House, M.D.: Season 1

I've watched House in a catch-as-catch-can manner over the last five years, in first runs and reruns, but I just recently decided to buy the seasons on DVD and watch episodes back-to-back. Everyone has pretty much said all there is to say about this season already, since the DVDs for season one have been out for four years. I hadn't seen the arc with billionaire Edward Vogler that runs from midseason until about two episodes prior to the end of the season. He gives the hospital one hundred million dollars with the condition that he be made chairman of the board. Vogler thinks that the problem with medicine is that it is not run like a business, and he sets out to run it that way. Thus he and the tenured House quickly find themselves at cross purposes. Indeed, Vogler cannot easily get rid of House, but he can threaten his untenured staff, and it is interesting to see the two spar. At the end of the season House's ex-girlfriend Stacy resurfaces with an ill husband in tow, asking House's help to diagnose and cure her husband. The husband is not only combative - he at first denies there is anything at all wrong with him - he also has all of the se x appeal of the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man. She had to have married this guy on the rebound and furthermore he has to have known that. This rather unbelievable triangle plays itself out in season two. Seeing the episodes in order I did realize I had seen several of them before, including the pilot. What impressed me was that at the time I saw it I didn't realize it was the pilot, or necessarily even in the first season. That's one thing that really impresses me about this show - from the beginning of the series the players are completely in character. House being assigned to clinic duty in the hospital - a task he most reluctantly takes on - allows the opportunity for short funny cases to break up the bigger mystery of the one large case that dominates each episode, and really keeps things going. As for the packaging, this season is on dual sided discs, and that makes for easy scratching, so be aware of this if you decide to purchase this season used. All of the extra features are on the second side of the last disc, and this consists of a few interviews and a tour of the set. What was nice about the packaging of this first season is that there is a synopsis for each episode plus the original air date. Highly recommended for those few people who are fans but who haven't purchased the DVDs of the series yet.

What became clear to me as I watched Season One of "House, M.D.," is how the show walks a tightrope. There are few shows on television that are as formulaic as this one, where a patient with an unknown medical malady is brought into the hospital and Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), an infectious disease specialist, has to figure out the medical puzzle to save the patient from dying. Working with his team of young doctors, House spends most of a typical episode eliminating possibilities, which is a nice way of saying he is usually the wrong diagnosis until the final act. For example, in "Fidelity" a woman is brought in dead asleep and everything from tumors to breast cancer to rabbit fever is considered before House pulls African sleeping sickness out of his hat. Obviously, if House walks in and is able to make the diagnosis much earlier than that, then they do not that much of a story. Still, there are episodes where the diagnosis is arrived at early on and the dramatic concern is getting the patient (or the hospital, etc.) to accept the treatment. In "Fidelity" the problem ends up being that somebody has to admit to having an affair to confirm the diagnosis. A better example of this type of episode is "DNR," where a legendary jazz musician is diagnosed as dying from ALS and House violates the DNR order to save the man's life. But even these variations on the theme ultimately just show how dominant the formula is here. What makes "House" work is that the central character is so compelling, which is why my favorite episode is "Three Stories," which is the one that is most about House, even though he pretends it is not. House is a brilliant diagnostician but he is also rude, acerbic, and condescending in the extreme (and that is one a good day). I was thinking that House is one of those colorful characters, like Columbo or Monk, who has their own unique way of doing what they do, except that House is not as loveable. But then I have to admit there is something rather attractive about somebody who does not put up with the rules when they get in the way, who takes pleasure in finding interesting ways to insult people to their face, and who is able to get away with everything because he is so good at what he does. But I got tired of Columbo after a few years and House is more like Monk in providing a supporting cast for the title character to play against. In terms of his team of clinicians they are all on House's bad side to begin with because they are young and inexperienced, but each is presented as pushing a particular button for House: Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) is female, Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) is black, and Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer) provides a double dip by being both rich and English. Not that House has a prejudicial bone in his body (just the bad one in his leg and a need to get under people's skin). Dr. Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) rubs House the wrong way because she is (technically) his boss, but the chief fun there is bouncing back and forth between demeaning her as a doctor and as a bureaucrat. Then there is Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), who is literally House's only friend in the world on the strength of being able (and willing) to stand toe-to-toe and argue things out. The introduction of billionaire Edward Vogel (Chi McBride) as the clinic's new Chairman of the Board ("Control") was an unnecessary major subplot in Season One because giving more system for a guy who bucks the system to buck is just overkill and adding obstacles that can only kill people gets old quickly. Vogel's attempt to get House to fire one of his doctors ("Heavy") was interesting because it revealed that his team are pretty interchangeable; for some reason I was thinking that it would make more sense if each had their own specialties, but then I decided that does not make sense, either in terms of how you treat an expert in infectious diseases or having writers understand who is responsible for what in each script. Another thing that Season One proved is that House's romantic life is not in the present, but in the past. Cameron's attempt to force a date with House ("Love Hurts") was painful, while the arrival of ex-flame Stacy Warner (Sela Ward) for the last two episodes simply proves House's sex appeal is as man of mystery. Hints that there might be an actual human being behind that facade are all that are going to work, and as another person who knew House before he needed a cane, Warner allows a few more looks behind the mask. The main thing is that the writers have as much fun coming up with nasty things for House to say as Laurie has declaiming them with an American accent.

