DVD Review #1: House, M.D. Season 1

Plot: The show is about a brilliant but asshole doctor named Gregory House that is very good at what he does, even though he admittedly doesn't like people all that well. This allows him to only take cases that interest him, and those cases are always difficult to figure out. He employs a team of very gifted young doctors each with their own specialty and 'other' reason for being part of the team. The 'other' reasons are being slowly and interestingly drawn out as the show has progressed. As House hates authority more than he does people, there's constant tension between him and his boss who obviously has some kind of romantic history.

Review: I've been completely sucked in. In the last 3 days i've watched 17 episodes. The show is basically a formula show, don't get me wrong many formula shows work, and have worked for a long time, Murder She Wrote, Scooby Doo, even The Simpsons has had a formula going on lately.

Episodes always start with the patient in their every day life when something happens, they collapse or stop responding. Next, someone has to convince House to take the case this usually includes telling of symptoms that House shruggs off as nothing special until he hears something that is particularly interesting. They'll go to the office and start writing on a white board all the symptoms (at some point in the first few episodes of season 1 they change from a white board with a black marker to a clear board with a white marker, I figured this was so they could show the actor's faces more often, but then they change back to the white board for some reason) and the doctors make guesses and start taking tests. An idea of some sort will arise that fits the symptoms and they immediately start treatment because if they don't do anything the patient will die, and if their guess is wrong the treatment may kill them. That process will repeat 2 or 3 times throughout the episode.

Meanwhile, they're trying to get more information about the patient and the history and the causes for why mysterious illness could possibly be occuring. This is where the episode is different depending on the patient, but there seems to be a formula here too. If the patient is a child, the parents will always second guess the doctors, complain that the last treatment made it worse, why is this one going to be any different. If the patient is a husband or wife, there is always some marital issue, or possibility of a marital issue, usually infidelity. Whatever the case, the patient and family always lie, or leave something out, always. By the way, that is exactly why Dr. House doesn't like people.

In the end they figure it out at the last minute, the patient gets all better and everyone is happy for it. Well, most of the time anyway.

The filler is House making his observations about people, little things that no one else would possibly notice, which is something that really makes the show interesting to me. He really has an eye for detail, and even though he is very terse about things he's always clever, especially with his dialogue. Also, there are interactions between him and his staff, his friend who is an oncologist and the aformentioned boss. There's also a comic relief portion where House has to do his 'Clinic Hours' which is basically people who come in for stupid reasons and the interaction is commonly hilarious.

Overall, a very entertaining show, with a very good cast and great dialogue. The medical jargon can get repetitive at times, and they show some pretty gross procedures (people getting trachia's and needles shoved into their eyes and stuff) of which they show more than most. But, i'd suggest that if you notice an episode is on, give it a shot. If you like one episode you'll probably like most, and with a 22 episode season, it's well worth the $40.