The premiere is a breath of fresh air.
From the opening credits, any long time House viewer could tell the episode would be different.
There was no psych out "we're tying to fool you" patient in jeopardy.
There was no Massive Attack intro theme.
None of the the cast names were the normal recognizable ones, aside from Hugh, Franka Potente and Andre Braugher, I didn't recognize any other names.
After this premiere, I believe the show will return to it's tried and true formulaic approach, an approach some viewers grow tired of with the repetition etc.
The title of the episode was "Broken" and House was indeed broken. They decided to break away from their normal routine, so I have no qualms with the way they shot the premiere nor with the exclusion of the regular cast members.