House, M.D.

Had it on in the background a couple of weeks ago and got sucked in.
I'll probably be watching this again...

-- Sororah T Massacre (stevem7...), December 14th, 2005. (later)

Well it is a standard trope in both drama and comedy that the bitter cynical character actually is the one that cares the most.

No, no, it isn't, it really really isn't! I know it's not my place as a Britisher to say this, but his accent isn't perfect. It's decent, but it's wrong. I can't get over it, I just can't.

so this show... the medical stuff is pretty fun but the character stuff can be pretty DIRE.

You know, I do believe you're right.

Clever enough to be on ILM, but still completely obvious to US (cultural) imperialism. Wake up, Bush voter!

blount, C5 do show an awful lot of bought-in US tv programming but I think the main reason they're showing House is because it stars a well known British tv personality! the boy Laurie done gd, yknow!

also: ubiquity of american tv progs on most European tv systems = cultural imperialism! (xpost!)

I cannot parse this.

EXACTLY!!!

also possibly of interest to the ilx dweeb contingent; he makes grime music or some shit too.

You should get over it. Really. He sounds enough like an American that Americans are surprised that he's not American every time.

I've always suspected that misanthropes are actually romantics with a realistic worldview

"Realistic" isn't quite the right reading. He is realistic to a point, except when it comes to people he cares about. Then he's a supreme asshole. It has nothing to do with his being a romantic. He's a realist whether or not he's a romantic, because he's a doctor and has to be. But he's bitter because he's a wounded and broken romantic, which in turn makes him a broken person, which makes him a broken realist. So his whole reality is filtered through this bitter, wounded, and yes, I suppose, realistic personality. But the "realism" is incidental to his emotional makeup.

Great character. I love this show.

"how in the fuck is house showing over there? why do you guys import so much american tv?"

Ha ha Blount you should see Australian TV. It's like, 3 channels with 90% American shows, 1 channel with 90% BBC stuff.

The BBC make most of their own programming so their US imports are few and far between.

Not every time. It's pretty cheesy.

FAN ART

My boif and I love this show because there's so much PWNAGE in it. The show could be called HOUSE PWNS and be more accurate.

This was kind of bad, apart from Cameron egging him on. Also, surely they could have cobbled together some Cuddy voiceover footage or something at least. Though there was a end-of-show documentary on beforehand on Britisher telly (I guess you got that too?) which Edelstein participated in, so she evidently hadn't completely washed her hands of the whole thing?

Would totally have welcomed a Tritter or a whatever-the-private-detective-that-ended-up-with-Cuddy's-name-was cameo, but they'd probably have arsed that up too.

More cameos definitely would have been cool - the Amber and Kutner parts were all the same kind of boring character studies that the show's been doing for pretty much every single episode. "You care about the puzzle more than you do yourself! The puzzles are what make you live!" Yeah okay, that's good and all, but wasn't that the theme of like 10 other episodes??

Cameron's was pretty awesome though. "You deserve the gift of death" or whatever she said; maybe one of the freakiest moments on the show

Sela Ward has had a lot of work done. Her face is so plastic. Surely getting that level of surgery makes you less likely to get hired as an actress, not more?

I mean, I know *technically* it makes you look less old, but it doesn't necessarily make you look younger. And certainly not better. I agree with everyone that Cameron's cameo was the best one, although I was not pleased to see her hideous slacks 'n' waistcoat combo make a comeback.

in this season 2 episode, house was in the OR pacing around the surgeons and making them uncomfortable with his mirthless jokes. now he is snorting a white powder in his office, which has glass walls that anyone can see through.

now he is trying to make sure he doesn't become emotional about this little girl with cancer he just saved because sentimentality is weakness. then he test drives a motorcycle on a winding road near green pastures where there are herds of sheep that aren't behind fences. i have lived in central jersey my whole life and have never seen a road like this.

house's ex wife is always hovering around, obliquely warning cutty not to fall in love with house without ever explicitly addressing this issue. she never talks to other characters, except house sometimes, so i think she is like a manifestation of cutty's anxieties and not actually a hospital employee -- this reading is not mainstream

*cuddy not cutty, lol.

seriously though, this is the best medical drama of all time. right now foreman is arguing with an old black man, telling him that he is "seeing" racism in places where it doesn't exist. foreman is a condescending asshole.

Finally saw the final episode. Hated it. Hate that kind of romantic idea of cancer that suggests you'll be able to have a lovely time in your final months alive, too.

Did quite enjoy bits of the final series, though. Had got sick of the Cuddy/House relationship.

yea this was a good example of why even great dramas need to end after 4 or 5 seasons. I mean it's all pretty watchable and well done but things got awfully cartoonish for a while. the story arc where House is under investigation for forging his own pain scripts was resolved so poorly, like four straight episodes of "House is screwed", then "House is REALLY screwed", then "there's no way out of this one!" and then finally "ok Cuddy lied for him so it's all fool". the ending sucked for me too, no real resolution on House's character, plus they (essentially) kill off the only genuinely likeable character on the show.

i've thought about compiling a "best moments of House" youtube video, but nah that's too much work. 8 seasons and the last 3 were mostly shit.

scenes would include:
house blaring a boombox outside a patient's window
house being taught how to properly use his cane
house trying to beat his speed record for diagnoses
house solving the mystery of the week right after the opening credits
a lot of the short cases where house is forced to do normal family doctor stuff

this commercial's been coming on a lot and it always makes me do a double take

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT8MngZuaR8