Shows Where Every Episode Is Pretty Much The Same

[Super Hero Guy]

You know what I mean. Sure, fans might argue that they're simply "formuliac", but really, change a name hear, a location there, and you basically have a summary for each episode.

[Devon C.]

Inspector Gadget. Three's Company.

[Jared]

90% of Highlander.
Airwolf.
Murder She Wrote

[ocelotrevs]

The A- Team (if it ain't broke)
Newer Simpsons, I really hate how they all start the same

[Captain Sarcasm]

Scooby-Doo.

I could do a long, drawn-out joke about how repetitve it is, but that's also too repetive to be worth it.

[blackdragon6]

xialin showdown.

hunter

law & order-i dare people to try and defend this.

[OverMaster]

Sailor Moon and Pokemon often (not ALWAYS, but often) fall in this trap.

[Deathstroke]

Married With Children

[une]

The most obvious answer, Power Rangers.

[The Joker]

WCW Monday Night Nitro during the nWo angle.

Oh, and the 60's Adam West Batman television show too. :D

[Toreador]

Dukes of Hazzard

[mattbib]

Full House

[spideyguy0]

Power Rangers
the first season of Smallvile
the original Star Trek, although they found a way to make it seem new and good every week
Law And Order

[Guts/Batman]

law & order-i dare people to try and defend this.

So what? It kicks ass.

Senifeld.

[Alex]

Full House
To the friggen T!
Every epsiode follows this formula.
1. Kid or uncle jesse does something bad
2. Kid or uncle jesse gets in some form of trouble.
3. Danny lectures kid or uncle jesse, while that godawful lesson music played.
When i was a kid, i used to hear that music in my head when i was being scolded.

[Guts/Batman]

To the friggen T!
Every epsiode follows this formula.
1. Kid or uncle jesse does something bad
2. Kid or uncle jesse gets in some form of trouble.
3. Danny lectures kid or uncle jesse, while that godawful lesson music played.
When i was a kid, i used to hear that music in my head when i was being scolded.

Another thing was the "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" as if it was filmed before a studio audience (which is possible) when one of the girls realized they did something wrong and gave Danny or another adult a hug after they realized what they did and why it was wrong.

[Howard Allan]

Cmon people. this one screams every freaking soap opera ever made.

[Draconomicon]

The last enterprise show.
every second episode would have the team get captured and thrown into another intergalactic jail.
It got old real fast!

[kkraven]

Gilligan's Island.
Airwolf.
Knight Rider.
Chip's.

[CHEYENNE-BLACKBIRD]

law & order-i dare people to try and defend this.i probably would like law and order alot better if the out come was more varied.but its not wich is why i hate it with a fuckin pasion!!!.same as matlock,and perry mason.


oh and i would like to add hunter

[Legato]

Smallville: If it's not about some FOTW going after Clark's friends it's about some villain coming close to finding out his secret but always ends up dead. Hopefully next season will change all of that.

[Royal]

You can't forget Charmed.

[BlairH]

FRIENDS: The unseen episode!

(Central Perk)
ROSS (mournful tone): Hey guys, wanna hear something boring?
CHANDLER: "Witty" retort!
RACHEL: No, but I'm slutty!
ROSS (mournful tone): You guys!
ROSS: Anyway I've just met this really gret girl from the museum.
JOEY: DUDE! Is she hot? I am so dumb! Permit me to demonstrate my dumbness!
CHANDLER: I poke fun at you -my best friend's dumbness.
JOEY: (falls off chair)
ROSS: (mournful tone): Anyway, she'll be here in a few minutes.
(JANICE enters)
JANICE: OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!
SPECIAL GUEST STAR SEAN CONNERY: Well thish ish a mosht unexpected turn of eventsh!

[blackdragon6]

thats funny ,i never watched friends but every episode did look the same.

[Calamas]

Wild, Wild West The only that changed was the villain, unless it was the semi-regular return of Dr. Miguelito Loveless. And even as a kid I recognized this, though I still loved those daily reruns.

