I had a problem with this episode for various reasons.  First, as previously mentioned, there was no sign at all that Kutner was suicidal.  Yeah, I know in real life most people who commit suicide exhibit no signs either, but this is a tv show and they should have at least given the viewers some clues.

Second, Kutner is the smartest guy on the current team when it comes to diagnosing stuff.  He notices things that the other three doctors miss, in that regard he is like House Jr.  With him gone, I'm not sure who takes that role in the show.  Taub is an OK doctor.  I find Thirteen extremely annoying and somewhat incompetent.  Foreman is probably the biggest disappointment of all since he has been with House the longest, yet during the last year he has  become an extremely incompetent doctor, capped off by this season's "I switched Thirteen's meds during a test trial" that nearly caused her to die.  I guess they can always use Cameron or Chase as House has confided in them during this season.

Third, the writers rarely wrote storylines about Kutner and yet he gets to die in this fashion?  Seriously, if they had written even one decent storyline about him I would be less irked about this episode.  This year a whole bunch of episodes devoted to a mediocre actress (Olivia Wilde) and her struggles with lesbianism, Huntingtons disease and dating a fellow doctor.  What about the other characters?

Fourth, this was just a downer of an episode.  I know the topic was dark and grim.  But they extremely subdued and like they were walking in quicksand or something.   They also wasted a guest star appearance by Meat Loaf as the patient of the week.  Is it just me or does House seem a bit more distant this year?

That's what is frustrating to me bigbri, the last few interviews have made it perfectly clear that Axl loathes Slash and does not want to work with him in the near future.  However, the reason for this animosity remains unclear to me.  When he speaks of Slash and what happened to their relationship, it has always been in vague terms leaving the reader to guess at the ultimate reason for the  breakup.  In the Billboard interview, he mentioned this:

Give me a fucking break. What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man.

There are acts that, once committed between individuals, they are what they are. To add insult to injury almost day after day, lapsing into year after year, for more than a decade, is a nightmare. Anyone putting his own personal entertainment above everything else is sickening.

Can anyone actually guess the source of his rancor because I can't?  What decisions/acts is he talking about?  The fact that he made the Snakepit album after Axl rejected most of the material?  As a fan I have come to terms with the idea that it will be a long time before these guys reunite.  If Axl is going to continue to bash Slash in every interview he gives, it would be nice to know the specific reasons for his hate.

Back in Black

What was the basis for the last statement?  Do you know him personally or did he do something bad to annoy him?  I am just curious as to why you feel the way about the man.  I think you said that you're a friend of Del James'.  Did he tell you some stories that would cause you to think of Slash as a jerk?