I’ve just started watching this on Netflix and I’m really having fun with it, though I gotta say it may be among the most rigidly formulaic programs I’ve ever seen. So I thought I’d ask a couple of questions to see if these trends continue indefinitely.
So far the series could accurately be called Seizure of the Week. I’m at episode 10 now and it seems like there have been at least 2 dozen seizures. Presumably this is the most, er, exciting doctor/patient/medical staff interaction one can have. Does the seizure rate during the remainder of the series remain so high?
Does House and his crack staff ever get a diagnosis right the first time? I’m thinking not, because the gist of the program is that a patient comes in with a set of symptoms and someone on the team knows it’s not the run of the mill condition that would normally explain the symptoms. They provide the wrong diagnosis 2 or 3 or 4 times, and they learn this each time by nearly killing the patient with the wrong meds, and finally get the right treatment with 5 minutes left in the episode.
I think one of the most accurate (perhaps common is a better term) parts of the program is House’s contempt for and dislike of dealing with patients. I worked at a hospital for quite a few years and found this very common, though most doctors don’t seem to be nearly as aware of it, or witty about it, as House does.
There are quite a few seizures, though the problems do diversify a bit as time goes on. House fans joke a lot about things like lupus (“It’s never lupus”), sarcoidosis, paraneoplastic syndrome (or, as the spouse took to calling it, Neilpatrickharris Syndrome), Wilson’s disease, Kawasaki’s disease…I haven’t watched the show for over a year and I still remember all of these because EVERY week somebody was either being diagnosed with one or that was one of the initial wrong guesses.
Nope, that’s pretty much how it is through the whole series. I don’t remember if House ever got it right early in the episode, but I’m pretty sure he either didn’t or else he was right but nobody believed him (or he couldn’t prove it) and they spent the rest of the episode nearly killing the patient with risky tests.
We’re new to the show and about eight eps in, and I could have written the OP. Really? This goes on for eight seasons? I mean, it’s entertaining, but…
I did invent a drinking game, though. When they come up with a diagnosis, take a shot. When the diagnosis turns out to be wrong, take a shot. If the treatment nearly kills the patient, take two shots instead. If one of several patients actually dies, take three shots.
Well… it ensures no one playing will make it to the end credits.
I have to say Hugh Laurie does a deadly American accent.
Now that I think of it, I don’t think this would be a good show for binge watching. It’s much better with 6+ days between episodes - you don’t notice the formula so much.
I can see it making nice filler when there’s nothing new in the pipe - we don’t watch much just for the sake of watching something, but sometimes a video snack is in order.
Can the game include taking a drink whenever someone’s random phrasing gives House the insight he needs to save the patient, i.e. someone says “I’m looking forward to end of shift; I’ve got baseball tickets,” prompting House to realize the correct diagnosis is Johnny Bench Disease.
Oh, also episode 11 is also the first episode where House tries to stop taking Vicodin (for a week) on a bet to get out of a month’s work at the clinic.
*House *is worth watching for Hugh Laurie’s performance (and to some extent Greg House as a character). I can’t think of another example of an actor carrying a show so completely on his/her own. It’s a strange thing, though. It’s like he walked in from a much better show, by mistake.
*House *is indeed rigidly formulaic, but if you stick with it, you’ll enjoy watching them poke fun at their own rigid formulas, in a meta sort of way. Like on those rare occasions when someone other than House gets the “light bulb moment” and they invariably try to do an impression of Hugh’s expression. Or when House hides his vicodin in hollowed out book on Lupus (because nobody would ever need to look in that book), or a dozen other ways.
[ul]
[li]If anyone on the the diagnostic team says, “differential diagnosis,” take a sip.[/li][li]When they make a diagnosis, take a sip.[/li][li]When the diagnosis proves wrong, take a sip.[/li][li]If the patient has a seizure, take another sip.[/li][li]If the treatment almost kills the patient, take a shot instead.[/li][li]If a patient dies from wrong treatment, take two shots instead.[/li][li]If House gets the final diagnosis from a random clue unrelated to the case, take a shot.[/li][li]If House wins a bet, take a sip.[/li][li]If House loses a bet, take two shots.[/li][/ul]
I find the weekly medical mystery to be no more than scaffolding for the interactions of the actors. I spend little time thinking or caring about the medical stuff, which apparently is ludicrously off-base from reality most of the time anyway. If you don’t find the characters and their interactions interesting or compelling, then you won’t enjoy the show for long. But really, it’s all about the greatness of Hugh Laurie’s acting the role of a sardonic and just-on-the-edge-of unlikeable yet comic character, which I find intriguing.
Dude, you wouldn’t make it sober through half an episode with these rules! Maybe that helps, come to think of it (I say this as a fan of the show, albeit one fully aware of its problems.)
Here’s a couple more suggestions:
Whenever Wilson shows palpable frustration but still obvious bro-infatuation with House. Shot.
Whenever there is fan service, especially from Thirteen, Cuddy, or Chase. Sip.
Whenever the patient is caught in a lie. Sip.
Whenever the patient is caught in a lie directly relevant to their illness. Shot.