What can you say about Dr. Greggory House? He's cranky, abusive, addicted to pain killers, loathes himself almost as much as others, has only one real friend and yet YOU CAN'T HELP LIKING THE GUY! "House" is a brilliant show for so many reasons: First and foremost, the main character says things to people that we all WISH we could get away with saying on the job! He's not mean spirited intentionally just brutally honest. He's the antithisis of political correctness which makes him the perfect anti-hero for today's veiwers who are fed up with diversity training in the workplace and the burden of having to walk on eggshells not to offend anyone! The acting is supurb, most especially Hugh Laurie who amazingly is British but I'll be damned if you'd know it from watch the show! The guy can even drop his accent and add the congestion and torment of a cold to his voice! You may not always appreciate what he says but I defy you to ignore him and that's what makes the show so absorbing! The plots are top notch, intelligent and just quirky enough to be engrossing without "jumping the shark" into blood and guts or soap opera! If you can't tell already, I would urge anyone who hasn't seen this show or who is a fan but doesn't own them yet to RUN not walk or limp to the nearest computer or video store and purchase "House"! YOU WON'T BE SORRY!

The first episode got me hooked right from the start, and the whole first season was excellent. We get to know Dr. House, a cranky limping doctor who doesn't nearly care as much for his patients as he cares for solving the puzzle (eg - what's wrong with them). It's such a joy to see an actor (the brilliant Hugh Laurie) and his role (Dr. House) fit so perfectly well together. The rest of the cast, as well as the patients-of-the-week, are really well casted too. I love the quick-witted interaction between House and his bestest (only) friend Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), and the way House never pays for his own food. The not-too-subtle flirtation that won't really cross that line between House and Cuddy, his boss (Lisa Edelstein), makes for the lighter funny moments. House's quick snappy slightly dark self deprecating humor often result in me laughing out loud. House's team (affectionately called "the ducklings" online because they're always trotting along one 1 step behind him) are really there for House to bounce ideas off of, and to keep him somewhat in line (although it's mainly Cuddy who makes sure he keeps mostly on the legal side of the law). And then there is the undercurrent of happiness, or, in House's case, lack thereof. His chronic pain, resulting Vicodin (mis)use combined with his personality and the not-so-occasional scotch often show us a glimpse miserable lonely side of the brilliant doctor. He might think he's God and omnipotent, but at least physically there are many things he can not do. Definitely worth watching!

Dr. House, "HOUSE" has EASILY become one of my favorite shows. Is he rude ? .. well yeah do you think he could "tone it down"... well yeah, but if he DID, he wouldn't be the House we have grown to love. It's great to watch as He, and his Team learn to work together, and learn how the characters past lives and experiences have gotten them to where they are and how they each take a different approach to views on the patient and life and morals. House, in his own way will "rarely" ever say it (or show it) but he does care for them and his circle of friends and in his own sort of backwards harsh way, Teaches to get his team to Think on their own, make their own decisions and to not let certain things get them off the path of what is the core problem. Yes, House is a puzzle solver, and the last 10 minutes of his realizations are always great, whether it is Wilson who inspires him and gives him that last puzzle piece, or Cuddy, or something on one of his favorite Soap Operas. Been re-watching the last few seasons until Season 8 starts, wow, they all looked so YOUNG when the show started. This show will not disappoint for those who havent gotten into it yet, check it out, you'll def be hooked ! Great Job Writers, keep it up!

