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From parody to reality : A 20 year retrospective
8 months ago
General
DragonStuff.exe has begun.
I've started rewatching House, the 2004-launched show starring Hugh Laurie, recently. It's a great time, hard recommend if you haven't yet.
Just be aware that if you haven't seen it yet, the show loves to....well, show you things that may be incompatible with eating.
That having been said, it's been a wild ride rewatching the show a good few years after the last time I'd done it.
There will be mild spoilers for a few Season 1 episodes mentioned.
For those who haven't seen it, some context. House is an incredibly unique doctor who is widely knowledgeable and has strongly correct hunches, but sucks at personal relationships and a lot of the niceties involved. He also has tenure at the hospital in the show and can't be removed, except by unanimous board meeting votes.
The reason for this journal is the character of an awful "foil" to House in Season 1 - Edward Vogler.
Vogler is a rich asshole who in episode 14, aptly titled "Control", leaving at the conclusion of episode 18.
It feels longer. Much longer.
He gets on the board by making the in-show hospital a $100M "Donation".
Initially "just" a basic, gross businessman who wants to run the place "more like a business" by eliminating waste (Reducing patient care). He immediately chafes with house over minor things that then turn into these massive, ego-driven offenses. For instance, he seems to take it very personally when House refuses to wear the generic doctor lab coat.
The justificiation the audience is given is that everyone must be a team player, and House just does his own thing, unaccountable to anyone. While not without merit, this ignores the end results entirely to come to this pre-baked conclusion.
Well, ultimately, the asshole's arc concludes on episode 18 by ordering a board meeting to try and vote House out, while making clear it's either "him or me" (As in, his $100M)
His best friend, James Wilson, votes no, so it can't go through. So he asks Wilson to leave the room because he'd be in conflict - and is told because the next vote is to remove James Wilson.
Outraged, Wilson quits. The next day, he tries the vote again, and now it fails because the administrator of the hospital votes no - and of course the bastard tries to just immediately vote HER off.
Similarly outraged, she makes a brief plea to not let Vogler's money own them, and so they vote against his interests, and he takes his big green ball of money and fucks off home.
An irritating, generally irredeemable character who interferes with House's treatment of patience, risking their lives. He's also had a few episodes focused around making House fire one of his 3 specialists under the excuse of wanting less expenses for the hospital (That he just poured $100M into, mind you, so there would have not been a financial risk for quite a while). House can't pick, until one of them displays certain signs of assholism. House ends an episode saying he will fire that one - only for Vogler to say "No, pick someone else". Said target for firing was feeding Vogler information, for his protection from being fired. Said doctor also DID NOT NEED to retain his job [in-universe reasons], versus the other 2.
Finally, Vogler semi-forced House to take a politian's case and to give a "ten minute" speech about a product. Made by his company. That's the same company as last time, but minimally changed so a new patent could be created for it and the price jacked up. It was fleecing, at best (Although the show repeatedly notes that the product works, at least). Vogler says by taking the senator's case and doing this speech, House would be allowed to keep all 3 of his members (So...cutbacks WEREN'T needed? Shocking!). Not even a minute into the speech, House rightfully fucks it off and when Vogler tries to force him to keep going, he humiliates the bastard.
Now, what was point of the journal?
This episode is 20~ years old. Ed Vogler's character is a cartoon caricature of a villain. Selfish, greedy, obstructive, more a joke than a story. This is what they thought "Rich people" were like 20 years ago, and today I'm turning back towards our unfortunate reality to say - yes, yes they are. But brazenly. Publicly. Uncaring of talent, uncaring of how things were. They will change things to be good and comfy for them - everything and everyone be fucked. No matter how good and unique you are, you are replaceable, of dubious value (if any!) to them.
Maybe in my old age I've got a compromised memory, but I don't remember rich twats being that out and about with their rule-bending, rule-breaking, their casual everyday abuses. That's what made him a cartoon character at the time, it was all so needlessly personal and stupid, so overreaching. It wasn't super conceivable at the time that this was a real, actual person. Luckily, the storyline sucked and viewership dropped, so they wrote him out swiftly.
If only we can get rid of rich assholes like that.
Just strange how much worse perception and reality has come to intermingle in 20 years with what was a far-fetched fantasy.
