I was kinda wrong. This show confuses me. First of all, USA was showing the episodes in no particular order, which peeved me to no end. The show may be procedural, but there are are few continuing threads and showing episodes out of order super annoyed me. Second, I fail to believe that there are that many bizarre medical cases floating around the Princeton area. New Jersey is full of some pretty strange people, but not that many. Or at least not that many around Princeton.
My biggest peeve about this show is, literally, in every episode I've seen (save the rerun I'm currently watching) the patient has, at some point, been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. And each time, it turns out to be something else. I'll admit I had only vague knowledge of MS before President Bartlett admitted he had it on West Wing, but something tells me that it's not nearly as common as this show would have us believe. So why do they keep running to this diagnosis? I have no idea, but I find it really frustrating and shows a real lack of creativity on the writer's part. Is it the only nervous system illness they know of?
A few years ago I remember some study came out about how much medical information people pick up from shows like ER. People watch the shows and think themselves minor medical experts. The study thought this was good, as the shows provided sort of a public service, leading people to get tested for ailments more often. I can't help but think that House is providing none of this information, just freaking people out about strange diseases and making me happy I never applied to Princeton for grad school. Tonight, I've watched one episode and all I've learned is that if I get a dog from the Southwest, and it has flies, I might get the plague. Nice info. Thanks House.
