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


Customer Reviews (Average 4.5 from 107) :
Ok, what the hell is this?
Rating:1
No subtitles at all? Not even in English for hearing impaired?

The show was recorded in widescreen, broadcasted in widescreen and they ship a dvd in 4:3?

bad sound and mediucre picture.

I'm sorry, i'm a big house MD fan, and I bought this to my personal collection but I never watched it. Might as well download a pirated HD version with subtitles.

Universal failed with this product.

Absolutely amazing!
Rating:5
Forget about any other series you have seen. House is the best thing ever produced by mankind for television! Hugh Laurie is absolutely incredible as House, and the character can make you hate him and love him at the same time, but mostly love and laugh with him than anything else. Perfect, Perfect. 5 stars are not enough to rate this. ;)

Medical Shenanigans
Rating:4
I have to admit that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with House.

The series concept is slight. Every week a person gets sick in such a way that it baffles every normal doctor. House and his team then get to work diagnosing the problem. They treat the patient who then gets worse. They have a rethink, try a new treatment which makes things even worse, they have another rethink, a new treatmet is suggested which nearly results in the patient's death. House then (having tormented his team for long enough) has a light bulb moment, works out the problem and lickety split the patient is cured and leaves for home. After a few episodes this story line starts to pall, after twenty episodes every episode feels like a bad case of deja-vu.

Of course, the success of the show was never due to the plot, it was due to the outstanding performance of Hugh Laurie. His interpretation of the character is quite brilliant and the quality of his performance nothing but consistently brilliant. Every time he appears on screen he brings the show to life. His dry humour and acid tongue give the show a badly needed edge and provide a lot of laugh out loud moments. The best of these are during the occasions when House is forced to do his clinic hours and deal with humanity which he appears to uniformly despise. I think the writers should have included more scenes of this nature because they are a highlight.

Having said this I do feel that the show would have been so much better if it had been kept more compact and possibly limited to 12 shows a season rather than the 20 or so that it is but hey ho.

In summary, House is a well made show that suffers a little from being repetitive but Hugh Laurie's performance earns it an extra star.


season 1
Rating:5
Excellent series - that hooked we watched all 22 over a weekend - going for season 2 now. Hugh Laurie is perfect in the role of Greg House, the storylines leave you waiting for the next episode and the other characters grow with each episode. Can understand why it has had such rave reviews.

A medical counterpart to Holmes?
Rating:5
I was recommended this show as a sort of anti-depressant, though I'm not sure it qualifies as such, even though it is definitely a series well worth watching.

I don't have a tv (nor a tv dongle), and haven't had one for at least 5 years, so it's rare for me to be able to watch. I hadn't even heard of this series, but I bought the first season and started watching it, and I have to say it is great.

Hugh Laurie was just a straight man for Stephen Fry so far as I was concerned, and I had no idea he could act. In fact, he is a great actor, and his accent is so good, I'm told, that he can fool an American! (An American friend said to me about this show "How is it that British actors can do American accents, but we can't do British accents?" I assume it's because our drama schools used to insist that everyone learn to talk in a completely neutral non-accent, on which any other accent can then be superimposed).

Hugh Laurie's portrayal of the misanthropic House is great, and the series bears watching more than once, a mark of a good show. It was only yesterday that I realized how closely his part mirrors the well-known Sherlock Holmes, even down to the drug addiction. Of course, the back stories are completely different, but the idea of someone being obsessed by solving a puzzle (in the form of a crime or disease), by considering the evidence is basic. Which is probably why the episodes can be watched several times without becoming stale.

I tried to ration myself to one episode a week, but it was hopeless. I've just ordered Season 2. Nuff said?