Fascinated, but largely hate it lol.
House though, well worth a watch. It's on Netflix!
Just be aware that if you haven't seen it yet, the show loves to....well, show you things that may be incompatible with eating.
That having been said, it's been a wild ride rewatching the show a good few years after the last time I'd done it.
There will be mild spoilers for a few Season 1 episodes mentioned.
For those who haven't seen it, some context. House is an incredibly unique doctor who is widely knowledgeable and has strongly correct hunches, but sucks at personal relationships and a lot of the niceties involved. He also has tenure at the hospital in the show and can't be removed, except by unanimous board meeting votes.
The reason for this journal is the character of an awful "foil" to House in Season 1 - Edward Vogler.
Vogler is a rich asshole who in episode 14, aptly titled "Control", leaving at the conclusion of episode 18.
It feels longer. Much longer.
He gets on the board by making the in-show hospital a $100M "Donation".
Initially "just" a basic, gross businessman who wants to run the place "more like a business" by eliminating waste (Reducing patient care). He immediately chafes with house over minor things that then turn into these massive, ego-driven offenses. For instance, he seems to take it very personally when House refuses to wear the generic doctor lab coat.
The justificiation the audience is given is that everyone must be a team player, and House just does his own thing, unaccountable to anyone. While not without merit, this ignores the end results entirely to come to this pre-baked conclusion.
Well, ultimately, the asshole's arc concludes on episode 18 by ordering a board meeting to try and vote House out, while making clear it's either "him or me" (As in, his $100M)
His best friend, James Wilson, votes no, so it can't go through. So he asks Wilson to leave the room because he'd be in conflict - and is told because the next vote is to remove James Wilson.
Outraged, Wilson quits. The next day, he tries the vote again, and now it fails because the administrator of the hospital votes no - and of course the bastard tries to just immediately vote HER off.
Similarly outraged, she makes a brief plea to not let Vogler's money own them, and so they vote against his interests, and he takes his big green ball of money and fucks off home.
An irritating, generally irredeemable character who interferes with House's treatment of patience, risking their lives. He's also had a few episodes focused around making House fire one of his 3 specialists under the excuse of wanting less expenses for the hospital (That he just poured $100M into, mind you, so there would have not been a financial risk for quite a while). House can't pick, until one of them displays certain signs of assholism. House ends an episode saying he will fire that one - only for Vogler to say "No, pick someone else". Said target for firing was feeding Vogler information, for his protection from being fired. Said doctor also DID NOT NEED to retain his job [in-universe reasons], versus the other 2.
Finally, Vogler semi-forced House to take a politian's case and to give a "ten minute" speech about a product. Made by his company. That's the same company as last time, but minimally changed so a new patent could be created for it and the price jacked up. It was fleecing, at best (Although the show repeatedly notes that the product works, at least). Vogler says by taking the senator's case and doing this speech, House would be allowed to keep all 3 of his members (So...cutbacks WEREN'T needed? Shocking!). Not even a minute into the speech, House rightfully fucks it off and when Vogler tries to force him to keep going, he humiliates the bastard.
Now, what was point of the journal?
This episode is 20~ years old. Ed Vogler's character is a cartoon caricature of a villain. Selfish, greedy, obstructive, more a joke than a story. This is what they thought "Rich people" were like 20 years ago, and today I'm turning back towards our unfortunate reality to say - yes, yes they are. But brazenly. Publicly. Uncaring of talent, uncaring of how things were. They will change things to be good and comfy for them - everything and everyone be fucked. No matter how good and unique you are, you are replaceable, of dubious value (if any!) to them.
Maybe in my old age I've got a compromised memory, but I don't remember rich twats being that out and about with their rule-bending, rule-breaking, their casual everyday abuses. That's what made him a cartoon character at the time, it was all so needlessly personal and stupid, so overreaching. It wasn't super conceivable at the time that this was a real, actual person. Luckily, the storyline sucked and viewership dropped, so they wrote him out swiftly.
If only we can get rid of rich assholes like that.
Just strange how much worse perception and reality has come to intermingle in 20 years with what was a far-fetched fantasy.
Fascinated, but largely hate it lol.
House though, well worth a watch. It's on Netflix!
Woo!