House (TV series)

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House
Image:HouseMD.jpg
House title screen
Also known as House, M.D.
Format Medical drama
Created by David Shore
Starring Hugh Laurie
Lisa Edelstein
Robert Sean Leonard
Omar Epps
Jennifer Morrison
Jesse Spencer
Peter Jacobson
Kal Penn
Olivia Wilde
Opening theme "Teardrop" by
Massive Attack
"House End Credits"[1]
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 79 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) David Shore
Bryan Singer
Paul Attanasio
Katie Jacobs
Running time approx. 43 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel FOX
Picture format 480i (SDTV),
720p (HDTV)
Original run November 16, 2004 – present
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

House, also known as House, M.D., is an American medical drama television series created by David Shore and executive produced by Shore and film director Bryan Singer. The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning medical drama debuted on the FOX Network on November 16 2004. The series is currently the most watched scripted program on FOX.

House stars British actor Hugh Laurie as the American title character Dr. Gregory House, a role for which he received the 2006 and 2007 Golden Globe Award and the 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama. In February 2007, House was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on September 25, 2007 in the United States and Canada.[2][3]

Contents

[edit] Series overview

See also: List of House episodes

Gregory House, M.D., is a maverick medical genius, who heads a team of young diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Most episodes start with a cold open somewhere outside the hospital, showing the events leading to the onset of symptoms for that week's main patient. The episode follows the team in their attempts to diagnose and treat the patient's illness.

House's nationally-renowned department typically only sees patients who have failed to receive a correct diagnosis at other hospitals, so the cases tend to be exceptionally complex and subtle. Furthermore, House tends to resist accepting cases that he doesn't find interesting.

The team arrives at diagnoses using the Socratic method and differential diagnosis, with House guiding the deliberations. House often discounts the information and opinions from his underlings, pointing out that their contributions have missed various relevant factors. The patient is usually misdiagnosed over the course of each episode and treated with medications appropriate to the misdiagnoses. This usually causes further complications in the patient, but in turn helps lead House and his team to the correct diagnosis by using the new symptoms.

Often the ailment cannot be easily deduced because the patient has lied about symptoms and circumstances. House frequently mutters, "Everybody lies," or proclaims during the team's deliberations: "The patient is lying," or "The symptoms never lie." Even when not stated explicitly, this assumption guides House's decisions and diagnoses.

Because House's theories about a patient's illness tend to be based on subtle or controversial insights, he often has trouble obtaining permission from his boss, hospital administrator Dr. Lisa Cuddy, to perform medical procedures he thinks are necessary; especially when the procedures themselves involve a high degree of risk or are ethically dubious.

Cuddy also requires House to spend time treating patients in the hospital's walk-in clinic; House's begrudging fulfillment of this duty is a recurring subplot on the show. During clinic duty, House confounds patients with an eccentric bedside manner and unorthodox treatments, but impresses them with rapid and accurate diagnoses after seemingly not paying attention. Realizations made during some of the simple problems House faces in the clinic often help him solve the main case.

Episodes frequently feature the practice of entering a patient's house with or without the owner's permission in order to search for clues that might suggest a certain pathology. The creator, David Shore, originally intended for the show to be a CSI-type show where the "germs were the suspects,"[4] but has since shifted much of the focus to the characters rather than concentrating solely on the environment.

Another large portion of the plot centers on House's abuse of Vicodin and other drugs to manage pain stemming from an infarction in his quadriceps muscle some years prior, which causes him to walk with a cane. The pain and substance abuse act to increase many of his more objectionable character traits while not impairing his medical acumen, which leads him to often self-medicate.

House is in many respects a medical Sherlock Holmes. This resemblance is evident in various elements of the series' plot, such as House's reliance on psychology to solve a case, House's drug addiction, House's home address, House's playing of an instrument, House's relationship with Dr. James Wilson (a reference to Dr. John Watson), and House's encounter with a crazed gunman credited as "Moriarty", which is the same name as Holmes' nemesis. Also, series creator David Shore has said that Dr. House's name is meant as a "subtle homage" to Sherlock Holmes (i.e., "homes"). [5][6]

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of House characters

The first three seasons had Foreman, Cameron, and Chase as House's team members. At the end of season 3, Foreman and Cameron resigned and Chase was fired. For season 4, House hired 40 doctors which, as of "Games", he narrowed down to Taub, Kutner, and "Thirteen". Chase and Cameron are still employed at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and as of "Guardian Angels" Foreman has been rehired by Cuddy back to House's team.

