Lesbian Scene on "House"

[Islander]

"House" was, until today a show that our family looked forward to watching.

It is obvious that many are desensitized and or indifferent to what passes for entertainment into their living rooms. We, however, are quite concerned about what our children see on television. The show is marketed as family friendly and deals with a wide range of circumstances which until today were appropriate for us.

It is unfortunate that those with content and thematic control fall so easily into the fever-pitch feeding frenzy of the ratings war and the politically motivated agenda of a few. Making the show sexually explicit with a lesbian scene added nothing of value creatively and served no other purpuse than to push the boundaries of adult behavior in the media.

It also served as a call to exit the train. For us, this is our stop when it comes to the show. And yes, because we do not like it we are turning it off.

[tubaloth]

Huh? Do you not see the Viewer Discretion warning before each episode?

Fox even makes a point of now doing it full screen and listing out the reason why they are Discretioning viewers?

Did you miss the central character is a drug popping rude/sarcastic person?

Did you miss how many times House has had either a hooker over, or as part of last season was in a strip joint? More then once during the first part of last season did House ridicule not only Mormons and Joseph Smith (about having more then one wife), but also religion in general?

Did you miss past seasons when Chase and Cameron were going at it at work and at patience’s house? You actually saw as much as you did in tonight’s episode the only different was it was two woman.

I never thought of this show as a “family friendly” I don’t know what you based that off of.

With that said, yes I do agree that this episode was pushing the limits of what they had done before. Really I hope they don’t keep going down that road, these season has been a little different and has turned me off compared to past seasons.

Yes I doubt it was ever a show I was going to watch with kids.

I’m probably one of the bigger fans of the show, (I own the 3 seasons on DVD) but I realize going in what its about. Its nothing about family friendly? Its about a rude guy showing he doesn’t care, but wants to save lives.

Edited October 22, 2008 by tubaloth

[L_and_P21]

i saw the episode tonight. my thoughts were that it was a worldly scene for a worldly show. it does say "view discretion is advised". and it also says that sexual content is part of the show. they use a lot of sexual references on the show. so i am surprised that this is the one episode or scene that was your ending. but that is your choice and you will be blessed for it.

i will not stop watching it as it is one of 2 shows that i watch.

really though, what show can you watch this day without having any sexual content in it at all?

i agree with tubaloth.

Its about a rude guy showing he doesn’t care, but wants to save lives. ---- ironic?

Edited October 22, 2008 by L_and_P21

[Wingnut]

Did you miss how many times House has had either a hooker over, or as part of last season was in a strip joint?

Not that he has to...have we all missed Dr. Cuddy's jackets? I think she's missing a blouse underneath them.

I didn't watch tonight's episode (I will later online), but the fact is, lesbianism and homosexuality are real. Your kids will begin to see it more frequently in their everyday lives. There is no need to shelter them from it, only to teach them (in an appropriate setting) whatever you want them to know about it. But really, you can't hide it from them (or them from it) forever.

(Disclaimer: No, I'm not advocating that homosexuality be blatantly advertised to children either. There's just no reason to hide it.)

[hordak]

Huh? Do you not see the Viewer Discretion warning before each episode?

Fox even makes a point of now doing it full screen and listing out the reason why they are Discretioning viewers?

Did you miss the central character is a drug popping rude/sarcastic person?

Did you miss how many times House has had either a hooker over, or as part of last season was in a strip joint? More then once during the first part of last season did House ridicule not only Mormons and Joseph Smith (about having more then one wife), but also religion in general?

Did you miss past seasons when Chase and Cameron were going at it at work and at patience’s house? You actually saw as much as you did in tonight’s episode the only different was it was two woman.

I never thought of this show as a “family friendly” I don’t know what you based that off of.

With that said, yes I do agree that this episode was pushing the limits of what they had done before. Really I hope they don’t keep going down that road, these season has been a little different and has turned me off compared to past seasons.

Yes I doubt it was ever a show I was going to watch with kids.

I’m probably one of the bigger fans of the show, (I own the 3 seasons on DVD) but I realize going in what its about. Its nothing about family friendly? Its about a rude guy showing he doesn’t care, but wants to save lives.

Don't forget

The subtle race jokes

[Truegrits]

Its about a rude guy showing he doesn’t care, but wants to save lives. ---- ironic?

From the few episodes I've watched, the impression I came away with is...that he doesn't give a hoot about saving a life; his impetus is solving the puzzle/mystery.

