House is building toward a climax like many other shows this time of year. Its been a surprisingly rocky season for House. I spent much of the season longing for a shake up, but when one finally came (in the form of Kutner’s suicide), I wished it hadn’t. Network executives always say critics are fickle, I suppose they’re right.

Newlyweds Chase and Cameron are discussing the idea of a prenup. Not a normal prenup though. Cameron kept the frozen sperm of her deceased husband. She tells Chase that she wants to keep it just in case things don’t work out with Chase. Odd to be sure, and I don’t really think this was a good time to add another layer to the episode. It just felt tacked on and out of place. The real meat of the episode, was house and his hallucinations.

With the CTB still trapped in his head, House tries to take some time off but is drug in to deal with a new patient. This week’s insane patient is a ballet dancer. As usual, the cause seems unknowable. Unable to trust his own judgement, House turns to Wilson for help overseeing all of his diagnostic work as well as helping him treat his hallucinations. Even so, he can’t bring himself to tell Wilson that its his dead love Amber who is stuck in his head.

This particular patient has perhaps on of the single grossest symptoms ever. Her skin is coming off. Yikes. House thinks the skin disintegration was his fault and feels guilty about it. House takes this as a symptom of his own sickness (which on second thought is hilarious) and worries about possibly having MS. In an attempt to reconcile that emotion he goes to the patient and apologizes. All the while, the CTB is acting as his subconscious mocking him from inside.

While trying to talk out the diagnosis and his hallucination with Wilson, House lets slip who the real identity of his invisible friend is. Wilson takes it surprisingly well but also decides that House has to detox. Regardless of what the cause is, House’s future as a doctor hangs in the balance.

Because of the icky skin situation, House and the crew elect to stop the patient’s heart in order to get an MRI. Its risky and crazy dangerous, but they can’t figure another way. At the same time, House becomes desperate and tells Wilson he’s going to put himself into insulin shock thinking this will exorcise the CTB demon in his head. Its an excellent back and forth scene with the crew trying to save the patient, while House fades into shock. Its very well done and quite gripping.

House wakes up without his hallucination. Sure that he’s cured, he returns to the patient.  Foreman saw a shadow behind her heart during the MRI andbelieves there was something there. House comes to the psychotic epiphany that her boyfriend gave her gonorrhea and that it has somehow made it to her heart. Huh?

With House now celebrating his victory, Foreman calls and throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing. House guessed right, but it was a lucky guess not an informed one. As this dawns on him, the CTB returns. House immediately calls Wilson and sets out to check himself into rehab. At that moment, Foreman calls to tell him that the patient is spiraling down. Thought the diagnosis may be right, they can’t stabilize her enough to operate. House however is off the case now. The crew is on their own. Eventually they do figure a way, but the drug they give her gives her gangrene in her feet and hands. It requires amputation but as a dancer she’d rather die. Spurned on by Taub, they crew tries an long shot treatment that pays off, curing her black extremities.

House goes to Cuddy to quit his job. In doing so he makes an emotional plea for her help. House begins to withdraw from the Vicodine with Cuddy acting as his nurse. He tells Cuddy where his stashes of drugs are, confounding his hallucination. CTB and House go back and forth arguing over Cuddy and his addiction. Clearly his hallucinations are standing in as a symbol for his addiction. The scene is excellent, cathartic and raw.

As the morning comes, House and Cuddy talk about their past. Suddenly, House realizes CTB is gone. As she’s about to leave, Cuddy and House embrace and we get the moment we’ve been waiting for. The two begin to tear each other’s clothes off and the show cuts to black.

The reappearance of the CTB has been fantastic. Acting as House’s subconscious she added a whole other layer of subtext. It remains to be seen if House’s new found cleanliness will last, or if the romance with Cuddy will see the light of day next episode. Regardless, this episode was rock solid television. The fundamentals of House are strong once again.

(S02E23) “The Wrath of Con”

Georgina’s back and better than ever. It didn’t take much for this holy roller go remember her roots. With a little designer help from Blair, scamming from Poppi and a whole lot of anger from within, Georgina’s about to do the dirty work for the whole team in order to seek revenge for what was stolen. I guarantee no church camp has ever gone to such lengths to get back collection bin cash.

With Georgina back in action, Gabrielle guilty as sin, and Poppi on the run, you’d think someone else would be behind bars. Poor S, Momma L is only trying to do what’s best. Besides, shame on you for thinking you’d earned those prized family jewels. As the saying goes, like mother like daughter.

Does the same hold true for boys? Are the Humphrey guys destined to be broke and woman-less? Sure, Dan’s got the brains for Yale, but will he ever  have the tuition? With Lillian out of the picture my magic eight ball says “don’t count on it.”

