Housewarming

House began its third season last night. As per usual, I refer you to the excellent Polite Dissent for a discussion of the medicine in the show. In this episode, Dr. House returns from an extended hiatus after being shot in the second season finale and having undergone a treatment that eliminated the pain in his leg. House seems to be a changed man. He is willing to interact with his patients and their families. He asks Dr. Cameron out on a date. He seems happier and more engaged. However, he gradually slides into old, familiar patterns of behavior and, by the end of the episode, he engages in some behavior that signals a reversion back to type.

In my opinion, the most interesting development was not in House's character but in his supporting cast. Everyone, from Dr. Cuddy to Dr. Cameron, resists the notion that House can change. They even seem to resent it. I applaud the writers for taking this approach, which runs counter to the expected reaction to House's change for the better. An argument can be made that this resentment, and the ways it manifests throughout the episode, contributed to House's return to form. It makes for better drama and I look forward to seeing how this plays out over the season.

In other news, The Areas of My Expertise is now out in paperback. If you have not experienced this book, written by the fellow who plays the PC in the "Mac and PC" commercials as well as acts as an expert commentator on The Daily Show, then you owe yourself the pleasure. You will laugh your ass off. Guaranteed.

And try Pandora. This is a streaming audio site that generates a playlist for you based upon an artist or song that you like. Pandora has a database of over 500,000 songs, categorized by specific characteristics (e.g., big band arrangements, subtle use of vocal harmonies, etc.). Once you enter the name of an artist or song, the service identifies your entry's characteristics and pulls music from its database that share those characteristics. You can tweak the results by voting a selection up or down. Those songs you vote against are never played in your playlist again. You must subscribe to take full advantage of the service, but you can do this for free. Highly recommended!