140 Fun Facts About House M.D.

On which network did House air from 2004 to 2012?

It ran for eight seasons and 177 episodes, ending on May 21, 2012.

Who created House?

Paul Attanasio had pitched a CSI-style medical detective show in which the germs were the suspects; Shore gave it a misanthropic hero.

At which fictional New Jersey institution is House set?

The pilot was shot in Vancouver; every later episode was filmed on the Fox lot in Century City, Los Angeles.

What is House's medical double specialty?

He introduces himself as a board-certified diagnostician and heads the hospital's Department of Diagnostic Medicine.

Which painkiller is House dependent on?

The season eight premiere is titled Twenty Vicodin, after the stash he needs to get through his last days in prison.

What caused the damage to House's right leg?

An aneurysm in his thigh clotted during a game of golf; misdiagnosis let the muscle die, and Stacy authorised surgery he did not want.

What is the address of House's apartment, a nod to Sherlock Holmes?

The show's creator called House's own name a subtle homage to Holmes; Wilson is his Watson.

Under what name is the gunman who shoots House in the season two finale credited?

The episode is No Reason, and most of it turns out to be a hallucination House has while unconscious.

Which department does House's only real friend, Dr. James Wilson, head?

Robert Sean Leonard plays him; the friendship echoes Holmes and Watson and carries the whole final episode.

What is Dr. Lisa Cuddy's job at the hospital?

Lisa Edelstein's endocrinologist-turned-administrator left the show after season seven when a salary cut was proposed.

Which member of House's original team is a neurologist?

Omar Epps's character had a juvenile record for burglary, which is partly why House hired him; he ends the series as Dean of Medicine.

Which actress plays immunologist Dr. Allison Cameron?

She later starred in Once Upon a Time; Jesse Spencer, who plays Chase, moved on to Chicago Fire.

Which genetic condition does Thirteen inherit from her mother?

Olivia Wilde's Dr. Remy Hadley got her nickname from her number in the season-four hiring contest.

Why was Dr. Kutner written out of the show in season five?

The character is found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot in the episode Simple Explanation, and returns as a hallucination in the finale.

Which member of the later team is a former plastic surgeon?

Peter Jacobson's character keeps a wife, a mistress and two babies born weeks apart, which House finds endlessly useful.

How did House recruit his new team in season four?

He starts with 40 applicants and numbers them rather than learning names; the show called it its own version of Survivor.

Which Massive Attack song is the show's opening theme in the United States?

It was chosen because its tempo mimics a heartbeat; rights issues meant many European broadcasts used different music.

Where did Hugh Laurie record his audition tape for House?

He was filming Flight of the Phoenix at the time and apologised for the poor lighting.

Which director of the pilot did not realise Hugh Laurie was English?

Singer had reportedly said he wanted an American for the part; Laurie credits his accent to a misspent youth watching too many movies.

In which year was House the most-watched television programme in the world?

It was distributed to 71 countries; season three had averaged 19.4 million US viewers.

Which episode drew the show's biggest audience, 29 million, after airing straight after Super Bowl XLII?

Mira Sorvino guest-starred as a psychiatrist trapped at the South Pole; House diagnoses her over a video link.

Which billionaire, played by Chi McBride, tries to fire House in season one?

The pharmaceutical mogul appears in five episodes before the board chooses House over his money.

Why does Detective Michael Tritter, played by David Morse, pursue the doctor in season three?

The vendetta ends with House in court over forged prescriptions and Cuddy perjuring herself to save him.

Which actress plays Stacy Warner, House's ex-girlfriend, in seasons one and two?

She authorised the leg surgery that ended their relationship, then returns as the hospital's lawyer.

How does Amber Volakis, Wilson's girlfriend, die in the season four finale?

House was on the same bus and cannot remember why; the two-parter is House's Head and Wilson's Heart.

Where does House spend the two-hour season six premiere, Broken?

He checks into Mayfield to detox from Vicodin after hallucinating Amber and Kutner throughout season five.

What does House do to Cuddy's home in the season seven finale?

Cuddy had ended their relationship over his addiction; the stunt lands House in prison at the start of season eight.

Where is House at the start of season eight?

The premiere is titled Twenty Vicodin, and Foreman, now Dean of Medicine, gets him out.

Which team member takes over as head of the hospital in the final season?

Chase ends the series running the Department of Diagnostic Medicine that House left behind.

What is the title of the series finale?