[Gwen]

even if islander did miss all those things for whatever reason i do have to respect the ability to say, i liked this one but it's over the line and now i won't watch it anymore. that's respectable. there are a few showes i've done that with, liked the first season or two and then it just got nasty. i'm sure they were building up to it and it wasn't an overnight change but they finally crossed that line for me and i was done with it.

soooo........ those that watch the show knowing what it "promotes" (lol made a pretty good list here)..... why do you watch it.... are you going against counsel from our church leaders when they've told us to monitor our entertainment and keep it within our standards and uplifting? are you finding things that should be offensive amusing or entertaining? does it make you a hypocrite? just wondering.

[RachelleDrew]

I'm sorry, but what on earth made you think that "House" was a show appropriate for your family to watch?

I've seen this show since it's pilot episode, i'm pretty liberal compared to a lot of LDS and even I would say that it's not appropriate for children, and never has been.

There are websites you can use online to help you with your viewing choices. Maybe you should look into that so you don't encounter this problem again?

[john doe]

My wife was telling me the other day that if Gray Anatomy keeps beating the lesbian drum, she will have to stop watching it. What is it with doctor shows and lesbians? I stopped watching ER when they started going down the lesbian road long ago.

[Guest SisterofJared]

House is repulsive.... why does that show have to drag in all that is ugly and vile.... I've never been a follower of the show, just seen it here and there. Last episode I saw was a rerun and typical of the shows I have seen... starts out with a boy in bed, all sorts of strange things happening, they wake up and find him lying in the yard, with his butt covered in blood and the whole issue is he thinks he's been abducted by aliens. Of course Dr House has to make his usual foul comments about who raped him and human nature.... the show often includes a quanity of filthy suggestiveness and Dr House soundly beliieves and expects people to be vile and wants to prove it in the show.

I think the show is about a rude man who is so vilely filthy minded he is convinced all are like him, and he doesn't much care about the people, but does care very much to be superior to everyone else, so he has to solve puzzles no one else can solve. He's a pig.

Congratulations on your decision to turn off House! Amazing race has started again.... much more family appropriate! You can even get your requisite homosexual on AR! lol.

[Wingnut]

My wife was telling me the other day that if Gray Anatomy keeps beating the lesbian drum, she will have to stop watching it. What is it with doctor shows and lesbians? I stopped watching ER when they started going down the lesbian road long ago.

I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy partway into the first season, when it seemed like it was just all sex all the time. I didn't even know that they'd brought homosexuality into it by now.

I'll repeat what I said before. I think it's just a fact of life. I don't think it has anything to do with "doctor shows." The L Word, Friends, Will & Grace, Ellen, Law & Order, The Office, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Sisters, Ugly Betty, and countless other are all examples of shows in the last 20 years that have had homosexual characters or have dabbled in it, at the very least. This doesn't even include reality shows that have homosexual contestants, or shows that have actors that are homosexual in their personal lives.

Also to reiterate, I don't mean to say that you should let your children watch anything and everything because they'll see it in their everyday life anyway, but rather to teach them about it in an appropriate manner (the same way you would about blatant heterosexual sexuality in the media).

[Islander]

I insist on getting what I want when I pay for it. Thus I blocked the show on my direct TV programming. I went and left a message on the show's blog and copied 124 of my friend on the email.

Some people have become desensitized and/or indifferent to what they show on TV. Just the same way that I would not see R-rated films, I would not patronize a show if they insist on bringing content I do not see fit for my family. The show, in this case "House" is rated PG-13. They have NEVER had an episode where the husband would lie next to the wife in the hospital bed and kiss her dearly, with concern and fear for his wife. or a couple kissing tenderly in love at home after the hospital ordeal. Why do it with a lesbian scene? It is politically motivated thematic and content agendas. I have never missed an episode. Last night was the last one for us.

[Starfish]

I insist on getting what I want when I pay for it. Thus I blocked the show on my direct TV programming. I went and left a message on the show's blog and copied 124 of my friend on the email.

Good for you, Islander! Write letters, send emails. COMPLAIN!!

[Islander]

I guess I have not seen all the episodes after all. Seems like I missed a couple. I stand corrected.

[RachelleDrew]

"Good for you, Islander! Write letters, send emails. COMPLAIN!!"

Not that I don't agree with your stance, but writing a letter to the producers of House isn't going to do much. They probably won't even read it.

"I guess I have not seen all the episodes after all. Seems like I missed a couple. I stand corrected."

Islander buddy, I think you've missed more than a few. House buys a hooker about every two weeks Lesbian passion is probably the most tame thing i've seen on that show.

If it offends your spirit, then it's good that you made the effort to abstain from watching it. No point in just "ignoring" the things that go against your personal standards just so you can watch a show.

