House: The Episodic Exception To A Serial Rule

House: The Episodic Exception To A Serial Rule

Posted on Wednesday March 9, 2011, 16:47 by Stephen Carty in Small Screen

Recently, I've been catching up with the brilliant House (or, depending on how anal you want to be, House MD) and I realised something. Unlike my other cherished favourite TV shows, this one's very much a same-set-up-each-week episodic effort. What in the name of Blu-ray am I talking about? Well, allow me explain. In broad terms, TV shows can be split into two types: serialised (one big arc story) and episodic (a new adventure each week). Now, obviously many programmes overlap (hold on, we'll get to that), but personally I prefer serials. Big time. And yet House snuck under the radar, onto my considerable DVD shelving unit and into my heart...

Before we go any further, let's clarify what's what. Serialised is when you have a larger plot that spans the entire season and unfolds over each episode: commentators talk about "arc episodes" that deal with this larger, overarching theme or plot. This is the kind of show that always starts with a long "Previously on..." clip reel: think The West Wing or later series of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. These shows attract hard-core viewers and a dedicated fanbase, because they require commitment since, usually, if you miss an episode you're screwed. Now with some this isn't always the case (Dexter, 24, Prison Break), but with the more extreme examples (Lost, Mad Men, The Wire, The Sopranos), missing even ten minutes can leave you be scratching your napper down the line.

Episodic shows, on the other hand, are more for the casual viewer who dips in and out. We have consistent characters and (often) the same settings, but the story finished by the end of each episode and you don't necessarily need to watch them in order. Of course, many do have ongoing storylines that mean they benefit from being followed in chronological order (the Steven Moffat Doctor Who being a good example), but mostly this lot follows a self-contained, mystery-of-the-week format where you don't need to see every part. Like, say, Friends, NCIS, the fourteen different incarnations of CSI and nearly every show Dick Wolfe's ever been involved with. And, indeed, House.

Sure, I understand that serialised shows are riskier because they're harder to join midway through. I also completely appreciate (through much suffering) that it's tougher to take when they go downhill, given how much time you've invested (Heroes, feel my cold stare). But I find serials deeper and more fulfilling, since we get to know the characters as they evolve. I'll concede, it's definitely an individual preference, since serial TV suits my obsessive need to see every episode in order to follow a show. And, in a day and age of boxsets (which has helped popularise serialised viewing since they suit marathon viewing sessions), downloads and streaming players, it's easier to avoid missing an instalment.

That said, I'm not snobbily opposed to episodic. Despite the over-arching mystery, Life On Mars was essentially crime-of-the-week stuff and that would make my all-time favourite lists (indeed, a poster of Gene and Sam quotes proudly hangs in this writer's flat). Then there's The Simpsons, which remains an utter classic despite years of hitting the reset button by the end of play. At this point we have to just accept it: we're never going to see Maggie get pissed and snog a boy, are we?

Importantly, given that a great many fanboys lean towards serialised whilst most studio bigwigs prefer episodic (safer, easier to get ratings), we also get shows that mix the two. Alias started off mythology-heavy, but later seasons became more mission-of-the-week to help new viewers find a way in; Supernatural and Smallville arguably switched in the other direction. Battlestar Galactica played like a serial for two great years before the network pressured showrunner Ronald D Moore to make episodes more stand-alone. Then there's the X-Files, which switched between formats with some episodes focused on the over-arching story whilst others felt relatively throwaway.

And here's where House comes in. Given that the repetitive structure hardly varies between weeks (new patient comes in with a baffling illness, they're misdiagnosed about 23 times, House eventually stumbles on the answer), it belongs more to the episodic camp. But yet, whilst appearing to be a plot-driven show focused on the illness-of-the-week, David Shore's medical drama is very, very character-orientated, meaning that each time the credits roll we're left with a better understanding of the grumpy doc's dichotic persona. So, whilst it's still very samey in terms of format, both Hugh Laurie's stubbly dignostician and the entire supporting ensemble are developed in an ongoing manner which, quite honestly, is why I keep coming back. That, and House's flawlessly-delivered put-downs.

So where do you stand? Do you live for heavily-serialised, can't-miss-an-ep shows like Lost and Mad Men, or do you like casually tuning in to the familiar likes of Friends or CSI?