Here we have the pilot episode of the successful medical-themed television series "House M. D.". Like all the others, a massive amount of way over 150 episodes, it runs for under 45 minutes and features British actor Hugh Laurie, at that point mostly known for its involvement with Blackadder, as the complicated genius physician Dr. Gregory House. This episode here is already about a crucial case, but it is also a presentation, not only of House himself, but also the three doctors working under him as well as his boss. We learn quite a bit about all those, but it is just the side action. At the center of it all are a sick teacher played by the stunning Robin Tunney and the team's efforts to find out what exactly is wrong with her when she develops a speech impediment, has a dangerous allergy and even suffers from cardiac arrest at some point. Quite a lot she goes through here you can say for sure, so maybe it is no huge surprise that she lost all her power towards the end and just wants to die. Not even House overcoming his approach to not talk to patients in person can change that. But the right diagnosis and an idea how to prove it does. So there is a happy end to this episode and if you have seen some of the other episodes, then you know that this is not always the case. People have died with far less significant symptoms and conditions you can say. But maybe they did not want to launch the show on a downer. The director here was Bryan Singer who has enjoyed his success on the big screen too in the almost two decades since this episode and also of course with what he did before November 2004, so yeah this means that this episode is now pretty much exactly 19 years old. It has aged well I would say. I liked it back then. I still like it after today's watch.
The key story is gripping and the actors are all doing a nice-enough job. But it is also the minor inclusions that contribute a lot and are the exact opposite of filler material, like House treating patients with less dangerous conditions that always make for a bit of a good laugh with how annoyed House is because of those. Or you could wonder about the exact connection between Wilson and the patient. Honestly, I was surprised how he talked to her if they were really cousins, but this is also because we do not only have "you(r)" in German, but two different forms, one that people use when talking to people close to them, the other when talking to not-so-close colleagues or strangers. Let's not get into detail there any more though. Moral questions, if not dilemmas, have always been a vital inclusion with House. Here you got the idea of treating patients vs. Treating illnesses, some elaboration on racism and one doctor's criminal past and also a question mark behind the employment of an attractive female doctor. I quite liked House's explanation there towards the end and what he told her about his reasons. I also liked how he spoke to the sick woman when he finally agreed to see her. It was really well-written. But me giving props to David Shore comes pretty easy as I am a big fan of the Law & Order universe. They got an expert on board there. But you can also say that it was actually really smart that she did not just change her subjective mind right away, even if the speech was great. It took more than that.
Finally, it was quite a coincidence that I came across the Rolling Stones song featured during this episode only a day before rewatching the episode. It's a nice number, even with the kids voices there. Kinda fit nicely together with the somewhat sweet ending of the kids visiting her after she started getting better. But at the same time I must say that it did feel a bit rushed how they included the song so briefly again right before the credits rolled in. Not the episode's best moment, no matter how good the song may be. Anyway, what is of course also interesting is House himself elaborating briefly on his own physical condition that is always there from beginning to end of the series, but not super often talked about. At least not with actual medical details. The animations we had during this episode that took us inside the sick woman's body were also something I liked and if I remember correctly they kept going with those in future episodes too. If so, then good choice. I will know as I keep watching. This show is in a way also really useful to learn basics about medicine in general, about human biology. One question that did come to my mind though when the solution was presented was why they never really x-rayed her leg earlier. I guess because none of the symptoms justified a suspicion there might be something in there? Okay. I just thought they would just check out the entire body this way if they are looking for a complicated diagnosis. Anyway, as you can see from my rating and review, I consider this episode a big success. I am not one bit surprised the show became as popular as it did and I think most of the awards attention it scored during pretty much all major small-screen awards was not undeserving. If you still want to get into "House M. D." two decades later, I say go for it. It is absolutely not too late. A big thumbs-up for this pilot episode. Couldn't have started much stronger.
The key story is gripping and the actors are all doing a nice-enough job. But it is also the minor inclusions that contribute a lot and are the exact opposite of filler material, like House treating patients with less dangerous conditions that always make for a bit of a good laugh with how annoyed House is because of those. Or you could wonder about the exact connection between Wilson and the patient. Honestly, I was surprised how he talked to her if they were really cousins, but this is also because we do not only have "you(r)" in German, but two different forms, one that people use when talking to people close to them, the other when talking to not-so-close colleagues or strangers. Let's not get into detail there any more though. Moral questions, if not dilemmas, have always been a vital inclusion with House. Here you got the idea of treating patients vs. Treating illnesses, some elaboration on racism and one doctor's criminal past and also a question mark behind the employment of an attractive female doctor. I quite liked House's explanation there towards the end and what he told her about his reasons. I also liked how he spoke to the sick woman when he finally agreed to see her. It was really well-written. But me giving props to David Shore comes pretty easy as I am a big fan of the Law & Order universe. They got an expert on board there. But you can also say that it was actually really smart that she did not just change her subjective mind right away, even if the speech was great. It took more than that.
Finally, it was quite a coincidence that I came across the Rolling Stones song featured during this episode only a day before rewatching the episode. It's a nice number, even with the kids voices there. Kinda fit nicely together with the somewhat sweet ending of the kids visiting her after she started getting better. But at the same time I must say that it did feel a bit rushed how they included the song so briefly again right before the credits rolled in. Not the episode's best moment, no matter how good the song may be. Anyway, what is of course also interesting is House himself elaborating briefly on his own physical condition that is always there from beginning to end of the series, but not super often talked about. At least not with actual medical details. The animations we had during this episode that took us inside the sick woman's body were also something I liked and if I remember correctly they kept going with those in future episodes too. If so, then good choice. I will know as I keep watching. This show is in a way also really useful to learn basics about medicine in general, about human biology. One question that did come to my mind though when the solution was presented was why they never really x-rayed her leg earlier. I guess because none of the symptoms justified a suspicion there might be something in there? Okay. I just thought they would just check out the entire body this way if they are looking for a complicated diagnosis. Anyway, as you can see from my rating and review, I consider this episode a big success. I am not one bit surprised the show became as popular as it did and I think most of the awards attention it scored during pretty much all major small-screen awards was not undeserving. If you still want to get into "House M. D." two decades later, I say go for it. It is absolutely not too late. A big thumbs-up for this pilot episode. Couldn't have started much stronger.