"Dr. House" Becomes A Global Success

The medical drama, "Dr. House," often referred to as "House" or "House M.D." was a popular show in the U.S. for the Fox network for eight seasons between 2004 and 2012. The character was created by David Shore, who wrote the pilot episode and would often return to write the premiere and finale episodes of each season. Producer Bryan Singer played a key role in the development of the show and was initially reluctant to cast Hugh Laurie as the titular character.

The first episode of House is called, "Everybody Lies" and was written by David Shore and directed by Bryan Singer. The show begins in the class of a kindergarten teacher, Rebecca Adler. Adler quickly becomes disorientated in front of her class and is rushed to the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey.

At the hospital, "Dr. House" is refusing to undertake the duties he is assigned in the teaching hospital's walk-in clinic. The Dr. complains he has more important things to do and cannot be fired as he was offered tenure at the hospital and cannot have his employment terminated. Dr. Lisa Cuddy is the superior of House and revokes his rights in the hospital until he accepts he must take his turn manning the walk-in clinic. House has initially refused the case of Rebecca Adler who he believes will have a boring case.

In an attempt to not work in the clinic, House takes the case of Adler and finds the case more intriguing than he could have imagined. The team ordered an MRI which must be authorized by Cuddy as House does not have his rights returned at the hospital yet. As the teacher is passing through the MRI scanner she suffers a seizure and her throat begins to close requiring the team to perform an emergency tracheotomy.

As the case of the school teacher becomes more interesting, House begins to spend a little more time on it and dispatches his team to her home in a bid to find out as much information s possible. Eventually, they return with information about the living conditions of the teacher and possibly the clue to the cause of her illness.

House is an angry and unhappy man who has a physical disability in the form of a problem with his leg which forces him to use a cane. Alongside his physical disability, "Dr. House" is also a sometime addict to various pain medications which force him to suffer from various complaints and force his friends to prescribe him medications he does not need. House is not a popular doctor at the hospital and often finds himself left with only his long-time friend Dr. James Wilson to listen to his problems and help him in times of need.

David Shore was the creator and showrunner of "Dr. House" and had developed his series over a number of years after spending his time working as a producer on "NYPD Blue." The shore is Canadian and began his career working on the Candian show, Due South." "Dr. House" was the first attempt by Shore to create his own show and work as the showrunner on a show that would eventually win five Primetime Emmy's, Two Golden Globes, and a Peabody Award.

Hugh Laurie was not the first choice for the part of "Dr. House" because producer, Bryan Singer did not believe a foreign actor could play the role. The character was originally written as 34-years-old and Laurie was in his mid-40s by the time the series began. Although best known for his dramatic roles in the U.S., Hugh Laurie began his career as a comedy performer as part of the stand-up duo, Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. While working on "Dr. House," Laurie won two Golden Globes and added a third for his role in the acclaimed mini-series, "The Night Manager."

The pilot for "Dr. House" was filmed in Canada to keep costs low with further episodes filmed in Los Angeles where the economy was favorable to the production of the medical procedural. David Shore had been working on crime drama's such as "Homicide, Life on the Streets" and "NYPD Blue" before deciding to create a medical procedural which he likened to Sherlock Holmes. "Dr. House" was developed after David Shore attended a teaching hospital when feeling unwell and heard the staff members laughing and criticizing him when he left the room.

Bryan Singer directed the first episode and acted as the executive producer on the series which was eventually broadcast in 66 nations around the world. Although the show initially filmed in Vancouver, Canada it later switched to a studio setting in Los Angeles. However, for the period of time, "Dr. House" is confined to a psychiatric unit the show filmed on location in New Jersey's abandoned Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital.

"Dr. House" was a critical and ratings success with the show achieving an average numberb of viewers above 13 million for its debut season. Seasons two, three, and four were an even bigger success with the show rising to enter the top ten of shows in the U.S. overall. At its height, "Dr. House," reached a peak of just over 19 million viewers as anaverage for season three. The review website, Metacritic gives the show an average rating of 75 percent with many critics giving the show a high rating and seeing it as a black comedy instead of a straight dramatic medical procedural.

The links between "Dr. House" and Sherlock Holmes are many and begin in the pilot when the case being investigated is that of Rebeccas Adler who is named after Irene Adler from the Holmes story, "A Scandal inn Bohemia," which started the series. Hugh Laurie's own father is a doctor and the actor has said he feels guilty to be paid more than a person who actually saves lives. The American accent of Hugh Laurie was so convincing during his audition that Bryan Singer explained to David Shore that was the reason he wanted an American to play the role. It was later explained to Singer that Laurie was English.