As for all of the drama we’ve continuously seen issued by the Blair, Nate and Chuck love triangle, I couldn’t be more over it. Obviously Blair and Chuck are meant for each other. Misery does love company. Too bad they’re disastrous romantics who will never allow themselves to be happy. Lucky Nate, he gets the leftovers.  Victory, how sweet it is.

There are only a few more episodes of Dollhouse left now and the show seems to have found its footing. Last week’s episode wasn’t as explosive as the previous weeks, but this week’s is an absolute scorcher.

Ballard is trying to break up with his active/ girlfriend Lilly. Not surprisingly, Lilly is devastated. As the Dollhouse collects its now suicidal active, Ballard follows them back to the home base and discovers the Dollhouse’s location.

Echo is trying to help young girl with emotional difficulties. In order to help the girl, Topher has imprinted Echo with the kid’s own patterns thus giving Echo all the tools to help the abused girl. It seems to be Topher’s own personal charity work.

Meanwhile at the Dollhouse, a chip supposedly from the NSA has been found and the only way to decode it is to let Dominick out of the attic. Not Mr. Dominick actually, but Victor imprinted with the former security head’s brain. Dominick reveals that the chip isn’t from the NSA, but from Alpha. Alpha was trying to point Dominick to Dollhouse HQ in Arizona.

Ballard discovers that a man was brought on as an environmental specialist during the Dollhouse’s construction. After finding the shaky, pot growing environmentalist, played brilliantly by Whedon favorite Alan Tudyk, Ballard forces him into an alliance.

Now at the Dollhouse, Ballard and the pot-head are breaking in just as Echo is returning. Eventually the two make it inside and Ballard gets his first look at his white wale. Slowly making their way through the Dollhouse, its becoming clear that the pothead knows more than he’s letting it on. The unlikely pair make their way to a computer terminal and begin to try to free the actives. As Ballard does, he’s discovered by Boyd. Boyd and Ballard fight in what must be Dollhouse’s most sought after tussle as these are the only two characters on the show with any moral compass. While the two scrap, the pothead disables all of the security systems. Its a pretty impressive fight scene, and Boyd comes out the winner.

Now here comes the twist. As the doctor escorts Victor back to her office for medical attention, the potheads true nature reveals itself. The goofy environmentalist is Alpha. Now in control of the whole Dollhouse, Alpha begins a rein of terror. He mutilates Victor in his traditional blade happy way and then holds the doctor and Echo hostage. He takes Echo to the chair and he imprints her. Alpha and Echo embrace and Alpha’s motivations are now obvious. He’s in love. Now with no one to stop them, the happy couple walk out of the Dollhouse.

This is an episode that payed off. It was good enough to make all the other silly inconsistencies of earlier episodes fade out of memory. Tudyk is great on screen as Alpha and I only wish we’d seen him sooner. The only downside of this episode is the abused child plot line. It seemed to go nowhere even though the concept had a lot of potential. The intensity os seriously ratcheted up by the end and I for one am really looking forward to next week.

A general running theme in almost every episode of 30 Rock is the idiocy of the entertainment industry. Stars are always self-centered and dumb and the writers always nerdy and awkward. This episode drove that point to the hilt.

Claiming he’s tired of being treated differently, Tracey literally plays the race card saying that Liz treats him like monkey. Tracey even goes so far as to get a actual monkey to replace him. Liz challenges Tracey to show up on time and do his work just like all the other staff. He does. For a day, he’s on his best behavior. Eventually, he turns the tables on Liz and forces her to do physical work as a sign of ‘equality’. There’s a long shot of Liz trying to refill the water cooler, which turns out great. Its classic physical comedy, which Tina Fey pulls off surprisingly well.

Jack’s bulldog-ish mother is also featured this week. In from Florida, Jack discovers that she’s brought a man with her. Conflating his revulsion for her mother’s new boyfriend with his feelings of abandonment from his father, Jack decides to investigate and discovers he’s a married man. Again confusing this new man as his father, he confronts  him. In the ensuing argument with his mother, Jack discovers that the man he thought was his father may not be. Also we find out that Florida retirement homes are for swingers. Which is its own set of sillyness.  In a final ‘twist’ Jack realizes that his father may not actually be his biological father at all.

As Tracey’s plan to get revenge on Liz unravels, the two switch roles. Liz is forced to go out to a strip club with the writers and Tracey must stay at the studio working. Not surprisingly, it drives both of them to tears and reconciliation.

Good job again from Fey and company. I was really impressed by the ammount of physical comedy Fey brought into this episode. She certainly isn’t known for it, but she came through with flying colors.

Bones is always finding new and creative way to turn up bodies. A few weeks ago they found a skeleton being used as a prop in a metal band’s stage decor. This week, they find a dead body shoved into a mascot costume. Bones, is there any place you can’t find a corpse?

