What a Jerk

rgiller

Ok, I'm about 4 episodes into season 4 and, while I think the show is great and definitely one of the most addicting and compelling I have ever seen (if not THE most), I've got to admit I'm getting a bit tired of House's character. It's almost impossible to believe that someone could be that much of a jerk all the time and get away with it. Sure he was shot, and there was that whole thing with Tritter but apart from that his demeanour (and people's acceptance of it) is growing increasingly unrealistic. I mean, why the hell would

Foreman come back to work for him

? I'm hoping he gets empathetic soon, with anyone, as this lack of realism is becoming distractingly more obvious with every episode.

Rant over :mad:

Posy

I do wonder sometimes why people put up with him. The "he's a brilliant doctor" excuse must wear thin after a time. Surely there must be other talented diagnosticians in America.

aequinoctium

i recall reading that the story line of choosing his team in such a manner was taken from what a doctor actually did....

capall

Season 4 very poor

Improved over the last 5 or 6 episodes though but that would not be hard

Very little done with the House character,even hugh laurie couldn't do much with the material he was given,compared to other seasons he was very one dimensional. At this stage would prefer to see HL in a decent film or something where he could act

Posy

Will he be quitting after season five does anyone know? I've heard he's not happy living in the US and wants to go home as soon as 'House' will allow.

The guy

Wasn't it mentioned in Series 4 that

Foreman was locked to working with house because of what he got fired for immediately after he left?

I guess it has to remembered though that it is a show so House can be an asshole and not get fired.

Gerbud

Stop giving out over House being an asshole!!

This IS why most people are attracted to the programme - his caharacter & how he pulls things off & how is character alone saves lives or leads to the saviour somehow....

House is the man

rgiller

Maybe so, but people like that do not exist. No one can be that much of a d1ck all the time and get away with it, at work and at home. How Cuddy and Wilson put up with him is impossible. The writers should give us something to sympathise with

Xyo

Good thing its a tv show and not real life isn't it ?

Gerbud

Quick answer for the sympathy vote: HIS LEG!!

rgiller

Xyo wrote: »

Good thing its a tv show and not real life isn't it ?

Wow thanks for pointing that out. Are you a writer on the show? Because with incisive, intelligent commentary like that I wouldn't be surprised if you were.

Back on topic, I don't mean we need to sympathise with House, I mean we need to see him sympathise with someone else so he's more believable

Xyo

We sympathize with Wilson who has to put up with House, and at the end of the season we really do but I won't spoil it since you said you're only at the start.

Gerbud

rgiller wrote: »

Wow thanks for pointing that out. Are you a writer on the show? Because with incisive, intelligent commentary like that I wouldn't be surprised if you were.

Back on topic, I don't mean we need to sympathise with House, I mean we need to see him sympathise with someone else so he's more believable

"The writers should give us something to sympathise with"

Giller,

Before diving into your sarcastic rants - try & understand that people can only interpret your comments by how they are written. We are not mind readers!!

FionnMatthew

I have to disagree.

As others have said, the attraction of House is his difficultness as a human being, coupled with his brilliance as a doctor.

And I don't think it's unrealistic by a long shot. It's a common staple in the history of geniuses that they are often hard to live with. Mozart. Wittgenstein. etc.

The tragedy of this sort of person is that what makes them brilliant at what they do is also what makes them brash and impatient, cynical and harsh.

His tragedy is his brilliance as a doctor, and his failure as a social being.

Sherlock Holmes is another such fictional enigma. Doctor Who, in some of his incarnations, another.

People are drawn to House, and persist with him because of his enigmatic character.

And throughout the show, we get the impression that this is just his way of being. He isn't really cold-hearted. He just has a stunted ability to interact with people.

Wilson understands him. Wilson is an eternal giver, and House is an eternal taker. That's the nature of their friendship. Wilson understands his pain, understands that their friendship can only ever be one-sided in this way. He's happier to remain being a friend to House than the thought that House would lose one of his closest friends. Cuddy, too, understands him, while despairing at him sometimes.

We all know people like this. We know that this is just how they are, and accept that for our own reasons. House isn't for everyone, but for those who know how to take him, it's a tolerable, nay addictive relationship.

What makes him heroic is that he does have a (somewhat strange) code.

Against what some have been saying, I think it would be profoundly unrealistic for House to just learn to be a nice guy. He's an eccentric, an abuser - he can't change himself. His pain derives from being that way in a world that wants to accept him. His psychological make-up - the tensions within his life - all of this channels into his work. It'd just ruin the character to expect development on this point.

Part of the essential formula for the success and strength of a fictional character is this sort of essential quality. He's unique, that's what makes us want to watch him. To resolve all of this would feel untruthful, and also dissolve anything interesting about him. Far better to take that as a given, and just explore his character and what it means in as many given contexts as possible.