Pilot

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.

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.

Terrible with patients, Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) is excellent in determining what is wrong with them and then curing them.

He gets right to the heart of the matter, whether it is someone that is dying, or someone who is a hypochondriac, or a mother that thinks she knows more than her doctor does.

He doesn't mince words, and believes all people lie.

This episode introduces the characters we will grow to love and introduces the best medical show on television.

Directed by Brian Singer, who gave us X-Men and X2, this is one exciting show.

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.

Filmed much like a theatrical movie, the pilot for HOUSE, M.D. wastes no time in establishing the show's recurring theme: an individual falls ill, and Greg House and his merry crew spend the next 45 minutes or so trying to diagnose the illness before the patient croaks. Few episodes have varied from this pattern, for better or worse. In the pilot, House treats a young teacher (movie actress Robin Tunney) for an aphasia that gets worse by the minute. The symptoms pile up quickly. Eventually, she becomes paralyzed from the waist down and decides she wants to go home to die. House wants to do some more work on her instead. The incredibly intense scene that follows between the ailing teacher and House is what makes the episode. We also have all the basic characters introduced without a lot of wasted time, including the very sharp neurologist (Omar Epps), the emotionally charged immunologist (Jennifer Morrison) and whatever the heck the surfer-looking Aussie is (Jesse Spencer). Dr. Wilson (Robert Leonard) is the staff oncologist and House's closest friend. And Lisa Edelstein is House's incredibly nagging but sympathetic boss, who as time goes on we discover may have had a relationship with House in the past. Only time will tell. HOUSE is the best TV show since LAW & ORDER, hands down.