House, M.D.: Season One
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Movie Reviews of House, M.D.: Season One
Movie Review: Educational show!
Summary: 5 Stars
I do not usually review TV series, but I felt compelled to do so this time.
House is just an amazing TV show. It is quite interesting to see how TV dramas based on medical themes have evolved in the last twenty-five years. First we had General Hospital, where patients wore full make- up in their hospital bed, and looked like they were modeling for Miss America during their sickness. Then other shows like ER were more realistic and captivated their audiences.
House will not only captivate you but educate you as well. How do doctors know what is making you sick? How do they know what to test for in order to find the cause of your ailment? Are doctors always right in their treatments or can they be wrong?
The main character in the show is Dr. House. He is not a very pleasant man. He does not like to meet patients, for he believes they all lie. He is arrogant and rude, and very impatient with his patients. He seems like a very unlikable character, but somehow, the viewer is apt to love him.
As the episodes progress, we see more and more his humane side.
Sometimes it is necessary to go to the patient's house in order to find out what ails him or her. For example, a woman brought to the hospital suffered seizures. At first, she was diagnosed as having a brain tumor. But treatment given to her was not working, but making her worse. Then doctors sent to her apartment found ham in her fridge; lots of it. Dr. House quickly guessed that it might be tape worm. A scan of her head showed a tape worm stuck in her brain. Removing the tape worm cured the problem. Now honestly, who ever knew that a tape worm could actually live in your brain?
There are many interesting medical ailments that will both scare and amaze you. I think the writers did a great job in researching the different strange medical ailments that can suddenly hit us as if from nowhere.
An African-black senator running for president collapses after a speech. In the hospital, a blood test showed that his white blood count was very low, and a rare fungus common to AIDS patients grew in his brain. Dr. House quickly determines that the cause of his seizures is HIV, and asks the lab to test for it. The test comes back positive and he is quickly put on an anti-viral intravenous treatment. However, the treatment makes him worse. Why? Is this a new HIV strain? The senator does not believe that he has AIDS, and tells Dr. House that he is not gay, and that he had only protected sex with two women since his wife's death. Dr. House knows that patients always lie, and besides, the senator's blood test came back positive for HIV. But at the same time, the anti-viral treatment is not only not working, but making the patient worse. What could possibly be the problem? What if the patient is telling the truth? What if the patient truly believes that he does not have AIDS, should this matter? Dr. House decides to do the unthinkable, and actually believes for the first time ever his patient. He runs another blood test for HIV, and behold, the test comes back negative. We are then told that 1 in 5,000 people tested for HIV will get a false positive result. In other words, the blood test will show that they have HIV when in fact they don't. Dr. House immediately stops the anti-viral treatment, and the process of finding out the cause of the senator's ailment is started anew. Pretty fascinating stuff!
What do you do when all newly born babies in the hospital are born very sick? Obviously, something in the hospital is making them sick, but what and what treatment should you give to the babies? In that particularly touching episode, different treatments had to be used on different babies in order to see which treatment will work. Only one treatment will work, so the baby receiving the wrong treatment will die, and the others will live. How difficult such a situation is to a doctor? And should a doctor play God in deciding which baby should live and which should die? And is the death of a single baby justifiable when many other babies will be saved by sacrificing the one? Those are very ethical questions, but ones real-life doctors are faced with constantly. This episode will probably keep you awake at night.
Sometimes a person suffers from two or more different viruses, bacterial, and/or fungal infections that acting together produce very confusing and fatal symptoms. Not all symptoms are a result of one disease, but might be a combination of two or more. The doctor must be like a detective in trying to single out the different diseases and determining a successful treatment or cure. In this show, disease is the bad guy, and doctors are the detectives trying to catch him.
This show will teach you many medical terms. It will show how doctors arrive at the cause of the ailment through trial and error.
This is really a fascinating and very educational show. Watching it is by no means a waste of time, but should be required viewing. Whoever said that watching TV is harmful to your health? One study I read recently showed that people who watched TV regularly are happier than people who don't. A recent statistic calculates that a person living in the US would have stayed in front of the TV screen 15 years by the time he reaches 60. Watch TV programs that educate at the same time as they entertain and you'll be ahead of the couch potato syndrome.
