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House - Season 1 (Hugh Laurie)


RRP: £49.99
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

He pops pills, watches soaps, and always, always says what's on his mind. He's Dr. Gregory House (Emmy nominee Hugh Laurie, Blackadder). Producers David Shore, Bryan Singer, Katie Jacobs, and Paul Attanasio haven't rewritten the hospital drama, but they've infused a moribund genre with new life and created one of TV's most compelling characters.

More than any previous medical procedural, it resembles Attanasio’s underrated Gideon's Crossing, but House is lighter on its feet. As fascinating as he is, the show wouldn't work as well if it were all House all the time (that would be like Sherlock Holmes without Watson or Moriarty). Fortunately, he's joined by an intriguing cast of characters, portrayed by a combination of experienced vets (Omar Epps, Lisa Edelstein, Tony winner Robert Sean Leonard) and new faces (Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer). Aside from the complicated cases they tackle each week, the sparks really fly when House's brilliant, if naïve charges are put to the test--and as the head of a teaching hospital, it's his job to test them (although his tough love approach is constantly landing him in hot water with Edelstein's administrator).

From the first episode, House attracted a talented array of guests, including Robin Tunney ("Pilot"), Joe Morton ("Role Model"), and Patrick Bauchau ("Cursed") as Spencer’s father. In addition, Chi McBride and Sela Ward appear frequently (with Ward returning for the second season). Viewers who first watched these 22 episodes will be gratified to note that the music has survived the transition to disc, such as the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want," as featured in both the pilot and season finale ("Honeymoon"). The only apparent omission is the credit theme (Massive Attack's "Teardrop") from the pilot. --Kathleen C. Fennessy


Give the patient season 1 of House - Stat
Review date: 2008-10-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

I was a latecomer to 'House' but better late than never.

Hugh Laurie plays the miserable yet brilliant Dr. House with some style. You almost forget he is a Brit.

I have watched many hospital dramas - ER, St Elsewhere, Casualty, etc, as there is something uniquely engaging about the medical environment. Those series have been mainly dramas while House is something else. It's a part drama, part sit-com and part geeky medical show.

The basic premise involves patients being admitted to Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital with very mixed symptoms that complicate the medical diagnoses. House uses his talented young medical team to treat the symptoms but the patients usually take a turn for the worse upon treatment - suggesting the case is even more complex. Just when you think there is nothing more to go on, House picks up on an apparently less relevant detail of the patient and bingo - he finds the answer. It's a bit like 'Columbo'.

Virtually every episode is top drawer from the one with the maternity ward epidemic (Maternity), the nun with the allergy (Damned If You Do), the Jazz musician that doesn't want to be resuscitated ('DNR') and the politician who rejects being diagnosed with AIDS ('Role Model').

Alongside the patient puzzle, there are sub-plots involving hospital politics and personality issues. House hates meeting his patients and his scenes in clinic are often hilarious.

I am a big Frasier fan and, despite its' sitcom status, I didn't think anything else could come close to it in terms of the storylines, witty dialogue and comedy; but House does on all counts.

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Reviews


Truly Brilliant
Review date: 2008-08-08 Rating: 10 out of 10

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.

Best Hospital Show I have ever seen
Review date: 2008-05-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

It took me a while to get into that 'House'-mood.
Many friends had already recommended the show but I stayed away in fear of seeing just 'another' hospital show.
After 4 years, I have finally decided to sit down and watch it. And thank god I did. This is by far the best hospital 'drama' that I have ever seen.
I was always a fan of ER and was very sad when I saw it jump the shark and I am so happy to have found a new addiction.
I don't believe that there is a need to explain the general content of the show...because whats the need to 'spoil' new viewers when it so much more fun to explore this show on your own.
All I can say is to watch out for that chemistry between the actors. It feels like they were made to act together in a show like this. And a show like this was just made for them.

A real treat and a good way to spend free evenings in front of the TV. But careful, You might get addicted.



this is a rubbish release
Review date: 2008-04-14 Rating: 2 out of 10

I will boycott any DVD UNIVERSAL releases from now on!!! Just a poor box without any extras or even subtitles - so what?

Crap! This is the best argument for downloaders - don't support this company!

Where's the words?
Review date: 2008-04-03 Rating: 2 out of 10

The pan and scan was bad enough, but no subtitles? I bought this for my hard-of-hearing mum but had to return it and go for the region 1 version.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Jesse Spencer
Lisa Edelstein
Robert Sean Leonard
Omar Epps
Hugh Laurie

Creators:
Hugh Laurie (Primary Contributor)
Omar Epps (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Universal Pictures Video
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures Video
EAN: 5050582420760
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 6
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-02-27
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 999 minutes
Language: English (Original Language)

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