House, MD.

I watch a lot of television. Often its just sports but I also watch movies and on very rare occasions syndicated programming. One particular show I can't get enough of is House. Simply put it is the best show ever. If you don't like Hospital dramas or witty characters or life and death situations you won't like it. I happen to like all 3, though I can't think of another Hospital drama I like. (Emergency wasn't all that bad and I do love Dr Who).

But those reasons aren't why House is so incredible. Its also not Hugh Laurie's unbelievable performance or the litany of memorable side characters throughout the series. Its not the great soundtrack or extremely sarcastic and modern sense of humor. Its not the imaginative yet usually realistic variety of ailments to be dealt with. Its the ideas.

Most shows that deal with a clash of ideas come off as pretentious or pedantic. House in my opinion, is neither. The viewer loves Greg House despite his many evident failings. However, in most cases, its not his actions which are meant to be embraced. Sure, its supposed to be cool how maverick he is and how courageously independent he is in the face of whatever or whoever happens to be telling him what to do. Instead, its the underlying, philosophical, dare I say presuppositions, which the viewer is carefully, but hardly subtly, fed.

Let's pretend there's really a person named Gregory House. He's really a doctor. A man sworn to do everything in his power to enhance the quality of life of the people around him. A man who has devoted his life to the study of the preservation of life. Let's pretend, like our show's authors do, that this man has a better grip on man's inherent sinfulness than many preachers. Why would he be a doctor? Why would a natural pessimist, a naturalist pessimist, devote himself to helping the very people he understands are naturally bad? In a recent episode he explains everyone lies and the only time you get to the truth is when death is imminent. He is both excusing lying to that person to get them to tell the truth while explaining why lying about the person's impending death is essential to get the truth from them. Deep. In any case, a doctor would have to have a reason to care about the truth. Take the happy ending out of the story and you lose the reason to tell it.

That's where it gets interesting. In the same episode our character affirms he is a naturalist. He states that any out-of-body experiences while practically dead are merely the remaining energy firing through the brain and optical nerves. Another character presses him on it and he states he chooses to believe that because he doesn't want this life to merely be a test. Why? Because he knows he'd fail. He knows we'd all fail. He knows he already failed.

I know I'm reading into things a bit when I'm dissecting the psychology of a TV character. In some shows a character's beliefs change as often as their clothes. Not House's. A consistent theme is humanities' depravity. House is always assuming the worst and being right most of the time. An important secondary character represents vice for several seasons. Another represents depression and the suddenness of death. Another represents the fragility of life and time. All of these themes painted in the dismal light of depravity are really horrid. Suicide, murder, drug addiction and serial cheating are not viewed as abnormal. They are what makes us human.

Why do I care? Well, I like to think hard about stuff most people just say, "Wow, that's deep stuff." But also, do you see how close our mythical doctor is to the truth? He knows what's wrong he just doesn't have the solution. He can't get there with a differential diagnosis. All the Holmesian logic in the universe won't result in God. And that's why he won't go there. That character in the TV show is the naturalist you work with, who is just trying to make now count because they don't believe in "next."

There is no equation to find God. To find God you need faith. House is a Rationalist, he can't believe in faith because it means he can't do it himself. Do you see the tragic circle? Someone who is so in tune with his own inability to achieve a goal, instead of looking for help he wishes away the need to achieve that goal. "I am incapable of perfect therefore there is no perfection."

At the risk of sounding pretentious and pedantic, let me challenge you to think about the shows you watch. Do they confront you with ideas? Do they make you think?


Braves still looking strong. Beachy has been steadily better since returning from the DL, Uggla and now probably Pastornicky on the DL themselves meaning maybe some Simmons-Janish glove work up the middle which could make for some sweet highlights. Could also mean a deal for a second baseman could be in the works.
Current lineup is pretty frickin beast tho:

Heyward-Justin-Freeman-CJ-Mac-Gattis-PJ-Simba-Pitch

(I'd play Gattis in left and JHey in center, BJ or Schafer enter as defensive replacements late in games we lead or close games)