House
Buying a home is one of the most important decisions a person will make in their life. More than just an address and four walls, it’s a place that you will share with your family and children. It’s where you will cook dinner together, read books together and open presents at Christmas time. The house you choose to live in will become a part of your family’s identity and shape the way your family grows and evolves.
House is a medical drama television series that premiered on Fox in the United States and Global Television Network in Canada on September 21, 2005. The show follows Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), a misanthropic diagnostician who leads a team of fellows at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Each episode centers on a single patient, starting with a cold open precredits scene outside the hospital followed by events that lead to the onset of the patient’s symptoms. The team of doctors then attempt to diagnose and treat the patient in a limited timeframe, usually with limited resources.
The show has received critical acclaim, with many critics praising the acting performances of its stars and the writing. USA Today called the show “an unexpected cure for the common medical drama,” while The Onion’s A.V. Club praised it as the “nastiest black comedy to come from Fox since 1996’s short-lived Profit.” The first season holds a Metacritic score of 75 out of 100, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.
Several episodes feature references to the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. House’s character is modeled after Holmes, with both men using deductive reasoning to solve cases, and both being indifferent toward their patients. House frequently rejects cases he finds uninteresting and is dependent on Vicodin. The writers also draw parallels between the two men in their use of drugs and music; Holmes was a violinist, while House plays piano, guitar and harmonica and is addicted to cocaine.
House’s original team of diagnosticians includes Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps), a neurologist; Dr. Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer), an intensivist; and Dr. Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), an immunologist. Throughout the seasons, the team changes, with members leaving and others joining. In the Season 3 episode Family, Foreman resigns from the team, saying that he doesn’t want to turn into House. The following season, in the episode Alone, House decides to form his own team.
In addition to the regular cast, each season features a handful of guest stars. The first season features the hematologist Jeffrey Cole (Edi Gathegi), the epidemiologist Travis Brennan (Andy Comeau) and the interventional radiologist Amber “Cut-throat Bitch” Volakis (Anne Dudek). In the two-part season finale of the same year, Volakis attempts to drive a drunk House home after a night out with Wilson. The episode is notable for being the first time that a character has been killed on the set of a television program.
The show’s producers have created a variety of media to promote the series, including an official website and a video game. In the video game, players play as a member of House’s team and must solve five medical cases. The game was a commercial success, but the site was shut down in August 2010 due to a legal dispute with Universal.