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show: House

episode: The Right Stuff

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

Seeing House teach was one of the best parts in this episode. It was good to see that he was acting like 'the good old House' from the earlier seasons. The applicants however didn't quite come up to HL's acting. There were some performances I enjoyed, for example the ones of Olivia Wilde and the old man. But there were some weak links there, like the woman with the horrific accent. I got a bit anxious about the scenes that only included the new people (washing the car, breaking into the house etc.). When you take mediocre actors and put them together without any of the regular cast members, it doesn't meet the high standards of the show in my opinion. But on the other hand it can also create an amusingly catastrophic atmosphere, like in the scene where the patient caught fire. Overall it's good that the worst applicants were fired already and maybe we'll get to see better performances in the next episode. House seeing the old ducklings was great. The way they showed them in slow motion was kind of sweet. In a way it indicated that House really did miss them. I didn't understand Wilson's motivation to make House believe he was hallucinating them though. What was he trying to achieve? Anyway, the way House reacted to Chase in the surgery was surprising. You could say that there certainly was some deeper emotion there, mixed with surprise. It was a somewhat touching scene. At the end House went to see Cameron in the ER (a gloomy set by the way) and their interaction was different than it used to be. It seemed much more mature and balanced. Cameron seemed confident without being arrogant and House was.. well, himself. I thought it was a nice touch that Cameron was the first to walk away, not House. Maybe it was supposed to symbolize the fact that she's no longer dependent on him? I don't know. And I guess I have to express my opinion about Cameron's hair since it has been a much discussed topic: no, I don't like the blonde hair. But I'll probably get used to it. I liked this episode a lot and I can't wait for more.

show: Prison Break

episode: Call Waiting

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

This episode was a bit of a reminder of season one: Michael trying to find anything that could be helpful in breaking out. But the difference was that you could see Michael's growing desperation, especially after seeing the photo of Sara. The way he kept holding on to the photo and looking at it shows the inner struggle he's going through. We all know that he's blaming himself for this and that he will do anything to get Sara out of the situation. In order to help his loved one, Michael had to get access to the only cell phone in Sona. And not surprisingly, the phone belonged to Lechero. Thankfully T-Bag was conveniently there and in a position where he had to cooperate with Michael. As expected, returning the phone was a bit trickier than taking it. And I have to say, the way Michael spat "stall them" to T-Bag was one of the hottest things in this episode. Anyway, another indication of Michael's desperation was the fact that he didn't come up with a master plan to get access to the phone, he simply used T-Bag for it. Perhaps Michael doesn't have the time and/or energy to use his intelligence to achieve things, you could say he's using his primitive instincts. Which should work fine in a place like Sona. But I am sure that breaking out of there will require Michael's brains again, no doubt about it. Lincoln was busy in this episode. He had to deal with Sucre, Susan B. Anthony, Michael and Sofia. Sucre's role still seems to be minimal, but this is probably going to change (once he sobers up). The scenes Linc and Susan had together screamed sexual tension, which is pretty odd considering that the woman is threatening his son's life. But I guess Lincoln deserves some female attention too...

The situation doesn't look good for Sara and LJ. The phone call Michael and Sara had was heart-breaking, but the hints she was trying to give him seemed kind of crude. I'm pretty sure the kidnapper would have noticed that this wasn't a normal conversation. The way Lincoln rushed over to the statue to look for LJ and Sara was all wrong: he made a scene and made everyone perfectly clear of what he was doing. Even though he got to see his son and Sara (well, the Sara-look-a-like), it was way too early for that in my opinion. But I guess that it fits Lincoln's character perfectly, he's the brute after all. And also, it led into one of the most thrilling cliffhangers ever: what's in The Box? It certainly was something devastating, judging from the way Linc reacted to it. We have to wait until the next episode, which will hopefully continue the series of these great episodes we've been having.

show: Prison Break

episode: Orientación

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

The first episode of season three definitely started with a bang. The cruelty of Sona was immediately thrown at our face when the episode started. The prison was introduced in very much the same way Fox River was introduced in the pilot, so this episode was kind of parallel with it. Also the flashbacks from season one really tied this episode to what's happened before. Michael, Mahone and Bellick all had their own reasons to be desperate. They all were concerned of their own well-being, sure, but Michael and Alex also had their loved-ones in mind. And what do you do when you're that desperate? You team up. That's what lead to the coolest thing in this episode (in my opinion): the interaction between Michael and Mahone. Mahone knew that Michael was his ticket out of Sona and he wasn't afraid to admit that. Although Michael stated that he wasn't going to help the man who killed his father, deep down inside he knew that he couldn't be that cruel, even to Mahone. The most amazing scene in this episode was when Michael was about to get stabbed during the fight and Mahone got in the way. There was obviously one thing missing from this episode: Sara. Yes, she was mentioned several times as Linc was trying to locate her but the fact that we really couldn't see her (except in the flashbacks) was sad. But since this was because of Sarah Wayne Callies' pregnancy and maternity leave, it really shouldn't be a topic to complain about. Still, it's going to be great if and when she reappears. All in all, Orientación was the cruellest, the most grotesque and the most testosterone-filled episode of Prison Break yet. Can't wait for the next episodes.

show: House

episode: Human Error

The Bottom Line: "Superb"

First I'd like to point out how incredibly movie-like the beginning of the episode was. With all the drama, the ambitious music and the strange surroundings it wasn't even clear if it was House to begin with. Until the familiar opening credits appeared. There were also other new experiments during the episode, mostly with camera techniques (Cameron's "I'm in the room" to name one). Even though this kind of style feels weird on a show like House, it's also quite refreshing. Anyway. The theme of the episode seemed to be change. Wilson claimed that House isn't good with changes and this worked as a motivator for House to - that's right - make changes. So he went and fired Chase. Chase, for whom the job was probably a some sort of comfort zone, was shocked at first but later realized it probably was time to move on. But some didn't see it that way: Cuddy and Wilson actually told House to take him back. Wilson doesn't seem to be able to make up his mind, first he blames House for not tolerating any change and when House makes one he's not OK with it. For the record, it's House's team and he can make any decisions he wants concerning it. Cuddy tried to use her power ("it's my building") but without a result. You'd think she would have learned by now that she can't control House.

Probably inspired by the whole ordeal with Chase, Cameron left her resignation. She said she had learned all she needed to learn, and that's probably right. At least she has learned to know House: she knew it was pointless to expect any great emotions from him after her resignation. "I expect you to do what you always do. I expect you to make a joke, go on. I expect you to be just fine."

When Foreman was about to leave, House finally came clean. He didn't want him to go and made it clear. Unfortunately all he got from that was Foreman's overly heroic line about wanting to save lives. This was one of the few times when House was honest about his feelings and he got shot down. Will this lead into closing up again (or should I say 'more')? And there he was. All alone, without his team. He had just gone through major changes and yet he was fine. Maybe it was an effort to show Wilson that he can deal with changes, maybe it was genuine. But getting the new guitar felt like proving a point: 'look at me, I AM capable of change'. But now to TPOW. The case could have easily been too soapy and over-the-top, but they actually handled it quite well. I just wish Esteban and Marina wouldn't have been such stereotypical characters, because I know the writers are capable of doing more original material. The case also brought up an obsession of House's again: the why. As before, he goes to the extreme to find out the reason. A good reminder of this quality of his. This finale episode left us wondering what will happen next. The ducklings will probably return in one way or another, but it will be exciting to see how. Although compared to the last two finales this one wasn't as compelling as they were, it was still enjoyable and exciting. Hopefully the upcoming season 4 will measure up to our high expectations!