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House, also titled House, M.D., is an American television series. It is an hour-long Emmy-winning medical drama that debuted in the fall of 2004 and stars Golden Globe-winning British actor and comedian Hugh Laurie. Laurie plays Dr. Gregory House, a maverick medical genius who heads a team of young diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. This team goes to extraordinary lengths to accomplish a common task: diagnosing and treating unusual ailments. Most episodes start outside the hospital, showing the events leading to the onset of illness for that week's patient.

Production information

House is aired by the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a co-production of Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions, and Bad Hat Harry Productions in association with the NBC Universal Television Studio for Fox. Heel & Toe Films is the production company of Paul Attanasio and Katie Jacobs. Bad Hat Harry Productions is Bryan Singer's company. Shore Z Productions is David Shore's company. All three companies are responsible for the production of House; all four people are Executive Producers of the show.

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 5 episodes.

Airing

The show finished its first season on May 24, 2005. Though it started slowly, it began consistently ranking at the top in its time slot, and in the top ten highest rated programs almost every week. * It is the second-highest rated show on Fox after American Idol.

During the summer of 2005, Fox aired reruns of House in its usual timeslot, an honor rarely awarded to a series by FoxMyers, Jack (2004). Fox Changes All the Rules (pdf file). Jack Myers Entertainment Report.. The second season premiered on September 13, 2005 and ended on May 23, 2006. During the summer of 2006, Fox showed reruns of the show in its current timeslot. The show has since been renewed for a third season and will premiere on September 5, 2006.*

House currently airs Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. (Eastern/Pacific) on Fox. On November 30, 2005, Fox announced that beginning in January 2006, House will remain in its regular timeslot after American Idol. Fox originally planned to move House to Monday nights at 8 p.m., to lead into new episodes of 24. However, since House has consistently high ratings during its Tuesday airings, the network decided not to go with their original plan. The network did temporarily air House on Mondays from 8–10 p.m., for a few weeks in late December 2005 and early January 2006. During this time, House still ran at its normal timeslot on Tuesday nights on Fox. At several points during the second season, House achieved its highest ratings of the year, only to beat that record the following week.

The cable station USA (an NBC Universal sister network) began airing Season 1 in syndication on January 6, 2006 at 11/10c.

In the UK, House is aired on Thursdays, on five. Originally, it was at 10pm, but was then moved to an earlier 9pm slot.

In Germany, House is aired on Tuesday nights at 9:15pm, on RTL. The network is currently broadcasting the show's first season.

In Australia, House M.D. is aired on Wednesday at 8:30pm on Network Ten. It has been an important figure with Ten's ratings, competing with Network Seven's Prison Break. Recently, House has been shown as a 'on-off' situation, as Ten attempts to stall new (to Australia) Season 2 episodes. When first premiering, House was on Sunday at 8:30pm.

In Portugal, House is aired on late Thursday nights at 11:30 pm, on TVI_(Portugal) . The network is currently broadcasting the show's second season.

Casting

The producers were reportedly dissatisfied with early auditions for the role of House. When Laurie, a British actor, first auditioned, his American accent was reportedly so flawless that director Bryan Singer singled him out as an example of a real American actor, being unaware of Laurie's background. After being cast as House, Laurie, whose father was a doctor himself, said he felt guilty for "being paid more to become a fake version of my own father."Keveney, Bill (2004). Hugh Laurie gets into 'House'. USA Today.

Filming

External shots of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital actually are of Princeton University's Frist Campus Center, which is the University's student center. Filming does not, however, take place there. (Interestingly enough, McCosh Health Center, the University's infirmary, is situated adjacent to Frist, and can be seen in some shots.) Filming takes place on the Fox lot in Century City.

Recurring elements

Dr. House's begrudging fulfillment of his mandatory clinic duty is a recurring subplot on the show. During clinic duty, House confounds patients with his eccentric bedside manner and often unorthodox treatments, but impresses them with rapid and accurate diagnoses after seemingly not paying attention. In one episode, House diagnoses an entire waiting room full of patients on his way out of the clinic. Often, some of the simpler problems House faces in the clinic help him solve the main case of the show.

