Finally back into the swing of things after over a month of no posts. There's a lot to go over. Let's get to it.
Been a while since I've written on any TV shows. Now, House, M.D. is something I've half seen. I think I watched most of the first four season years ago while in college, but after re-watching the first season it's clear that I haven't retained much. I'm not saying the show is forgettable. I think I just treated it more as background noise whenever it came on TV, and - to be fair - never gave it attention it deserved.
In short, the show's great. Not the best thing I've ever seen, but certainly suspenseful and entertaining enough to help pass the time and keep me happy. The character of House is also compelling as all hell. Something that I just don't get tired of. (Let's see if I still feel that way at the end of season 8.) However, the reason why House is such a great character to follow is because it's just an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes only placed in the medical world. Not saying this a bad or cheap move - far from it. It just makes sense as to why the title character is so riveting to watch.
Sadly, that's all I really think I can contribute regarding my thoughts on this guy. Why? Well, for one, I pretty sure most people here have already seen this show and understand where I'm coming from without elaborating too much. Another reason is just that self-contained, one-hour dramas like this don't really inspire too much in the vein of captivating stories that grow with every episode (something you see with Breaking Bad or Lost). With 22 - 24 episodes a season, maybe a quarter of them build upon some riveting story arc (e.g. House in jeopardy of losing his job when he butts heads with the new head of the hospital), but the rest are bottle episodes. Stories that are fun to take in, but rarely build on anything if at all. I think this is why I treated the show so much like background noise back when I first watched it. I could pop in on any season and on any episode, see the familiar faces battle their diagnostic problem in the same formula and be entertained, but never wow-ed. Sure, I know there are some major events that occur throughout the series (House getting a new team, House going into rehab, House going to prison), but, in general, the show always seems to find it's way back to its comfortable routine... and for that, there's little else to say other than, "It's fun to watch."
Been a while since I've written on any TV shows. Now, House, M.D. is something I've half seen. I think I watched most of the first four season years ago while in college, but after re-watching the first season it's clear that I haven't retained much. I'm not saying the show is forgettable. I think I just treated it more as background noise whenever it came on TV, and - to be fair - never gave it attention it deserved.
In short, the show's great. Not the best thing I've ever seen, but certainly suspenseful and entertaining enough to help pass the time and keep me happy. The character of House is also compelling as all hell. Something that I just don't get tired of. (Let's see if I still feel that way at the end of season 8.) However, the reason why House is such a great character to follow is because it's just an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes only placed in the medical world. Not saying this a bad or cheap move - far from it. It just makes sense as to why the title character is so riveting to watch.
Sadly, that's all I really think I can contribute regarding my thoughts on this guy. Why? Well, for one, I pretty sure most people here have already seen this show and understand where I'm coming from without elaborating too much. Another reason is just that self-contained, one-hour dramas like this don't really inspire too much in the vein of captivating stories that grow with every episode (something you see with Breaking Bad or Lost). With 22 - 24 episodes a season, maybe a quarter of them build upon some riveting story arc (e.g. House in jeopardy of losing his job when he butts heads with the new head of the hospital), but the rest are bottle episodes. Stories that are fun to take in, but rarely build on anything if at all. I think this is why I treated the show so much like background noise back when I first watched it. I could pop in on any season and on any episode, see the familiar faces battle their diagnostic problem in the same formula and be entertained, but never wow-ed. Sure, I know there are some major events that occur throughout the series (House getting a new team, House going into rehab, House going to prison), but, in general, the show always seems to find it's way back to its comfortable routine... and for that, there's little else to say other than, "It's fun to watch."
Yeah, as the blog's primary TV poster, I know all too well what you mean about not necessarily having a ton of new things to write for every show, let alone every season. And I know what you mean about House, too; I can't stand formulaic procedurals as a rule, but something about House - the characters, probably - just sat right with me from the very beginning.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience the show never really gets unwatchably terrible but also never really transcends its "medical procedural" roots. A relatively consistent B-minus!