‘House’ needs to get out of the hospital

We’ve been given tidbits of backstory for House's team of eager-to-please docs. In one episode, Dr. Cameron, who lost her husband to cancer, lets her moral and ethical guard down and has a one-night stand with Dr. Chase. It was completely out of character but a wonderful diversion — for both the characters and the audience.

Certainly there doesn’t need to be a parade of sex-crazed doctors sleeping with one another every week — this isn’t “Grey’s Anatomy” — but if “House” strives to be more than a one-note medical mystery show, then it might be time to move the young and eager docs out of the ICU. To find out what’s really ailing patients, House is often sending his team into the homes of dying patients. But what mysteries are found in the abodes of his own colleagues?

Show off Dr. Cameron's personal side more often. Who is she dating? What are the complications of those relationships? Dr. Foreman’s father arrived at the hospital as a patient in a handful of the remaining episodes of this season. This brings up some childhood issues that Foreman’s been grappling with. Delve into them.

And poor Lisa Edelstein. She’s House’s superior but he’s constantly demeaning and abusing her emotionally. Why does she stand for this? If her doctoring skills are as bad as House believes — whenever she makes a diagnoses he immediately dismisses it — why is she seeing patients? Is she an administrator or clinician? Go one way or another.

"House" executive producer Paul Attanasio is one of the best TV writers in the business. His credits include NBC’s masterful cop drama “Homicide: Life on the Street” and he was in charge of ABC’s best ever medical series “Gideon’s Crossing,” (yes, better than “Grey’s”) starring Andre Braugher, that was shockingly canceled after its first season.

So if Attanasio has the time — he’s been busy writing the screenplay for the upcoming George Clooney-Cate Blanchett drama “The Good German” — he has the ability to give “House” a checkup resulting in a clean bill of health for many seasons to come.

It’s often more difficult to ever so slightly tweak a successful show than overhaul a really bad one. Can you imagine the FOX execs’ hue and cry over this? “It’s our best drama. Don’t you dare touch it!”

But here’s hoping Attanasio and Shore have the forward thinking to give “House” a creative transfusion before the patient, thinking it’s in perfect health, slowly decays from peak form, never quite understanding why.

Stuart Levine is a senior editor at Daily Variety in Los Angeles.

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