The world of medicine has always drawn fascination from outsiders. Maybe this is why so many television shows, books and movies revolve around doctors, nurses, and other medical settings. As part of a new series on the blog, we here at Himmelfarb are going to dive into personal favorite pieces of media centered around medicine. While some of these titles may be familiar, hopefully there will be one or two among the bunch for one to enjoy as a treat after big exams.
To start off the series, we’ll begin with my recommendation:
I’ve always loved a good mystery. As a teenager, I poured over classic Sherlock Holmes stories, fascinated by the solutions that I could never see coming. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that when I happened to catch an episode of House MD that I was instantly hooked.
House MD is a mystery show packaged inside a medical show. Based on the character Sherlock Holmes (there’s a reason House’s best friend is named “Wilson”) and a real life doctor (1), the show centers on the aforementioned Doctor House, who is an expert at solving difficult medical mysteries. House is often cynical, unfriendly, and rude, but he’s engaging to watch despite his personality flaws. Each episode, House and his team aim to solve a medical mystery centered around a patient of the week. Like his namesake, House is unconventional and while his habit of breaking and entering is inadvisable in the real world, it does make for exciting television. The side characters of the show, such as Wilson, Cuddy, House’s team and later a cast of interns, provide plenty of other perspectives to follow that contrast with House’s own cynical worldview. When the show is at its best, the mystery of the week is compelling and ties into something going on in House’s own life.
While parts of the show have aged poorly in the years since it’s premiered, the base formula of a flawed protagonist and a mystery only he can solve still holds up. It’s absolutely worth a watch if one wants to take a dive into one of the most popular shows of the 2000s. Just don’t take House’s bedside manner as a learning example.
1.Gonzalez S. There’s A Doctor Behind ‘House’: Internist Lisa Sanders. YaleNews. Published October 30, 2009. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://news.yale.edu/2009/10/30/theres-doctor-behind-house-internist-lisa-sanders
2. House M.D. Heel & Toe Films, Shore Z Productions, Bad Hat Harry Productions; 2004.
