The season two release of House brings the most sublimely misanthropic medical show to DVD in a hugely improved technical package from season one.

This past season didn't hit the highest highs of the first, which skewed the bell curve with the stunning, Emmy-winning "Three Stories." But the series was even more consistently excellent and took more risks, spiraling its main character into darker places than before, and breaking the usual format more often and more assuredly.

A mesmerizing Hugh Laurie completely inhabits the character of Dr. Gregory House. A cynical idealist, he expects the worst in people, then is disappointed when he's proven right. He's insensitive but not uncompassionate. The most moral character to ever have a drinking, gambling, and hooker problem, and the most likeable character to treat people with such utter disdain, House is as reckless with his patients as he is with himself — though with better cause. He gets the cases no one else can figure out, and each episode revolves around his search for the medical truth, which is usually buried in some personal truth.

That may be the show's formula, but it's not entirely predictable. Plot and character revelations are often as surprising as they are logical. Everybody lies, as House says, and the motive for the lies tends to be the key to the case and to the character.

Even on repeat watching, many of the medical mysteries are still a mystery, because the path to the final diagnosis can be so convoluted, it's difficult to remember the specifics of the journey or the destination. The medical case of the week allows for some terrific guest stars, including LL Cool J ("Acceptance"), Ron Livingston ("TB or not TB"), Cynthia Nixon ("Deception"), and Howard Hesseman ("Sex Kills").

The best episodes use the medical case to illuminate House's character in new ways, explore intriguing ethical issues, and take unexpected turns. But it's the ongoing personal stories that offer the additional hook. Even when they aren't completely cohesive or consistent, they are a reason not to miss a single episode of this hybrid procedural-character study.

Season two delves into House's twisted romantic life, as he alternately repels and pursues ex-love Stacy Warner (Sela Ward). Other longer-term story arcs include the marital troubles of House's friend and emotional interpreter, Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), and tension and changing dynamics among House's team of doctors.

Need supposedly objective proof of the show's quality? Besides Hugh Laurie's numerous accolades, which include an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe, the show was nominated for best drama at this year's Emmys, earned Peabody and Humanitas awards, and writer Lawrence Kaplow won a Writers Guild Award for the episode "Autopsy."

That was one of a few stand-out episodes of a stand-out show's second season, which showed no signs of a sophomore slump. I'd name format-shattering "The Mistake" and "No Reason" as other highlights. Even the least successful episodes are still entertaining, thought provoking, and witty, and often better than almost anything else on television.