One thing is for sure. We will all find ourselves in a hospital bed sometime during our lifetime. It is nice to be informed ahead of time what it can be like, and that doctors are human after all. Maybe some time in the near future we will have computers connected to the internet on our beds in hospitals, where we can research on our own what ailment we could possibly have. After all, who better knows his or her body more than the patient?
Movie Review: Hugh Laurie's Dr. House makes deadly diseases fun again
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Hugh Laurie Is the Reason For the Success of House M.D.
Summary: 5 Stars
Every once in a while, an actor is able to take a character and make him/her uniquely his/her own. They are also able to make this character so appealing that no one can soon forget them. This doesn't happen as often as one might think. I can think of a handful, from Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock, to Henry Winkler's Fonzy, to even more recently with William Petersen's Gil Grissom. Hugh Laurie most definitely must be placed in this community of actors for their performances.
Gregory House is not your typical doctor with a "lovely" bedside manner. If anything, he's the opposite. He almost sticks his nose up at those who make bad decisions or people who just aren't very bright when the answer is clearly staring them in the face. He has an almost vicious contempt for these people, whether they be fellow doctors or patients. You might then ask, "then why is he even remotely appealing?" Because, the flip side to House is that he does care, even if he will never admit that he does. He's much like a wounded child. His only pleasure comes from playing video games on his hand-held Gameboy or watching "General Hospital," his favorite TV show. If there's a funny line to be said, even if it's a mild insult, Gregory House will say it without a second's thought. Anyone who has seen Hugh Laurie in other roles, especially in "Sense and Sensibility" can easily see him in this role of Dr. House. I cannot emphasize enough how good his is. As good as the supporting cast is, Hugh manages to steal virtually every scene he's in.
You might think that House M.D. is just another "doctor show." You would be wrong. Take elements of CSI and put them in a hospital setting, and you have House, M.D. Dr. House is in charge of Diagnostic Medicine at a prestigous New Jersey hospital near Princeton University. He has a small team of experts in various areas to help him. His job is to diagnose mysterious conditions/diseases that no one else is able to solve or figure out.
One of the biggest reasons why CSI works so well is because people LOVE puzzles! And House M.D. is just that. Now, you might find yourself having a hard time trying to figure out what the disease of the week is, since few people have a medical degree, but that doesn't matter. The joy of the show is in the journey, not the goal. You're drawn in because you want to see how they will figure out what the problem is.
The supporting cast is perfect. Omar Epps is Dr. Foreman, whose expertise is in the field of neurology. He's probably the only member of the team who isn't intimidated by House, and he isn't afraid to disagree with him. I've been a fan of Epps since seeing him in his brief stint on ER, in Love & Basketball, and Higher Learning. He's a great actor.
Then, we have Dr. Chase, played by Jesse Spencer. Chase is a likeable character, but he mostly looks out for himself, even it means making an end-run around House to make sure his job is secure.
Jennifer Morrison is great as Dr. Cameron, the only female member of House's team. She's a bit of a pleaser, and she seems to be the only person who has an idea of who Gregory House is under his facade. In this way, House finds himself a bit uncomfortable around her. Cameron can actually penetrate House's facade. She's highly intuitive even though she's a bit naive due to her age and lack of experience.
Dr. Cuddy, who is in charge of the hospital is wonderfully played by Lisa Edelstein. The verbal exchanges between House and Cuddy are superb. House is the defiant doctor who hates doing clinic duty, and Cuddy is the superior who is always pulling teeth to get House to "do his job."
The last cast member is probably my favorite of the supporting characters. He is arguably House's only friend, Dr. Wilson who is in charge of the oncology department. He's played by Robert Sean Leonard, a brilliant actor who is noted mostly for his stage work, but also for playing the tragic character of Neil Perry in Dead Poet's Society. Wilson seems to the be the only person who can truly put up with House and his antics, although Wilson often wonders why he even bothers.
