House Of Pain

I still like House, but Jacob Sullum at Reason notes a problem I've also had with this season's arc. House is finally off painkillers, but he and his doctor figure to stop using he needs a distraction. They finally realize the best distraction is his old job of diagnosing weird illnesses.

Okay, except he'd been doing that the first five seasons while using Vicodin--one didn't replace the other. In fact, Vicodin helped him function. (That's what painkillers do.)

I guess the show has run so long that the producers need to come up with something new. They've gotten him off drugs before, and even cured his leg for a while, but this time around they're flirting with taking care of the situation for good.