Really, House?

I woke up this morning to the sound of my roommate vomiting in the bathroom we share. It appeared to be some sort of stomach flu, so after class I drove her to the free clinic to see if they had anything that could help. Being a free clinic, the wait to see a medical professional was long. Really long. Making matters worse: House was playing on television.

I don't know if you've ever seen house, but it seems to me that it is a show based entirely on doctors doing their jobs poorly. As one diagnosis after another proves inaccurate, the poor suffering patients draw closer and closer to the brink of death. I watched as the show's namesake "Doctor House" fed his vicodin addiction and ignored the basics in bedside manner. House is a show which tries to keep you on the edge of your seat, hoping against hope that everything will turn out alright for the poor struggling patients. Unfortunately, however, every episode is essentially the same. Though there may be some minor variations, the basic plot structure goes a little something like this:

A victim...excuse me, patient is introduced. They are fine until suddenly they are seizing, screaming in pain, or simply not breathing. Frequently it is a mixture of these things.

Cut to Dr. House's first scene of the show. He makes a couple blunt, rude remarks and pops a pill.

The patient is then rushed to the hospital and put on IV fluids. The doctors take tests and hold a meeting, determining the patient's diagnosis by process of elimination.

Dr. House has another scene about his personal life.

Suddenly, the patient is in distress. Surgeons scramble to stabilize them again.

Another meeting is called.

This meeting-distress pattern repeats a few times, before the doctors finally realize that the patient is suffering from a combination of conditions.

They now know exactly how to treat them and the patient is cured!

Too bad the diagnostitian (Dr. House's title) couldn't do his job right in the first place. Time after time the patient is traumatized, then saved at the last possible minute, making House look like a genius. He's not. I watched him incorrectly diagnose anthrax in a post 9/11 world. I may be a theatre major, but that seems like an amateur mistake.

I can understand allowing this show to run for a season, but after 6 seasons, I think an intelligent audience has got the point. Suffice to say, it was a relief when my roommate and I finally went back with the real doctor (ok, nurse), leaving behind House's hackneyed arrogance.