Dr. House and Smallville news

July 27, 2005

You can learn a lot of things watching television. My latest lesson: never lie to your doctor.

Dr. Gregory House, the main character of the FOX drama House all but berates his patients into telling the embarrassing truth. Of course, he has good reason. They’re usually lying about the steroids/painkillers/etc. that they’re popping, which are causing their illnesses in the first place.

House doesn’t have a warm and fuzzy bedside manner. In fact, he’s the antithesis of every TV doctor you’ve ever seen. He’s gruff, cantankerous, antisocial, and brutally honest. Those traits make for some awkward, albeit, humorous situations. And don’t be surprised if you get the urge to send your own physician a thank-you note, after watching.

Dr. House’s attitude may need adjusting, but his medical skills are top-notch. And that’s what makes him likeable. He is a brilliant diagnostician. That skill and drive is perhaps rooted in his own medical history. He is crippled in one leg, due to his doctor’s inability to diagnose a medical problem in time.

Each week, House tackles a puzzling medical case. It sounds like a typical ho-hum medical drama, but it isn’t. Hugh Laurie plays the good doctor as a maverick, who maneuvers the clinic corridors with his cane and sharp tongue.

The result is arresting television. If you like solving mysteries and enjoy sarcasm, check out House. Catch it at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on FOX.

Smallville news:
Spike vs. Superman? Not exactly, but close.

James Marsters, a.k.a. Spike of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will guest star this season on several episodes of Smallville. Marsters takes on the recurring role of Brainiac, one of Superman’s notorious enemies.

I can’t wait to see what Marsters does with this role, considering his Spike put the “ire” in vampire. Clark Kent, may I suggest you call in the Slayer for a little backup?

If Marsters isn’t enough to get you to tune in to Smallville this season, here’s another reason: Luke Duke, a.k.a. Tom Wopat, is heading there, too. Wopat is scheduled to reunite with his former Dukes of Hazzard costar John Schneider on the WB drama. Wopat will play the role of a powerful senator who was a childhood friend to Jonathan.

While I couldn’t be happier about that reunion, it’s this final morsel of Smallville news that is, perhaps, the best of all. My celebrity crush and the former man-of-steel, Dean Cain, will also be guest starring, according to E!Online.

I know. Two Supermen on one screen, it’s enough to make a girl giddy. Smallville returns on Sept. 29, so you’ve got plenty of time to learn to program your VCR. Go.

Originally published 7/27/05 in The Exponent Telegram newspaper.

Subscribe by RSS