David Shore directed it as a bookend to the pilot's alternate title, Everybody Lies; Swan Song was the retrospective shown just before it.

How does House escape his troubles in the finale?

He swaps dental records with a dead patient so he can spend Wilson's last months riding motorcycles with him.

How do House and Wilson set off together in the final scene?

Wilson has only months left with cancer, and House tells him that cancer is boring.

Which motorcycle does House ride?

The licence plate reads Y91; he bought it after his leg made walking to work a misery.

Which soap opera is House addicted to watching?

The show also invented a fake one for him, Prescription Passion, when the real thing was unavailable.

From which medical school was House expelled before finishing his degree at Michigan?

He was caught cheating; the show gives his birthday as June 11, 1959, which is Hugh Laurie's own.

Which New York Times Magazine column by Lisa Sanders inspired the show?

Sanders, a Yale professor, became the show's technical adviser; the column later spawned a Netflix series.

How many Golden Globes did Hugh Laurie win for playing House?

He was nominated for six Emmys for the role and never won one, a snub fans still complain about.

Which comedy partner did Hugh Laurie share A Bit of Fry & Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster with?

The two met through Cambridge Footlights, where Laurie was president and Emma Thompson vice-president.

In which sport did Hugh Laurie compete for Cambridge against Oxford in 1980?

He had won a British junior title in the coxed pair in 1977, following his father, an Olympic gold-medal rower.

Which title did Guinness World Records give Hugh Laurie in 2011?

By then he was reportedly earning several hundred thousand dollars per episode and had released his first blues album, Let Them Talk.

What working title did House carry after Fox picked it up?

'Zebra' is medical slang for an obscure diagnosis; 'circling the drain' means a terminal case.

Whose idea was the show's premise, before David Shore conceived the title character?

They pitched it to Fox as a CSI-style medical detective show.

Fox originally rejected which idea for House's disability?

The writers gave him a damaged leg instead, which requires a cane.

The pilot's main patient, Rebecca Adler, is named after a character from which Sherlock Holmes story?

Irene Adler is 'the woman' of the Holmes canon.

Which three instruments does House play?

Sherlock Holmes, his model, played the violin.

What Christmas gift does House receive in the season four episode 'It's a Wonderful Lie'?

Holmes references pepper the whole series.

Which season six episode did the show's leading man himself direct?

It was the 17th episode of season six.

What did the future star use as a cane in his improvised audition tape?

He filmed it in a hotel bathroom while shooting Flight of the Phoenix.

Which character did the show's star initially assume was the lead?

He only realised House was the lead on reading the full pilot script.

Roughly how much per episode was the show's star earning by the final season?

That made him one of the highest-paid actors on network TV.

Robert Sean Leonard turned down auditioning for which CBS show because the role had too many scenes?

He later said, 'The less I work, the happier I am'.

Which political drama's call-girl role won Lisa Edelstein the part of Cuddy after Bryan Singer saw it?

He sent her the pilot script.

Which future Grey's Anatomy star also auditioned for the role of Dr. Chase?

He went on to play Dr. Derek Shepherd.

Dr. Eric Foreman shared a near-identical name with the lead of which other Fox sitcom airing in 2004?

Omar Epps drew on his earlier ER intern role for the character.

Where was the pilot episode filmed?

All later episodes were shot on the Fox lot in Century City.

Aerial views of the show's fictional hospital actually show which university's Frist Campus Center?

Bryan Singer chose the setting near his hometown of West Windsor, New Jersey.

Which abandoned New Jersey site stood in for Mayfield in season six?

It is in Parsippany-Troy Hills.

With a cane and Vicodin bottle vetoed by Fox, what appears beside Jennifer Morrison's name in the titles?

Most cast names appear next to illustrations of human anatomy.

Why was Massive Attack's 'Teardrop' chosen as the theme?

An acoustic version by José González plays in the season four finale.

Which Cocteau Twins singer performs the vocals on 'Teardrop'?

She also wrote the lyrics; the track came from the 1998 album Mezzanine.

In which season one episode does House admit he is addicted to Vicodin?

He argues the pills 'let me do my job, and they take away my pain'.

What did Edward Vogler donate to the hospital in exchange for chairing its board?

Fox had urged the writers to introduce a villain.

Which condition does House diagnose in Stacy Warner's husband Mark in the season one finale?

Stacy returned for seven episodes in season two.

