comes the true test of whether the episode can stand up to scrutiny. So, the answer in last night's case is that I didn't think it was a particularly strong episode. Sometimes shows seem to put in these place-holder episodes right before sweeps, and that's what this episode felt like to me. Strong hijinks, a little progress for more minor characters, but everybody else just sort of treads water.

(S04E16) "Her heart won't stop racing. No idea what's causing it." Doctor in inferior hospital.
"Are you sure it wasn't the bus that landed on her?" House.

The season finale of House packed a wallop. I let my Tivo get ahead of my watching it so I wouldn't have to see the commercials, and I had barely begun the episode when my next-door neighbor burst into my living room exclaiming, "Have you seen House???" We barely had time to hit the pause button while yelling at her to leave and leave quickly without saying anything. But that is the kind of impact this kind of episode has. The season finale, which started last week, covered a bus-load of big themes: fear, wish-fulfillment, anger, risk-taking, the nature of friendship, remorse, and love. The episode was written by four writers, including producer David Foster: that was one of my first clues that this episode was going to be significant. They called in the big guns.

[S04E14] "You don't deserve to be happy." House to Wilson.
"And yet I am. You?" Wilson to House

House treats the symptoms, but he doesn't treat the whole person. He doesn't even claim to. He often makes a clear point that he doesn't care. House likes medicine because he likes to solve puzzles, and what greater consequences can a puzzle have than a human life? But ultimately, even someone dying doesn't matter unless House can't figure out the puzzle.

So, if the above paragraph is true, then why does House go out of his way to kidnap a soap opera star he believes to be dying in order to save his life? Is it really because he can't stand the idea of not watching his soap? I don't think so; he even encourages angsty actor Evan Greer (Sex and the City's Jason Lewis) to quit if he's not happy... well, sort of. But, back to the question: If House doesn't care, then why bother? Because it's a puzzle he can see daily, right in front of him, and he has to solve it. Apparently he has made multiple calls about it, because the actor knows who House is, so House simply takes matters into his own hands because that is what House does. House lives a life without consequences.

(S04E11) "Never before has a profession been so decried by someone who needed it so badly," Wilson [about psychiatry] to House.

One of my favorite parts of this episode was the quote I have chosen to put at the beginning of the entry. Wilson accuses House of not liking Cate, the patient, because she is a psychiatrist. House counters that there are many reasons he does not like the patient, and Wilson comes back with that retort. The reason I like it so much isn't because I think it's meant to be about House. I like it so much because I think it's a sneaky little slam on Tom Cruise. Or at least, if that is too much of a stretch, then I like it because it certainly can be applied to Tom Cruise and his very public outcries against psychiatry.

%Gallery-15288%

(S04E10) "Who's that from?" -- Kutner

"Santa, of course. Don't you know that I worship him? Oh wait, that's Satan. Sorry, I get them confused." -- House

Well, maybe it was the fact that I haven't seen an episode of House in nearly two months, but dear ol' Greggie seemed more cynical than his normal cynical self. Most likely it was due to the holidays. You know, the holidays that came and went over a month ago. I know that FOX is trying to save as many episodes of its hit shows as possible, but it would have been nice if they aired the House Christmas episode around, you know, Christmas.

%Gallery-14885%

(S04E08) "Foreman, she's not wearing any underwear. You used to be more fun."-- House

Tonight's episode had parallel three plot lines running through it that investigated one theme: What is magic? And how much power can information give you? The three plot lines involved the case, of course; the game House is playing with the fellows to see who gets fire, of course; and Thirteen and her mysteries. Of course.

%Gallery-10660%

(S04E06) "My malpractice insurance doesn't cover alien autopsies." --House
"That's fine. X-files are the next wing over."-- Dr. Samira Terzi

Tonight was apparently the "stand-up" episode of House. It had more one-liners than an episode of Seinfeld. And everybody got into the game-- not just House. I guess "Whatever it takes" referred not only to medicine but to extorting laughs. It's a good thing it had so many zingers in it, because that was one of the only likable things about the episode.

"15 minutes for the lap dance, half hour to scrub the guilt off my soul... See you in 45!"-- House

%Gallery-9873%