[blackdragon6]

what about sliders

[Dark Galaxy]

Anyone remember a little gem called "Home Improvement"??

-Some dilemma vexes Tim and/or Family
-Tim tries to figure out some clever way to 'fix it'
-Tim proceeds to screw everything up
-He talks to faceless neighbor behind the fence who imparts wisdom
-Tim comes clean, and family forgives the lovable handyman despite his obvious shortcomings.

[Guts/Batman]

i probably would like law and order alot better if the out come was more varied.but its not wich is why i hate it with a fuckin pasion!!!.same as matlock,and perry mason.

It is a show about Law (the cops) and Order (the court system). How can it be varied (other than the obvious not guilty/guilty)?

If you expect a show like that to vary, you are expecting too much to watch and appreciate it for what it is.

I love the show. I am a Law and Order freak.

[Paradox]

I think they said it all on "Friends".

"What's this?"

"It appears to be an episode of 'Three's Company' where there's some sort of misunderstanding."

"Oh, then I've seen it." ;)

[thehod]

Any soap that's been running longer than about, oooooh, fifteen episodes.

[eJm]

Anyone remember a little gem called "Home Improvement"??

-Some dilemma vexes Tim and/or Family
-Tim tries to figure out some clever way to 'fix it'
-Tim proceeds to screw everything up
-He talks to faceless neighbor behind the fence who imparts wisdom
-Tim comes clean, and family forgives the lovable handyman despite his obvious shortcomings.
Even with all those, it is one of the best shows of all time. Period.

Anyway, my choice....

Power Rangers.

[Phil Clark]

Even though I love the show, "House" is the perfect embodiment of this.

Every episode is like this...

Introduce a character who collapses due to some illness, credits, show House not wanting to work the clinic, give House the file on this weeks mystery illness patient, diagnose, patient gets worse, rediagnose, patient seems to get better but then gets worse, House's team argues about the illness, House makes brilliant deduction, goes against everyone else, patient recovers, House looks smug.

But it does manage to be entertaining despite this. But I am not sure for how much longer.

[Michael P]

FRIENDS: The unseen episode!

(Central Perk)
ROSS (mournful tone): Hey guys, wanna hear something boring?
CHANDLER: "Witty" retort!
RACHEL: No, but I'm slutty!
ROSS (mournful tone): You guys!
ROSS: Anyway I've just met this really gret girl from the museum.
JOEY: DUDE! Is she hot? I am so dumb! Permit me to demonstrate my dumbness!
CHANDLER: I poke fun at you -my best friend's dumbness.
JOEY: (falls off chair)
ROSS: (mournful tone): Anyway, she'll be here in a few minutes.
(JANICE enters)
JANICE: OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!
SPECIAL GUEST STAR SEAN CONNERY: Well thish ish a mosht unexpected turn of eventsh!


Actually, Ross did screw Janice once.

X-Files followed a pattern similar to that for House: Monster kills someone/aliens engage in alien activity in the teaser, Mulder and Scully investigate, Mulder develops wild theory, Scully is skeptical, Mulder's theory is seemingly disproven but it turns out he was wrong about one minor detail, final confrontation with the monster/aliens, Mulder is validated before the audience but not before Scully, ambiguous final shot that suggests the threat might not be gone.

Seriously, that's every episode from the first season.

[Toonimator]

BBC's Keeping Up Appearances. My grandparents love it, and the cast does a good job, but it's the same thing every episode.

[StoneGold]

Married With Children
Actually, Married did have a couple different plots. Not a ton, but a few. There's your Peggy trying to screw Al plot, your Al's get rich quick plot, your Bud trying to get laid plot, your Bundys vs. Marcy/rest of society plot, and your Kelly tries to show she's not a stupid slut plot.

Now you want to talk about repetition? Perfect Strangers. The only variation happened on those rare occasions when Balki was the one who got taught the moral lesson instead of Cousin Larry. Extremely rare, and yet somehow, they were often the most satisfying.

