Pilot

It's not that usual for a television series to be able to successfully establish all of its character dynamics and interactions so accurately in the very first episode, but House, M.D. manages to pull it off. This episode, commonly referred to as "Pilot", also known as "Everybody Lies", was extremely well written by the show's creator, David Shore, and expertly directed by Bryan Singer. It begins by introducing Rebecca Adler, a kindergarten school teacher who becomes the very first patient in the series, as she experiences the early symptoms of her mysterious condition while at work. The case eventually reaches the hands of Dr. Gregory House, the head of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine, who finds it boring and is initially reluctant to take it on, but is ultimately persuaded to do so by his best friend and colleague, Dr. James Wilson. As the storyline progresses, we get to witness House's unorthodox approach to both life and medicine, whether it's through his interactions with the members of his team, which is comprised of Dr. Eric Foreman, Dr. Allison Cameron and Dr. Robert Chase, his boss, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, who is the Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey, and his patients, whether they suffer from common or rare medical conditions. Think of Gregory House as Sherlock Holmes with a lab coat even though he hardly ever wears it. He is a doctor who is not interested in treating people, just diagnosing and treating the illness, with very little regard for his patients' fate. This makes him one of the best characters that has ever been written for television, as he is both awesome and flawed and we get to see that during every differential diagnosis, every conversation and every scene in which he is involved in. His swagger is defined by his demeanour and he is truly at his best when he is either being arrogant, dismissive and sarcastic to people or just popping pills and quoting Mick Jagger. One thing is for sure... well, maybe two things: I'm hooked and I'll keep watching.

I had watched many of the House episodes in their original airing and over the years. So much time has passed I wanted to take a look at them in their original sequence. This Pilot offers more than the usual ones. For one thing, we are immediately thrust into a complicated case. A kindergarten teacher has a seizure in front of her little students. As is usually the case with House episodes, the case in incredibly complicated, the diagnosis evasive. House, of course, is irreverent and full of anger. We find out about his addiction right away and that he has issues with authority. What works the best is that he is never lovable. He is harsh and honest, even if it hurts feelings. I will slowly make my way through the series.

House MD starts off in a very smart way because, with the exception of a few moments in some scenes, it could be any other episode. The show's structure from episode to episode relies on it being a case by case basis for the doctors to work on, and this one involving a kindergarten teacher (Robin Tunney), who collapses suddenly in her classroom while teaching, isn't exclusive as being something that could only happen in a pilot episode ala alien abduction in The X-Files. This goes for House's clinic cases too, in this case being a man who's completely orange (looked like someone out of Willy Wonka for a moment) and a boy who can't figure out what asthma is. Already creator/writer/producer David Shore sets up the dynamics of House's personality- acerbic wit, sometimes razor-sharp, but he does care deep down about what he does even it takes a lot, like the patient not wanting to live anymore in Tunney's case, for him to show it. And already right away Hugh Laurie displays his incredible ability to balance out how a man with quick thinking (usually with the conceit of 'oh, I just got it while talking about something else') and a cynicism that comes with the job, and a leg problem.

So why not exactly a great pilot, or rather something that could right away be one-upped? I think, really, it has to do with the direction from Bryan Singer, and specifically a technical decision. I know some may admire how Singer and his DP put a sort of purple-ish tint on the whole episode, but it just does not work, at all, especially in the context of the rest of the series which does not feature it again. It's a choice that didn't add anything dramatically to the episode, except perhaps to be something akin to what's done on CSI. It's too much of a distraction in scenes that should just be focused squarely on not getting in the characters/actors' way (the constant tracking shots, a trademark since the days of ER, is paramount), and keeping the mood tense during the moments of crises with the patient. It's not that it isn't decent what Singer's doing with Shore's material, and most notably this comes with the shots going inside of the patient's system to see what's going wrong, a visual effect probably taken from Singer's days doing X-Men. But that one tint makes what is otherwise an excellent pilot a downer.

I know it's not fair since I've just finished the Pitt, but all of this is mediocre at best. I cannot stress enough how none of this holds up to modern standards. The editing and shot choices are worse than modern YouTube movies, acting is so bad it could've been done by Germans, colour grading is horrifying, plot and pacing is just so predictable and bad, the medical stuff is absolutely laughable, the Sherlock Holmes of it all is the opposite of subtle and completely unearned even in the pilot, and the character of house is a one dimensional joke. Only thing that's remotely okay is that the rest of the characters when not talking about medical stuff seem like real people. Again, it's good for the mid 2000s but man has TV come a long way since then.

I have been watching TV for over 50 years, and when starting a new series, as a viewer it is sensible to allow the writers and actors some time to get into the swing if it. But this episode is outstanding. Acting excellent, storyline epic, cinematography amazing and passion in abundance. Well done to all involved. Only problem moving forward is they have set a high bar. Can they deliver the same.

Being British I have grown up with Hugh Laurie, so I am confident of his abilities, from the beloved Blackadder characters series 3 and 4 to Jeeves and Wooster with National Treasure Stephen Fry.

Can't wait to watch more.