Posted by Helen on: 07.17.2008 /
We’ve been watching House on DVD.
I think it’s fascinating from a relational point of view. The main character has no interest in making an effort to be nice to people, which produces a variety of reactions from others. Most of the people who know him best plead with him to change his manner but evidently to no avail. Even though this annoys them they stick by him and come through for him if he’s in trouble. And his boss sticks up for him (most of the time) because he’s awesome at his job.
What fascinates me is the way peoples’ values cause friction between them because they’re different. I think the series does a good job of not taking sides on values. At least if it does, it’s been lost on me so far :). The characters each advocate for their own rather than the series pushing any particular one on me. I think that’s part of what makes it interesting.
Comment by: kay
1 07/17/08 7:59 AM | Comment Link |I love Love LOVE this show!
Comment by: Elizabeth Chapin
2 07/17/08 9:30 AM | Comment Link |Helen, I am a House fan and agree with your analysis of the show. I have also found that issues of faith (or lack thereof) have been dealt with in a rather impartial manner as well - neither pushing atheism, as the main character seems to hold to, nor any other faith - I think one episode has a character who converts to an extremely strict sect of Judaism.
Not only is House entertaining, but it is also a thought provoking show.
Recently, I’ve been catching up on a series that I don’t get on cable - The Closer. I wonder, have you ever seen it? The main character is almost the antithesis of House in some respects, but just like him in others ;-)
Comment by: no offense
3 07/17/08 12:56 PM | Comment Link |Wouldn’t you describe this as one of your core ‘values’ Helen?
;-)
Comment by: Randy
4 07/17/08 3:16 PM | Comment Link |I have seen the show a couple of times and find the main character amusing, only because he frequently says what I would have wanted to say in the similar circumstance (yes, I have at times exercised restraint). I have not gotten hooked on it, though, partly because I find his personality so abrasive and annoying that I can’t take much of him.
Some people say that about me and of course they’re all idiots.
Comment by: Bob
5 07/17/08 3:52 PM | Comment Link |When I see characters that nature, my reaction is a bit of envy. They get to say the things we’d like to sometimes but don’t out of courtesy or fear. At the same time, in real life you have to suffer the ramifications of the things you say and do and I don’t think this aspect is always portrayed realistically. Still fun to watch though…
Comment by: Helen
6 07/17/08 7:26 PM | Comment Link |Kay I really like it too!
Elizabeth, I haven’t seen The Closer. The only reason we’re watching House is because my son said it was good and asked for it for his birthday. We’re rather out of touch when it comes to TV!
No offense, if it is one of my core values that explains why I like it, I suppose :). I do take sides on some things but I try to give both sides a fair hearing first.
Randy, I guess you’re like the people in the show who get very irritated with the main character!
Bob, that’s very insightful - it doesn’t seem fair, does it, that he gets to opt out of society’s civility rules? I don’t know how many you’ve seen - he does get in trouble when he’s rude to a policeman who is annoyed at being kept waiting so long in clinic. The policeman has enough clout to make life quite difficult for him (and those around him - that part certainly doesn’t seem fair!)
Comment by: Jason Horton
7 07/17/08 11:04 PM | Comment Link |Hmm, House can be entertaining but it really is the same story repeated ad nauseum. Why not choose between medical drama or soap opera in a hospital. Mixing the fformats liek that just make House look obnoxious.
Comment by: Helen
8 07/18/08 6:37 AM | Comment Link |But Jason, why choose when you can have both in one show? :-)
We find the medical aspect interesting and also informative (although a bit graphic at times) and the diagnosis is different every time.
And the soap opera part is a good ploy to keep people watching every week to find out how that storyline develops.
Comment by: Elaine
9 07/18/08 9:47 AM | Comment Link |Yes - we like House also. We watch House and Bones back to back in our time zone.
Yes - I agree House is an extremely difficult person and he doesn’t seem to care what others think. Working with someone like that would be unpleasant. It is annoying to watch on TV and yet, I continue to watch.
I’m thinking Hugh Laurie loves playing this role.
In response to Jason’s comment about watching a medical drama - with my limited experience with the medical world - I think how House shows it is probably more realistic - the docs are “practicing” medicine and usually don’t “know” what is wrong - they guess based on past experience with similar symptoms and continue to adjust their diagnosis as new symptoms present and/or the treatment doesn’t work.
My husband was diagnosed with MS - and the doctor said he was calling it that because that is what it most closely resembled.
Watching House is always challenging and stimulating.
Comment by: Bob
10 07/18/08 9:54 AM | Comment Link |Helen — I haven’t seen that many so I didn’t know that. That sounds more fair than I may have envisioned. I shouldn’t be a critic without being well studied.
You’re right about the opting out, and people do it if different ways all the time. Drive without insurance, cheat on your taxes, etc. But the main character seems to take a pass on the whole deal which can look pretty appealing on the surface.
Sometimes people are just flat out frustrating and it takes a lot of effort to be graceful or understanding. Interesting thing about the show is, in the end as long as he saves the people they won’t care about the lack of courtesy. If he was polite but a lousy doctor he wouldn’t be sought after.
Comment by: Helen
11 07/18/08 10:33 AM | Comment Link |Elaine, yes, I like how it depicts the trial and error aspect of medicine. The timeframe is more compressed than for most people but otherwise that does seem realistic to me too.
And I expect you’re right that Hugh Laurie enjoys playing the role.
Bob wrote:
True, but he wouldn’t be less sought after if he was a good doctor and polite.
In a way I find it reassuring that him being a good doctor is what really counts. But I still like my doctors to be polite as well as good!
Bob have you seen any episodes where he does something nice for a patient? I like how that happens from time to time. Showing he may be less heartless than the general perception - not that he’d admit it. In one episode a mother calls social services and has her son taken away. Everyone thinks House did it. In a closing scene the son is angry with him over the call and the mother is there, silent, giving House a pleading look. House responds by not telling the son it was the mother who called - a kindness to the mother that no-one except she will ever know about.
And every so often he moderates his behavior in response to what someone says - again, not making a big deal of it but we as the viewers can see that he did respond.
I like when the other staff manage to trick him - like when he asks for morphine and then he’s better, but when he goes back for the next shot she tells him it was just a placebo.
Comment by: Bob
12 07/18/08 3:05 PM | Comment Link |Helen - I haven’t seen one of those, I’ll have to watch a few more. I have an unfortunate habit of second guessing a program before I really know it sometimes. TV can be really formulaic so it’s not an entirely unfair practice.
It sounds like he’s a bit deeper than I give him credit for. In real life it’s easy to do this too, label people or not get sense of where they’re coming from and why they are the way they are.
I have a friend who’s a bit gruff and puts people off sometimes without meaning to. But he’s a great guy and a really interesting person, just a little rough around the edges. Maybe this Dr. House is similar.
We’re all pretty complicated under the surface. I always say “perfect” people are just better at hiding their complications. We all have apostle Paul types of struggles within, doing the opposite of what we want or mean to sometimes. Sometimes they make us better or more driven, other times they bring out the worst. I guess it’s just part of the human experience.
Comment by: Jason Horton
13 07/21/08 3:41 AM | Comment Link |He does seem to be a well developed character for a TV series. I particular enjoyed the series where his treatment of a detective landed him in a lot of trouble. That and the flaws in his life like his drug addiction and other self destructive traits. He is reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes in that regard. I’m sure that this is deliberate on the writer’s part. Unlike a detective story a medical drama requires too much subject knowledge to ever guess the outcome before the detective.