[Captain Trips]

Hulk Hogan matches in the mid to late 80's: Start strong, get beat down, have the villain do their finishing move, kick out of the pin at 2, hulk up, three big fists, irish whip into the ropes, big boot to the face, drop the leg, 1... 2... 3..., play "I am a Real American," pose for the crowd for about as long as the time it took for the whole match to take place.

[DDM]

1960's Batman

[eJm]

Hulk Hogan matches in the mid to late 80's: Start strong, get beat down, have the villain do their finishing move, kick out of the pin at 2, hulk up, three big fists, irish whip into the ropes, big boot to the face, drop the leg, 1... 2... 3..., play "I am a Real American," pose for the crowd for about as long as the time it took for the whole match to take place.
And to think he's been doing that for 10 Million Years.

[KenK]

Even though I love the show, "House" is the perfect embodiment of this.

Every episode is like this...

Introduce a character who collapses due to some illness, credits, show House not wanting to work the clinic, give House the file on this weeks mystery illness patient, diagnose, patient gets worse, rediagnose, patient seems to get better but then gets worse, House's team argues about the illness, House makes brilliant deduction, goes against everyone else, patient recovers, House looks smug.

But it does manage to be entertaining despite this. But I am not sure for how much longer.

Yeah, eventually, he's gonna have to get it right on the first try, and he needs to lose a few patients!

[SteelTownr]

"King of the Hill"

Bobby does something queer, Hank agonizes over it, Peggy says something in bad Spanish, Hank accepts Bobby, Big Hug, credits.

Mark B.

[Ryan K]

Smallville was the first show to come to mind. Very rarely does the formula ever get broken, and the status quo hardly ever changes.

[marshal99]

Almost every TV show episodes has the same formulatic episodes for its own show.
CSI , buffy , charmed , you name it , it has the same formula throughout its episodes.

CSI
Some corpse turns up dead
CSI investigates
CSI solves and captures the killer

Buffy
Some monster/vampire turns up
Buffy slays it
Big bad in the background etc
etc etc

It's what makes it watchable . If u want unpredictability , go watch a movie. TV shows are predictable.

[eJm]

CSI
Some corpse turns up dead
CSI investigates
CSI solves and captures the killer


Isn't that the whole point? :confused:

[Ryan K]

Almost every TV show episodes has the same formulatic episodes for its own show.
CSI , buffy , charmed , you name it , it has the same formula throughout its episodes.

CSI
Some corpse turns up dead
CSI investigates
CSI solves and captures the killer

Buffy
Some monster/vampire turns up
Buffy slays it
Big bad in the background etc
etc etc

It's what makes it watchable . If u want unpredictability , go watch a movie. TV shows are predictable.

Buffy had a large number of episodes that didn't follow that formula. And not all TV shows are predictable. That's a very broad generalization. Movies can be just as, if not more predictable. In recent years I'd even say TV has been better than 90% of the crap I've seen at the movies.

[Magneto_X]

Samurai Pizza Cats.

But that shows so crazy you never get bored. Sometimes they have the occasiona twist (like when Speedy lost to Bad Bird) and in the finale where Bad Bird teamed up with Speedy to save the world.

[Devon C.]

Anyone remember a little gem called "Home Improvement"??

-Some dilemma vexes Tim and/or Family
-Tim tries to figure out some clever way to 'fix it'
-Tim proceeds to screw everything up
-He talks to faceless neighbor behind the fence who imparts wisdom
-Tim comes clean, and family forgives the lovable handyman despite his obvious shortcomings.
The neighbor was named Wilson, IIRC. And the show still kicked ass. And Tim really got the short end of the stick alot.

[Z-man]

Even though I love the show, "House" is the perfect embodiment of this.

Every episode is like this...

Introduce a character who collapses due to some illness, credits, show House not wanting to work the clinic, give House the file on this weeks mystery illness patient, diagnose, patient gets worse, rediagnose, patient seems to get better but then gets worse, House's team argues about the illness, House makes brilliant deduction, goes against everyone else, patient recovers, House looks smug.

