House - Season Three (DVD, 2007, 5-Disc Box Set)

You have to give the "House" production team credit. Your show has the "American Idol" lead-in and is often the highest-rated scripted drama on TV. However, instead of playing it safe with disease-of-the week plots, "House" swung for the fences several times: putting its main character in jail and threatening him with prison; ramping up the conflicts between all six of the main characters; and ending the year with a big cliffhanger that threatened to cut the main cast in half. Even when a given episode wasn't advancing the progressive storyline, the writers attempted to push the envelope with several politically themed episodes.

Early in Season 3, the big storyline revolved around recurring guest star David Morse, a detective out to get House and his questionable supply of Vicodin. In previous years, lengthy story arcs were given to Chi McBride and Sela Ward: would House lose his job? would House get married? This year, the theme was: would House go to prison? Morse dominated his episodes by playing the rare character that wouldn't back down to House. Although some media critics grew tired of the plot, which perhaps went on 2-3 episodes too long, the resolution was clever and allowed House to keep his dignity (and his job) without having to sacrifice... anything.

Several subplots emerged throughout the season, such as the romance between Drs. Chase and Cameron (first shown in season 2), and Dr. Foreman's growing dissatisfaction with having House as his mentor. House's fascination (or, some might say, obsession) with his boss, Dr. Cuddy, reached new levels. By the end of the season, House faced near mutiny from his underlings... and still didn't seem all that bothered. Perhaps House was too busy counseling a patient to end his life, or faking cancer in order to get a supply of pain medications. Perhaps he was dodging the romantic advances of a teenager, or trading in his case for a wheelchair in order to recover his handicapped parking spot. The more outrageous the behavior, the better Hugh Laurie was in the role. He even upgraded his cane to a model decorated with stars.

Standout guest stars this season included John Larroquette as a man waking up from a decade-long coma, Joel Grey as an ailing doctor, Dave Matthews as a stunted piano prodigy, and the return of Charles S. Dutton as Foreman's dad.

While the "House" season DVDs are never what you'd call packed with extras, the tightly knotted plots and the rapid-fire dialogue makes this a great show to watch more than once. Also try and track down plot-lines that never quite went anywhere, like Cuddy's rumored pregnancy or her not-quite romance with Wilson.

"House" season 3 drew top ratings while continuing with the show's unflinching dialogue and medical situations. This may not have been a great year for "Grey's Anatomy" or "E.R.", so cruise on over to Princeton Plainsborough for a few hours of intense hospital drama.