Apparently the writing team forgot there was a new episode of House this week.

As a result, they had to scramble and come up with "Two Stories" as quickly as possible, throwing in a contrived gimmick (House speaks at Career Day!) to try and spice up a story with no build-up and no real suspense.

How much was this installment lacking in substance? On multiple occasions, time was wasted via scenes that didn't actually take place, just so the show could toss in a few movie quotes. Or, to be more precise, just so it could kill time in the face of nothing actually happening.

Like many viewers, I've wanted House to change up its format for weeks now, but this was simply a poorly constructed hour of television.

The Patient of the Week was an absolute waste (did anyone care about his outcome?), the time-jumping felt like a storytelling crutch and the fight between Cuddy and House could have been interesting if given many episodes to develop (there actually is something to House caring more about being right than he does about... actual caring) - but, instead, was just thrown together out of nowhere.

Seriously, did anyone take Cuddy seriously when she said she couldn't "deal" with House anymore? Did anyone think the couple would actually break up in such a sudden manner?

The series does have an actual problem on its hands with Huddy. On the series premiere, Cuddy told House that she wanted him to just be himself. Ever since, though, in an attempt to create tension between the pair, the show has had the couple argue over issues that pertain to exactly this.

House lied at work? House is self-centered? Have you met your boyfriend, Cuddy?!? I thought the entire point behind this relationship was that Cuddy loved House despite all these traits; she knew him well enough to understand the man behind the sarcasm and rude exterior. Yet she continually calls him out for acting like himself, meaning one of two things: the couple should split. Or the show should leave them alone and not force major arguments such as the one we got here.

I hate to write such a negative review, but this episode really did bother me that much. It legitimately felt like the writers cobbled it together the day prior to airing, hoping a Pulp Fiction reference and a couple cute kids would distract viewers from picking up on how little was actually behind those gimmicks.

What did everyone else think?

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.