House: The Complete Series Blu Ray Review (Universal)

House (aKa House M.D.) is a 2004 medical drama television series created, written, produced, and directed by David Shore (Law and Order, The Good Doctor, Accused, Hack, Family Law, Sneaky Pete, and Due South). It was directed by Greg Yaitanes (House of the Dragon, Heroes, Lost, Castle Rock, and Prison Break), Deran Sarafian (Swamp Thing, The Strain, Hemlock Grove, Terminal Velocity, and Death Warrant), David Straiton (Blood Drive, Charmed, Angel, and The Good Doctor), Daniel Attias (Silver Bullet, The Sopranos, The Wire, and Six Feet Under), Daniel Sackheim (True Detective, Lovecraft County, The X-Files, Game of Thrones, and The Glass House), Hugh Laurie (Fortysomething, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, and Maybe Baby), Peter Medak (The Changeling, Species II, Romeo is Bleeding, Hannibal, and Homicide: Life on the Streets), Guy Ferland (The Babysitter, Sons of Anarchy, Tulsa King, and The Walking Dead), Keith Gordon (Dexter, Fargo, The Singing Detective, The Chocolate War, Waking the Dead, and A Midnight Clear), Peter Weller (Las Vegas, Sons of Anarchy, Monk, and Justified), and many others. It was produced and directed by Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men franchise, Apt. Pupil, Bohemian Rhapsody, Superman Returns, and Valkyrie). It lasted for 8 seasons and it originally aired on Fox!!!! The wise cracking, antisocial, addict, and highly skilled doctor Gregory House (played by: Hugh Laurie from Street Kings, Flight of the Phoenix, Tomorrowland, Veep, The Night Manager, and The Oranges) is the one that they come to when they can’t solve a medical emergency mystery despite his poor bedside manners. His brilliant team includes Foreman (played by: Omar Epps from Love and Basketball, Dracula 2000, In Too Deep, Juice, The Wood, Higher Learning, and Scream 2), Chase (played by: Jesse Spencer from Uptown Girls, Chicago Fire, and Neighbours), Cameron (played by: Jennifer Morrison from Once Upon a Time, Star Trek, Bombshell, Batman: Hush, How I Met your Mother, and Amityville: The Awakening), Taub (played by: Peter Jacobson from Smile 2, Colony, Fear the Walking Dead, Transformers, and The Midnight Meat Train), and Thirteen (played by: Olivia Wilde from Don’t Worry Darling, Tron: Legacy, Babylon, Love the Coopers, Alpha Dog, and The Change-Up). He consistently battles with his best friend James Wilson (played by: Robert Sean Leonard from Dead Poets Society, The Age of Innocence, Much Ado About Nothing, Swing Kids, and The Manhattan Project) and his boss Lisa Cuddy (played by: Lisa Edelstein from Keeping the Faith, Seinfeld, Superman: The Animated Series, What Women Want, and The Kominsky Method) during his many complicated cases. House might be questionable as a human but his talents make it all worth it. The reckless miracle worker struggles with his own reality while saving lives every day no matter what it takes!!!! House is one of the best medical dramas ever made for television. Dr. House is one of the most interesting and complicated characters of all time. It had a great run at 8 seasons and it really changed stuff up throughout the years. It had some really talented directors behind the camera for episodes including lead Hugh Laurie. In his multiple award winning role, Hugh Laurie takes full control of House with his strong presence. There’s been so many medical dramas over the years but none of those doctors compare to the unique Gregory House. Robert Sean Leonard is House’s moral compass and best friend as Dr. James Wilson. He is the reason House survives so long with his troubled ways. Lisa Edelstein is so underrated as Dr. Lisa Cuddy plus she looks great. She has to fight the chaotic House with all his crazy methods and she got through so much trying to let him in. Hugh Laurie has amazing chemistry with both Robert Sean Leonard and Lisa Edelstein. Omar Epps is the ambitious and cocky upcoming doctor as Dr. Eric Foreman. He never backs down from his boss and his role has some quality development during it’s run. Jesse Spencer is trying to get out of his father’s legendary shadow as Dr. Robert Chase. He always believes in what the team is doing and he’s one of most loyal members of House’s skilled group. Jennifer Morrison is the real heart of the hospital as Dr. Allison Cameron. She has a tragic past and she’s trying to change her life after it. She is potential love interest for House at the beginning and it adds something to the unpredictable environment. Peter Jacobson as Dr. Christopher Taub is the member of the unit that’s a little questionable when it comes to his morals. The former plastic surgeon wants to do something different in the medical field. Olivia Wilde steals the show as the mysterious and sexy Thirteen. She’s the real risk taker and she’s willing to do anything when it comes to her cases. She always keeps it interesting when she’s involved. House had a few other regular team members that were around for awhile like Kutner (played by: Kal Penn from the Harold and Kumar franchise), Adams (played by: Odette Annable from Cloverfield), Masters (played by: Amber Tamblyn from Joan of Arcadia), Volakis (played by: Anne Dudek from Mad Men), and Park (played by: Charlyne Yi from Knocked Up). Kutner was my favorite from this additional team, his story definitely stays with you after it’s over. The rest of the supporting cast includes Jennifer Crystal Foley (Once and Again), Sela Ward (The Fugitive), Michael Weston (Garden State), Cynthia Watros (Lost), David Morse (The Green Mile), Karolina Wydra (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Chi McBride (Gone in 60 Seconds), Currie Graham (Assault on Precinct 13), Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street), Paula Marshall (Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth), Carmen Argenziano (Broken Arrow), Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown), Lori Petty (Point Break), Charles S. Dutton (Rudy), Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Kadeem Hardison (A Different World), Kenneth Choi (The Wolf of Wall Street), Joel David Moore (Hatchet), R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket), Robin Tunney (The Craft), Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost), Dominic Purcell (Prison Break), Ron Livingston (Office Space), Michelle Trachtenberg (Black Christmas), Kurtwood Smith (RoboCop), James Earl Jones (Star Wars franchise), Jeffrey Wright (The Batman), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Michael B. Jordan (Creed franchise), Franka Potente (The Bourne franchise), Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), LL Cool J (Deep Blue Sea), Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks), Taraji P. Henson (Hustle and Flow), and so many other talented actors. House kinda jumped the shark a few times, sometimes it really worked like the nuthouse season for 6 and others failed like the musical episode from Season 7 “Bombshells” which I hated with a passion. House had a little bit of everything such as drama, suspense, tension, comedy, and romance. All of the main characters were well written and fully developed, everyone was perfect for their roles in this. It was a rollercoaster ride for the most part, House would always almost get happy again but he loved to ruin it all after self destructing. It’s rare that I actually revisit a TV show more than once but I’ve checked it out a few times at this point. It’s that good, it’s so much fun and always entertaining with very strong replay value to it. There’s nothing like it, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and list the special features from Universal Pictures! These 1080p (1.78:1) transfers on all 176 episodes look better than ever on home video. Visually, this is one of the better television shows at it’s time. It had a variety of different styles depending on the locations and scenarios. These English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks really stand out especially the top notch soundtrack during the entire series on all 39 discs. There’s so many classic songs used for House. The audio is great, it has some tense situations that really elevates everything. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the chaos is elevated, and the music has a killer boost. It has English SDH subtitles. Season 1 on disc 5 has “Dr. House”, “Medical Cases”, “The Concept”, “Set Tour”, “House’-isms”, and “Casting Sessions with Hugh Laurie”. Season 2 on disc 1 features “Autopsy” Commentary with executive producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs. It has an “Alternate Take” from “Daddy’s Boy”: The Valley Girl Version. Season 2 on disc 4 features “Alternate Take” from “Sleeping Dogs Lie”: The Valley Girl Version. It has a “Blooper Reel”. It has “It Could Be Lupus”. Season 2 on disc 5 features “No Reason” Commentary with executive producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs. It has the “An Evening with House”. Season 3 on disc 1 features “Alternate Take” from “Cane & Able”: The Angry Valley Girl Edition. Season 3 on disc 3 features “Half-Wit” Commentary with creator David Shore and director Katie Jacobs. Season 3 on disc 5 features “House Soundtrack Session with Band From TV”, “Anatomy of an Episode: “The Jerk”, “Blood, Needles, and Body Parts: The ‘House’ Prop Department”, “Open House: The Production Department” and “Blooper Reel”. Season 4 on disc 4 features “House’s Head” Commentary with creator David Shore and director Katie Jacobs. It has “House’s Scoop: Prescription Passion”, “New Beginnings”, “Meet the Writes”, “The Visual Effects of House”, “Anatomy of a Scene: ‘The Bus Crash” and “My Favorite Episode So Far”. Season 5 on disc 3 features “House Meets a Milestone: The 100th Episode”. Season 5 on disc 4 features “Locked In” Commentary with producers David Foster, Russel Friend, and Garrett Lerner. Season 5 on disc 5 features “Keeping it Real: Accuracy in Writing”, “Dr. Mom: Dr. Cuddy’s Storyline”, “House’ Guests: Casting the Show”, and “Anatomy of the Show”. Season 6 on disc 1 features “Before Broken: An Original Short”, “A New House for House”, “New Faces in a New House”, and “Crazy Cool Episode: Epic Fail”. It has the “Broken” Commentary with director Katie Jacobs, producer Russel Friend. and writer Garrett Lerner. Season 6 on disc 3 features “Wilson” Commentary with actor Robert Sean Leonard and producer David Foster. It has M.D. “5 to 9” Commentary with actress Lisa Edelstein and producer Thomas i. Moran. Season 6 on disc 4 features “A Different POV: Hugh Laurie Directs”. Season 6 disc 5 features “Help Me” Commentary with director Greg Yaitanes and technical advisor Larry Collins. Season 7 on disc 2 features “Meet Martha Masters” and “Huddy Dissected”. Season 7 on disc 4 features “Anatomy of an Episode: Bombshells” and “Thirteen Returns”. It has a “Bombshells” Commentary with director Greg Yaitanes and actress Lisa Edelstein. It has “The Dig” Commentary with writers Sara Hess and David Hoselton. Season 7 on disc 5 features “Moving On” Commentary with creator David Shore and director Greg Yaitanes. Season 8 on disc 5 features “House, M.D.’ Swan Song”, “The Doctor Directs: Behind the Scenes with Hugh Laurie” and “Everybody Dies: A Postmortem”. As you can see, this complete series collection is loaded with extras so House is definitely worth adding to your collection just because of that. Each season has it’s own case packaged in a high quality box slip. This set will keep you busy for a long time with so much entertainment. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!