But it does manage to be entertaining despite this. But I am not sure for how much longer.

It's not the medical mysteries that people come back for, it's House's saracastic tone.

I nominate Fairly Odd Parents.

[hulahulk]

MacGuyver*
Brady Bunch
Sledge Hammer*
Diagnosis Murder




* I like these shows anyway

[tangentman]

Almost every TV show episodes has the same formulatic episodes for its own show.
CSI , buffy , charmed , you name it , it has the same formula throughout its episodes.

CSI
Some corpse turns up dead
CSI investigates
CSI solves and captures the killer

Buffy
Some monster/vampire turns up
Buffy slays it
Big bad in the background etc
etc etc

It's what makes it watchable . If u want unpredictability , go watch a movie. TV shows are predictable.

Wow, you SO don't get Buffy, do you? ;)

One of the reasons Buffy-fans loved the series was the LACK of predictable formula. Especially since the writers never allowed fans to get so comfortable that they could predict the story.

Assume that all the cast will survive the monsters unscathed to learn their moral lesson of the week/season? Jenny Calendar is murdered by an evil Angel.

Assume that the mad scientist with a vendetta against Buffy is the season's Big Bad? She gets skewered by her pet Frankenstein Monster.

Assume that the show will follow the typical "new kid on the block" formula with Dawn? She turns out to be a magical construct given a human form so that she'll receive protection from Buffy.

Assume that the reunion of ex-girlfriends Willow and Tara means the season takes a turn for the better? Tara dies at the end of the same episode.

Buffy defied so many of the cliches which describe the other shows on this thread.

[Kirayoshi]

I'd say that a lot of your standard issue reality programs fill this category.

Example: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Let's see, Ty Pennington fills the team in on the family whose house is going to be rebuilt, check.
They visit the family, tour their existing home, check.
They send family off on a seven-day vacation(frequently to Walt Disney World), check.
Start throwing around plans for new house, check.
Demolition of old house, check.
B-or-C-list celebrity guest appearance(Randy Travis, Mr. T, etc.), check.
100-plus construction workers descend on the site ready to build a new home, check.
Shots of Ty, his team, the family, anyone else remotely connected to the project, talking about what a wonderful thing they're doing, check.
Evening before the family returns, Ty pulls out his megaphone and makes an ass of himself, check.
Family arrives, everyone gets psyched for the reveal, check.
MOVE THAT BUS! check.
Tour of new house, family moved to tears, check.
Added surprise(new car or truck, free utilities for a year, mortgage paid up), check.

And the sad thing is, I'm a sucker for that show!

[Guts/Batman]

They send family off on a seven-day vacation(frequently to Walt Disney World), check.

Convenient, no? ;)

You forgot Ty taking off his shirt.

[Phil Clark]

It's not the medical mysteries that people come back for, it's House's saracastic tone.

I know that is why I watch it.

[marshal99]

Wow, you SO don't get Buffy, do you? ;)

One of the reasons Buffy-fans loved the series was the LACK of predictable formula. Especially since the writers never allowed fans to get so comfortable that they could predict the story.

Assume that all the cast will survive the monsters unscathed to learn their moral lesson of the week/season? Jenny Calendar is murdered by an evil Angel.

Assume that the mad scientist with a vendetta against Buffy is the season's Big Bad? She gets skewered by her pet Frankenstein Monster.

Assume that the show will follow the typical "new kid on the block" formula with Dawn? She turns out to be a magical construct given a human form so that she'll receive protection from Buffy.

Assume that the reunion of ex-girlfriends Willow and Tara means the season takes a turn for the better? Tara dies at the end of the same episode.

Buffy defied so many of the cliches which describe the other shows on this thread.

It still follows the same formula , almost every TV show does. One thing about Buffy AND Angel you have to understand , relationships never last at wheldonverse - inevitable, one of them will die or turned evil or something.
The only TV shows exempted is probably those anthology show - tales from the darkside , twilight zone , outer limits etc since they can cover a few genres.