Character Actor Position(s) Field(s)
Gregory House Hugh Laurie
Lisa Cuddy Lisa Edelstein
James Wilson Robert Sean Leonard
  • Head of the Department of Oncology
  • Member of the Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital Board
Eric Foreman Omar Epps
  • Physician, Department of Diagnostic Medicine (Seasons 1-3)
  • Head of Diagnostic Medicine at Mercy Hospital (Season 4, Episodes 4x01-4x03)
  • Physician, Department of Diagnostic Medicine (Season 4, as of Episode 4x04)
Allison Cameron  Jennifer Morrison
Robert Chase Jesse Spencer
  • Physician, Department of Diagnostic Medicine (Seasons 1-3)
  • Surgeon (Season 4)
Chris Taub Peter Jacobson
  • Physician, Department of Diagnostic Medicine (Season 4)
Lawrence Kutner Kal Penn
  • Physician, Department of Diagnostic Medicine (Season 4)
"Thirteen" Olivia Wilde
  • Physician, Department of Diagnostic Medicine (Season 4)

[edit] Reception

[edit] USA TV Ratings

Below is a table of the seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of House on FOX. Each US network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.

Season Timeslot Season Premiere Season Finale TV Season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
1 Tuesday 9:00P.M. November 16, 2004 May 24, 2005 2004-2005 #24 13.3[7]
2 Tuesday 9:00P.M. September 13, 2005 May 23, 2006 2005–2006 #10 17.3[8]
3 Tuesday 8:00P.M. (2006)
Tuesday 9:00P.M. (2006-2007) 		September 5, 2006 May 29, 2007 2006–2007 #7 19.4[9]
4 Tuesday 9:00P.M. September 25, 2007 TBD 2007–2008 TBD TBD

[edit] Awards

Main article: List of House awards

House received a 2005 Peabody Award for what the Peabody board called an "unorthodox lead character – a misanthropic diagnostician" and for "cases fit for a medical Sherlock Holmes," both of which helped make House "the most distinctive new doctor drama in a decade."[10] At the 2005 American Film Institute Awards, House was an official selection as TV Program of the Year. House has been nominated for the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Drama; the winner will be announced on January 13, 2008.[11]

Creator David Shore won a writing Emmy in 2005 for the first season episode "Three Stories."[12] Writer Lawrence Kaplow won a Writers Guild of America Award in 2006 for his season two episode "Autopsy."

In 2005 and 2007, lead actor Hugh Laurie was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Drama in 2006 and again in 2007, when he also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Laurie was nominated for Best Actor in a Television Drama again for the upcoming 65th Golden Globe Awards.[11]

[edit] Production

House is aired by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a co-production of Heel and Toe Films (Paul Attanasio and Katie Jacobs), Shore Z Productions (David Shore), and Bad Hat Harry Productions (Bryan Singer) in association with the NBC Universal Television Studio (formed after General Electric, the owners of NBC, bought Universal Studios from Vivendi Universal) for FOX. All three companies are responsible for production and all four people are executive producers of the show. David Shore's ideas for House, M.D. are inspired by the writings of Berton Roueche.[13]

The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards and Creative Arts Emmy awarded the Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special Award to Dalia Dokter, Department Head Prosthetic Makeup Artist,Jamie Kelman, Prosthetic Makeup Artist, and Ed French, Prosthetic Makeup Artist for the House, M.D. episode entitled "Que Sera Sera". for FOX, produced by Heel and Toe Productions, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry Productions in association with Universal Television Studios.

The 58th Primetime Emmy Awards and Creative Arts Emmy nominations recognized Derek R. Hill, Production Designer and Danielle Berman, S.D.S.A., Set Decorator for their "Outstanding Art Direction For A Single-Camera Series" As of season 2, episode "TB or Not TB," a German production company, Moratim, is credited in the copyright notice instead of Universal Network Television. (Moratim Produktions GmbH & Co. KG, of Pullach im Isartal, Germany). Moratim produced five episodes.

[edit] Casting

The producers were reportedly dissatisfied with early auditions for the role of Greg House. When Hugh Laurie auditioned, he apologized for his appearance as he was filming Flight of the Phoenix at the time.[14] Laurie's American accent was reportedly so flawless that Bryan Singer singled him out as an example of a real American actor, being unaware of Laurie's background.[15] Laurie later stated that his original impression was that the show was about Dr. James Wilson. The script referred to Wilson as a doctor with "boyish" looks, and Laurie assumed that Wilson was the central character and that House was the "sidekick" (the show was not yet titled House at that point). It was not until he received the full teleplay of the pilot that he realized that House was the protagonist.[16] Laurie, whose father was a doctor himself, said he felt guilty for "being paid more to become a fake version of my own father" after being cast as House.[17]

