[quote name='dcfox']True. The show follows pretty much the same format episode after episode with some twists thrown in now and then. A lot of shows are like that. Law & Order. Someone dies, they investigate then they go to trial. The only difference, like House, are the patients/victims and the circumstances. And yet Law & Order is one of the most successful tv brands of all time.[/QUOTE]
I won't disagree with you really about Law and Order and its "ripped from the headlines" episodes. I think Law and Order's main appeal is that in almost every episode they manage to pull off a pretty decent plot twist. With House, they try to make it seem so dramatic and questionable as to whether the patient will survive but since they never kill off the patient, that's rarely the case.
I do watch Law and Order from time to time because its an easy show to just pick up here and there and you get an entire story in 1 hour. Its the TV equivalent of a quick snack. You can just pick it up and watch an episode and know everything that's going on. You can do the same with House for the most part but it just doesn't feel the same.