It's this kind of predictibility that sometimes keeps us glued to the set for a particular show.

[J Dog]

Every MMPR episode. here is the plot:

1. Evil Bad Guy wants to conquer the world
2. Heroes have stupid problem
3. EBG creates Loser Monster of the Week
4. Loser Monster defeats Heroes easily first time
5. The Heroes go back & review how they screwed up big time
6. Rematch
7. Loser Monster becomes HUGE Loser Monster
8. Heroes call Zords
9. Loser Monster goes down easily
10. Plot Filler
11. Zords & Evil Bad Guy trashed at end of season for new series

The Japanese version must be dissapointed here.

[Captain Trips]

And to think he's been doing that for 10 Million Years.

Yeah, but it wasn't until he turned evil in the NWO that opponents were able to figure out his weakness. After he hulked up and did all the fists, the irish whip, and the big boot, his opponents learned to roll out of the way of the leg drop. This left Hogan incapacitated in pain.

Actually, I think the Ultimate Warrior first did this at Wrestlemania VI. A body splash later and Hogan was no longer champion. I think Sting was the first one to beat Hogan in the NWO era, so he must have called up his old buddy Warrior for some tips. And in between growling and babbling on incoherently about his warrior ideals, the ultimate one told Sting to get the hell out of the way of that leg.

[J Dog]

Oh, here is a better version of my MMPR thing:

The Power Rangers couldn't defeat the cast of Saved By the Bell (tm). First off, these child "actors" have less combined acting ability than a head of lettuce. Second, the Rangers stunt doubles have physiques resembling heroin addicts. Then, to top it all off, they only have ONE plot. That's right, for each episode they just make copies and then fill in the blanks. For those lucky ones who have never seen the show, here is a Grudge Match Exclusive (tm), the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Plot (tm):
1. One or all of the Rangers are confronted with some conflict in their amazingly dull personal/professional lives.
2. The head bad guy, coming up with a new plan to take over the world which suspiciously is almost exactly the same as the last plan, sends the Loser Monster of the Week (tm) to destroy the Rangers.
3. Rangers get their pathetic butts kicked by said loser despite the fact that the baddie can't lift his arms over his head because of the ill-fitting rubber suit.
4. Rangers regroup and spend a couple of hours trying to find a weakness, only to discover something so obvious that Forrest Gump could have figured it out in ten seconds.
5. Rangers confront the monster and defeat it but only after getting their said pathetic butts beat up again.
6. Monster is transformed into a Giant Loser Monster of the Week (tm) which looks as menacing as the San Diego Chicken.
7. Rangers call in the Zords and defeat this terrible enemy in about two minutes (3 seconds if you eliminate the stock footage) and gain the undying love of the citizens despite destroying half the city in the carnage. (EXCEPTION: Once a season, the Zords get wasted and replaced by new ones, just in time to ship to the toy stores for the Christmas rush).
8. Personal/professional conflict is resolved in a deus ex machina so sickeningly sweet that Barney the Purple Dinosaur would barf.
9. Run bloopers that go to prove that no matter how bad the Jenny McCarthy Show becomes, it can be much worse.
10. For miniseries, repeat steps 1-9.

In a daring midnight raid, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles break into the Power Rangers base and steal their photocopier. Without Xerox (tm) to "write" the plot for them, the various "actors," stunt doubles and Zords wander around aimlessly they get put out of their misery in appropriately hideous ways.

FATALITY! FLAWLESS VICTORY!

[Z-man]

Oh, here is a better version of my MMPR thing:
Out of curiosity, what was the last season you saw an episode of?

