Spring Break
The untimely deaths of our beloved TV characters
Paresh Jha
Issue date: 4/14/09 Section: Focus
Spoilers ahead ladies, and gentlemen; consider yourselves warned. If you have not already heard, Actor Kal Penn has accepted a job as an associate director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. His commitment to Obama's campaign and current agenda has sent him toward the career path of public service. (He has been quoted as saying that he is not through with acting just yet, though.) So naturally, this new public service gig forced him out of his current gig on the medical mystery drama "House." So what did the producers and writers of the show decide to do to Penn's extremely likeable character of Dr. Lawrence Kutner? Well, they had him commit suicide, of course. This resulted in a very well constructed episode of "House" that explored the ramifications of such an unexpected tragedy.
"House" has always been a great show that accurately displays the consequences of death. But this was the first time that a death this close to home has really happened on this program. Everyone in the hospital was affected, from Cuddy to Chase to, most notably, House. The death of Kutner was used rather brilliantly as a tool to explore House's fear of losing his edge and not realizing that Kutner was suicidal in any way, shape or form. The show will undoubtedly explore the lasting effects of Kutner's departure in the many episodes to come.
In any case, it seems like Kutner's death has caused a rather divisive reaction by the fans of the show. Penn's character was a fan-favorite goofball and some viewers are having trouble dealing with the producer's decision. It got me thinking about other television deaths that caused quite a stir amongst the program's own fandom. Being a rather casual "House" viewer myself, I honestly believe that this was the best way to remove Penn's character. It creates conflict and continues to examine the characteristics of the title character, Dr. Gregory House.
Recently on the show "One Tree Hill," the new but rather popular character of Quentin, a loud-mouthed bad boy-turned-good guy basketball player, was killed off rather suddenly as well. One quick look on the message boards would reveal the fan's fury. But what they do not realize is that such tragedies are meant to move the show forward and explore different facets of human nature. The episodes following Quentin's death revealed some pretty heartbreaking moments of a child dealing with death at such a young age. It was tough to watch, but then again, so is real tragedy.
"House" has always been a great show that accurately displays the consequences of death. But this was the first time that a death this close to home has really happened on this program. Everyone in the hospital was affected, from Cuddy to Chase to, most notably, House. The death of Kutner was used rather brilliantly as a tool to explore House's fear of losing his edge and not realizing that Kutner was suicidal in any way, shape or form. The show will undoubtedly explore the lasting effects of Kutner's departure in the many episodes to come.
In any case, it seems like Kutner's death has caused a rather divisive reaction by the fans of the show. Penn's character was a fan-favorite goofball and some viewers are having trouble dealing with the producer's decision. It got me thinking about other television deaths that caused quite a stir amongst the program's own fandom. Being a rather casual "House" viewer myself, I honestly believe that this was the best way to remove Penn's character. It creates conflict and continues to examine the characteristics of the title character, Dr. Gregory House.
Recently on the show "One Tree Hill," the new but rather popular character of Quentin, a loud-mouthed bad boy-turned-good guy basketball player, was killed off rather suddenly as well. One quick look on the message boards would reveal the fan's fury. But what they do not realize is that such tragedies are meant to move the show forward and explore different facets of human nature. The episodes following Quentin's death revealed some pretty heartbreaking moments of a child dealing with death at such a young age. It was tough to watch, but then again, so is real tragedy.
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