"House, M.D.," the popular medical drama starring everyone's favorite jerk, is ending its eight-year run this spring. Why will we miss Dr. Gregory House? Let me count the ways!
1. He's Smart
It's refreshing to see a television show that celebrates intelligence. According to every message put out by our society, from all levels of media and public personality, being smart is a bad thing. Girls are encouraged to act dumb so people will like them. Politicians and public personalities sneer at "overeducated women" and "eggheads." There is a whole entire sitcom designed to reassure us that being super smart also means being a lonely failure at life. (See also: every other sitcom ever.)
But being smart is House's whole, like, you know. Thing. It is the central fact of his existence. All of his other personality quirks, from watching soap operas to succumbing to a drug addiction, only work for him as a character because he is very smart. It wouldn't be interesting or charming if a DUMB character liked soap operas or developed a Vicodin addiction.
Better still, the show never makes House receive a comeuppance for being smart. It never deflates him in order to make us, the audience, feel better. Not only is House a really smart guy, but the show loves him for it.
2. He creates great roles for women
Women still get short shrift in the media today. On most shows, you're lucky to get one decent female character. But ever since the beginning, "House, M.D." has always had several great female characters in play, with more waiting in the wings.
Cuddy, Thirteen, Amber, Stacy Warner, Cameron, Masters, Adams, Park: these are smart women and fully-formed characters who carry their own story lines. And yet, they all orbit House; the answer to this question is often central to their own personal issues.
House (the character) often objectifies women, treats them poorly, and generally acts like a pig. (He also has some pretty bad mommy issues, or should I say grandma issues? No, wait, daddy issues. But it wasn't his dad. I'm so confused!) But he never disrespects their intelligence or their fundamental humanity. Which is more than I can say for a lot of television shows.
3. He's a cynical, misanthropic bastard
Aren't you tired of the "every cloud has a silver lining" cheerfulness of most television characters? Everyone's so chipper, even as the world is crashing around their ears.
Not House.
Even better, the show not only encourages House's dark view of the world, it actively reinforces it. Most famous for his truism that "Everybody lies," House's cynicism is more often than not shown to be true. Everybody DOES lie, including House himself.
4. He doesn't play by the rules, but he always wins
House is the ultimate rebel. He refuses to blindly follow any of the common conventions, he questions every rule and subverts every paradigm… and in exchange, he gets fame, fortune, and beautiful women practically throwing themselves at his feet.
It's fun to imagine being a difficult diva who is not just tolerated but celebrated and even coddled. But kids, don't try this at home (or at work). In reality, directly contravening the orders of your department head is a great way to get your butt fired.
5. He needs you
No one is an island, but this is particularly true of House. He has an entire network of friends, family, and support staff who clean up his messes, both literal and figurative. House's reliance on his team and his friends has been demonstrated many times by the show. Where would House be without Cuddy and Wilson? Jail, most likely, or dead.
For all his cynicism and prickly personality, House is more reliant on other people than any other character on the show. His child-like dependence on others is one of the most touching aspects of his character.
I'm going to pretend that one of my favorite shows didn't just get canceled (the CW's Ringer, and I'm so sad). Instead, I'm going to focus on the positives! I've been looking through NBC's lineup of new shows for 2012-2013 and there's one that's standing out: the J.J. Abrams'-created drama Revolution.