Dr. Gregory House M.D. is a first-class detective, but not one who is detecting murderers and other criminals. The villains are all medical ailments, but the methodology is much the same. At a New Jersey hospital, he is the chief of diagnostic medicine assigned to the most puzzling cases. House and Sherlock Holmes have much in common. Sherlock was addicted to cocaine. House is addicted to pain kiillers for a disability that has left him hobbling and using a cane. Neither House nor Holmes is much interested in ingratiating himself to others. In fact, House's bedside manner tends often to be downright insulting. "All patients lie," he says in the pilot episode. But there is no substitute for competence and House is certainly most competent. Would you not rather go to a doctor who was competent than to one who was very pleasant and didn't know Shinola when he saw it? Even the names are similar: House/Holmes. One has to assume that was intentional on the part of the writers. Grey's Anatomy, ER and most other medical shows border on soap opera and often cross the line. House M.D. doesn't. It focuses on House's battles in getting past the rules and incompetence around him in his attempt to save lives. For the most part he cares far more about winning against the ailment at hand than about the individual patient. I do wonder, however, if any hospital would tolerate for long Dr. House's insulting of patients, the staff and the administration. He's very good at what he does, certainly, but is he really good enough to overcome his shabby appearance, his breaking of all the rules that don't suit him, and his rudeness? Somehow I doubt it.

I have seen better tv shows, but it's the only thing going today worth watching. At least i don't have to watch stupid sitcoms that makes no sense too me these days and age. I do however miss the good old days of tv, but at least i found one sitcom "HOUSE" thats worth watching. The rest i'll just watch on dvd(Little House On The Prairie, Happy Days, A Team and etc..). At least it's better than DOC.

I really didn't "get" this show at first. It had to grow on me, as I did not instantly warm up to the main character, Dr House...at least, not at first. He seemed egotistical, downright rude and pretty offputting. I also couldn't figure out (at first) if this show was a medical drama, medical mystery (kind of like the CSI of diseases) or a character-driven series. Turns out it is all three, along with some of the best one-liners on television, the kind of dialogue that made me chuckle in surprise, when I wasn't laughing out loud at the humor and cleverness of the writers. After I stuck with the first couple of episodes,that was it...by then, I'd become a true addict of the show, alternately fascinated and repelled by "House," a doc who is a true rebel but one with enough genius to be (barely) tolerated by his patients and associates. Then there is the medical info, which is always interesting, especially since the show uses a the technique where viewers see very authentic interior views of bodies as they react to diseases, medicine and lifesaving techniques. If you're squeamish about such things, be forewarned. This show dares to push the envelope and you may find yourself hard-pressed to understand why ANY hospital would keep a doc like House around, someone who seems to be a major liability, upsetting patients and using unorthodox techniques (and "unorthodox" is putting it lightly). He should have standing appointments with legal counsel and he generally pops into the hospital's legal administrator once or twice an episode. Luckily, she maintains some grudging affection for him. House's associates, beleagured and badgered as they are by him, are also good counterpoints to his intense, often "over the top" persona. They reflect the world of the normal, something House can only glance at from a distance, being so far from normal that it is probably only a speck in the distance, if he even perceives normality at all. What truly keeps House from being overly irritating are signs that his enormous ego and incredible rudeness mask some deep insecurities and even some sensitivity. Could he actually be a romantic at heart? Or is that just another manipulative guise of his, one of many he uses as needed (ethics isn't his strong suit). Each episode is far from predictable. Just when I think I have the "formula" for the show figured out, they throw a curve ball, whether it is introducing Sela Ward as a possible love interest, ramping up the chemistry between other characters or watching House 'treat" a patient by hitting him with his cane in....well...some very sensitive areas. He even befriends a rat just before his cane comes down on the animal, simply because the rat tips his head, a tipoff to some peculiar biochemistry that may tie in with another patient's diagnosis. It is these odd little moments that help make the show a standout.