IS THERE A "HOUSE" IN THE DOCTOR?

Life is but a (pill induced) dream for Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie). Image: NBC UNIVERSAL

Once upon a time, about a year or so before it began to get very silly- bogged down with out-of-character relationships and way out there fantasy trappings which were dominating, sometimes destroying, strong and memorable plots, alongside an unnecessary fracturing of a strong core team cast that really didn't need to be mucked about with- HOUSE really was a terrific, well made and acted series, created by the talented David Shore with strong Executive Producer kudos from famous film writer/director Bryan Singer (of which THE X-MEN franchise hasn't been the same since his full-on creative departure!) and a powerhouse love him and hate him performance from Hugh Laurie- of which Quincy he certainly ain't!- that has since led to the re-imaging of the medical drama series in general with series like GREY'S ANATOMY and the black comedy NURSE JACKIE soon following in its indomitable footsteps.

Now, as the series enters its presumably eighth and final season, HOUSE and its lead character have just become plain annoying and past their sell by date in my honest opinion. Prescription: a strong but memorable euthanasia where, hopefully, its makers will give him a better, more dramatic, interesting and satisfying send-off to a fine new gig within the Medical Genre area of TV history. Before that happens, though, fans wanting to remember HOUSE at its peak can check out the UK's UNIVERSAL and HD channels, currently showing some very good episodes from the shows third year weekday mornings about 10am (Season Five episodes will also begin screening in July). And, unlike the common cold, they're well worth catching!

Seasons one to seven of HOUSE are also available on DVD from NBC UNIVERSAL.