House, Hospital TV Shows Dominating Airways

Over the past decade, the proliferation of the hospital-based TV show has been astounding. What began with ER and Chicago Hope back in the 90s has developed into its own genre, much like what Survivor did for the development of reality shows in which women get naked for cookies and peanut butter. But unlike reality shows, hospital-based shows occasionally require mental acuity, and at times, consciousness, thus explaining why reality shows continue to dominate the ratings.

The hospital show, despite what some may think, comes in several different flavors. ER, for example, which apparently plans on giving The Simpsons a run for the longevity past-staleness award, centers on victims being admitted for a variety of suspenseful and exotic reasons; relationships supplement the story.

Grey's Anatomy is quite the reverse, choosing to throw a patient into the mix anytime the show requires that two doctors of the opposite gender find a way to bump in to one another so that they can bump in to one another in the on-call room in the next episode.

Scrubs breaks the mold by focusing on laughs rather than hook-ups. Soon to be wrapping up its 6^th season (both ER and Grey's will also be back), the comedy that stole the brilliant writers of the original Family Guy episodes during its sabbatical continues to entertain with both originality and clever, laugh-trackless humor.