I miss House

Notice the title I said I miss House, not home ;) and the house has a capital h. I miss the show House M.D. The show was recommended by a Furobiker. After a few shows  failed to grab my attention and interest, I decided to give it a go. I am into medicine soaps.  I loved Scrubs. The novel Doctors by Eric Segal is one of my favourites. It was eye opening. But I did not want to be drawn into and random E.R kinda stuff. E.R is hugely popular, but it is not my type ;) 

I watched the first episode,and it was witty, funny, well acted, gripping and intelligent. Yes the most important aspect - it was intelligent. I  like medical detail. With Papa being a microbiologist, and having taken botany and zoology  after 10th, I am au fait with some of the facts. When I visit doctors I try to follow their rationale. So this was totally my kind of show. As the seasons progressed I started googling diseases like sarcoidosis, lupus, auto immune, Huntington 's disease, encephalopathy. It was quite interesting to find more details. 

Each episode is a case where a medical mystery is solved. But there were many human aspects and idiosyncrasies that were revealed. The best parts were House's personality traits. He was a genius physician. He was also conversant in multiple languages. He was a self obsessed, arrogant, drug addiction who regularly resorted to prostitutes. He manipulative to the core. He did not possess the characteristics that I would like in reality. But Hugh Laurie's portrayal of an anti social, narcissistic, egotist was endearing. In fact he came across as a very intelligent man -child . The ultimate anti hero :D I would say he joins in the league of Howard Roark and Atticus Finch in protagonists I have a crush on ( though Roark and Finch are not anti heros) 

As the episodes progressed, the subtle ties that bonded and gagged the team (House's colleagues / subordinates) were revealed. As were some of the emotional aspects of House. They were very well etched and made interesting viewing. A very good element of human quirks were added by the patients in the clinic. The celebration of friendship of House and oncologist Wilson was the icing on the cake for me. It was the typical 'House' relationship, filled with one-upmanship, deception, manipulation and sabotage. But it was a true relationship. It was a lasting relationship. It was a relationship that could stand the test of each character's limitations. The season finales were very intriguing and a fitting end to each season. Somehow in that respect I was a bit let down by the series finale. 

On the whole House has been a splendid watch. Joining the ranks of Homeland and Breaking Bad. 

Homeland

Exactly a year ago I waxed eloquent about Breaking Bad. This year I have a new hot favourite. Homeland!

 I had seen adverts of it in a channel. But not being one into series, I gave it a miss. While browsing netflix one day, I remarked 'why not homeland?' Yes why not indeed? We watched the first episode! IT WAS MIND BLOWING! We felt as if we had gotten the best television had to offer. We binge watched it - 2 episodes per day after the kid went to sleep. 2 hours of our life diligently devoted to Homeland. If we were this diligent in exercising we would be small time models :) The day Chiyaa would delay her bed time we would count the passage of each agonising minute as an excruciating moment away from our favourite series.

The usp of the program was it was utterly gripping. Every single episode had you on the seats edge. Not a moment to call boring. Each and every actor was  phenomenal!  Claire Danes who plays  the tenacious CIA agent, Damien Lewis who is the returned marine after years of captivity and Mandy  Patinkin - the grounded but equally dogged CIA operative are all stellar in their performances. But the peripheral characters played by Morena Baccarin who plays the wife juggling a traumatised husband and being  mother to  a turbulent teenager, Rupert Friend - the one who takes care of bad guys (and Oh! what cheekbones he has!) and David Harewood as the CIA head honcho are equally well drawn and enacted  characters. As a viewer I feel a connection with everyone. I feel happy for the good guys, angry at the bad ones . I get excited when someone is on the brink of a breakthrough and frustrated if some move gets jeopardised. Every episode is a spellbinding experience . 

We are eagerly awaiting the next season to come in netflix. Till then we are passing our time watching House of Cards. But honestly that series is nothing to write home about. It is an utterly meaningless pursuit. It is a worthless program as bad as tea without milk and sugar! I have no idea how can it be so popular. But till the good people bring the next season, we just wait and miss and miss homeland and sigh every time we think of the brilliant episodes.

