One thing I’ve always loved and admired about “House” is its ability to reinvent itself season after season, tweaking the formula just enough to keep things interesting. With the premiere of Season 6, however, what we’re given is a two-hour episode that throws away the format, offers only the briefest appearance by any other cast member, and is not only strong enough to warrant giving Hugh Laurie an Emmy nomination no matter what else he may do on the show during the course of the season’s subsequent episodes, but, indeed, could’ve been released as a theatrical film during the summer, a la “The X-Files: Fight the Future” from back in the day.
Seriously, it’s that good.
Season 6 of “House” kicks off where Season 5 of “House” left off: with its title character, Dr. Gregory House, within the walls of the Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital. The decision to enter Mayfield came via House himself, however, so as anyone who’s watched their fair share of medical dramas knows, that allows him the option to check himself out at any time…which, following an appropriately harsh opening sequence (set to Radiohead’s “No Surprises”) that details what he’s suffered through duriing his cleansing process, is exactly what he attempts to do.
Fox has officially announced its schedule for the fall, but let’s lead with a bit of bad news: “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” is not on it. The network officially canceled the series, and while I’m still dumbfounded by that decision, you know they’ll double-back and find a way to get it back onto the schedule if “Terminator: Salvation” is a hit. Or maybe they’ll release a straight-to-DVD movie which picks up where the series ends. Either way, I just cannot imagine that this will be the complete and total end of Sarah Connor’s TV adventures.
Okay, onto what is on the schedule, along with a few editorial comments…
MONDAY
8:00 PM – House 9:00 PM – LIE TO ME
Looks like another year of having to watch “House” and “Lie To Me” as full-season sets when they come out on DVD, because I’m still going to be watching “The Big Bang Theory,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “Heroes.”
TUESDAY
8:00 PM – So You Think You Can Dance
WEDNESDAY
8:00 PM – So You Think You Can Dance Results Show
9:00 PM – Glee
The distinctive new comedy from Ryan Murphy (“Nip/Tuck”) starring Jane Lynch (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”) and newcomers Matthew Morrison (Broadway’s “Hairspray”), Lea Michele (“Spring Awakening”) and Cory Monteith (“Kyle XY”). Combining biting humor with a soundtrack of hit music from past to present, the inventive series follows an optimistic high school teacher who – against all odds – attempts to restore McKinley High’s fading Glee Club to its former glory, while helping a group of underdogs realize their true star potential.
THURSDAY
8:00 PM – Bones 9:00 PM – Fringe
When my wife finds out that “Fringe” is going to be competing against her beloved “Office,” she’s gonna be so pissed…
FRIDAY
8:00 PM – Brothers
A new half-hour comedy about a former big-city NFL hot shot who returns home to his family – and his mother’s house – to get his life back on track. Starring Michael Strahan (“FOX NFL Sunday”) and Daryl “Chill” Mitchell (“Ed,” “Veronica’s Closet”).
8:30 PM – ‘Til Death
9:00 PM – Dollhouse
Really? They canceled “Sarah Connor” for this? And do they really think this coupling is going to help the “Dollhouse” numbers?
SATURDAY
8:00 PM – Cops
8:30 PM – Cops
9:00 PM – America’s Most Wanted
11:00 PM – The Wanda Sykes Show – The irreverent Saturday late-night series will feature Sykes’ outspoken comedic perspective on current events along with topical, high-energy roundtable discussions.
12:00 AM – Animation Domination encores
SUNDAY
7:00 PM – The OT (NFL Post-Game Show)
8:00 PM – The Simpsons
8:30 PM – The Cleveland Show – Everyone’s favorite soft-spoken FAMILY GUY neighbor, Cleveland Brown, moves with his son back to his hometown in Virginia and settles down with his high school sweetheart and her unruly kids.
9:00 PM – Family Guy
9:30 PM – American Dad
MIDSEASON
MONDAY
8:00 PM – House 9:00 PM – 24
TUESDAY
8:00 PM – American Idol
9:00 PM – Past Life
A fast-paced emotional thriller inspired by the book “The Reincarnationist.” The series stars Kelli Giddish (“All My Children”) as a gifted psychologist and Nicholas Bishop (“Home and Away”) as a former NYPD detective who work together to explore and unravel mysteries that must be solved in both the past and the present.
Wow, that doesn’t sound at all like “Life on Mars.”
