A "Fugitive" From Justice Episode 8x01 Pt I

Intro


I've yearned for one of two scenarios to begin House Season 8 with.

One involves a House "on the run" from the police after having smashed his car into Cuddy's dining room.

The other involves an old scenario which many of us toyed around with last season and did not see come to fruition- that of a House who is either in a "coma/hallucinating/amnesia" or undergoing surgery. There are many who do not want to see the second scenario played out for a variety of reasons, not the least is that they see it as a total "cop out" and so I will focus on the first of these scenarios.

The departure of Lisa Edelstein from the show coupled with what many believe to be House's final season, makes us anxious for  "compelling" and exceptional TV- something which this show used to be expert at delivering.

 If you're a writer of a TV drama series with recurring characters, you have a problem: You need a new story every week, and they cannot all be just about your regular cast. So most TV series formats, particularly for drama, involve some way of bringing a new set of guest stars into your leads' lives for every episode. There are just two ways to do this: Either your leads work as cops, lawyers, doctors, or some other profession that naturally brings lots of other people to them for short periods of time; or else your leads do something that has them travelling around a lot, meeting new people and situations wherever they go. A House-fugitivie from justice could cover BOTH of these formats.

The Fugitive

"The Fugitive" explored the modern human condition, touching on all the foibles (greed, lust, pride, envy, fear, hatred) of humankind as well as exploring topical issues of the time: racisim, migrant workers, suburbanization, human rights, justice vs. the law, etc). There are parallels here past the fact that both main characters are doctors. Kimble was "a modern-day Knight or Samurai minus the sword."

A Two Part Season Opener

I propose a two part season opener in which we see House a fugitive from the law with more than a tip of the hat to the great TV show  "The Fugitive". This show will be way before most fans' "time" and you may not have even seen the Harrison Ford movie in the 90's (same title) which was a huge box office success 

 I should say that I am not in a rush any longer. The more scenes which REVEAL thoughts/feelings/emotions of Dr. House, the larger the steps taken toward this final journey. No need to rush when we are getting substance. This might also prove useful as Cuddy's departure needs to be addressed and I would not prefer this to receive a quick treatment. In fact, many are anxiously awaiting the writer's "solution" to this huge dilemma of a Cuddy departure. This should be interesting and not rushed.

Spoiler Coming!

Of course, in Dr. House's case (SPOILER alert!) we know that he will eventually end up in prison serving some time, exactly how much-we are not as yet sure. In Dr. House's case, he is not searching for anyone, and did indeed commit a crime for which he is wanted. Imagine if you will, House in some small mid- western town (or any really small town anywhere) where he tries to fit in. Not so easy , right? Dr. Richard Kimble was also  very intelligent but he was a quiet man and could fit in more easily than Dr. Gregory House. In fact, it could be humorous (if the topic wasn't so serious) to try and watch him fit in....anywhere....doing something OTHER THAN medicine. Hey, House is alot of things but dumb? Not on your life.  He has tons of abilities in all kinds of areas and they could showcase them. Of course, he would have to leave the first town he was in after he fixes that broken leg or stitches up the local bully. They would be "on to him".

So what exactly are Dr. House's other abilities? He can play piano, guitar and cook up a storm. Maybe he could be a bartender or a juggler.  I can see House doing all sorts of odd jobs if he shut his mouth. I say this with "all the lobe in the world" and who knows? 
If his life was dependent on doing so..he just might surprise us.

The main reason this would be very interesting is because we might be able to get back to "House basics" by leaving the hospital world for a brief while and focusing on House, the man. We would get to see House away from familiar surroundings and patients and trying his best to mingle with people who don't know= and may not care about who he is. In fact, he would be trying to shield his true identity from them.  This could make for revealing drama and great humor- if written correctly. We all know that Mr. Laurie would excel at playing this type of part. We would see him alone much of the time and those were always the gems amongst the House scenes of old.  We need to see what he's feeling again. We need to try and connect once more with Greg House. We need to know what he is thinking and it is in these "quiet little moments" that the light shines brightly on the inner workings of Dr. House's mind. Most importantly, House needs to connect/re-connect to the world and by dealing with new people and situations, this might prove useful for awhile. After all, he does eventually have to head home and in TV world return to PPTH and be The Head of Diagnostic Medicine once more. Of course, he could run into some interesting people in his travels and maybe even find someone he likes talking to for a bit. You can imagine where this is heading.

It goes without saying that we would see the team in action with whatever patient of the week is admitted to PPTH and seeing how they deal on their own-without House at the helm to guide them. We may also see Wilson scenes showing us his thoughts on House and a departing Cuddy.

One scenario mentioned to me by a fellow Housedetective, is for Pt. I. It would  involve House, who at this point, who is running out of Vicodin. THIS may be the amount of pills he has with him and he has to figure out how to make them last for awhile. I don't know that the writers will go the route of having him showcase his drug seeking behavior once more by visiting clinics and the like- but they were not very successful trips the last time he went down a similar road. Perhaps he once again...phones Wilson.

Of course he could always take what should be an Overdose ("Twenty Vicodin"...and hallucinate some past encounters with Cuddy which would be nice as this would be an easy way for the writers to allow the fans to gain some sort of closure with the character and the relationship.  Whether in Paradise or Iowa, being amongst strange people and places can faciliate nightmares. Why wouldn't he be reflective? We've seen House take too many pills lots of times. This time, he has good reason to so it wouldn't be surprising.

At this point and for what Wilson (or whomever he calls) sees as House's best interest...the police are informed of the phone call. They track him down,arrest him while the shocked townspeople watch in amazement. Could be in black/white for awhile. Just a thought.

This is the end of  Pt I.
I want to see House holding his booking number below his face like this:

Pt II: On The Road Again: House is arrested and taken back to Princeton, New Jersey. This could be the "real" flash back episode and again could include some wonderful Cuddy moments.  Pt I would include the "time warp". Is it backwards of fast forward? I think fast forward would be in Pt. II, showing the time lapse from Cuddy's departure.


Please Note: Time is not a fixed construct in my scenario.

 

 


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