House, How I Love Thee...

Mmmm...there are few scripted shows (alright, alright--"few" is relative here) that are able to keep me interested and, well, positively drooling for more than 3 seasons in real time. These are shows that I experience as they unfold across months and years. Watching DVDs is in no way cheating, but you lose all sense of suspense or drama that is meant to last longer than the 30 seconds in between episode 1 and 2 on the DVD. Damages is a great example of the emotional rollercoaster that tv can be, as are Gilmore Girls, the first decade (yikes) of ER...oh, who am I kidding, the list goes on for awhile. However, somewhere between two and four years ago* I began my relationships with Dr. Gregory House, M.D., and my life hasn't been the same since.

*It's always hard to tell because Fox runs their series through what seem like entire series-long reruns. We're in the 4th season now, but it seems like it's been on at least 3 years.

This show was one of the first (if not "the" first in recent history) to introduce a character so unlikeable that you can't believe you're seeing this on tv and then you can't help but love him. (Arguably, Archie Bunker could be another great example of this approach). House is the Archie Bunker of the 21st century: brazenly politically incorrect, sexist, but even more heinous in that he's a pompous ass who's a borderline drug addict (okay, not borderline). The catch: He's utterly, annoyingly brilliant and always, always right. There's a method to his madness that the surrounding characters have to acknowledge. It's a situation we all put up with in our lives at some point (especially in academia): you recognize that someone has a gift and spend the rest of your life trying to reconcile the fact that you're willing to let them do just about anything they want in the social sphere so you can make room for the gift. It's not right, but we've all done it.

Hugh Laurie, a famous British comic actor, masterfully walks the line that exists in House between seriously flawed human and seriously consistent genius medical diagnostician, often allowing the two to arm wrestle for who's really in charge. It would be so easy to make this character one dimensional and yet he's not. Thanks Hugh. (And I'm routinely impressed by his dead-on American accent; I was floored when I saw him on Inside the Actors' Studio and heard his natural highest-of-high British accent.)

The cast of characters around House really make this show; it's their job to represent and highlight all of the ways in which House is deficient. Lisa Edelstein as Dr. Cuddy is House's boss. I'd like to say she doesn't take any of his crap but she does...repeatedly. And that's her struggle. She's a good doctor in her own right who "sold out" to administration and now realizes that House may be part of her penance. Wilson, portrayed brilliantly by Robert Sean Leonard (who I have l-o-v-e-d ever since Dead Poets Society) is House's only real friend and confidante. He's arguable House's other half--all the good that House lacks in his own person. Wilson's flawed but sane. Cuddy and Wilson are kind of the "peers" of the group, the only two with any real base to stand their ground with him.

Then there are the interns: Jennifer Morrison (a Northwestern grad) plays Alison Cameron--the ethical one. (A funny label for a medical show but she really is the only one who consistently returns to whether or not what they're doing is right and compassionate.) My only beef with this character is that she's the only woman in House's team and she stereotypically becomes the "softy" of the group in terms of the emotional labor. She's routinely talking about "caring" for people, which is fine and good but very gendered to me. She's also had (has) a long-lasting deep-seated love for House. Of course...who else would. Jesse Spencer is Chase, another of House's team who's not as smart as the other two but an ass-kissing, ranks climber. And, my favorite: Omar Epps' Dr. Eric Foreman (hey didn't anybody notice there's another Eric Foreman over at That 70's Show?) He's the up-and-coming House: brilliant, tactless, cranky, pompous. The internal struggle he goes through in realizing he's headed down the path is fascinating to watch.

So, the fouth season is well underway and I'm pumped. In my next House post, I'll have some commentary on my growing annoyance with the beginning of this season and what they need to do to not become the loser-that-used-to-be-a-winner that Heroes and others have become.

House airs on Fox, Tuesday nights at 8pm (CST). Watch it.