House

Season 1 Episode 1

Pilot

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EPISODE REVIEWS
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Episode Summary

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A young kindergarten teacher, Rebecca Adler, who suffers from seizures collapses in her classroom after uncontrolled gibberish slips out her mouth while she is about to teach her students. She is taken to Dr. House and his team of experts who identify it might be a tumor, and she might have only a week to live.moreless
FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (49)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • Everyone looks like Oompa Loompas

    7.5
    By Megaeak, Apr 04, 2012
    The show is great but tI think they were going for a dramatic or interesting look with the pilot, it didn't work. Everyone looks like Oompa Loompas, and the whole episode looks like it was filmed through a jar of urine. Glad the got rid of this coloring for the rest of the show. There are other episodes where they color-shift but its much more subtle and effective. Sometimes artistic efforts work and sometimes they just seem a bit uneccessary. This is the later. But overall this is a strong opening pilot to a fantastic show. I just have to say, House... Road House...moreless

  • This episode is just so brilliantly made.

    9.5
    By thecheesykid, May 11, 2011
    I should start by saying that I've seen every episode of House and for the most part, I've enjoyed every one, but it's only going back to the start that I realize that the early episodes are just that much better. The quality of the seasons decreased as they went on, I'm not saying that the new seasons are bad, in fact, I love them, but they just aren't as well made. Not as much craftsmanship was put into them.



    The pilot episode always gets a much higher score if it's as good as the proceeding episodes, because it's always a lot harder for the crew to get it right (along with budget reasons), but right away you can tell that in this episode, EVERYTHING is considered. They get everything exactly right and for that reason, this is one of the best of Season 1, and possibly the show.



    The script is enthralling, all characters get suitable introductions and we actually feel tension when the patient malfunctions (something that is severely lacking later on in House). The thing I really loved was the fact that Cuddy still had control over House at this point, he recognizes that she is his boss and he only ever does crazy things to get his patient fixed. This is demonstrated by Cuddy's statement "The only reason I don't fire you is because of your reputation", well later on it seems as if every doctor who speaks of House considers him an utter nuisance, surely his reputation is gone and with the amount of ridiculous things House gets up to later on, Cuddy should have punished him somehow. Here, in the pilot, it feels like Cuddy has just enough control on him for the show's plot to be believable, later, it just crumbles and seems uninspired.



    PS. By GOD does Wilson look young in the first episode... :')moreless

  • Pilot episode.

    10
    By Canogaparkcindy, Nov 03, 2010
    Honest to god, one of the most underrated episodes of House to this day. Did anyone else see how flawless the writing was here? It was a perfect introduction to all the characters and the end just proved how addictive this show can really be with the end leaving you wanting more House.



    All the story lines were wildly intriguing here and the series comes off as a darkly humored medical drama, but this isn't Grey's Anatomy. An intellectual show about a diagnostic team. Within the first episode, we know some very personal things about the main characters which makes them all the more intriguing. Gregory House has definitely become one of the best television characters of all time, and you can see his potential as early as the first episode. From his back and forths with Cuddy to his ways of diagnosing a patient: taking the risk. This pilot was just amazing, also perfect balance of drama and humor.



    Switching the vicodin with the mints was absolutely hilarious, and it really just shows you what kind of humor this show has. Amazing well written, well edited pilot of House. If this episode doesn't get you watching, I have no idea what will.moreless

  • "I need thirty-six Vicodin and change for a dollar."

    10
    By byjillian, Jul 06, 2010
    Although I have seen the 'unaired Pilot', I don't believe the season ever started until this episode was on network primetime television.



    Of course, like every other Pilot you have seen in your lifetime, sometimes there are some awkward moments and pauses in the episode, and I recall a few from this one even, but that doesn't mean it isn't a great episode. It's the one that everyone remembers because it has the woman from "The Mentalist" in it, Robin Tunney, nice actress choice there.



    Although the characters were just getting started (check out Dr. Cuddy's and Wilsons haircuts!), if the Pilot speaks for how awesome the rest of the show is going to be, then let this be the Pilot that started it all.moreless

  • this was a good ep

    8.5
    By cube2k8, May 24, 2010
    in this ep of the show house it is the pilot ep and so there is a women in classroom and she falls down in front of her students but before she does she writes something on the board. and so she is taken in and they must figure things out in this ep . before she dies this is a good show and its the interduction of the show learning things and figuring out he people that house works with. and that is why i gave this one a 8.5 becasuse its the beging to a really good showmoreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

Hugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie

Dr. Gregory House
Lisa Edelstein

Lisa Edelstein

Dr. Lisa Cuddy
Omar Epps

Omar Epps

Dr. Eric Foreman
Robert Sean Leonard

Robert Sean Leonard

Dr. James Wilson
Jennifer Morrison

Jennifer Morrison

Dr. Allison Cameron
Jesse Spencer

Jesse Spencer

Dr. Robert Chase
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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

Robin Tunney

Robin Tunney

Rebecca Adler

Guest Star

Andrew Airlie

Andrew Airlie

Orange-Colored Patient

Guest Star

Rekha Sharma

Rekha Sharma

Melanie Landon

Guest Star

See All Cast & Crew

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

FILTER BY TYPE

  • TRIVIA (5)

    • When Rebecca is in the bus in the beginning her sweater is blue, but when she talks to her friend and the children it is green.