WEDNESDAY
8:00 PM – American Idol Results Show
9:00 PM – Human Target
A full-throttle, action-packed thrill ride from executive producers McG (“Terminator Salvation”) and Simon West (“Con Air,” “Tomb Raider”). Based on the popular DC Comics graphic novel and starring Mark Valley (FRINGE), Chi McBride (“Pushing Daisies”) and Academy Award nominee Jackie Earle Haley (“Watchmen”), the series follows CHRISTOPHER CHANCE (Valley), a unique private contractor who will stop at nothing – even if it means becoming a human target – to keep his clients alive.
Anyone else noting the irony that the director of the new “Terminator” movie is getting a show just as the “Terminator” TV series is getting canceled?
THURSDAY
8:00-9:00 PM BONES
9:00-10:00 PM FRINGE
FRIDAY
8:00-8:30 PM BROTHERS
8:30-9:00 PM ‘TIL DEATH
9:00-10:00 PM DOLLHOUSE
SATURDAY
8:00-8:30 PM COPS
8:30-9:00 PM COPS
9:00-10:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
11:00 PM-Midnight THE WANDA SYKES SHOW (working title)
Midnight-12:30 AM ANIMATION DOMINATION ENCORES
SUNDAY
7:00 PM – Animation Domination encores
7:30 PM – American Dad
8:00 PM – The Simpsons
8:30 PM – Sons of Tucson
From three-time Emmy Award winner Todd Holland (“Malcolm in the Middle”), the non-traditional family comedy stars Tyler Labine (“Reaper”) as a charming but wayward schemer hired by three young brothers whose father is in prison.
Given how many iconic film roles Tim Roth has had over the years (Mr. Orange in “Reservoir Dogs,” Charles Ferry in “Everyone Says I Love You,” and Emil Blonsky in “The Incredible Hulk,” to name but three), it’s somehow weird to see him taking on the lead role in an American television series. But, hey, it’s Fox, and you can’t blame the guy for wanting to get in on a little bit of that Hugh Laurie action.
Plus, while the role of deception expert Cal Lightman in “Lie to Me” is a bit too close in feel to the character of Patrick Jane in “The Mentalist” for critics to avoid making the comparison, it’s nonetheless one that has the potential to serve Roth well…just as long as he can get past the nagging sensation that the show’s inspiration, Dr. Paul Ekman, sees right through him.
“I get really freaked out sometimes when I’m around Paul,” said Roth. “It’s like traveling with a critic from the New York Times, and wherever you go, there’s the guy going, ‘No, I don’t believe you. The performance was terrible.’ ‘I only said I’m going to go to the toilet.’ ‘Well, I don’t believe you. You betrayed the fact that you are completely piss-free at the moment.’ It’s an extraordinary feeling of of nakedness.”
Yeah, sure, it’s a total lowest-common-denominator thing to post a clip solely because it features girl-on-girl kissing. But sometimes a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do…
Don’t forget to tune in on Tuesday at 8 PM to see more. Granted, probably not much more…it’s network TV, after all…but still…
Although my esteemed colleague Ross Ruediger may have disagreed with me in his review of “House: Season 4,” as is his God-given right as a TV critic, I have to say that, personally, I probably enjoyed the fourth season of “House” as much as any season of the show to date. After ending Season 3 with the members of House’s team so infuriated with their fearless leader that they were moving on to greener pastures, I think just about everyone figured that Season 4 would’ve begun with them saying, “Okay, we were wrong, we’ll come back.” But they didn’t. Instead, we were treated to House playing his own version of “Survivor” as he selected a new diagnostic team, thereby giving America’s grouchiest doctor the opportunity to interact with a whole new crowd of characters, but we were also still provided with occasional visits from the original team. It was win-win, as far as I was concerned.
It was the two-part season finale (“House’s Head” / “Wilson’s Heart”) that really got me, though. The unfolding of the secrets locked within House’s memory, the tragic ending to the romance between Amber and Wilson, and the realization that the events which led to Amber’s death never would’ve been set into motion if House hadn’t been attempting to take advantage of Wilson for the umpteenth time…it was gripping drama, to be sure. But how on earth can the relationship between House and Wilson ever recover from something like that?
Based on the Season 5 premiere, it’s very possible that it may not…but, then, this is where the optimistic and cynical sides of my brain begin to do battle with each other.
