Yesterday William Uricchio, the other co-head of CMS, forwarded on a New York Times review of the new medical drama 3 Lbs, which includes the following nifty tidbit on genre:

A procedural, be it a crime series like Law & Order or a medical show like House or 3 Lbs, is a genre that works by staying within well-marked boundaries. These series wrap a fillip of surprise (patricide, ulcers) into a comfortingly familiar framework. Each episode begins with an average person guilelessly going about the day until fate strikes. On Law & Order, cab drivers, joggers and quarreling couples stumble on a dead body and set off a whodunit. On medical shows, a housewife, soccer coach or a concert violinist suddenly keels over, setting off a whatdunit.

I should try writing one of these just as an exercise. Neat stuff, even if the wholly me-too nature of 3 Lbs makes me completely uninterested in tuning in (Tucci or no Tucci). What can I say? I'm a House man.