House, M.D. - Season Two
Universal // Unrated // $59.98 // August 22, 2006
Review by Francis Rizzo III | posted August 10, 2006
In 10 Words or Less
The best formulaic show on TV
Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Hugh Laurie, "House," mysteries, dark comedy
Likes: Companies that learn from their mistakes
Dislikes:
Hates: Needles, Non-anamorphic widescreen
The Story So Far...
Executive Produced by Bryan Singer, "House, M.D." follows the medical
misadventures of Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), a genius diagnostician
with a bum leg and addiction to painkillers, who hates people and loves
puzzles. Working with his team of doctors and annoying the hospital
administrators, House tackles the toughest cases, where no one can
figure out what's wrong with the patient. Focusing more on solving the
mystery than the action in the operating room, the show tempers the
drama of a medical show with House's sarcastic humor, and mixes in some
intriguing relationships among the doctors. The first season was
released on DVD in August of 2005, and DVDTalk has a review here. The
Show
As I said above, I love "House." I think the writing is great, the
production values are terrific and the cast is just about perfect. But
for all that is good about the series, I fully admit that the show is
formulaic. The opening scene features some sort of spastic fit or other
dramatic medical problem, House's team diagnoses the problem and starts
a treatment program. The treatment then fails, a new diagnosis is made,
a new treatment is started, and that one fails. Finally, they chance
upon another solution, and save the patient (or not.) Sprinkle in some
clashes or clinches between the hospital's staff, and you've got a
"House" episode. Despite the show following a formula, it's one of the
most engaging series on TV, mainly because the characters are so deep
and the medical mysteries are so interesting. You may know where the
show is going, but you have no idea how it's going to get there, and you
don't know what's going to happen to the characters. Even the star of
the show isn't immune, as he struggles with his drug addiction and his
attraction to his ex Stacy (Sela Ward), while dealing with the red tape
that keeps interrupting his work. Though severely disconnected from the
world around him, with the exception of his unwelcome roommate and
colleague Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), he is the show's center, as he's
effected by everything, but barely lets it show, using sarcasm to cover
plenty of pain. House may be the star, but without his team, the show
wouldn't work, as their compassion and positivity balances his
curmudgeonly attitude. They also provide additional points of view on
the cases, and add to the show's complexity. Whether it's Cameron
(Jennifer Morrison) and her empathy, Foreman (Omar Epps) and his
by-the-book techniques, or Chase (Jesse Spencer) and his internal
conflicts, they all have a huge effect on the series and its stories.
Each gets a chance to shine in the spotlight, as Cameron faces the
possibility that she's contracted HIV from a patient, Foreman is
debilitated by disease and Chase copes with a death he may be
responsible for. These challenges are not one-episode storylines, as
they permanently change the team and change how they approach their jobs
and patients.
Some of this season's episodes were true stand-outs, for both the
medical aspects and the continuing storylines. One of the best of the
bunch is the stunning "Sleeping Dogs Lie," in which a woman dying from
insomnia can be saved by a transplanted organ from her girlfriend. The
story plays out to be much more intense than what lies on the surface
and the doctors face some tremendous ethical dilemmas that are capped
off by one of the most disturbing emotional endings possible. It's
challenged for the title by the religion/science conflict at the center
of "House vs. God," which sees House attempting to cure a faith healer,
and the drama of the two-part "Euphoria" which sees Foreman's life
placed on the line. Though the series is often gripping in its depiction
of the life and death medical cases, the show is frequently hilarious,
as seen in the love/hate relationship between House and his
administrator Dr. Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein). It's mostly in the tremendous
delivery of Laurie, but House has lines that are incredibly politically
incorrect and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. His exchanges with
Foreman, who never backs down, are hilarious, including a give-and-take
about race and office supplies. The way the comedy balances the serious
nature of the plots makes the series so real, well-rounded and
enjoyable. Though there's much to like about most of the episodes in
this set, the finale brings together everything this season put into
play, in a show that twists reality and gets to the core of who House
is. When House is confronted by the husband of one of his former
patients and comes face to face with the way he practices medicine and
its effects, it redefines just who the good doctor is. It also changes
him, in a way that won't be revealed until the show returns for its
third season. Despite the cliffhanger, its an effective ending for the
season, as it's the culmination of the characters' growth and the
investment fans have made by following the show for these 24 episodes.