[edit] Theme music

In North America (and some countries elsewhere) the opening theme of the series is "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. "Teardrop" has lyrics, sung by guest vocalist Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins; however, the version used in the opening credits uses only the beginning and ending sections, which are solely instrumental. Due to rights and licensing issues, in most countries a piece of music named "House End Credits" is used, which was composed specifically for the show by Jon Ehrlich, Jason Derlatka, and Leigh Roberts. With the second season, this was replaced with a similar track by only Ehrlich and Roberts. This theme tune, however, is only used in the televised broadcast. In the DVD release (Season 2), the original (American) theme is used. In Italy, opening themes for season 1–2 and season 3 are switched, so that the original "Teardrop" is used for season 3, while both Season 1 and 2 use the edited version. The parodic British television show Dead Ringers, which sometimes spoofs House, uses "Teardrop" for the spoof's opening theme. "Teardrop" is also used in the season 2 region 2 and region 4 release, replacing the "House" theme at the beginning of the episode.

[edit] Filming

Exterior shots of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital are actually of Princeton University's Frist Campus Center, which is the University's student center. Filming does not, however, take place there.[18] Instead, it takes place on the FOX lot in Century City and on location in Vancouver, British Columbia.[19]

[edit] Walk and Talk

House episodes often use the "walk and talk" shooting technique (also called "pedeconferencing") made popular by Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme in television series such as Sports Night, The West Wing, and most recently, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.[20][21] The technique consists of tracking two or more characters backwards as they walk from one location to another, usually discussing the topic of the meeting they are heading to, or in this show's case, the patient's condition, test results, and diagnosis.

[edit] DVD releases

Title Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4
Season One
 August 30 2005 February 27 2006 PAL version, Singapore (date of release unknown)
NTSC version, Philippines 		November 28 2005
Season Two
 August 22 2006 October 23 2006 NA October 23, 2006
Season Three
 August 21 2007 November 19 2007 NA September 17 2007

Despite the series being filmed for widescreen (16:9) television, the First Season DVD set is in 4:3 format, although the Region 1 release has letterboxes, thereby still presenting images in their entirety, whereas the other regions have a cropped fullscreen format, thereby losing the later portions of the image.[22] The Second Season DVD set, on the other hand, presents the show in its original widescreen format in all regions, except for the Spanish release that still has fullscreen format.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Due to rights and licensing issues, Teardrop cannot be used in some countries, so "House End Credits" replaces Teardrop as the opening theme in those countries.
  2. ^ Fox renews 'House', 'Bones'
  3. ^ Boedeker, Hal. "Fox announces premiere dates; "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" returns Aug. 30", Orlando Sentinel, 2007-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-07-10. 
  4. ^ Frum, Linda (2006-03-14). Q&A with 'House' creator David Shore. Macleans.ca. Rogers Media Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
  5. ^ Zap2it ? TV news ? Building 'House' Is Hard Work
  6. ^ House and Holmes parallels - Radio Times, January 2006
  7. ^ "Final audience and ratings figures", May 27, 2005. 
  8. ^ "2005-06 primetime wrap", May 26, 2006. 
  9. ^ "Hollywood Reporter: 2006-07 primetime wrap", May 25 2007. 
  10. ^ 65th Annual Peabody Winners
  11. ^ a b Hollywood Foreign Press Association 2008 Golden Globe Awards For The Year Ended December 31, 2007. HFPA (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
  12. ^ Guide to the 2005 Emmy Awards Retrieved 2006-11-05.
  13. ^ http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=936
  14. ^ Casting Session with Hugh Laurie House DVD Special Feature, [2005]
  15. ^ Radio Times magazine, 23 March 2007
  16. ^ Inside the Actor's Studio Hugh Laurie Interview, BRAVO Network, [2006]
  17. ^ Keveney, Bill (2004). Hugh Laurie gets into 'House'. USA Today.
  18. ^ McCosh Health Center, the University's infirmary, is situated adjacent to Frist, and can be seen in some shots.
  19. ^ Vancouver's downtown is seen through Wilson's apartment window in Season 3 Episode 1.
  20. ^ Blogcritics Review of House "The gorgeous wood and glass sets must be a pain to shoot properly, and walk-and-talk shots are a signature, but otherwise the direction tends to the clean and simple." {emphasis added}.
  21. ^ Screenplay from Twiztv.com This explicitly references the "ducklings" and cues a "walk and talk."
  22. ^ http://forum.quotenmeter.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3442&start=1900

[edit] External links

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House (TV series)
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House
Episodes · Awards · Soundtrack
CharactersGregory House · Lisa Cuddy · James Wilson · Eric Foreman · Allison Cameron · Robert Chase · Chris Taub · Lawrence Kutner · "Thirteen"
Cast and crewHugh Laurie · Lisa Edelstein · Robert Sean Leonard · Omar Epps · Jennifer Morrison · Jesse Spencer · Peter Jacobson · Kal Penn · Olivia Wilde · David Shore · Katie Jacobs
bg:Д-р Хаус

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