Does anybody know the name of the website that you can go to with family-friendly rating systems? Is it the AMA website? I think we aught to get that posted in here.

[checkerboy]

Further support to why I love Lost. You won't see this kind of blatent pandering on Lost. I suggest you all go to ABC.com and watch all four seasons to get ready for the 5th season this next January.

Go Lost!!!!!!

[HiJolly]

I watch the news maybe once in 2 weeks. No time for TV. Seems like no loss to me.

HiJolly

[john doe]

Further support to why I love Lost. You won't see this kind of blatent pandering on Lost. I suggest you all go to ABC.com and watch all four seasons to get ready for the 5th season this next January.

Go Lost!!!!!!

Sadly, Lost is losing viewers as a result of the long intervals between seasons. I just hope they stay on the air long enough to finish the series as scheduled.

[Wingnut]

Ironically, you don't have to pay for House. Since it airs on Fox, all you need is an antenna and a television (neither of which can be blamed), since the airwaves are free.

"House" episodes that include topics of questionable morality:

1.11: Detox (teenage sex scene opens the episode)

1.13: Cursed (children playing with a Ouija board)

1.15: Mob Rules (male homosexual patient)

1.19: Kids (teen pregnancy)

2.7: Hunting (male homosexual patient)

2:14: Sex Kills (marital infidelity, STDs, incest)

2:15: Clueless (swingers...not of the dancing variety)

2:18: Sleeping Dogs Lie (two lesbians characters (including one scene of them in bed), teenage birth control usage)

2:24: No Reason (exceptional levels of graphic gore, murder)

3.18: Airborne (intentionally casual sex)

4.4: Guardian Angels (rape)

4.9: Games (drug use)

4.12: Don't Ever Change (this is where it is first suggested that Thirteen is bisexual)

4.15: House's Head (in one of House's weird dreams, Cuddy is dressed as a sexy school girl and does a pole dance)

4.16: Wilson's Heart (more infidelity...okay not really, but the suggestion and implication of it)

5.3: Adverse Events (an artist does a nude painting of a woman, whose body we are shown during the sitting)

This is by no means a comprehensive list. It doesn't include any episode where House send the fellows search a patient's home involves illegal activity (trespassing, breaking and entering) or any of numerous episodes include drug use and/or references.

My point is this: If you are so indignant about the inappropriateness of last night's episode, it's a wonder you ever watched more than 10 episodes of the show to begin with.

[Lbybug]

I insist on getting what I want when I pay for it. Thus I blocked the show on my direct TV programming. I went and left a message on the show's blog and copied 124 of my friend on the email.

Some people have become desensitized and/or indifferent to what they show on TV. Just the same way that I would not see R-rated films, I would not patronize a show if they insist on bringing content I do not see fit for my family. The show, in this case "House" is rated PG-13. They have NEVER had an episode where the husband would lie next to the wife in the hospital bed and kiss her dearly, with concern and fear for his wife. or a couple kissing tenderly in love at home after the hospital ordeal. Why do it with a lesbian scene? It is politically motivated thematic and content agendas. I have never missed an episode. Last night was the last one for us.

so...you said you won't see r-rated films, yet you have an r-rated film listed as your favorite film? not to be petty...but...i am :)

[Wingnut]

so...you said you won't see r-rated films, yet you have an r-rated film listed as your favorite film? not to be petty...but...i am :)

Hahaha...nice catch!

[RachelleDrew]

Wingnut, you know exactly why people got up in arms about this episode as opposed to others.

Two lesbians making out on television (which I might add, did not show actual intercourse or nudity) vs. a heterosexual passion scene in which nudity WAS displayed and the actions were much more, erm, prominent.

In my mind, neither are okay for your kids to watch. Why is the lesbian scene so much more offensive than the other promiscuous sex scenes in the show?

It's just kind of funny to see people complaining about this episode in particular is all, considering everything else that has been on this show in the past.

[Wingnut]

Wingnut, you know exactly why people got up in arms about this episode as opposed to others.

Yes, I do. I'm just trying to make a point. :)

It's just kind of funny to see people complaining about this episode in particular is all, considering everything else that has been on this show in the past.

That was my point.

[mightynancy]

I never let my kids watch House! It has never ever been "marketed as family friendly".

The themes are way too much for my son, and my daughter is frightened by medical shows in general (having a few medical dramas of her own).

I, too, think it's odd that after all the other shows, this is the one that went too far for you.

[Truegrits]

I think the fact that the main character is manipulative, rude, a liar...a person with no concern for the feelings of others, would be reason enough not to let children under 16 watch it. I would not want my 15 year old watching, and thinking those character traits were acceptable.