It also has one of the more disgustingly gory subplots the show has
seen, proving once again that the show pulls no punches in trying to
tell an entertaining story. Hey, Isn't That...
Among the guest stars in the second season of "House, M.D." are Ron
Livingston (Office Space), R. Lee Ermey, Howard Hesseman, Charles S.
Dutton, D.B. Sweeney, Elias Koteas, LL Cool J and Cynthia Nixon ("Sex
and the City").
The DVDs
This time around, Universal has graced us with six four-episode discs
instead of just three, though the packaging, a three-tray, three-panel
digipak in an embossed, spot-coated slipcover, remains mostly the same.
The digipak has an episode guide on it, with descriptions and info on
extras. The discs have static anamorphic-widescreen main menus offering
a choice to play all the episodes, select individual shows, view special
features, and adjust languages. There are no audio options or closed
captioning, but there are subtitles in English SDH and Spanish. The
Quality
On the first-season DVDs, Universal screwed the pooch by releasing the
show with letterboxed widescreen transfers. Thankfully, they learned
their lesson, and this time we get to see the show in glorious
anamorphic widescreen. The transfers are just excellent, with crisp
detail and bright, vivid color and a complete lack of dirt and damage. I
really could find nothing wrong with the video on this disc. The audio
is delivered as Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, which feature crystal-clear
dialogue and strong music and sound effects. The surrounds are used
mainly for emphasis, and not dynamic presentation, but the powerful
source music creates some very enveloping moments when used during the
show's emotional montages. There may not be panning, but it all sounds
good. The Extras
Before we dive in, a quick note on the extras menus. These discs feature
a nice touch, as all of the extras for the set are listed on each disc,
with the current disc's content made clickable. This is much better than
those discs that list special features on the main menu and then say
"See other discs for special features. Having this on-screen guide is
very handy and very appreciated. The bonus features are much improved
this time around, starting with a pair of audio commentaries by
executive producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs. They cover the second
episode, "Autopsy," and the season finale, "No Reason," and provide a
good deal of behind-the-scenes info and some joking as well. The choice
of episodes was good, and the conversation is friendly enough to keep
things lively, making the tracks an enjoyable and informative listen for
the show's fans. Disc Two holds a cute five-minute blooper reel, in
which the cast flubs their complicated dialogue and curses like sailors
(all of which is bleeped.) There are some giggles here, especially in
Laurie's reactions to screw-ups and Epps' cut-ups. That's followed by a
collection of clips that run a bit over a minute, which show how often
the team brings up Lupus in this season's episodes. The purpose is a bit
lost on me, but that probably has more to do with me knowing someone
with Lupus than the content itself. Also on Disc Two is a great
alternate take from "Daddy's Boy," listed as "The Valley Girl Version."
Edelstein and Morrison perform the scene with their best airhead
impersonations, making it extremely funny. This must be something these
two actress do for fun, as Disc Five has another example, from "Sleeping
Dogs Lie." When I saw these listed, I hoped for a Valley Girl
performance from Laurie, but these were entertaining anyway. Disc Six
holds the remaining extra, "An Evening with 'House.'" Filmed at the
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and hosted by critic Elvis
Mitchell, the 18-minute featurette is a stage Q&A with Bryan Singer,
Paul Attanasio, Leonard, Shore, Jacobs, Edelstein, Morrison, Spencer,
Epps and Laurie. The creation of the show is the main focus, and you get
a solid background on how the series came together. Though it's "found"
material and not intently done for this set, it's a really good
supplement to the series.
The Bottom Line
After a few episodes, it's pretty easy to guess how the show will
progress, but the terrific writing and fantastic cast keep things fresh
and prevent the series from getting bogged down in the jargon and
technical aspects of medicine. It's hard to not get hooked, if you can
get past the blood and guts, and this season went a long way in terms of
developing the world of House and advancing the characters'
personalities, while delivering a couple of incredible stories. The DVD
set presents the show in top-notch quality, FINALLY, and improved on the
first-season extras, showing that Universal raised their game after
fumbling the ball with Season One. Fans of the series will definitely
want to own this set, and those who wonder about the show's hype should
check it out.
Copyright 2006 Kleinman.com Inc. All Rights Reserved. Legal Info,
Privacy Policy DVDTalk.com is a Trademark of Kleinman.com Inc.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]