Many of the illnesses and conditions encountered during the series could have been solved earlier if the patient/patients' families had not lied or hidden other symptoms (lying about having an affair that led to the mystery disease, lying about an underlying disorder, lying about jobs that lead to the mystery disease, and so on), thus every episode lends more and more backing to House's beloved stock phrase, "Everybody Lies".

Several episodes feature the unusual practice of entering a patient's house with or without their 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 Crime Scene Investigation type show where "germs were the suspects"Frum, Linda (2004). Q&A with 'House' creator David Shore. Macleans.ca., but has since shifted some of the focus to the characters rather than focusing solely on the plot.

Character traits

One of House's distinctive traits is his low tolerance for boredom, which results in his unusual role in the series' hospital. When unoccupied or thinking, he has been seen juggling, listening to music, constructing an elaborate contraption from objects in his office, and most frequently twirling his cane with one hand. In many episodes House can be seen playing either a Sony or Nintendo portable gaming devices while he is waiting.

In spite of this apparent frivolity and impatience (with a "nine to three" job) House is nevertheless dedicated once a problem takes his attention. Many of the critical diagnoses in the show come at the end of a long night's study, and at one point he enacts an elaborate plot and learns Hindi in order to avenge a slight from decades previous.

House also shares a number of personality quirks with the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. The show's creator, David Shore, has said in an interview Zap2it - TV news - Building 'House' Is Hard Work that the character of Dr. House is indeed partly inspired by Holmes. Among the characteristics the two characters share are their ability to come to rapid conclusions after the briefest examination of a client/patient, their drug use (cocaine for Holmes, Vicodin for House, morphine for both), and the fact that each character has only one real friend (Dr. Watson and Dr. Wilson, respectively) who connects the cerebral hero to human concerns. (The drug Vicodin is often distributed by Watson Laboratories, Inc., with Watson written on the backside of each pill.) Also, in one episode House's apartment number is revealed to be 221B, Sherlock Holmes's Baker Street address. On the pilot episode, the main patient is named Rebecca Adler, possibly after Irene Adler, a well known female character from a Sherlock Holmes story. Another patient, whom House failed to diagnose twelve years ago, has the name Ester Doyle which, incidentally, evokes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- the author of Sherlock Holmes. The patient who shot House in the second-season finale was named (at least in House's subconscious) Jack Moriarty, i.e., Holmes' nemesis Professor James Moriarty. Perhaps most tellingly, the characters' names (Holmes and House) are homophonically-related synonyms.

Characters

Other recurring characters

  • Stacy Warner (Sela Ward) – Dr. House's ex-girlfriend; former lawyer for Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.
  • Mark Warner (Currie Graham) – Stacy's husband.
  • Edward Vogler (Chi McBride) – Billionaire owner of a pharmaceutical firm and former board chairman of the hospital.
  • John and Blythe House (R. Lee Ermey and Diane Baker) – House's parents.
  • Steve McQueen – House's pet rat.

Episodes

Criticism

The show's procedural structure, bizzare scenarios, and headlong dives into controversy via the hazardous and sometimes blatantly illegal conduct of the characters has gained the show some detractors.

However, professional critics have focused their attention on the complex inner life that British actor Hugh Laurie brings to the title role, and much of the media's attention has been focused on him. The characterization of House himself, as a brilliant, irracible, grating and oddly sympathetic personality, as played by Mr. Laurie, is what has been credited with the show's success.

New York Magazine: * "With House, we are in the hands of professionals: accomplished actors playing doctors who come to care about their patients, whose afflictions range from tapeworms to brain tumors."

USA Today: * "Any series that matches a great actor with a great character is halfway home."

Washington Post: * ""House" introduces us to the most electrifying new main character to hit television in years. No, the show is not about a house or even life as a house; it's about life as Dr. Gregory House, who, as played perilously close to perfection by Hugh Laurie, catapults this Fox series into a select group: the finest shows of the season."

Numerous publications have named it one of the best shows of the year.

