I admit, I never could watch Archie Bunker for similar reasons, although I can now. I don't see there having been a shortage of grumpy unlikeable characters -- mostly it's the prima donna "my rules!" thing that sets me off.

Trudy, if you're worried it may get her into trouble, is there anyone who worked there longer than you that you can consult with, before taking it higher? Other than that, I'm with Cash and Theo and everybody else.

Still and all, I should think he would respect a woman who takes his cane away from him to beat him with it. It is something he would do, in a fight.

Well, I don't know House well enough, but I just have that whole image playing in my mind right now.

whistles

Yeah, how many nice and good things have you done for people, some of whom you've never even met?

For me, I guess it's the whole "the rules are different for me" thing in characters that I don't like. If you're being mean and hated for it, that's OK. If you're being mean and expect to be liked despite it, then, well, it's not a character I can like.

I admit, I never could watch Archie Bunker for similar reasons, although I can now.

Archie Bunker got called on his behavior and it always came back inside the half hour to bite him in the ass. The difference with House is that he's so damned used to being right that it's harder for people to call him out on his behavior. House may have a few ass-bite moments, but they're not enough to humble him.

I've never seen any evidence that House expects to be liked.

I'm going throw in with Cashmere and the others, and vote for telling HR, or at least her boss.

She doesn't really have *A* boss. It would have to be HR.

I think I'll see how she is when I get back from lunch before I go to them. Aw man.

I love House the character, because he says all the bad stuff many of us think, and in amusing ways. And Laurie kicks ass as an actor. I could not be around House for five minutes in real life without killing him, but it's TV. I feel the same way about Al Swearingen in Deadwood.

Or Richard III, for that matter.

Archie Bunker got called on his behavior and it always came back inside the half hour to bite him in the ass

But he never learnt!

As I said, nothing that bothers me now, and really, unlearning is key in most sitcoms. But as a kid it drove me bonkers.

Okay, now I'm waiting for co-worker to make a call and name the dead person...and she did, and mumbled the name. Oy.

eta:

I love House the character, because he says all the bad stuff many of us think, and in amusing ways.

Ah, see, I don't think what he says. He likes to hurt people.

And since she's been here only two months its not 'trouble' I'm worried about but 'fired'. We're probationary for ninety days.

Or Richard III, for that matter.

Yeah.

There's a certain element of "This is what I would do, if I weren't handicapped by being so nice." (pause for all the Buffistas to snicker.)

House may have a few ass-bite moments, but they're not enough to humble him.

I may like Laurie too much to be objective, but my take on House is that he wants everyone to hate him because he hates himself. He's the epitome of the angry child acting out, looking for attention, even if it's negative attention. Plus, he is smart, and often smarter than most other people in the room, which gets reinforced over and over again. Then there's his "everybody lies" theory, which oozes into everyone having ulterior motives and less than noble aims, which also gets reinforced when he treats everyone like garbage and they still keep him around.

t /amateur psychoanalyzing