    • House states that it is 12:52 p.m. and he asks if there is a TV handy because in eight minutes General Hospital would begin. However his claim would mean that the soap starts at 1 p.m. but since House is set in New Jersey, the soap would actually air at 3 p.m.

    • It is strange that the doctors would have tracheotomy tools near the MRI scan room because of the incredibly strong magnet that is used to take the pictures. They would have to be special - no ferrous metal in them.

    • The bandages from Rebecca's tracheotomy are placed too high after the tube is removed.

    • Rekha Sharma's name is misspelled "Reika" in the closing credits.

  • QUOTES (38)

    • Rebecca: Am I ever gonna meet Dr. House?
      Dr. Wilson: Well, you might run into him at the movies or on the bus.
      Rebecca: Is he a good man?
      Dr. Wilson: He's a good doctor.
      Rebecca: Can you be one without the other? Don't you have to care about people?
      Dr. Wilson: Caring's a good motivator. He's found something else.

    • Rebecca: (about House) He's your friend, huh?
      Dr. Wilson: Yeah.
      Rebecca: Does he care about you?
      Dr. Wilson: I think so.
      Rebecca: You don't know?
      Dr. Wilson: As Dr. House likes to say, "Everybody lies."
      Rebecca: It's not what people say. It's what they do.
      Dr. Wilson: (pause) Yeah. He cares about me.

    • House: Gorgeous women do not go to medical school... unless they're as damaged as they are beautiful. Were you abused by a family member?
      Dr. Cameron: No.
      House: Sexually assaulted?
      Dr. Cameron: No.
      House: But you are damaged, aren't you?

    • House: People choose the paths that gain them the greatest rewards for the least amount of effort.

    • Dr. Cuddy: (about House) The son of a bitch is the best doctor we have.

    • Dr. Foreman: (to Dr. Cameron) So how'd you get the job? You stab a guy in a bar fight?

    • Dr. Cameron: House doesn't believe in pretense. Figures life's too short and too painful. So he just says that he thinks.
      Dr. Foreman: "I say what I think" is just another way of saying "I'm an assho"...

    • Dr. Foreman: I assume it's a corollary if "people lie" that "people screw up."

    • Dr. Cuddy: (to House) Oh, I looked into that philosopher you quoted. Jagger. And you're right. You can't always get what you want, but as it turns out, if you try sometimes, you get what you need.

    • Dr., Cameron: You hired a black guy because he had a juvenile record.
      House: No, it wasn't a racial thing. I didn't see a black guy, I just saw a doctor... with a juvenile record.

    • House: I'm angry! You're risking a patient's life!
      Dr. Cuddy: I assume those are two separate points.

    • Dr. Cameron: I was in the top of my class.
      House: But not the top.

    • Dr. Cuddy: Patient is orange.
      House: The color?
      Dr. Cuddy: No, the fruit.
      House: You mean yellow; it's jaundice.
      Dr. Cuddy: I mean orange.
      House: Well, how orange?

    • Dr. Cuddy: Is the yelling designed to scare me? Because I'm not sure what it is I'm supposed to be scared of. More yelling? That's not scary, that you're gonna hurt me? That's scary, but I'm pretty sure I can out run ya.

    • House: Far as I know she running an meth lab out of her basement.
      Dr. Foreman: She's a kindergarten teacher.
      House: And if I were a kindergarten student, I would trust her implicitly.

    • Dr. Cuddy: I was expecting you in my office 20 minutes ago.
      House: Really? Well, that's odd, because I had no intention of being in your office 20 minutes ago.

    • House: (to Cameron) I hired you because you look good. It's like having a nice piece of art in the lobby.

    • House: If we don't talk to them, they can't lie to us, and we can't lie to them. Humanity is overrated.

    • House: There was plenty they could do...if they had made the right diagnosis. The only symptom was pain. Not many people get to experience muscle death.
      Rebecca Adler: Did you think you were dying?
      House: I hoped I was dying.

    • Dr. Foreman: Shouldn't we be speaking to the patient before we start diagnosing?
      House: Is she a doctor?
      Dr. Foreman: No, but...
      House: Everybody lies.
      Dr. Cameron: Dr. House doesn't like dealing with patients.
      Dr. Foreman: Isn't treating patients why we became doctors?
      House: No, treating illnesses is why we became doctors. Treating patients is what makes most doctors miserable.

    • Dr. Cameron: Did (House) just turn on the TV?
      Dr. Wilson: He's got to think.

    • Dr. Cuddy: And nobody knows anything, huh? Then how is it you always think you're right.
      House: I don't, I just find it hard to operate on the opposite assumption. And why are you so afraid of making a mistake?
      Dr. Cuddy: Because I'm a doctor. Because when we make mistakes, people die.

    • House: Oxygen is so important during those pre-pubescent years, don't you think?

    • Dr. Foreman: I should sue you.
      House: I'm pretty sure you can't sue somebody for wrongful hiring.

