House- "Big Baby"

Last night CBS decided to do me a favor and show repeats of both Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, so I got to watch House without worrying about my opportunity cost. (Of course, they could do me an even bigger favor by putting The Big Bang Theory episodes on-line, but you can't have it all, can you?)

Last night's episode dealt with a familiar theme. The patient of the week was an impossibly good person, which causes House to believe that their goodness is in fact, pathological and possibly symptomatic. (See Abby, the kid with cancer who kissed Chase, or the TB doctor, played by Office Space's Ron Livingston.) This one was a special education teacher, who never seemed to get upset or lose patience with her students. Like the other times, this episode tried to play it both ways, House gets the case right, but the person wrong. Even though the teacher's disorder kept her from feeling stress, she still appeared patient and kind with an autistic child at the episode's end.

The main thrust of the episode was once more focused on character development, which is a nice sign, as they still need to interweave the new team more seamlessly. Dr. Kutner showed a bit of spine, which was good, though Dr. Taub was almost absent. (Tellingly, he wasn't exactly missed) I was upset that Cameron's increased presence is apparently a one-shot deal, though I can see where the writers would have had a hard time believably sustaining that scenario.

Cameron's self-demotion means Cuddy, who had struggled successfully to form a bond with her newly adopted baby, must go back to work. I'm interested to see if they'll play with the idea that if it weren't for House, Cuddy could in fact spend more time at home. Wilson also seems to be inserting himself into Cuddy's life, in what seems like an obvious set-up for a relationship. (House has often harangued about Wilson's need to be a savior)

Then of course, there's the big development between Thirteen and Foreman. Foreman, with a possible push from House, switched Thirteen from the placebo to the experimental drug. This sets up next week's episode, in which Thirteen is apparently going to be made sick by the drug, which, even though I could see it coming a mile away, sounds like an awesome episode.

So, this wasn't a great episode, but it serves as a nice set-up for some interesting developments down the line. Even if none of them involve Dr. Taub.