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Life & Arts

'House' best doc show on the tube

The TV Guide

Seth Mintz

There is a thin line between love and hate. On House (8 p.m. Tuesdays on Fox), there's also a thin line between brilliance and cruelness.

This is one of the great shows on TV right now. The stories are compelling and the acting is award-worthy. House introduces us to Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), one of the best medical minds in the world. House specializes in taking the tough, strange cases and finding the answers. There is one downside to the great doctor: He is devoid of any tact or manners.

House works at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, which is run by Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), who is House's driving force. Due to a leg injury, House is forced to work and live his life in constant pain. He distrusts all patients and his mood can be at best described as surly.

To help solve these tough cases, House has a team of doctors that do most of the legwork. His team includes neurologist Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps), immunologist Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and specialist Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer). House is also given much support from his friend, confidant and oncologist Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard).

Like many dramas, the supporting cast is almost as vital as the main character. Each member of House's team greatly adds to the show and gives a sense of wholeness to the series. The characters' backstories and interactions with House lead to great moments in the show.

If you are a fan of shows such as Nip/Tuck and CSI, House is for you. The audience is shown every angle of rare diseases that House and his team are faced with. The stories are not just about seeing doctors find cures for illnesses; we also learn about the people the diseases are destroying.

House, who's a Vicodin addict, will go to any length that he feels necessary to fix his patients. This puts him at odds with most every patient as well as almost all of his colleagues because most of his methods are very unorthodox. House routinely sends his team to investigate the patient's homes (which is illegal), lies to his superiors and does many other things that cause much friction.

House's interesting way of doing things can be attributed to his total lack of trust in his patients. He feels that every patient lies to him because they do not always want others to find out the truth about them. 

In the end, House and his team are usually being lied to about one thing or another, which makes House's actions seem at least somewhat justified. 

This show seems, at times, like a study in behavioral studies. How far should doctors go to fight for their patients and what they believe in? And how honest should someone be when your life or the lives of others is in the balance? 

While there are many shows that are set in hospitals (ER, Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs among others), House manages to separate itself from the pack because of its interesting stories and characters. If you have somehow missed this amazing show, park yourself in front of your tube on Tuesday nights for the most addictive doctor show on TV.

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