How long is House sentenced to jail for contempt of court in the Tritter storyline?

Cuddy perjured herself to get the drug case dismissed.

How many doctors does House initially consider when recruiting his new team in season four?

He pares them down to seven finalists.

Before hiring the new team, House 'borrows' a janitor and calls him what?

That stunt forced him to actually recruit new fellows.

What was Amber Volakis's medical specialty?

House nicknamed her 'Cutthroat Bitch'.

What was Kutner's specialty before joining House's team?

Taub was a plastic surgeon and Thirteen an internist.

Why did Thirteen spend six months in prison, as revealed in the 150th episode 'The Dig'?

Her brother had advanced Huntington's disease.

Which classic detective show partly inspired private investigator Lucas Douglas?

A spin-off was planned had audiences warmed to the character.

In which season five episode do House and Cuddy kiss for the first time?

It was the sixth episode of the season.

In which season two episode do Cameron and Chase have a one-night stand?

They later marry in the season five finale.

What is Cuddy's own medical specialty?

She is also the hospital's chief administrator.

What phrase does Foreman use when he resigns in the season three episode 'Family'?

House then fired Chase, and Cameron resigned too.

The show peaked in season three at an average audience of about how many viewers per episode?

American Idol provided a powerful lead-in.

Which honour did the show receive in 2005 for its 'medical Sherlock Holmes'?

The AFI also named it one of its 10 Television Programs of the Year.

For which episode did David Shore win the 2005 Emmy for drama writing?

It also won the Humanitas Prize in 2006.

Greg Yaitanes won a directing Emmy in 2008 for which episode?

It was the first half of the season four finale.

In a 2008 poll, House was voted the second-sexiest TV doctor ever, behind whom?

George Clooney played him on ER.

Which charity benefited from 'Everybody Lies' T-shirt sales from 2007?

Cast and crew also appeared in ads for the organisation.

What is the name of the authorised Russian remake of House?

It starred Aleksei Serebryakov on Russia-1.

What was Fox president Gail Berman's warning to the creative team about the pitch?

They had pitched a CSI-style 'hospital whodunit'.

Which filming technique, popularised by shows like ER, does House use for its corridor scenes?

Katie Jacobs said Laurie's 6'2" height makes them 'pop'.

House was ranked at what number on Entertainment Weekly's 2007 'New TV Classics' list?

A 2013 Writers Guild survey placed it 74th among best-written series.

Which two rival dramas did House surpass to become the world's most-watched show in 2008?

It drew an audience of over 81.8 million worldwide.

Which country ranked House its top-rated TV programme in 2008?

It was number two in Italy and number three in the Czech Republic.

In the UK, which channel broadcast the first four seasons of House?

Sky1 acquired first-run rights from season five.

House's father John served in which branch of the US military?

As a 'military brat', House moved bases often as a child.

In which episode does a DNA test confirm John House is not House's biological father?

A second test later rules out Thomas Bell too.

At what age did House decide a family friend with the same birthmark was his real father?

His hatred of John House stemmed from childhood abuse.

What is the name of House's mother?

He loves her but avoids both parents.

Which unusual habit does House have with his cane?

Most people hold a cane on the side opposite the injury.

Where did Cuddy first meet House and share a one-night stand?

House was later expelled from Johns Hopkins.

What name does Cuddy give the baby girl she becomes foster mother to in 'Joy to the World'?

An earlier adoption, of a baby to be named Joy, fell through.

What was Cameron's first husband dying of when she married him?

His death had a lasting impact on her.

What crime did House cite as a reason for hiring Foreman in the pilot?

House valued his 'street smarts'.

Who plays Foreman's estranged brother Marcus?

Marcus had led a life of petty crime.

Chase's estranged father Rowan was an acclaimed specialist in what?

He left his alcoholic wife and teenage son and later remarried.

Which actress plays Wilson's first wife Sam Carr, whom he dates again in season six?

She is best known for Lost.

Why does House marry Dominika Petrova in season seven?

He announces the wedding partly to make Cuddy jealous.

Which actor plays Dr. Darryl Nolan, House's therapist at Mayfield?

Braugher won two Emmys in his career and starred in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Which candidate punches House after he calls Joseph Smith a 'horny fraud'?

The punch impresses House.

What is the name of House's pet rat?

He is one of the show's few-episode characters.

Thirteen's surname was not used on the show until which episode?

Her first name waited until season five's 'Emancipation'.

