House

Dr Gregory House treats an unexplained illness as a problem somebody has failed to solve properly. He is much less patient with the person suffering from it. House gets remarkable mileage from a doctor whose intelligence makes him valuable and whose behaviour makes working with him exhausting.

Hugh Laurie is the essential element. His timing gives the insults comic force, but the performance also makes House's need to be right feel less comfortable than simple confidence. The diagnostic team, Wilson and Cuddy provide different kinds of resistance.

The medical mysteries establish a reliable episode structure: an explanation, a test, a complication and another attempt. The character relationships give that repetition a longer life, though the format inevitably becomes familiar over an extended run. It is drama, not a source of medical guidance.

If you enjoy a difficult lead whose abilities do not excuse his decisions, there is plenty to follow here. The wit and procedural rhythm make it easier regular viewing than the heavier character studies with which it sometimes shares its central obsession.