House ... the science is rubbish, right?

[NotQuiteCockney]

I've just started watching House (seen the first two eps), and I'm finding myself slightly annoyed by the science, or lack thereof. Is 'cleft chin' really a single dominant gene? (I've looked it up - it's not! Thank goodness, because neither I nor DH has one, but DS2 does!) Are babies protected by maternal antibodies for the first six months even without breastfeeding? (no, right?)

I don't generally watch doctor shows, but have been won around to Scrubs ... but the science on there is (afaik) good. Will I have to give up on House thanks to crappy science?

I've not watched Casualty or ER, dunno about the preachy. I'm not saying House is always wrong (that would be an achievement!) but just that it's not reliable.

I'm not watching it for the science

Is there totty there that I've missed?

If you don't like the prettiness of Chase or the manly square jaw of Foreman, or the 'don't you want to look after this puppy?' eyes of Wilson, you have to love the misogynistic, misanthropic, stubbly arrogance that is House! As the saying goes, 'Cynicism, stubble and Vicodin? I'm so there!' I'm afraid very few of us House fans watch it for the science bit, we're too busy revelling in the superb dialogue!

The dialog is good. I can't really tell the other blokes apart, though. I'll probably keep going, I just like competant science with my tv ...

I'm just happy I don't know enough about science to know if it's incompetent! But it drives me mad as an English teacher when I read badly written books; I keep wanting to get my red pen out and scribble all over them, so I can sympathise a lot with what you say.

Interestingly, though, almost all web resources designed for schools state firmly that the gene for cleft chin is dominant. So probably the writers were taught that as a fact at school and never learned any better. I guess they have medical advisers but, at the same time, medical advisers can't be experts in everything. Just treat it as intentional along with all other high school students, the doctors in House were taught that cleft chin is dominant, and they relied on this inaccurate "knowledge" in making a deduction about paternity that did, coincidentally (or not entirely coincidentally there is a fair bit of evidence that cleft chin is strongly heritable, so someone with a cleft chin is extremely likely to have a parent with one even though the idea of one single dominant gene is demonstrably wrong) prove to be correct.

Did he say 6 months without breastfeeding? I'd thought he said with breastfeeding, but I could well be wrong. I can remember there being something 'scientific' in that particular episode that I was about, though -- something around the eventual 'brilliant diagnosis' just didn't make sense.

IMO the science does get better (or at least less obviously wrong to a layperson). It can get a bit repetitive, though.

Yes, there's obviously a heritable thing with the cleft chin, but it can't be just that, because, well, if it is, there are some issues with DS2!

He did say breastfeeding initially.

But then, with the adopted kid (who was adopted at 2 weeks or something, so obviously not bf for long, if at all), he said that babies are covered by their mother's immune system for the first six months (which they aren't, from what I know, unless they are bf). And he assumed the mother wasn't immunised, on the basis of no evidence. Of course she could have had measles, rather than the immunisation.

And then the assumption it was a mutated measles virus, on top of all that, was just insane.

Ok, just did a brief search and it sounds like the pork worm in the brain thing (from the first ep) might not be complete bs.

No idea about the science but Hugh Laurie's accent is rubbish. It really grates and I can't get past it.

house is my favourite tv programme.

stick with it NQC.

Meh, I'm Canadian, his accent seems ok. I've heard so many worse brit-doing-NA accents (Helena Bonham Carter was in a movie about Nova Scotia that made me laugh at the preview) ...

Yes, that bit third paragraph in your post I think that's what made me .

I thought HL's accent was supposed to be quite good (very specific to a particular small area of the US, but good of that). I know the director didn't realise he wasn't American when he first heard him read for it, so it presumably can't be all that bad?

The porpheria (sp) episde was quite accurate, I'd guessed what it was and was right. Saw a patient with suspected porheria in real life and was very similar.

I love House.

I love House. I love Hugh Laurie in House.

Hugh Laurie is so sexy as house - i'm completely addicted and have now got into Shark after. Thursday is my favourite telly night.

I'm enjoying the rest of it, it's just the wonky science that's a problem. (Ok, I lie, they keep sticking needles in places. I'm not good with needles! But that's not the show's problem, I don't think ...)

Hmmm, just watched the third episode, and I'm sure they have drug lookup things, where they can find all the small yellow pills.

But what I want to know - and you'll have to stick with it, NQC, to appreciate this fully - is, is it scientifically accurate that 'it's never lupus'??

To be honest I am a nurse and it doesnt bother me in the slightest especially when I understand bits, can interpret them for the kids and second guess him! I get massive brownie points for that. All the nurses I know who watch it love it and mostly spend their time wishing we worked with a house!

it is the whole genius misanthrope, but vulnerable under all the layers of nasty callousness thing that gets me.

think it is nothing short of a surreal miracle that I can fancy hugh laurie (remember captain darling?). but in house I do.

Hands off House- he's mine!

I have only got into whilst in Oz; never watched it in the UK. What has just happened thre- am I ahead or behind? The board tried to fire Wilson last week..