[StrawNilla]

-Power Rangers

-Seinfield (first to come to mind for me) though its more for the nature of the jokes than anything

-90's animated Spider-Man (okay, so I'm not so sure about this one...something about it though, it seems repetitive)

-SmackDown: the show will have episodes where in pretty much each and every one someone's going to talk about how they want or deserve a title shot, someone will be fighting or calling out a champion, any champion no matter if its WWE, cruiserweight, etc, and old reused rivalries or new rivalries will be played....good thing that lately, its been working

[Michael P]

-90's animated Spider-Man (okay, so I'm not so sure about this one...something about it though, it seems repetitive)

Probably the constantly-reused animation.

[StrawNilla]

Probably the constantly-reused animation.
Yeah well, I don't have anything really against the show. It just seemed that Spidey used his head too much.

I know that seems stupid to say, but when you're a guy with Spidey's powers and you're fighting an otherwise weakling with four super-powered tentacles and a genius IQ.....does defeating him really require alot of thought outside of how to prevent him from harming others?

And the Green Goblin? Sure, he's a powerful guy both physically and financially, but aside from a strong, strong will, a voice in his head that'll drive him to just about anything in his efforts to kill Spidey, and his gadgetry what more does Pete have to deal with?

Venom and Carnage I could probably understand, moreso with Carnage. Venom, however, could be handled better physically by Spidey.

The show, however, reflected next to none of this. Instead, Spidey had to use his wits with just about everybody. Quality aside, I find it repetitive.

[tangentman]

It still follows the same formula , almost every TV show does. One thing about Buffy AND Angel you have to understand , relationships never last at wheldonverse - inevitable, one of them will die or turned evil or something.
The only TV shows exempted is probably those anthology show - tales from the darkside , twilight zone , outer limits etc since they can cover a few genres.

It's this kind of predictibility that sometimes keeps us glued to the set for a particular show.

You're singling out one detail and overlooking the many other ways that Buffy/Angel DIDN'T play into the typical canned-TV approach of the other shows on this thread. I'm not seeing any solid supports from you to list these shows "predictable TV". Using your logic, the fact that a show held the same timeslot every week would qualify it as a "show that follows the same formula".

[J Dog]

Out of curiosity, what was the last season you saw an episode of?
The first. And that was all I needed.

[J Dog]

Here is my House plot:

1. Some wierdo collapses after we ZOOM IN to whatever region (one of these days, we'll zoom into the buttcrack). Cut to opening credits.
2. House argues with people.
3. He tries the MEDICAL method.
4. Plot filler. We learn about the wierdo's life.
5. Wierdo goes to verge of death.
6. House walks around a million times during 5.
7. House comes back after his "Around the Earth" walk & does the OPPOSITE of 3.
8. Patient "magicly" heals.
9. House acts smug.

[Cyke]

Yeah well, I don't have anything really against the show. It just seemed that Spidey used his head too much.

I know that seems stupid to say, but when you're a guy with Spidey's powers and you're fighting an otherwise weakling with four super-powered tentacles and a genius IQ.....does defeating him really require alot of thought outside of how to prevent him from harming others?

And the Green Goblin? Sure, he's a powerful guy both physically and financially, but aside from a strong, strong will, a voice in his head that'll drive him to just about anything in his efforts to kill Spidey, and his gadgetry what more does Pete have to deal with?

Venom and Carnage I could probably understand, moreso with Carnage. Venom, however, could be handled better physically by Spidey.

The show, however, reflected next to none of this. Instead, Spidey had to use his wits with just about everybody. Quality aside, I find it repetitive.

According to imdb.com, Spidey never once landed a punch. :)

[Cyke]

Smallville was the first show to come to mind. Very rarely does the formula ever get broken, and the status quo hardly ever changes.

Well, not to defend Smallville, but the fact that it's a prequel (at least, in the sense that the audience already knows what the future mythos will look like), Smallville can't really take that much change.

But, yes, I do agree with you. It's quite possible for the status quo to change even on a small measure.

[ouiyahtsiouiyah]

MacGyver was repetitive only because he was always in a deathtrap and had to use plot devices getting out. The cool thing about it was the variety of deathtraps/plot deviced escapes. I don't think any of them overtly similar either.

