Episode By: David Shore
*Spoilers!*
Everybody Lies (or The Case of
the Philosophical Kindergarten Teacher)
Quote: “He cured you. You didn’t cure him.” – Wilson
Overall Thoughts/Observances:
Starting a new show is always
exciting. Starting a show that you know has ties to Sherlock Holmes and that
you’ve been hearing about for a while is even more so.
I had high hopes for House. And it
did not disappoint.
Right off the bat, we know that
House is definitely not a very sociable man. Or a traditional doctor, either.
Wilson (though we don’t know that’s his name yet) tells House that if he puts
on the white coat, people might stop looking at him like he’s just a crippled
patient. But House doesn’t want people to think he’s a doctor, either. Hmm, a man who likes defying the set code and doesn't have a high respect for humanity. Who does that remind me of?
The first differential with the team
was a very interesting scene to me. Before starting House, I’d been watching a lot of Psych,
Bones and Once Upon A Time (and I didn’t miss the chance to
fangirl when I realized Cameron was Emma, let me tell you). Bones and Psych, at least, were very different than the House setting of having the Team and House interacting a lot of time. Those two shows focus more on their lead pairs, which I don't mind at all. But it was nice to have more than two characters to focus on, and have it pretty consistently throughout the episode. House is definitely our lead, but we get to see the Team and Wilson and Cuddy as well.
In this first differential, we get to
see House listening to everybody’s opinion (though, of course, he dismisses almost all of their ideas as stupid, but still). It’s obvious already that he
doesn’t really like people, and so this scene marks that Chase, Cameron and
Foreman (who I just recognized as the Aussie, Emma and the Other Guy for most
of Season 1) must be special to have House listen to them.
Of course, we soon see that there’s a lot about the Team that House doesn’t respect.
I’ve always been intrigued by the
scene near the end of this episode where Cameron asks House why he really hired her. After talking to Foreman about how House only hired him because of his
juvie record, she’s obviously determined to see if she’s any different.
And then he says he only hired her
because she was pretty. Oh dear.
I mean, he does make a good
argument, if we’re siding with House. About how she didn’t have to work as hard
as she did, and that she only did because she was damaged.
That deduction though. About Cameron being damaged. So.
Sherlock.
(In case you didn't know - Benedict Cumberbatch and Hugh Laurie were in a show together.)
(Your argument is indeed invalid.)
I had little fangirl parties every
time House made a deduction. The ‘orange patient’s wife having an
affair, all the processes he goes through in the differential as he keeps
shooting down the Team’s ideas. I was confused as to whether “inspired by Sherlock
Holmes” meant that House just borrowed a pun on his name and an antisocial
protagonist. But after that last scene, I knew House borrowed much more than
that from the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
The Case and the Patient:
As for the case itself… it certainly
isn’t the best, but for a pilot episode it was pretty good.
I have always been un-attracted to medical
dramas because of the actual medical parts. Call me a sissy if you want, but
on-screen surgery, though fake, makes me squeamish.
So cutting into the patient’s throat
fifteen minutes in didn’t help much with my nerves. But, I liked the
episode so much that I stuck it out to the end. I’m glad I did.
The patient (who I call the Philosophical
Kindergarten Teacher) weaseled some very important audience-drawing-in
information from House.
We get to see him hint just the
perfect amount about his leg, about his opinions of people. Oh, how I wish every patient could open up House like she does. But alas, that cannot be.
Can we just take a moment to worship
the awesomeness that is Hugh Laurie?
I’d seen him in Blackadder
before House, where he plays a very stupid, foolish character (but does so
wonderfully). Blackadder will always be one of my favorite comedies; it
had a wonderful cast and storyline.
(Yes, that's Hugh Laurie. I swear. This is House.)
It took several Google searches for me to
be convinced of the claim that House was played by Hugh Laurie.
I just couldn’t believe (and still partially can't) that this
guy could play the person I’d laughed at for three years AND House. They’re completely
different characters, and yet Laurie’s still able to play both perfectly.
Rating: 7/10
Hope you enjoyed my first ever review! Feel
free to comment below. And, if you have any doubts, watch this show. You
will not regret it.
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