As good as the stories are in this show, I must confess that the biggest reason I love this show is to watch Hugh Laurie work his magic. We've had Archie Bunker and Thomas Magnum, but we haven't yet had an irascible doctor like Gregory House. And even though you probably wouldn't like him at all if he were a real person, you can't help but love him in House M.D., for how many likeable characters aren't afraid to speak their minds...about anything!
Movie Review: House, M.D. - Season One
Summary: 5 Stars
I've never been the biggest fan of dramatic medical shows, but over the years I've watched several shows that take place at hospitals. Some of these shows include: "ER", "Chicago Hope", "St. Elsewhere", and (more recently) "Grey's Anatomy". Just two months before "Grey's Anatomy" hit the airwaves on ABC, "House, M.D." premiered on Fox. After watching a few episodes this season, I found it to be a very interesting series. So I picked up the complete first season on DVD, watched all 22 episodes, and now I'm hooked.
"House, M.D." may be the best medical series I've ever seen. And while "ER" and "Grey's Anatomy" are good medical shows, I never got as hooked on to those shows as I have with "House, M.D." This is a great show that follows the adventures of Dr. Gregory House, a very smart and brilliant doctor who's also very arrogant and sarcastic. Here's a doctor who (despite his brilliance) isn't very nice to anyone, including his patients. Thanks to a painful leg, he has to walk around with a cane (which reminds me a lot of the Laura Innes character from ER, Dr. Kerry Weaver) and is constantly popping pills throughout each day to make the leg as less painful as possible. Dr. House has a team of young medical experts who get together and try to figure out the diagnosis of patients who come into their hospital after falling mysteriously and severely ill.
Each episode is brilliantly written and directed, and the acting by its cast is phenomenal. British actor Hugh Laurie is a powerhouse as Dr. House, displaying a type of acting that I rarely see on television. He delivers his dialogue in an occasionally fast-paced unique way, and (despite coming from Britain) he doesn't even sound British (if you watch the bonus features on the DVD, you'll notice that when Laurie talks during the interviews he sounds very British). Dr. House is very much American, and Laurie has brought this character wonderfully to life. I don't think any other actor could do this great of a job in this role as Laurie has done so far. What also makes Dr. House such a memorable character is that even though he's very angry and very serious most of the time, he provides plenty of darkly humorous moments. Much of the humor occurs when he's constantly arguing with his boss, hospital administrator Dr. Lisa Cuddy, who's well-played by Lisa Edelstein. Dr. Cuddy hates House and would like nothing more than to fire him because of his rudeness towards everybody as well as the serious risks that he takes when it comes to saving a patients' life, but at the same time she keeps him on the hospital staff because she respects him, primarily because she knows deep down that he's very smart and knows exactly what to do when it comes to treating a very sick patient. Edelstein is excellent, and so is the rest of the supporting cast that make up Dr. House's team. Robert Sean Leonard (all grown up since starring in the 1989 Oscar-nominated Robin Williams movie Dead Poets Society) portrays Dr. James Wilson, who seems to look up to House as kind of a father figure; Omar Epps is Dr. Eric Foreman, the African-American doctor who occasionally has issues with Dr. House's medical methods; Jesse Spencer plays Dr. Robert Chase, the handsome young doctor from Australia who (like Dr. Foreman) tries to outguess House when it comes to figuring out what's wrong with each patient; and Jennifer Morrison portrays Dr. Allison Cameron, the beautiful young female doctor who kind of has a crush on the cranky Dr. House. All of these actors are superb in their roles, and I hope that all of them will get Emmy nominations before the show ends its run.
Speaking of Emmy nominations, "House, M.D." did receive 5 nominations for its first season, including one for Hugh Laurie as Best Actor in a Drama Series (which he probably deserved to win; James Spader instead won for "Boston Legal"). The show did win a Emmy in its freshman year for Best Writing in a Drama Series, which went to the show's creator David Shore for writing the next to last episode titled Three Stories, a great episode in which we find out exactly why Dr. House has that pain in his leg and is forced to walk around with a cane everyday. Also, Bryan Singer (director of Superman Returns and the first two X-Men movies) serves as an executive producer of the show as well as directing the first and third episodes of season one (he also makes a cameo appearance in front of the camera in an episode midway through the season as a TV commercial director).