(B)reaking Bad

I wanted to write about this epic television series. This series has converted me. I never watch  soaps. I remember some Hindi serials like Junoon and Swabhimaan being aired. I  followed them for some time, since those used to be the programs when we came back from school and had our food. I was glued to them for some time. Till I lost  all interest. I used to follow Byomkesh Bakshi which was   a crime series. It was one of the best made in my opinion. Somehow could never digest any of the Ekta Kapoor genre. My mom and granny are avid followers of some programs like Balika Vadhu, Mahadev and recently Mahabharat :) For me its all white noise.

 

I was never much into sitcoms either. In college most of the populace raved about F.R.I.E.N.D.S; I used to find it utterly mundane. Only during my maternity leave, for the lack of anything else in the 1400-1500 slot, I watched all the episodes. Post marriage, thanks to K, I started following Scrubs, Fresh Prince of Bel Air, My wife and Kids, Seinfield, Everybody loves Raymond and a few more. Some of the recent ones we watch together are HIMYM, Don’t trust the B in apartment 23, 2 Broke Girls, Happy Endings, New Girl, Rules of Engagement, Episodes and of course BBT. There are some British comedies which are funny like Bad Education and Pram Face. I watch them, more as something that is running on the television. I am not too serious and would not mind missing an episode. Though there are lots of chances to catch up on any missed episode, I have rarely brought myself to view them.

 

There was a lot of hullabaloo about Breaking Bad. Since I am not into serials I did not give it much regard. One fine Sunday afternoon, to utilise the unlimited broadband, K downloaded Season1. That very fine Sunday afternoon, for the lack of anything better to do, we watched E1 S1. It was all right. I could not ascertain why was it so popular. Since we had a free download, we decided to watch the next episode. There was some time, we had no plans. We watched one more episode. Till we sucked into the vortex. It was very easy to dismiss the first episode. It was just as easy to get glued onto the third and subsequent.

 

The first thing that impressed me was the acting. The lead characters of Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul are phenomenal actors. I have an  itsy bitsy crush on Bryan Cranston. ;) The actors have emoted the characters with  dexterity. Bryan Cranston who plays the moppy but highly intellectual under achieving chemistry teacher is very playful and vibrant in real life. Aaron Paul's portrayal of a 'Yo' kid is phenomenal. He injects the humour element without being a caricature. He makes over the top stupidity feel valid. Anna Gunn who plays the uptight wife evokes the rage and empathy of the viewers in equal measure. On one hand she is this idealistic wife who does not see practical aspects which strikes as ridiculous, but on the other the extent to which she believes in some virtues strikes as commendable. The lead characters are very well supported by a cast who are on par in acting.

 

The second box that the series ticks is the wonderful writing. I like the way the story is woven. As the viewer is taken through the journey, it all ties together. A big role is played by chance. I am a bit of a fatalist, who believes in fate and destiny. If some things are destined to happen they will. In the story there are many instances I have exclaimed 'What are the  odds!?". Does that not happen oh so often?  History is speckled with instances where chance played a major role and changed the entire course of events. Any epochal event has a chance incident as its instigating factor. Similarly providence plays a major role throughout the script. Else it could have well got over in season 1. I like the way known factors are matched with unknown which are then altered due to the actions and personalities of the characters in question.

 

The third element is the element of suspense. It is no whodunit, the story revolves around happenings of people wanting to make a life of crime. They land in pretty precarious situations. The point till they extricate themselves can take one's breath away. There are so many such instances and each one is fantastically executed. Much praise is due to the actors who make the scenes so real and life like and make the viewer a part of it.

 

Well, I have been recommending Breaking Bad to everyone and his dog. As is custom, I have been late in jumping this bandwagon, but now I wear my love for this fabulous program on my sleeve!