    • (Foreman smelling the floor)
      Child: Why are you smelling Vinny's pants?
      Dr. Foreman: I'm not.
      Child: Looked like you were.
      Dr. Foreman: I was smelling the floor.
      Child: Oh.

    • (sign on get-well card)
      We're happy you're not dead, Miss Rebecca.

    • Dr. Wilson: You never lied to me?
      House: I never lie . . .

    • Dr. Cuddy: You don't prescribe medicine based on guesses. At least we don't since Tuskeegee and Mengele.
      House: You're comparing me to a Nazi? (admiringly) Nice...

    • House: Sure you want to discontinue treatment, boss?
      Dr. Cuddy: You got lucky.
      House: Cool, huh?

    • House: People used to have more respect for cripples, you know! (man in wheelchair glares) They didn't, really.

    • Dr. Foreman: Oh, Cameron, I need you for a couple of hours.
      Dr. Cameron: What's up?
      Dr. Foreman: When you break into a house, its always better to have a white chick with you.

    • Dr. Cameron: It's hard to work for a guy who doesn't respect me.
      House: Why?
      Dr. Cameron: Was that rhetorical?
      House: No. Just seems that way because you can't think of an answer.

    • House: I don't care if you can walk, see, wipe your own ass. It's always ugly - always! We can live with dignity - we can't die with it.

    • House: Your wife is having an affair.
      Orange-Colored Patient: What??
      House: You're orange, you moron! It's one thing for you not to notice, but your wife hasn't picked up on the fact that her husband has changed colors, she's just not paying attention. Oh, by the way, do you consume just a ridiculous amount of carrots and mega-dose vitamins? The carrots turn you yellow, the niacin turns you red. Find some fingerpaint and do the math. And get a good lawyer.

    • Dr. Foreman: I thought everybody lied.
      House: Truth begins in lies. Think about it.
      Dr. Foreman: That doesn't mean anything, does it?

    • Orange-Colored Patient: What's that? What are you doing?
      House: Painkillers.
      Orange-Colored Patient: Oh, for you, for your leg.
      House: No, because they're yummy.

    • House: See that? They all assume that I'm a patient because of this cane.
      Dr. Wilson: So put on a white coat like the rest of us.
      House: I don't want them to think I'm a doctor.
      Dr. Wilson: You see where the administration might have a problem with that attitude?
      House: Ehh, people don't want a sick doctor.
      Dr. Wilson: That's fair enough. I don't like healthy patients.

    • House: What would you prefer - a doctor who holds your hand while you die or who ignores you while you get better?

  • NOTES (12)

    • Robin Tunney is credited as Special Guest Star.

    • The show started airing on the French cable channel, TF6 on April 1st, 2006. The TV channel airs two episodes each week. The theme song used in the French airing is the music being played at the end of each episode and not Teardrop from Massive Attack.

    • The episode is known simply as the Pilot but it has an alternate title: "Everybody Lies." This is the title that was used on the DVDs distributed to Academy members for their consideration for Emmy nominations. The DVD featured two episodes: "Everybody Lies (Pilot)" and "Detox." A videotape was also sent out to members which contained two other episodes: "Three Stories" and "The Honeymoon."

    • This episode received the 2005 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Dramatic Underscore).

    • There is a special extended version of this episode with two more minutes that was sent off on DVDs to some selected magazines a few months after it aired.

    • The Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What you Want plays at the end of this episode. House also quoted this title line in the episode, and the song is also used at the end of the season one finale.

    • The song played in the ads is Rebel Rebel by David Bowie.

    • For the pilot episode only, there is only a brief version of the opening credits. Then the episode starts after the credits and the main actors are listed.

    • After the show, on local news stations Hugh Laurie gave an interview about his character, Dr. House.

    • Filmed in separate locations in California including Los Angeles, Century City, and Koreatown, California.

    • Hugh Laurie puts on an American accent to play the role of Dr. Greg House. He is British in real life.

    • Entertainment Weekly gave out free DVDs with previews of House to its weekly subscribers.

  • ALLUSIONS (4)

    • Rebecca Adler
      The patient's name references the first Sherlock Holmes short story, A Scandal In Bohemia, in which the woman whom Holmes investigates is named Irene Adler.

    • Dr. Cuddy: You don't prescribe medicine based on guesses. At least we don't since Tuskegee and Mengele.
      Tuskegee refers to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972), in which 399 black men were misled by researchers, who told them they were being treated for "bad blood" when in fact the men had syphilis and did not receive any treatment for it. Mengele was Josef Mengele, the most notorious of the Nazi doctors who carried out thousands of bizarre, painful, unnecessary and usually lethal medical experiments on prisoners in concentration camps (1943-1945).

    • Dr. House: To quote the philosopher Jagger, "you can't always get what you want."
      The "philosopher" in question is Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones with the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

    • Dr. House: Is there a TV anywhere? General Hospital starts in eight minutes.
      General Hospital is a daytime soap that's been running since April of 1963. It currently airs on the ABC network.

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Ep 22
Honeymoon
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Role Model
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Ep 6
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Unaired pilot

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