Review of the TV Series: House

This is probably one of the best, if not the best, medical show to appear on television. The sometimes-controversial treatment of patients by the brilliant, often sarcastic Dr. Gregory House and his team of five specialists has snagged an Emmy award for creator and producer David Shore as Outstanding Writer In A Drama Series and a Golden Globe award for actor Hugh Laurie. And that was all in the first season. The second season was recognized by the American Film Festival as one of the best TV programs of 2005 along with the Peabody Award for the Best In Electronic Media; and Shore was honored once again with the Humanitas Prize in 2006. The cast is made up of six very talented actors that begin with the star Hugh Laurie.

Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie plays Dr. Gregory House, an infectious disease doctor whose bedside manner leaves a lot to be desired (if he had a bedside manner). His unconventional thinking and treatment of patients always lands him in trouble with the hospital administrator but she puts up with him because of his brilliance. House thrives on solving medical cases that seem impossible to treat let alone cure, and it is this tenacity that makes him such a sought after doctor.

Lisa Edelstein
Lisa plays Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the Medical Director and Administrator on House. Lisa's character livens things up a bit with her on and off attraction to the notorious Dr. House. She is no stranger to television with roles on shows such as The West Wing, Ally McBeal, Family Law, and The Practice to name a few of her many TV roles.

Omar Epps
Omar plays Dr Eric Foreman for which he received a NAACP award for his performance on House. His many roles includes both television and film, and developed his own production company, Brooklyn Works Film, which is currently working on movies he will write, produce and star in.

Robert Sean Leonard
Robert plays Oncologist Dr. James Wilson, and is probably the only person in House's world that House considers a friend. His quiet and soft-spoken manner make his character seem a bit wimpy at times, but his steadfast manner and loyalty to House comes through when it's most needed. Robert has enjoyed a prolific career on both stage and screen; he began his acting career at age fourteen at the Ridgewood Theatre in New York. When he was nineteen he starred in the movie the "Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams.

Jennifer Morrison
Known as Dr. Allison Cameron on House she began her acting career at fifteen in the movie "Intersection." She also is not new to television with roles on "Dawson's Creek" and The Random Years. She has also starred in movies "Mall Cop," and the blockbuster, "Mr. And Mrs. Smith. Her character on House is also heating up the screen with her real-life fiancée, Jesse Spencer as his non-committing love interest.

Jesse Spencer
Jesse is known on the show as Dr. Robert Chase: the smart, often opinionated doctor that often disagrees with House. In between doing his best to solve the medical mysteries of the world and challenging Dr. House's authority, he finds time embroil himself in a romance with his colleague Dr. Cameron.

Recaps
House is now ending its third season so there are a lot of episodes, but these are two I liked.

In one episode a sixteen-year-old boy, Nate Harrison, is admitted with shortness of breath and a severe headache. House want to treat the boy's headaches with mushrooms (hallucinogenic kind) because the psilocybins work on headaches. Cuddy does permit a lose dose of the mushrooms. Nate has a list of symptoms that include: anger, personality disorder, and House thinks the headaches are cluster headaches. Nate goes through House's treatment regime until his liver shuts down for unknown reasons. At one point House wanted to biopsy Nate's pituitary but Nate refused. In the end House does find out what's wrong with his young patient, which is hemochromatosis, which is a condition where his body is absorbing iron but can't process it and is causing all sorts of problems for Nate. House decides that Nate is not suffering from a personality disorder however, that his patient is just an ass.

In the episode, "No Reason," House finds himself the victim of an unhappy patient who comes into House's office and shoots House. House wakes up to find himself in a hospital bed. Dr. Cameron tells House about his condition, but he's more interested in what is going on with a patient that was admitted earlier than him. House thinks he might have been hallucinating in this episode about a woman he thinks is the shooter's wife, and did hallucinate about a bathroom. Cuddy, at one point, puts House into a coma, and when he comes out is not walking with a limp and doesn't need his cane, which makes House livid. Cuddy maintains that all she did was cure him of his chronic pain. In the end, House realizes what's wrong with the patient with the swollen tongue and the episode ends with House being wheeled into the emergency room after being shot.

To Analyze House
This television show has become so popular that there's even been a book written about the series and if the techniques used on House would actually work. Part of House's charm is that it's a series that is not only entertaining, but also creates an intensity not often found in most drama series. The character of Gregory House is one that many can identify with: he's a doctor, but with real life problems (like his drug addiction.) His character has depth and the many facets of his personality give the show a realistic feel that's hard to top.

Finally
The season end will be May 29, 2006 and who knows what will happen with the season finale. I can only imagine that next year's season will be filled with more intriguing and controversial subject matter as the show continues.