The Fall of House

House M.D. was initially a brilliant show, combining medical drama with controversial issues such as religion, drug use, and human nature. Yet despite its seriousness and intensity, it still allowed for comic relief often in the form of Gregory House’s biting sarcasm. The first several season’s of the show were excellent. The viewer was able to feel as though they were one of the many doctors trailing in House’s wake thanks to the use of traveling shots, and complex medical explanations were made simple due to animations. It was exciting to try to figure out what was wrong with the patient, while being entertained by the quirky cast. However, a pattern soon emerged in the show. At the start of every episode, a patient would be shown going about their day. Then they would suddenly grow ill. They would then be brought to the hospital to be treated by House and his team. House would have several far fetched theories about the patient’s illness while also examining and criticizing some aspect of the patient’s life or beliefs. Eventually, House would notice some small detail and come up with a brilliant diagnosis right before the patient’s time ran out. While at first, House’s last minute analysis as well as personal dramas amongst his staff and patients, kept the series interesting, it soon became quite boring. Unfortunately, instead of changing up the plot, the cast was changed. Viewers now had to deal with the same plot as well as a new medical team that they had no attachment to. Eventually, the members of the new cast began to disappear as well and were replaced while the show still continued to follow the same plot line. Sadly, it seemed that the writers had run out of medical phenomena. During one episode, a woman who very obviously had schizophrenia was brought in to be treated. I flipped to and from House, wanting to see what sort of dreadful ailment the poor mentally ill woman had contracted. Near the end of the show (approximately 3-5 minutes before the credits), it was announced that she had schizophrenia. When a medical drama that has made it’s name by having big reveals at the end of every episode fails to puzzle a teenager for more than a few moments, it is obvious that something has gone wrong.