House finale

"House" held its belated season finale last night and... meh.

It was actually a pretty good episode -- a Cuban husband and wife braving a storm to escape their Communist isle for the warm shores of America, just so they could get abused by Dr. House.

The finale of the finale, though, was bleh. All three junior doctors quitting (or I suppose Chase was fired as part of House's machinations to keep Foreman), felt forced and wasn't that interesting. I'm pretty sure all three are signed on for next season, so this is just going to be a plot wrinkle, not a real change to the structure of the show.

Like all procedurals, "House" has a heck of a time giving its characters any kind of growth or personal arc while sticking to the formula that made the show a hit. They keep teasing us with "Oh, House is really going to change this time," but then have to revert to form. Given how star-driven the show is (unlike, say, "Law & Order" and the like), it's an extra obstacle for the writers to overcome (well, they don't actually overcome, but they pretend they're trying).

Even so, it's weird Fox waited until after sweeps were over for the "House" finale -- it's the network's second-highest rated show, after "Idol." Were they really so intent on giving "On the Lot" (which blows) a big launch that they couldn't squeeze "House" in for sweeps? Silly.