House: Private Lives

Is society ready to seriously analyze the implications of personal blogging on the way human relationships develop? The writers of House seem to think so, or at least they were willing to use it as a prominent plot device in this week's episode. The patient of the week is a freelance photographer and world-famous blogger named Frankie (played by That 70's Show regular Laura Prepon). She starts out with spontaneous bruises and bleeding gums in the cold open, but soon starts to take on a variety of other symptoms once she gets to Princeton-Plainsboro. None of those symptoms are particularly graphic or all that interesting, if only because the episode is more concerned with how her constant connection to the Internet is affecting her life. The problem is that it was hard to tell whether the episode was trying to comment on the impact of social media or if it was just using it as a modern plot point for an old examination of the difference between life and writing.

For most of "Private Lives" it seems that the show is coming down on the "wary of new technology" side of things, but the revelation about the book House is secretly reading calls that into question. After a thoroughly amusing first half, the episode dives hard into blunt questions about how well we really know the people in our lives versus the appearances we let influence our perceptions. A lot of it played as more heavy-handed than it should have been and the whole thing ended up sounding like barroom philosophy. But hey, if you're watching House in 2010 for astute analyses of human behavior, you're about four years too late.

The better part of "Private Lives" was in its refreshingly goofy first act. It opens with Wilson questioning House about his prolific porno habit and segues nicely into a surprisingly well-played speed dating scene. Things like speed dating are about an inch away from being full-blown anachronisms and they've been played out so many times on TV and in movies that they overflow with cliche. When Wilson first mentioned speed dating the episode was on thin ice, but there were enough genuinely funny gags and character-driven moments that it actually worked.

Since it was easily the best scene in the episode, let's break down the speed dating segment. Wilson not only invites House along, he also drags the recently single Chase into the outing, creating the most hilariously mismatched team of bachelors possible. Laying down a hundred dollar bet with House that women are only interested in Chase's good looks, Chase spends the entire night pretending to be a crass, stupid American, proving once again that Jesse Spencer is the unsung comedy relief on this series. Wilson, in the meantime, finds himself at the mercy of his profession, dragging every woman he meets into a date-killing discussion about cancer. House gets all the oddballs, of course, and even puts his keen eye to use when a dishonest woman tries to pass herself off as his perfect match. The scene wasn't vital to the plot, but in a thoroughly episodic show like House, a purely entertaining bit is as good as compelling drama.

Concerning that drama, it didn't have a lot of interesting dips this time around. These days, when House needs a patient to have a moment of hopelessness, it gives him or her a fake cancer diagnosis. Also as usual, that was followed by an ironic real diagnosis that forced Frankie to face the holes in her personal philosophy. Eh, kind of a yawn. Well-acted, but still a yawn. And as for House's book-writing minister of a biological father, it made for an interesting mystery with a total dead end.

Best Moment: The speed dating scene. Funny, inconsequential, but still a nice nod to long-time viewers who have gotten to know these characters.

Notes: Aside from my usual moaning about the lack of Taub, I've come to realize that this show makes 13 whatever it needs her to be in the episode, regardless of whether or not it makes for a consistent character. This week, she was a font of sensible relationship advice. Ya know, because people who have romantic entanglements with coworkers and have a history of drug-fueled flings are awesome at love chat.

Episode Rating: 3.5/5- At this point in the series, House is merely serviceable entertainment. It's beyond providing insight or avoiding plot holes. We are most certainly looking at the late-period fizzle of an otherwise decent show.