By the time most TV shows reach their sixth season, the quality of their episodes become nothing compared to what the earlier seasons’ episodes were. The most obvious example, at least for me, is “Alias,” which really went downhill after season three. Some might have thought that “House,” entering its 6th season, would suffer a similar fate.

Thankfully, David Shore and Katie Jacobs (the showrunners) seem to know what they’re doing. The season six premiere, “Broken,” didn’t follow the normal House format. There was no patient of the week, nor were there appearances by the supporting cast. This was an episode about Greg (or as my sister called it, “The Greg Show”). As we last left House, Cuddy and Wilson were leaving him off at a mental institution. One of my criticisms was why not rehab? House’s hallucinations of Amber were Vicodin-induced, not a mental illness. But as the head of the psych ward, Dr. Nolan, clues us in, House chose to come there over rehab, which meant House believed his visions of Amber went beyond the drug abuse. It also made for a unique story, unlike the rehab one, which had been covered several times during the course of the program.

I was glad the writers decided to focus on House in the psych ward; it would have been easy for them to jump ahead and simply refer back to the incident. I’m even happier that the focus shifted towards House’s many psychological problems. But does this mean that “House” will be the same show, just with a less obnoxious House? Several episodes into the season and it appears as though House still has his bite. But Hugh Laurie is masterful in portraying the subtle differences in character. He’s still abrasive, but just slightly less so; some might even see a twinge of understanding.

A more subdued House has allowed for other characters to really shine with their own shorelines, (mainly Chase and Cameron’s relationship issues). I’m eager to see how that plot line progresses, if only so I can see more of Jennifer Morrison’s and Jesse Spencer’s pretty faces.