Closing House

There was a moment in Monday's series finale of House where the titular character was relating, in a flashback, how one of the show's trademark differential diagnoses was going when all the characters dialogue suddenly becomes, literally, "blah blah blah." The character he's relating the flashback to asks why that happens, and House's answer is, "Because no one cares about the medicine." It struck me as a very meta-textual moment because, despite how interesting and brilliant so many of the weird, rare, random diseases and conditions that have been showcased on House through the years are, it really never was about the medicine. Except that one time...

...and only one time, when it actually was Lupus.

When it was at it's best, House was about character. Specifically, Dr. Gregory House, a slightly handicapped, jaded, bitter, sarcastic, absolutely brilliant diagnostician/Vicadin addict who saw nothing but the worst in humanity (seriously, his catchphrase was "Everybody lies.") and yet still did everything he could to save all his patients... granted, not because he cared about them but because he hated being beaten by a puzzle he couldn't solve; he was, after all, at least partly based on Sherlock Holmes.

It was about his relationship with the team of doctors who worked for him: at first, Foreman, Chase, and Cameron (easily the best combination); then Taub, Kutner, Thirteen, and Foreman; then Taub, Thirteen, Foreman, and Chase; then Taub, Masters, Foreman, and Chase, and lastly, Chase, Park, and Adams. That's a lot of cast changes for one show to survive, huh? It tells you just how good this show was. One thing all his team members had in common was their desire to become as much like him as they could without turning into him... which made for some truly fascinating character developments and conflicts.

It was about his on-again/off-again relationship with his boss, Cuddy, which thankfully was only on for one of the seven seasons she was on the show, because it was horrible when the relationship was on, but brilliant when it was off.

And, at it's best, it was about House's relationship with Wilson, the Watson to his Holmes. He was the kind, caring person and devoted best friend to House's... well, to the asshole that was House, and the show was never better than when the two of them were onscreen together. It's the relationship that made the term "bromance" so popular, at least on television. And one of the best things they could do in the last few episodes was bring that relationship to the forefront. Wilson, by the way, was played by Robert Sean Leonard, who you may remember as the kid who shot himself in Dead Poets Society.

I always loved watching House. I thought the medical mysteries were fascinating and I was thoroughly enthralled by the House himself. I loved the relationships and the dialogue and pretty much everything about the show. I do think it was getting weaker and I'm glad it was able to go out on a high note. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I will say I hated it when I saw it, but once it sunk in, I loved it as much as I always loved the show. It'll always be one of my favorite shows.

If nothing else, how could you not love the show that made Olivia Wilde famous?

Va-va-va-...and might I add...voom!