ABOUT THE BOOK House M.D. has become one of the most successful medical dramas of all time; this is no small feat, considering the medical drama genre has been around since the inception of the TV series. Medical dramas tend to have several of the same elements, which can be packaged and arranged in different ways but remain fundamentally the same. Medical dramas have sick patients, of course, so people in peril is part of the formula. They have technology, or, more specifically, they have medical technology. The shows are full of disease names, other jargon, and high-tech machines that make viewers think what is on the screen is new and vibrant. And they have ratiocination, that is, they have that quality of the detective story that keeps everyone interested, the application of reason and investigative methodology to solve a difficult problem. MEET THE AUTHOR Jeff Davis is a life long educator with a Ph.D. in English Studies who has taught at both the high school and university levels. He is also an artist and an amateur anthropologist who is a proponent of First Art, that art which our ancient ancestors practiced some 30,000 years ago and even earlier. His most recent book, The First-Generation Student Experience, expanded the college student-affairs field describing the challenges of contemporary nontraditional students. Related to his interest in evolutionary biology, he is currently working on a writing pedagogy book that argues that motivation is the most important dimension of the creative process, even more important than skill and native ability. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK House M.D. has been running for eight seasons, since 2004, and each season has its own special flavor in terms of character and plot development. One of the main themes of Season Two is Houses attitude toward medical ethics. House obviously thinks about the ethics of his actions, but his actions often reflect questionable conclusions. Strangely, some people regard House as ethical to a fault. These people think House gets into trouble because he represents a true, pure ethical character while everyone around him takes the easy way out. This behavior can make him seem brave to some people, but what if he is just a cold, antisocial individual who doesnt care about other peoples feelings? For example, it might be full disclosure to tell a terminal patient who will die in two days that his wife has been cheating on him, but this does inflict unnecessary emotional injury to the patient as well. So what is ethical? Anyway, Season Two shows House acting brashly in many touchy, ethical situations; although he sometimes appears to get pleasure out of delivering bad news to people, he also seems to want to do the right thing most of the time. CHAPTER OUTLINE Quicklet on House Season 2 (TV Show) + Introduction + Producer and Directors + Overall Summary: Season Two + Episode Summaries: Season Two + ...and much more House Season 2 (TV Show)