House rules

It could have been worse.
I fully expected the finale of House to include a musical dittie starring all the team members, living and dead, narrated by Neil Patrick Harris. It seemed to be going there.
Thankfully, David Shore resisted the temptation and pulled it out in the end.
Still.
I found the ending to be ponderous, self-serving, a cheesy riff on what hell must look like for a guy who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Bringing back the old cast members wasn't a bad idea except for the notable absence of the most pivotal of players -- Lisa Edelstein. If Wilson was House's conscience, then Cuddy was House's foil for all years but this one. Cuddy would have done a terrific job hectoring House about his failings, but that, unfortunately, was left to Cameron who couldn't quite get it done through her starry-eyed worship of the man.
The finale reminded me a bit of the so-disappointing ending of Six Feet Under, and it's no wonder. Fox has been running a teaser all week that involved a bus, similar to the one Nate Fisher boarded at his demise. It also featured a nod to Titanic with everyone wishing a seemingly dead House well.
It didn't end that way, of course. In spite of the episode title, We All Die, nobody did. House rode off  into the sunset with his little sidekick, Wilson, to spend the oncologist's last five years whoring and drinking, practical joke cracking and bickering.
As endings go, it wasn't bad.
No teary goodbyes, just love.
For House, for Hugh Laurie and the gang.
Bon voyage, Sherlock and Watson. We won't see the likes of you again any time soon.
It's a sad day for prime time devotees everywhere.