A Super lead-in

FROM the Arizona desert to the Antarctic, from a horde of beefed-up, buffed-out football players to a sardonic doc with a limp, it’s hard to imagine a more dramatic transition than that faced by television viewers when this year’s Super Bowl is followed by an all-new episode of “House.” But then the medical drama is the jewel in Fox’s crown, so it makes sense to give it what is possibly the most enviable position of the television calendar. The Super Bowl is one of the two television events of the year, and unlike the Oscars, it ends early enough in the evening that people actually want to watch whatever comes next. Especially those football spouses who, after enduring an afternoon of five-layer dip and hot wings, will no doubt find “House” a welcome literate respite from all the shouting and clash of helmets.

Of course, as Dr. Gregory House, Hugh Laurie brings his own brand of testosterone to the screen, and tonight’s episode, the second of three new stories that Fox has hoarded for maximum ratings potential, puts his mind and heart to the test. A psychiatrist played by Mira Sorvino is trapped at a research station where she is suffering from unexplained symptoms. Separated by miles and terrible weather, House and his team must diagnose her without the aid of their handy MRI machine or fancy lab resources. Unwilling to waste the station’s resources on any self-administered tests, she fights with House every step of the way, while his distant demeanor softens as he struggles to save her.

If that’s not the perfect way to end Super Bowl Sunday, I don’t know what is.

(Fox, today, about 7:15 p.m.)

-- Mary McNamara