“Everybody lies.”

These two words were the main reason they were able to save countless lives in the captivating medical drama House, which premiered in 2004 and aired until 2012. Created by David Shore, it is widely recognised for its intricate plotlines, compelling characters and thought-provoking themes.

Since its debut, the series has received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for its compelling storytelling, strong characters and performances. The show has garnered numerous awards and nominations, including multiple Primetime Emmy Awards for Hugh Laurie’s iconic portrayal of Dr House. Recently, there has been a resurgence in its viewership numbers as it became available on Netflix to Pakistani audiences. For many, it’s a nostalgic rewatching experience and attracts new audiences.

The show revolved around Dr Gregory House, portrayed by the incredibly talented Hugh Laurie. Dr House is a highly skilled but short-tempered diagnostician who employs unconventional methods when solving medical cases. He is revered and reviled by his colleagues because of his sarcastic personality. Hugh Laurie’s performance brought exceptional depth, charisma and a razor-sharp wit to the character. He was listed in the 2011 Guinness World Records as the most-watched leading man on television and was one of the highest-paid actors in a television drama at the time, earning $409,000 per episode, which rose to $700,000 by the end of the series.

He was supported by a talented ensemble of actors, including series regular Lisa Edelstein as Dr Lisa Cuddy, Robert Sean Leonard as Dr James Wilson and Omar Epps as Dr Eric Foreman. Each cast member brought a unique talent to the table, creating a dynamic and engaging ensemble that took the show to new heights.

The story was set in the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital located in New Jersey, where Dr House and his team of diagnosticians tackled complex medical cases that baffled other doctors. Each episode presented a new medical mystery to be unravelled, keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats with a thrilling blend of suspense, intrigue and intellectual stimulation. Unlike other medical dramas, it was able to offer more than just thrilling medical cases as it quite often delved into complex issues such as morality, ethics and the nature of human relationships. This approach often raised questions about the ethical boundaries of medical practice, forcing both characters and viewers alike to confront their own beliefs and values.

Unlike other medical dramas, it was able to offer more than just thrilling medical cases as it quite often delved into complex issues such as morality, ethics and the nature of human relationships.

Brilliant, smart, prone to drug abuse, armed with armchair superhuman deduction skills, anti-social, sarcastic and a lover of music – if all these traits sound familiar, you’re in for a surprise because I just described Dr Greg House. However, you were on the right track if you thought about the great Sherlock Holmes. Holmes’s creator, Conan Doyle, repeatedly said that Holmes, himself, was inspired by the real-life figure of Joseph Bell, a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, whom Conan Doyle met in 1877 and had worked for as a clerk. Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing broad conclusions from minute observations. Sir Henry Littlejohn, Chair of Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, is also cited as an inspiration for Holmes. References to Holmes appeared throughout the series. Shore explained that he was always a Holmes fan and found the character’s indifference to his clients unique. House’s investigatory method is to eliminate diagnoses logically as they are proved impossible; Holmes uses a similar method. Both characters play instruments and take drugs. House’s relationship with Dr James Wilson echoes that between Holmes and his confidant, Dr John Watson. Shore even said that House’s name itself is meant as “a subtle homage” to Holmes. House’s address is 221B Baker Street, a direct reference to Holmes’s street address.

Individual episodes of the series contain additional references to the Sherlock Holmes tales. The main patient in the pilot episode is named Rebecca Adler after Irene Adler, a character in the first Holmes short story. In the season two finale, House is shot by a crazed gunman credited as Moriarty, the name of Holmes’s nemesis. In the Season Five episode The Itch, House is seen picking up his keys and Vicodin from the top of a copy of Conan Doyle’s The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. The series finale also pays homage to Holmes’s apparent death in The Final Problem, the 1893 story with which Conan Doyle originally intended to conclude the Holmes chronicles.

These subtle references made House a more likeable and probably acceptable character to an audience who were used to Holmes’s unconventional methods but for the greater good. Dr House manages to save more lives than he loses, but those losses hit hard as well, like when his first team disbands after the end of the third season. Still, it was really hard to like his methods and actions, like his refusal to let go of his fight against an arrogant yet obsessive police officer or burning his hand by putting a knife into an electric socket just to understand a diagnosis. But then again, this is who he was. He was a cold-hearted atheist, but deep down, some moments showed the human side of him. There is a particular scene when, during an operation, the hand of a yet-to-be-born baby touches his fingers from his mother’s stomach and he freezes. He starts calling it a baby after previously consistently calling it a foetus and in the last scene of that episode, he is shown sitting in his home rubbing his fingers together as if reliving that moment. This is who Dr House was, and this is why he was so relatable. He was an amalgamation of contradictions, from right to wrong, from truth to lies, from love to hate and love again. He was simply human.

The writer is a digital communication expert and consultant currently working in the public sector. He is the mastermind behind the digital platforms, Sukhan, Mani’s Cricket Myths and Over The Line