I remember discovering House on a lazy weekend with nothing else to do: Turned on the tv to a random channel and heard the sarcasm before I saw the man. I’ve heard about this show, where the too smart for you Doctor belittles his team of diagnosticians, it’s set in a teaching hospital, said doctor has a bum leg, so and so. I was drawn to House’s character, his ego, his self-destructiveness. I finished that episode and sat through a few more, and I was hooked. Immediately I sought entire seasons on the internet, caught up as much as bandwidth permitted me, and before you knew it I was current. I also took the advice from a thread on a random forum to not watch the pilot episode until I’d given the show a chance to grow (on me), House being what he is, you’re either ok with him or hate him. Did just that. I finished all the way to Season 3 and then cued the pilot.

I’m glad that’s how it happened. The pilot was saccharine-cute, made you cringe the way your girlfriend uses the baby voice to talk to a stranger’s pet dog or baby in a pram. The pilot only hinted at how strong the series would be, but this hint was drowned by the usual pilot affectations most shows on network tv succumb to. I’m thankful I discovered House in the middle of things, because I know for sure that if I saw things in their proper chronological order (and started with that flawed, maudlin pilot) I would not be the big Laurie fan I am at present.

And history repeats itself in a way. I stayed off the boards regarding Season 6. No teasers, viral marketing, no idea of when – if even, House was gonna come back on. Summer was House-free, with nary a glance on the networks that have reruns. Seasons 1 through 5 of the cranky, pain meds addicted, antisocial doctor was enough. Or was it? Catching up on the news via the antiquated medium of newspaper (yes, people still do that …sometimes) on the day of the series return made me pause a moment. And I decided I’d miss the show. Just for one night. I’m glad I did.

There’s material that’s recycled from previous seasons, one might think. Or there’s really nothing more to the show than the last hurrah of Hugh Laurie until he moves on to his next stateside project. But the season premiere has enough genuinely surprising moments, that if you set aside the hype and how jaded you’ve become – things might get better. The show will prove itself worthy of your time and attention, and you’ll be happy that you stayed.