When I watch Fox's House, M.D., I feel like I have a problem. I sit, enthralled, like a homeless man looking into buffet windows, for hours. Not only do I gladly sit for hours, but I try to tear myself away, only to come crawling back like an animal and turn it back on, Even if I have already seen the episode. Considering the popularity of the show, I believe it is safe to say that I am not alone. Some shows you watch and every now and then you see an amazing episode, but not with 'House' ... every episode turns you into a mindless little couch zombie drooling on yourself over the incredible entertainment you are seeing.

But what is it that makes House so addictive, so entertaining, so impossibly interesting you find yourself unable to turn it off? Is it Hugh Laurie's acclaimed portrayal of the title character that earned him T.V. Guide's 'Television's Sexiest Man' Award, two Golden Globes (Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series), four Emmy nominations (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama series) and numerous other nominations and awards? Is it the powerful, brilliant writing engineered by creator and executive producer David Shore that earned him an Emmy award for Best Writing in a Drama series? Is it the fascinating mystery of each case, and watching House solve it in his irascible, omnipotent brilliance? Or is it the powerful world of medicine, full of deep questions, of life and death, and of dilemmas that are never simple? The only logical answer seems to be that such a universally acclaimed work of drama can not be traced to any one source, but to one of the best ensembles of artists and portrayers of their craft to ever have the pleasure of working together. If the power and entertainment of each episode is not enough of an example, then the breadth of the awards it has received should be.

Medical drama on modern television has always been a powerful form of entertainment. Few places in the world of mankind have such daily trials and stories of tragedy as a hospital, and a show that details these things has a plethora of opportunities to delve into the most fascinating areas of human society and its psyche. House has never shyed away from such topics, ranging from world-wide debates such as society's public health protocols, to intimate human relationships, such as parents making up with a dying son that has not spoken to them in twenty years. All the while the character House dominates the scene with his painfully real views on the world and his lack of sugar-coating, which society and people so often greet with anger and disbelief, yet find that they needed, even if they will never admit it.  Above all, House's take on the world, both the character and the entire drama, make the viewer truly think, which is something rare and beautiful in entertainment.

Episodes from House have been nominated for the Humanitas prize, an award that is considered the "nobel prize" of television, and the 2006 episode "Three stories" won the prize. It is in this episode that House lectures a diagnostics class on the story of three patients with leg pain, intertwining the difficult reality of the practice of medicine:

"What do you have to do to get an A in You’re Dying 101? They grade you on gentleness and supportiveness? Is there a scale for measuring compassion? This buddy of mine, I gotta give him ten bucks every time somebody says 'Thank you.' Imagine that. This guy’s so good, people thank him for telling them that they’re dying. I don't get thanked that often."

...and the painful history of his own:

"The patient (House himself, though the class is unaware) was technically dead for over a minute. Personally, I choose to believe that the white light people sometimes see, visions, this patient saw... They’re all just chemical reactions that take place when the brain shuts down."

--"You choose to believe that?"

"There’s no conclusive science. My choice has no practical relevance to my life, I choose the outcome I find more comforting."

--"You find it more comforting to believe that this is it?"

"I find it more comforting to believe that this simply isn’t a test."

It is episodes such as these that reveal the power of drama, and of television; episodes like "Dying Changes Everything," in which the lapdog secretary of a celebrity feminist vows to strike out after her own dreams when confronted with death, only to return to her former job ("I would rather spend my life close to the birds than waste it wishing I had wings"). Doctor Hadley is upset, and House explains the difference between she and her patient ("Almost dying changes nothing. Dying changes everything"). She has a fatal disease that will claim her life within 10 years... she has died, and therefore pursues her life with furor.

Episodes like "House vs. God," in which a young religious 'healer' pits faith against medicine, and coincidence against miracle. Episodes like "Unfaithful," in which a priest who has lost his faith on the road of his long, suffering-filled life is treated by House, the single symptom not explained by his diagnosis happening to be the thing that brought him to House in the first place: His hallucinating Jesus.

The beauty of each of these examples is in their sheer depth of content, the quality that those who love drama respect and just... savor, like a thick, meaty soup - Depth in every character that appears on the show... depth in the complexity of every situation and of the human condition and its nature. House, M.D. has a power that goes beyond mere entertainment and delves onward to expand the mind and fill the heart to its corners... a power that can change a human being.

Though House M.D. has fallen in the ratings war, it will remain, to me, one of the best shows ever to appear on television regardless of where it goes in the future, or where it is today. Even the warmest flames cannot burn forever, but House, M.D. is a flame worth watching, especially at its brightest.

Hugh Laurie - Dr. Gregory House

Lisa Edelstein - Dr. Lisa Cuddy

Robert Sean Leonard - Dr. James Wilson

Omar Epps - Dr. Eric Foreman

Jennifer Morrison - Dr. Allison Cameron

Jesse Spencer - Dr. Robert Chase

Olivia Wilde - Dr. Remy Hadley, "Thirteen"

Peter Jacobson - Dr. Chris Taub

I do not claim ownership or part in the production, distribution or writing of Fox's House, M.D. I am merely a fan who seeks to spread his appreciation and acclaim for all of those who take part in the show's creation and production. All photographs are available to the public from Fox's official websites, and all quotes are derived from viewing during the show's appropriated times on national television. HOUSE is from Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry Productions in association with Universal Media Studios.