And this show lasted like 8 years

[Z-man]

The first. And that was all I needed.

So, in other words, you don't knoww what you're talking about.

Fair enough, people have spoken out on subjects they didn't know about before. They just generally stop after one post, and don't complain quite as many times as you have.

[J Dog]

So, in other words, you don't knoww what you're talking about.

Fair enough, people have spoken out on subjects they didn't know about before. They just generally stop after one post, and don't complain quite as many times as you have.
Good. You discovered my secret. Now I will blow up your secret headquarters. ;)

[i_mmmchocolate]

Real World

[Dennis K]

Bowling
Tennis
Game Shows
Wrestling

[Super Hero Guy]

Everybody Loves Raymond. Here is every episode summarized:

Kids: *non-existant*

Raymond: Oh no, I did something Debra won't like, just like I have every week, so I'll to her about it again!

Debra: Raymond, I found out you lied to me! You idiot! I hate you! Why did I marry you! *icy stare* We're not having sex tonight!

Raymond: Oh no. My mother's here. And I was going to make my lame attempt to seduce you.

Marie: I don't like that Raymond!

Debra: Marie, why are you in my house! I hate you!

Marie: Your cooking is horrible and you should never have married my son your slut!

Raymond: Oh no, my father is here! I hate my father!

Frank: Holy Crap! Can't a guy just barge into other people's houses unannounced!

Debra: Frank, please don't be so vulgar!

Frank: Well la-dee-da missy intelligence!

Marie: Frank, you are a disgusting monster and I wish you were dead! *slaps him*

Frank: Marie, you are a fat cow and I want to eat the skin off your bones!

Amy: *sticks out awkwardly*

Raymond: Now my brother's here! My life is much better than yours Robert!

Robert: Oh, Everybody Loves Raymond!

*audience laughs for five minutes straight*

Debra: Robert, be more confident!

Robert: I can't! My life is too pathetic and I think I'm going to kill myself.

Marie: Oh Robbie, why don't you be more like your perfect brother Raymond!

Robert: You are a terrible mother!

Frank: You're gay Robert!

Robert: And you're a pathetic old man!

Amy: Let's all hug everyone!

Audience: Awwwwwwwwww!

Kids: *show up just long enough for us to wonder who their REAL father is*

[cosmicspidey]

Even though I love the show, "House" is the perfect embodiment of this.

Every episode is like this...

Introduce a character who collapses due to some illness, credits, show House not wanting to work the clinic, give House the file on this weeks mystery illness patient, diagnose, patient gets worse, rediagnose, patient seems to get better but then gets worse, House's team argues about the illness, House makes brilliant deduction, goes against everyone else, patient recovers, House looks smug.

But it does manage to be entertaining despite this. But I am not sure for how much longer.

I love House too, but you forgot one very important step. One character, usually House, says "If we do this, the patient either gets better or he dies."

I think an even better example of this is Tru Calling, though.

1. Tru lives her life as normal.
2. A dead person talks to her, and the day rewinds.
3. She calls Davis and tells him about the death.
4. Tru calls Harrison and tells him not to do something that will get him into trouble.
5. The person Tru's trying to save gets weirded out by Tru's interference.
6. Tru manages to remember the most mundane details from the previous day and stops something inconsequential from happening (like pulling a trash can over slightly so a guy doesn't litter, or giving a kid a baseball he just lost down the storm drain).
7. Tru saves the person's life.
8. Harrison calls Tru to say he did exactly what Tru told him not to do and got in trouble.
9. Tru talks to Davis, who explains the lesson learned by Tru from the experience.

That's not to say the show isnt enjoyable. It's the things that make each show different frome each other, like relationships developing between characters or secrets being revealed, that make the show interesting.

And when a show breaks the standard mold, the episodes are that much more interesting. Like on Tru Calling when the day kept repeating, or in Season 2 where the dead person talked to Jack instead. And in the House episode "Three Stories," when House lectures to a class about three unrelated cases, one of which turns out to be his own backstory.