Balls and Walnuts
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Doctor in the House?
USA is having a House marathon today; Karen has been watching (“because there’s nothing else on but crap”) and I’ve been listening in.
Not long ago, my sister suggested I do a Thirteen on “why I hate medical drama shows.” This is not entirely true, by the way. I have fond memories of St. Elsewhere, particularly since the writers nailed the dynamics between residents and attendings. Plus — Alfre Woodard, Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr.? That show had one hell of a cast.
But, yeah, I’ve had it in for medical shows ever since ER opened with the following gem. This guy is crashing in the ER. Trauma to the neck, perhaps — in any case, the ER resident is having trouble securing the airway.
What does he say?
“Wake up ENT!”
Well, eff that actor and eff the writers. Our ER residents worked shifts. On call, we never slept. I never watched another episode (and I only watched the first minute of that one).
Back to House. I like Hugh Laurie, but I like him like this:
or this:
That’s A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Blackadder, respectively. But like so many fine comedians (Steve Martin comes to mind), I guess Laurie got tired of doing his fine comic shtick and took to more serious pursuits. It’s a shame.
Laurie’s House is monotone, monochromatic. His dynamic range extends from nasty to snide and his wit is about what you would expect from a team of writers with modest talent. I would forgive all of that if the team dynamics felt right, or if they got the medicine correct, but (based on the fifteen-second snips I’ve picked up here and there while editing my romance) these writers do neither.
Yeah, yeah, I’m not being fair, you say. I ought to sit through an episode or two. But it pains me, it really does. House’s brilliant deductive skills are the stock and trade of any internist worth his or her salt. At any tertiary care center, the docs are faced with comparable mysteries on a daily basis. (Well, maybe not wives poisoning their husbands with gold-containing arthritis meds from Mexico, but close enough.) But we the viewers are supposed to think this guy is the love child of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
I guess what really bugs me is the heavy-handed use of drama in a medical setting. Illness and cure are intrinsically dramatic provided the writer takes care to characterize all the players. Case in point, Alan Rickman’s Something the Lord Made, which I have hyped before (please, please rent this movie). Those writers didn’t need murderous wives, bubonic plague, or herpes encephalitis to capture their viewers’ interest.
Of course, those writers had Alan Rickman and Mos Def on hand to bring their characters to life. As much as I like the (comic) Hugh Laurie, he’s no Alan Rickman.
D.
I actually agree with you on House. The sxKitten likes it, but I find the medicine (as little as I know) contrived. Whatever the patient’s mysterious symptoms, he/she always manages to have a seizure right when at least one, and usually two or three, of the doctors is standing at the foot of the bed.
Hugh Laurie’s talents are wasted, too, on the grey House. I guess he makes a lot more money on a big Hollywood series than he does doing BBC productions, but if you want to see Hugh Laurie act, check out Blackadder. You won’t believe it’s the same man.
Which, I suppose, is the point of acting. But still.
I’m getting tired, very tired, of extreme gore on medical and forensics shows. Yeah, I know the fields can get bloody, but I don’t need to be shown that constantly, in extreme closeup. Enough.
Oh, and I love Blackadder.
Blackadder is the best. My favorite episode was the one with the Baby-eating Bishop of Barthonwells (sp?) That one brings tears to my eyes every time.
Jim, I’m tired of gore in general. With horror, I greatly prefer the more subtle films (Ninth Gate and, believe it or not, Exorcist III) to the visceral Saws of the film world. I’m a violence wimp.
One other thing that bothered me about House: the writers seemed to be making the disease the focus of their drama rather than the patient. I think this is fundamentally wrongheaded. Yeah, it’s a medical mystery show, I get that; but when I watch drama, I’m interested in people, not their diseases.
I’ve only seen 3 full eposodes of House, and really only enjoy it for House’s cynicism (and catching the obvious dopey medico stuff). I know he’s a one-note character, which is why I’m not a dedicated fan, but I’m quite fascinated by the contrast to Wooster and the prince (and I think it’s Bath & Wells – http://www.bathandwells.org.uk/).
Bath and Wells — it’s real!
I didn’t have the nerve to leave a comment at their website (Do you really have a baby-eating Bishop in your diocese?) Chicken.
Dude, try watching The Horse Whisperer sometime with me as your personal peanut gallery.
I love horse stories, I really do. But only if I can suspend disbelief. Lone Ranger, no prob. Zorro, I’m there. But anything by Gawani Pony Boy or Monty Roberts and I’m running through the house throwing knives at walls.
People want to believe what they want to believe. And puzzle-solving doctors with strong ethics and kind beside manners are familiar tropes. (I Used It In A Sentnce!!) I think House is popular because it plays with the audience’s expectations of that trope, not because it represents reality.
Kind of like a drunken professor or a gambling cop, you know?
I love Hugh Laurie serious, and I love him humorous. Period.
hehe. i love house. as do most of the girls on my floor. we have House parties. we are all in love with hugh laurie.
we know the medicine is bad. we know the show is formulaic.
but we are girls. and house is HOT. so is chase. *drools*
and its just such a FUN show! you get to watch him make fun of everyone else, coming up with lines you wish you’d thought of…*sigh*. it makes me happy. what else can you ask for?
Yup, having a cop in the house makes some ‘cops and robbers’ shows hard to watch in our house. I find myself wanting to shoot things [and I know how…hee hee].
Movies with Self-righteous ‘Christian’ characters annoy the hell out of me too, both because I know that some Christians really act that way and because I know that there are people who see it and believe that the character is an accurate representation of the rule in Christian behavior, and not the exception. That hurts me, you know?
[Of course, I am a bit strange, especially when I’m on Prednisone {down to 30mgs, and feeling almost normal} but I’m not a good example… 😉 ]
Shelbi — are you the cop, or is your hubs?
Shaina, for you, I’ll do a House pose. Should be fun.
Suisan, yup, I guess it’s a hazard of the profession. I’m a tough sell on all medical dramas.
The hubs. But I’m very protective [weird, I know.]