FAQ for
"House M.D." (2004)

He had an infarction in his right thigh.

Similar to a clot that causes a stroke if it is in the brain, a heart attack if it is in the heart and an embolism if it is in the lung, an infarction in his leg blocked the flow of blood. House explains this in the "Pilot."

It is further explained in "Three Stories" that his condition went misdiagnosed for three days causing severe nerve damage and muscle death. They wanted to amputate his leg but he opposed it. The surgery that tried to restore blood circulation and removal of dead muscle tissue left his leg permanently impaired and in chronic pain.

No, House holds the cane in the wrong hand deliberately to piss off physical therapists.

Hugh Laurie made this statement on a guest appearance of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, November 16, 2005. It's also been stated by executive producer and writer David Shore that some people prefer to use the cane with their dominant hand regardless of which leg is injured.

This was also addressed in House M.D.: Whac-A-Mole (#3.8).

It is not a mistake. Biomechanically a cane should be used in the opposite hand when the injury is at the hip joint. If the injury is at the knee or below, it is more efficient and more biomechanically sound to hold the cane on the same side as the problem. In House's case the injury is involving muscles that are primary movers--specifically extensors--of the knee (he seems to be able to move the hip at will). It can be assumed, therefore, that the cane is to compensate for his knee instability; thus he is actually using it properly on the side of the injured leg.

House (Hugh Laurie) is the Head of the Diagnostics Department with dual specialty in Nephrology and Infectious Diseases. Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) is an Immunologist. Foreman (Omar Epps) is a Neurologist. Chase (Jesse Spencer) is an Intensivist (Intensive Care Specialist). Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) is a Oncologist as well as the Head of the Oncology Department. And Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) is the Hospital Administrator as well as the Dean of Medicine and an Endocrinologist (Insensitivity, Season 3, Episode 14).

Most of this has been mentioned in various episodes but it was established for the first time in the Unaired Pilot Episode.

There is a slightly longer version than the one that aired or is available in the boxset DVDs.

A special DVD was distributed in some magazines prior to the initial premiere date for promotional purposes and it had about 4 minutes of additional material that was edited from the aired version.

The additional material includes two deleted scenes. The first is an extended version of the scene where Wilson is trying to convince House to take on Rebecca Adler (Robin Tunney) as a patient. Just after he tells House that she's his cousin, House tries to enter an elevator, Wilson grabs his cane and won't let go until House agrees to see Rebecca.

The second is an extended version of a scene that aired in "Paternity" where Chase is doing a crossword puzzle and asks Foreman for a 9-letter word meaning "iodine deficiency in children" (A: cretinism). In the scene, they discuss their specialties and how long they've each been working for House.

Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital is fictitious.

It was recently announced in the local newspaper (West Windsor Plainsboro News) that there is in the works a Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital in the works because the current Princeton Hospital to improve facilities.

It is based on a real hospital: University Medical Center at Princeton. It is not affiliated with Princeton University, which does not have a medical school. It is affiliated with the State University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ) and its teaching hospitals are spread throughout the state. The actual school is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey.

University Medical Center at Princeton = http://www.princetonhcs.org/page1501.aspx

And, no, it isn't actually filmed there. They do that in Los Angeles, California, at 20th Century Fox. Season one filmed on two sound stages: 11 and 14. Season two added an sound stage 15. The show occasionally goes on location to nearby locales around Los Angeles County. Also, the original pilot was filmed in Vancouver, Canada. Outdoor scenes are usually filmed on campus at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) or the University of Southern California (USC).

A related question generally asks about the particular building that stands in as PPTH on the show. It's the Frist Campus Center at Princeton University. Most of the buildings shown in flyovers are campus buildings at the university. Most of the locations shown in the flyovers in the Main Title sequence of the pilot episode were in Mercer County, New Jersey.

For thorough reviews by episode by a real doctor, please visit http://www.politedissent.com/house_pd.html.

It's a Honda CBR1000RR Repsol Replica.

Yes, we have. Creator David Shore based House on Sherlock Holmes because of his ability to solve the medical mysteries of his patients. You'll find lots of similarities to Holmes, who was in turn based on a real-life doctor by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, so it's come full circle.

In addition, Holmes and House have something else in common: both are drug addicts. House is addicted to the powerful painkiller Vicodin and Holmes to injected cocaine.

The show is named after a play on words (House = Holmes). House's best friend James Wilson is named after Holmes' friend John H. Watson.

The man who shot House at the end of Season 2 is named "Jack Moriarty," who shares the surname of Holmes' archnemesis.

The song that plays BEFORE he talks to Vogler (which he is tapping along to) is Baba O'Riley by the Who. Vogler stops this. The song that comes on AFTER he's done talking with Vogler is "Hava Nagila," a Jewish folk song.

Please visit: http://www.have-dog.com/house/

The web site has kept careful track of each song that's been in each episode. If it's been identified, it's listed there.

Please visit: House Transcripts = http://www.twiztv.com/scripts/house/

There you'll find a transcript of each and every episode that's aired so far in the United States. If you live elsewhere and just can't live with yourself until you find out what happened in the latest episode, please go here and read it for yourself.

Englishman Hugh Laurie exaggerates his native accent speaking on the phone in episode #1.6, "The Socratic Method."

Currently, iTunes has all of Season 1 and 2, and what has aired of Season 3 available for purchase and download for $1.99 an episode.

In addition, News Corp. and NBC Universal announced plans on 3/22/07 to launch a video distribution site this summer featuring thousands of hours of content from at least a dozen networks and two major film studios -- including House, M.D.

Or try: blockbuster online - rent full seasons

Update: iTunes no longer carries season 4. If you would like to purchase season 4 episodes, try Amazon.

The game is ATV Offroad Fury Blazin' Trails.

The theme music uses excerpts from the song "Teardrop" by Massive Attack. However, some international screenings use a different, sound-alike instrumental theme produced specifically for the show.

He usually refuses to wear it since he doesn't want people to know he's a doctor. He's worn his lab coat only a few times throughout the series: once when Vogler insisted that he wear it, in the Season 2 episode "Sex Kills", and again in the season 4 episode "Games" when he sat in as Wilson told a patient that he was not dying as he'd been told earlier