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.