The mascot corpse had been mutilated during a pep rally by the students and at first its a little difficult to determine the cause of death. In particular, the students fired a canon filled with random junk at the mascot leaving perforations and random junk scattered throughout the body. Eventually though, the affable Muslim intern from a few weeks ago finds a bullet.

The victim was nicknamed “beaver” and was a member of a frat. The investigation first turns to the fraternity brothers first. The victim was a popular guy and regular party animal. He had however slept with another student;s girlfriend, this putting the jilted boyfriend in the crosshairs of the investigation.

Booth’s brother also reappears this week. After helping Booth in the gravedigger climax a few weeks ago, Jared received a discharge from the military. Booth decides its up to him to get his little brother back on track. Jared ignores his brother, buys a motorcycle and is set to take a trip to India. He even invites Booth along. Booth is going to be forced to let his little brother go on his own.

After some insane DNA tests involving the sheets from the frat house, they discover that Beaver had been sleeping with an older woman. While looking for evidence of his lover’s identity they also find evidence that the victim was acting as a campus bookie. All of these clues though still have uncovered a true cause of death.

At this point the writers have a lapse of creative mojo because in order to get a cause of death, the don’t set out any logical pattern. They simple have Bones star at the corpse with sappy pop music playing until she has a moment of revelation. That’s some pretty lame story telling.

After some more electronic wizardry, a few photos are found on the victim’s computer. One of which was a sexually explicit picture of the dean’s wife. Obviously, the dean now has a motive. Despite that, the dean as murderer just doesn’t add up.In the end, its not the jilted boyfriend but the girl he claimed to be involved with. The victim was trying to force himself on her and she shot him with a nail gun.

A pretty good episode overall for Bones. Aside from the fraternity sheet testing, this one seemed almost plausible. Plus, I’m pleased how Bones has treated the Muslim assistant. I had worried that they would turn him into a cartoon character, happily they’ve avoided that impulse so far.

(S02E22) “Yours, Mine and Ours”

According to E! Online Private Practice! Online will most likely be returning for a third season. Even after this pathetic attempt at a second run, the boost the show receives from post- Grey’s Anatomy fans has kept it alive. Switch the time and let’s just see how it survives.

Speaking of surviving, in tonight’s finale, Violet was left with her life dangling on a cliffhanger ending. Her one chance of survival seemingly left when Cooper didn’t walk into the life-ending drama going on in his living room but instead turned his sights towards the life-changing drama Charlotte was facing. Meanwhile, poor Violet is about to have her baby literally cut out of her by a psycho patient that believes the baby really belongs to her.

As for also possible partings that next season may see, Naomi has decided to take over Charlotte’s job and leave Sam and their practice behind for good. Seeing as her new digs will be just one floor up I’m sure that doesn’t mean she’s gone for good. God knows they love to mix the love dramas between the two floors.

Dell is another character that just may have seen his curtain call. After committing, perhaps the biggest faux pas to date at Oceanside Wellness when he accidentally switched patients embryos, the word “fire” is of course being thrown around. However, since Addison can’t keep her cool long enough to deliver her “almost-lover’s” wife’s baby, Dell’s act of kindness in taking over may just help him since Addison will most definitely owe him big time.

And did you just note how soap opera-esque that last line sounded? Such is Addison’s life apparently. Ever since Noah showed up, they’ve turned into the TV world’s worst couple and the viewers most unrealistic characters. I can hardly stand how wish-washy and pathetic the two act due to their uncontrollable lust. Save it for One Life to Live. I don’t watch daytime TV for a reason.

(S05E19) “No Good at Saying Sorry (One More Chance)”

The scene is now set for  a much anticipated 100th episode.

Of course there will be a wedding. Now that we know Izzy’s cancer is not going away without a serious fight, one which she may not win, Meredith and Derek have decided to move up their wedding so that she can see it come to fruition. From the previews it should be stunning. I think it would actually be an excellent time for Izzy to part from the show. Can you imagine the heartache? What better send off for such a major character than right after she witnesses love at it’s best; something we know she clearly holds so dear. Then again, maybe I’m less of a romantic and more of a twisted soul. We shall see.

As far as love goes, I see Arizona and Torres really making a run of it. After both Sloan and Cristina suggest Torres just lie to her family in order to reform bonds, Arizona gives her the support she needs should she choose to go that route. Torres is better then that though, and it’s what we all love her for. This couple couldn’t be more kind hearted and perfect for each other if they tried.

My only hope in the love department is that Hunt and Cristina get back on the right foot. He’s trying, he’s just a bit misguided. Cristina’s smart though, I honestly don’t think she’ll be ignorant to his immense efforts for long. Maybe one day they’ll have the type of love that Lexi and Sloan have. Perhaps unconventional, but sweet and fresh all the same. Steamy may be older, but that doesn’t make him any less of a man. He even went out to meet her newly reinvented sober dad.

