David Shore is widely acknowledged as the genius, the artiste, behind HOUSE, arguably one of the best TV shows of the last half-century. The good news is that Shore is back in the saddle with another medical show about another doctor with exceptional skills. The bad news is that this show, while it has its moments, does not quite tick on all cylinders.
So what happened? First, the production budget does not seem to be quite where it should be. Spotting deficiencies in a series is no less a skill than that deployed by the main character in Good Doctor. The giveaway is the character actors, the secondary roles. They don't quite come across as genuine, suggesting a production on a very tight budget with limited resources.
The second issue is tone. HOUSE was about a genius who was also an SOB. You always knew where House stood, so you the viewer could always know how to relate to him. This character is too complex for his own good. The flashbacks are way overdone, a sign that the writing is not doing a proper job. There is also an issue in that the mannerisms of someone suffering from autism do not engender empathy. The opposite. In fact, there has never been a successful show about a character like this. Which means (a prediction) that if this show is going to make it, the lead character is going to have to develop social skills at a pace never seen before in the annals of medicine.
Finally the question no one dared ask! How much did the skills of Hugh Laurie contribute to the success of HOUSE? The answer is that Laurie is one of the greatest actors in the biz and could have compensated for any shortcomings in Shore's scripts without missing a beat. Is Highmore on the same level? Don't think so.
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