This post is actually two weeks “late,” but my wonderful wife and I were out of town on May 21. It was on that day ten years ago that the last original episode of House, M.D. aired.

It is very difficult for me to comprehend that the show has been out of production for over a decade. It is also very difficult for me to convey how much I enjoyed House, which is still my favorite TV show ever.

I will tell you, though, that despite my admiration for House and despite the fact that I have all the episodes on DVD and can watch every episode streaming via Hulu and Amazon Prime, I don’t watch the show as often as one might think. However, when I do watch I still thoroughly enjoy it.

Why don’t I watch more often? I really don’t know. Maybe I don’t want to get a case of House burnout.

The picture below is the cover of a book about the show. The book covers the first six seasons of House, which ultimately ran for eight seasons. To me, the quality declined markedly after season six, so maybe it’s just as well that the last two seasons aren’t discussed.

In a morbid way, the fact that the show has been out of production longer than it was produced mirrors the human condition in that, eventually, everyone will be dead longer–much longer–than they were alive. The last episode of House was titled “Everybody Dies.” That’s both an immutable truth and a play on one of the main character’s axioms, “Everybody Lies.”

Do you think you can name your favorite scripted TV show? For me, House and Frasier are easily my two favorite such programs. I watch very little major network TV and, in fact, only watch 15-20 hours of TV a week. I think the American average is closer to 30 hours. The only current major network show that truly captivates me is Transplant, which is really a Canadian program that NBC decided to air when the damn virus halted TV production. Yes, it is a medical show.

Not that this is necessarily a reason to watch, but Transplant is the most-watched scripted show in Canada and its lead actor, Hamza Haq, has won the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy for Best Lead Actor in a drama both seasons Transplant has aired. It has, not surprisingly, already been picked up for Season Three both in Canada and by NBC.

I will not post for the next few days as my wonderful wife and I are going on a short vacation to celebrate our wedding anniversary. See you on the flip side, I hope.

#HouseMD

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.

On this day in 2004 the first episode of House M.D. aired. The show, better known simply as House, is my favorite show ever. By the way, that it has been 16 years since the premiere of the show and that House has now been out of production longer than it was in production are two incomprehensible realities for me.

I have always liked medical shows. I have watched shows like Untold Stories of the ER and Mystery Diagnosis. The only two shows from the “Big Four” networks I currently watch are The Good Doctor and Transplant, although the latter is actually a Canadian import aired on NBC to fill its lack of new programming due to the damn virus.

House was simply brilliant, a combination of great writing and performing, interesting cases, humor and drama. I can’t do the show justice by trying to summarize various episodes or by writing great lines of dialogue. In case you don’t know, or even if you do, House was about Dr. Gregory House, brilliantly portrayed by Hugh Laurie, a Vicodin-addicted misanthropic doctor who leads a team of physicians in trying to diagnose cases no one else can solve. House would often violate the “rules” of medicine in order to get a diagnosis.

After we moved, my wonderful wife and I cut the TV cord. We now subscribe to Hulu and have long had an Amazon Prime subscription. Hulu’s Live TV option, the one we have, includes the POP channel, which airs a House marathon every weekday. Amazon Prime also has every episode available. I’m good to go. Oh, I also have every episode on DVD, not that we’ve been able to find our Blu-Ray player. I don’t watch every House episode every day on POP or binge-watch episodes on Amazon Prime, but I probably watch 2-4 episodes a week.

I salute the producers, writers, cast and crew of House. Although I doubt any of them will ever read this, my heartfelt thanks for producing such a great show.

From Wallpaper Cave:

#HouseM.D.

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.

OK, apparently I published a very similar post on this day last year. As Disaffected Musings nears 1,000 posts I simply can’t remember everything I’ve written.

929

On this day 15 years ago (!) the first episode of House, M.D. aired. Almost always referred to simply as House, it is my favorite TV show ever. Scarily, it has almost been as long since the last original episode aired in May, 2012 as the time between the first and last episodes.

Although the show was a medical drama and, indeed, had some moments of real tension, it also had some of the most humorous moments ever. It contained much wittier humor than what passes for comedy in today’s so-called sitcoms.

Hugh Laurie portrayed the title character. His performances, to borrow Tom Landry’s description of Randy White, ranged from spectacular to spectacular. He had to speak in a foreign accent (Laurie is British, but the character was American), while walking with a limp and a cane, while reciting complicated medical jargon, while appearing in the majority of scenes and while having to pull off this medical drama interspersed with sarcastic humor.

I have always liked medical shows, either drama or “reality.” I loved ER, for example; well, at least for the first six seasons. I like Untold Stories of the ER and Mystery Diagnosis. House, however, was in a different league than any other show I’ve ever watched. Here are some memorable lines from the show, all uttered by Dr. House:

– People do not change. For example, I keep saying, “People do not change.”

– If you do not want a sarcastic answer then do not ask a stupid question.

– People don’t get what they deserve; they just get what they get. There’s nothing any of us can do about it.

– What I find hard to believe is the general concept of belief; faith is not based on logic or experience.

– The brain, we all have one. The difference: some use it, others do not.

– There is only one thing worse than stupid people, stupid people who do not know they are stupid.

– Everything is conditional. We just don’t know what the conditions are.

An exchange between Dr. House and his only real friend, Dr. Wilson:

Dr. Wilson: That smugness of yours really is an attractive quality.

Dr. House: Thank you. It was either that or get my hair highlighted. Smugness is easier to maintain.

Of course, without context I can’t really convey how effective the show’s dialogue was. Anyway, I will show a picture (“courtesy” of FanPop and hughlaurie.net) of the original cast of House and then bid you adieu for the day.

#House, M.D.

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.