BY ALEX STRACHAN, POSTMEDIA NEWS MAY 9, 2011 3:09 AM
House is a long way from being foreclosed on, but things have not been going well for TV's most irascible doc -oncamera or off.

Behind the scenes, renewal negotiations have stalled over money. The network reportedly wants the studio to reduce its licence fee; the studio, in turn, is trying to cut costs by cutting compensation to its cast. With the official U.S. fall TV announcements just a week away, it's crunch time.

Fans probably needn't worry, though. More than 1.3 million Canadians watched House last week, and it remains one of Fox's best performers in the U.S. It seems inconceivable that a hit show in its seventh season will be allowed to fall apart over something as maudlin as greed. Besides, it's not as if House has a Charlie Sheen situation on its hands.

On-screen, Hugh Laurie's Dr. House has been slow to recover emotionally from the breakup of his affair with Lisa Edelstein's Dr. Cuddy -long-term relationships rarely fare well on prime time TV, especially where hospitals are concerned -and in tonight's episode, The Fix, House's team suspects their boss may back on the pharmaceutical remedies.

The night's case revolves around a washed-up boxer.

Dr. House and his longtime pal Dr. Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) bet on a fight, only to disagree over the outcome.

Wilson gives House 24 hours to pay up, unless House can prove him wrong. House approaches the boxer for details about his personal medical history, and the game is afoot.

Fans familiar with the House formula know chances are good that the boxing tale of the tape will be resolved in the end, and resolved happily. The personal subplot is unlikely to end well, however -or even end. Such is life.

"He is a human being," House creator David Shore noted in a recent conference call with critics.

"He is not an automaton. You create a character who's all about rationality and searching for the truth, but also capable of real emotion.

"He just has a different way of showing it.

"We were conscious from Day 1 not to let him fall into a Spock type of character. He is human, and that is all I'll say about that."

As for House's chances of long-term survival, creator David Shore said, before the current impasse, "I would be absolutely astounded if there wasn't (an eighth season). We are working on the assumption there will be. There is no deal in place, but negotiations are ongoing. Fox wants to have a season eight, and NBCUniversal wants them to have a season eight, so I fully expect there will be a season eight. And we're proceeding on that basis." (Global, Fox, 8 p.m.)

Three to see

. Despite strong ratings in Canada, the verdict has yet to come in on the revamped Law & Order: LA. Ratings in the U.S. have not been what parent network NBC would like, and with the fall TV announcements just a week away, the jury's still out on the show's future.

Tonight's episode finds Dets. Morales (Alfred Molina) and Jaruszalski (Corey Stoll) investigate the strangling of a coed college student who was living a double life. (A channel, NBC, 10 p.m.)

. The future, however, is not in doubt for Castle.

The popular potboiler about a crime busting novelist will be back for a fourth season, despite an April Fool's Day tweet from star Nathan Fillion that the show had been cancelled.

In tonight's outing, Richard Castle (Fillion) goes behind the scenes at a national beauty pageant to solve the latest dastardly deed. Anyone care to wager on Castle getting his man in the end? (CTV, ABC, 10 p.m.)

. The new docureality series, Sex Scandals in Religion, isn't as salacious as the title suggests -it's Vision TV, after all -but it's disturbing and thought-provoking just the same.

The program goes beyond the usual headlines, and examines lesser-known controversies, such as the one in tonight's opener, In the Name of the Ayatollah, which suggests that Iran's Mullahs sanction rape as a way to rein in dissidents. (Vision, 10: 30 p.m.)

© Copyright © The Windsor Star

Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/Money+d....qXzDnMK