Next week there are certain key truths with which we can count on. There will be drama. There will be beauty. And there will definitely be love. But what will make the show remarkable enough to truly stand out as something special. Well that, ladies and gentleman, I can’t wait to find out.

Now a few weeks removed from the Kutner suicide, House feels rudderless. Its surprising to see how big an impact Kutner had on the show. Very rarely did a show hinge on Kutner’s personal life, but there’s no doubt now that he was a serious anchor on the show. House as a character has always been about bouncing between the profane and the ridiculous, the serious and the silly. Kutner was a big help in establishing the warmth and humor that House possesses. Much of this episode was meant to be playful, but it couldn’t quiet make it work.

As usual, the tension doesn’t come from the patient but from the group. Most importantly, from House’s new imaginary friend Amber. Fans will remember Amber as both Wilson’s dead love interest and as House’s foil “the cut-throat bitch” or CTB. House plays off the return of CTB as a hallucination brought on by lack of sleep and pills. Regardless of the reason, CTB is ever present in this episode. She questions, complains and even leads House astray a few times while dealing with his patient.

Speaking of the patient, a young deaf high school wrestler suddenly hears the sound of explosions. Deaf since birth, the young man has no idea what is happening to him. Brought in for treatment, House realizes that the kid’s handicap could be overcome with an implant. Though House is annoyed by the kids frustrating attachment to his deafness, he’s distracted. Not only by his new hallucination, but also by Chase’s bachelor party.

Chase and Cameron are getting married and in true House form, he takes the reins of Chase’s bachelor party. House apparently really knows how to throw a party and proceeds to get every stripper and hooker in New Jersey to attend. This is the before-mentioned playful portion on the show. While it was certainly fun to watch Wilson and House try to remember all the strippers from Wilson’s bachelor party, mostly the playful side felt hollow. Maybe its just me, but I kept wanting to see Kutner with a dumb expression of excitement while getting out lap dances.

In typical fashion the patient’s illness is obtuse and masked by a billion other options. The one different aspect of the patient is his deafness and his desire to remain so. Having never been able to hear, the young man clings to the proud identity he has created. House finds this decision to remain handicapped insane and decides (with the assistance of the ghostly CTB) to install a implant allowing the boy to hear without his parent’s permission.The plan seems to backfire when the patient tears them out. Ouch. In the end, after hearing his mother speak his name for the first time, he decides to keep his implants, but not before he is near death twice and misdiagnosed five or six times. Again, pretty standard.

The real star of the episode was CTB. Prowling around House, telling him he’s crazy and watching House try to rationalize her away all made for some fun TV. Good news as well, she’ll be back next week. House’s plan to stay up for several days to attempt to exhaust the hallucination away turned up empty, and thus she’ll be back next week. Still, I couldn’t help but miss Kutner during the bachelor party scenes.

(S02E22) “Chuck vs. the Ring”

As far as season finale’s go, I’m saddened to admit, Chuck’s was a bit lacking. Not only is this a season finale, it may be a show finale. For a series filled with spies, humor and romance, I expecting it to go out with more of a bang. Not that two weddings, a shoot out and the shows biggest stars coming together is going out with a whisper; far from it.

Perhaps if we had not hit a sadly expected “to be continued” at the end, I’d feel a bit better about it all. Or if the spies who came in to overpower both fulcrum and the government had more of an introduction and explanation. Even Chuck’s new found kung-fu power seemed just a tad too random.

In the end we’re left with a happily married Ellie and Awesome. Orion/Dad is back in the family with a warm welcome. Sara gave up a life of espionage with Bryce in order to stick with Chuck. Even Casey looks like he’ll have his happily ever after, filled with guns, manpower and control. Then there’s Chuck. Forever stuck as the governments pawn. It’s so disheartening. Moreover, it’s so just like every other episode where he almost gets his freedom then “poof” gone a second too soon. Bummer, that’s all I can say.

“Southern Gentleman Prefer Blondes” (S02E22)

Poor Rufus, Gabriel sure does know how to hit a man when he’s down. That’s not the only thing he’s learned. He’s also king of the scam, too bad he doesn’t speak upper-east side lingo. A little slip up with Georgina’s hair color as well as a club’s off night could cost him his stolen fortunes.

Never fear though tweens, the sly Chuck and cunning Blair are on the lookout for their next big scandal. Happier to make a boyfriend than keep a girlfriend Blair is putting everything on the line to catch Serena’s thieving boyfriend in the act. Too bad Nate’s not so into the Harriet the Spy act. I bet Georgina could give it a real go though.

For Vanessa and Dan the only thing left to do is gulp away one’s sorrows. Who needs Yale when you have classic drinking games to keep you company? Once Jenny finds out Dad’s been taken for every last dime, she may even take a seat at the bar. After all, this is Gossip Girl. Everyone drinks, sleeps around and cheats to get what they want.