I don't watch much TV, but I do like House. Admittedly I was more confused than impressed by the first episode I ever watched, but this was primarily my fault. The only thing I knew about it was that Hugh Laurie was the star, so naturally I assumed it was a comedy. It was only after 15 minutes of uncomfortably watching him trying to save a dying baby that my paradigms suddenly shifted, and it transformed from an incredibly bleak comedy to a refreshingly pacey and witty hospital drama. At that point I stopped watching, because I don't like dramas - especially dramas set in hospitals - even if they are refreshingly pacey and witty.

Luckily, tinyjo is more open-minded than me so she kept watching it, and I soon found myself joining her. House became the mainstream drama series that I've ever made time to watch. It was rather later that I was able to work out exactly what it was that I liked about it, but my hobby is over-thinking my feelings and I got there eventually.

I like House because he's a misanthrope who treats his patients as puzzles, his colleagues as incompetents and everyone else as an irritating distraction. The problems he solves are either trivial to someone with his knowledge, or ridiculously convoluted and solvable only by a combination of experimentation and inspiration. As a result, he's always either bored or stressed. Basically, I like him because - beneath his coat and stethoscope - he's an IT support guy. At last, a character who I can relate to! I know a fair few of y'all do support of one kind or another. Do you agree?