"House, M.D." is a spectacular show that has become a big hit for Fox, and deservedly so.
Movie Review: Truly Brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
House, can only be described as brilliant. Not in the way as a teenager would describe it in the way of being cool or just generally entertaining, but brilliant as in genius. I could talk about season one for hours as it's truly the season that defines the character and sets in stone Hugh Laurie's cracking of America. Hugh Laurie, for those who don't know is a famous British comic actor best known for his work with Stephen Fry. Such shows as Jeeves & Wooster, A Bit of Fry & Laurie & Blackadder made this man a true comic god. Upon hearing that Hugh had taken up the role as the American Dr. Gregory House, I'm sure a lot of people took a big sigh and said to themselves "Oh, please god no." How wrong those people were when Laurie stepped onto the screen in the pilot episode, with that incredible accent and the inclusion of his comic wit.
The Story? Well the show is based around Dr. Gregory House, a medical genius is the head of a team of diagnosticians who specialise in solving those medical cases other doctors just can't figure out. House isn't the conventional Dr, however, because he's rude, selfish and doesn't like to follow the rules. He sets himself the task of curing his patient and makes sure he does just that. Whether that means sending his team to break into the patients home to see if the condition was taken in by the environment or not. Also House doesn't see the harm in interrupting a surgery to save his patient by spitting on the surgeon himself. If I were to have some criticism about the first season of the show it would be the character Vogler. Vogler becomes the hospitals chairman of the board after donating $100 million to the hospital. Vogler begins to throw his weight around as he wants to run it like a busines with clinical trials, rather than a hospital. This becomes a problem for House as his department eats a lot of the hospitals funds and saves only one person per week. The two characters immediately clash and Vogler sets on his own mission to get rid of House. The criticism I have is that from the very start of Season one every character has a certain chemistry with each other which helps the show blend together much better. I didn't see that chemistry with the Vogler character and for the episodes he was a part of it, it really dragged the show down. Don't let this put you off though as he's only in the show for a few episodes.
This is just the first season but the drama and the characters aren't the only things that make this show unique. The dialogue is spectacular and I have no doubt in my mind that Laurie has some input about some of the classic one liners. Below are a few of my favourites.
From Episode 3: Occam's Razor:
House: "Hello, sick people and their loved ones! In the interest of saving time and avoiding a lot of boring chitchat later, I'm Doctor Gregory House; you can call me "Greg". I'm one of three doctors staffing this clinic this morning."
Cuddy: "Short, sweet, grab a file."
House: "This ray of sunshine is Doctor Lisa Cuddy. Doctor Cuddy runs this whole hospital, so unfortunately she's much too busy to deal with you. I am a board ... certified diagnostician with a double specialty of infectious disease and nephrology. I am also the only doctor currently employed at this hospital who is forced to be here against his will.
That is true, isn't it? (to Cuddy)
But not to worry, because for most of you, this job could be done by a monkey with a bottle of Motrin. Speaking of which, if you're particularly annoying, you may see me reach for this: this is Vicodin. It's mine! You can't have any! And no, I do not have a pain management problem, I have a pain problem ... but who knows? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm too stoned to tell. So, who wants me? "
From Episode 5 Damned If You Do:
Nun: "Sister Augustine believes in things that aren't real."
House: "I thought that was a job requirement for you people."
From Episode 9 DNR:
Wilson: "So your philosophy is, 'If they don't want treatment, they get it shoved down their throat, but if it might cure their paralysis, whoa, better slow down'."
House: "Yeah. My old philosophy used to be 'Live and let live', but I'm taking this needlepoint class and they gave us these really big pillows."
This is an amazing show and you're seriously missing out if you're not watching it.