DVD releases

On May 24 2006, it was announced that Universal will be releasing the Region 1 DVD for the second season of House on August 22 2006.House - Season 2 In August

DVD Name Region 1 Region 2
The Complete First Season August 30 2005 February 27 2006
The Complete Second Season August 22 2006 TBA

Trivia

  • As of 11 July 2006, HOUSE is No.1 in the Highest Rated Shows on TV.com *
  • The opening theme is "Teardrop" by Massive Attack, although due to rights and licensing issues this music is not used for the show in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Israel, New Zealand and Latin America. In those countries, a piece of music named "House," composed by Scott Donaldson and Richard Nolan, is used. It was written specifically for the show. With the second series, this was replaced with a similar but different track. "Teardrop" itself does have lyrics, however for the opening credits only the beginning and ending sections of the song are used, which contain no lyrics.
  • House, it has been noted, has many links to Sherlock Holmes, including his name (House is a play of Holmes, which sounds like "homes"), House's address (221 Apartment B, which is a play of 221B Baker Street), and House's attitude and wit.
  • House's birthday is June 11, 1959 - the same as Hugh Laurie's. This was shown in the second season ending episode. A close-up of his patient ID bracelet lists DOB 06-11-59 which, in U.S. date format, is June 11, 1959.
  • The cast is said to be addicted to Sudoku, which has subsequently been banned from the set.
  • Jesse Spencer, who plays Dr. Robert Chase, has several family ties to the medical profession: his father and two brothers are doctors in Australia while his sister is currently in medical school. When watching House, Spencer's brothers try to diagnose the problem based on the symptoms and medical jargon presented in the show. They also look for medical slip-ups in the dialogue.
  • The UK's Five showed the first season episode "Damned If You Do" out of sequence (in December), because it is near Christmas in the episode.
  • In the episode "Clueless", House and Wilson are seen looking at House's list of recorded television shows, which included Blackadder, The New Yankee Workshop, SpongeBob Squarepants, The O.C., as well as a Monster Truck Jam. Hugh Laurie starred in Blackadder, and, in previous episodes, it has been revealed that House enjoys both The O.C. and monster trucks. House described his interest in The New Yankee Workshop by saying "It's a complete moron working with power tools. How much more suspenseful can you get?" The "moron" that House refers to is the show's host, Norm Abram, who is incidentally well known for his work on the PBS television show This Old House. The episode "Forever" mentions that House also likes to watch recorded episodes of The L Word, but "only on mute."
  • House rides a Honda CBR1000RR Repsol replica motorcycle.
  • Many of the wings in the hospital (e.g., Cuyler Wing and Witherspoon Wing) take their names from the dormitories at Princeton University. Some of the pictures in House's office also appear to be pictures of the campus.
  • In the German broadcast, due to the dubbing, House has the same voice as Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld.
  • Many of the patients' names in the English translation of the Nintendo DS videogame, Under the Knife, uses names of characters or actors from House. This includes patients named Eric Dorian, Chi McGinley, Omar Flynn, Greg Kasal, Hugh Vogler, Noah Lourie, Amy Chase, and Jesse Pratt.

Awards

See: List of House awards

Broadcast stations

Outside the US, House has been broadcast by the following stations:

Crew

  • David Shore — series creator, writer, director, executive producer
  • Bryan Singer — executive producer, director
  • Paul Attanasio — executive producer
  • Katie Jacobs — executive producer
  • Roy H. Wagner, ASC — cinematographer
  • Jason Derlatka, Jon Ehrlich, and Christopher Hoag — music
  • Doris Egan — co-executive producer, writer
  • Russel Friend & Garrett Lerner — co-executive producers, co-writers
  • Lawrence Kaplow — co-executive producer, writer
  • John Mankiewicz — co-executive producer, writer
  • Thomas L. Moran — co-executive producer, writer
  • Daniel Sackheim — co-executive producer, director
  • David Semel — co-executive producer, director
  • David Foster — supervising producer, writer
  • Matt Witten — supervising producer, writer
  • Liz Friedman — consulting producer, writer
  • Peter Blake — consulting producer, writer
  • Gerrit Van der Meer — producer

See also

Notes and references

External links

House (TV series) | Medical television series | Drama television series | Fox network shows | 2000s TV shows in the United States | USA Network shows | Running television shows | Television shows set in New Jersey | NBC Universal Television shows

House, MD | Dr. House | House (serie) | Dr House | Dr. House - Medical Division | האוס (סדרת טלוויזיה) | House, M.D. | House (televisio-ohjelma) | House (TV-serie) | 豪斯医生

 

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