Monday nights at 8 pm, I am still tucking children into bed and getting things ready for the next morning. Sometime between 9 and 10 pm, I settle in for an hour of recorded television. Every Monday, it comes down to a choice between House and Heroes.

Heroes is fluffy fun and I should be able to turn off my brain and escape while watching it. Instead, an irritating plot choice they made last season is going to be one of the main driving forces of this season and it keeps distracting me. There is no way to move beyond this point without something as ridiculous as ‘Pam dreamed it’. Heroes is capable of making common comic book themes look clever and making villains likable. They don’t seem capable of consistency.

House started off this season with a beautiful episode that secretly revealed that old sitcom sidekicks end up in psychiatric hospitals. It also sets the stage for the bi-annual House goes off and back on his meds season. Everyone ignores the lack of personal growth in the characters because they are so interesting to watch. No matter how darkly comic House is, eventually real life tragedies that prove there are no all-knowing medical detectives coming to the rescue will send viewers elsewhere.

I like both House and Heroes, but I secretly wish that SyFy would take ownership of Heroes and Dr. House would experience enough happiness to end the show.