Who guest-stars in 'Half-Wit' as Patrick, a savant piano prodigy?

The episode was Katie Jacobs's directorial debut.

In 'Autopsy', how old is Andie, the terminal cancer patient on whom the team performs a live autopsy?

Sasha Pieterse played her; the episode won a Writers Guild Award.

Which rock star plays dying patient Eddie Novack in 'Simple Explanation'?

The episode is better remembered for Kutner's death.

The season six finale 'Help Me' centres on what disaster?

House tries to save Hanna, who is trapped in rubble.

In 'Last Resort', where does gunman Jason take House, Thirteen and others hostage?

The episode ran seven minutes longer than usual.

Which sitcom star, famous as Steve Urkel, guest-stars in the season eight premiere 'Twenty Vicodin'?

The episode also introduced Odette Annable as Dr. Jessica Adams.

Who plays the ill children's author Alice Tanner in the season seven episode 'Unwritten'?

House holds her on a 72-hour psychiatric hold after a suicide attempt.

'A Pox on Our House' opens in the 18th century aboard what kind of vessel?

A smallpox outbreak on board is deliberately sunk with the ship.

Which actor plays subway hero musician Jack in 'Larger than Life'?

He collapses after saving a stranger from the tracks.

In 'Out of the Chute', the team treats a professional in what rodeo event?

House meanwhile checks into a hotel with prostitutes and Vicodin.

Which Iranian-born actress plays performance artist Afsoun Hamidi in 'Moving On'?

It was Lisa Edelstein's last episode.

Which Battlestar Galactica actor plays secret-hiding patient Bob Harris in 'The Confession'?

The episode marks Chase and Taub's official return to the team.

Which Disney Channel star plays teenage runaway Callie in season eight's 'Runaways'?

She needs surgery requiring adult consent.

In 'Post Mortem', which hospital pathologist starts slicing his own scalp open during an autopsy?

He trusts only House among the staff.

What sport was Derrick, the patient in 'Holding On', practising when he had a nosebleed?

Skylar Astin played the 19-year-old college student.

Which episode is told from Cuddy's point of view as she battles a big insurer?

House meanwhile wants to use malaria to treat a cancer patient.

How much longer than usual is the season eight premiere jump from the season seven finale?

House is serving a prison sentence when the season opens.

Which sickle-cell-trait patient episode kicked off season seven's House-Cuddy relationship at work?

Della Carr collapses at a charity function.

The star's father Ran Laurie won an Olympic gold medal in which sport?

He won the coxless pairs at the 1948 London Games and was also a physician.

What was the title of the show's star's 2011 blues album?

His second, Didn't It Rain, followed in 2013.

In which English city was the show's star born in 1959?

He grew up in the Blackbird Leys area.

Which writer did the actress born Olivia Cockburn take her stage surname from?

She was born Olivia Cockburn and holds US and Irish citizenship.

Robert Sean Leonard is best known on film for playing Neil Perry in which 1989 movie?

He won a Tony in 2001 for The Invention of Love.

Jennifer Morrison went on to play Emma Swan in which ABC fantasy series?

She also played Captain Kirk's mother in the 2009 Star Trek film.

Jesse Spencer played Billy Kennedy on which Australian soap before House?

He later played Captain Matthew Casey on Chicago Fire.

Omar Epps made his film debut alongside Tupac Shakur in which 1992 film?

He later starred in Love & Basketball.

Kal Penn is best known for a stoner-comedy film series with which title?

He later played Seth Wright on Designated Survivor.

Amber Tamblyn earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for playing the title role in which series?

Her father is actor Russ Tamblyn.

David Shore later developed which US medical drama, adapted from a South Korean series?

Shore worked as a lawyer in Canada before moving to Los Angeles.

David Shore was born in which Canadian city?

His father Marvin was a politician.

Sela Ward won her first Emmy for playing Teddy Reed in which NBC drama?

She won a second Emmy for Once and Again.

Charlyne Yi's screenwriting debut Paper Heart won a screenwriting award at which festival?

Yi, now known as Lo Mutuc, played Dr. Chi Park.

Before House, Odette Annable played Beth McIntyre in which 2008 monster movie?

She later played Reign on Supergirl.

Peter Jacobson appeared twice on which legal drama as crusading defence attorney Randy Dworkin?

He also popped up in Transformers and Scrubs.

Vicodin combines paracetamol with which opioid?

The combination was approved for US medical use in 1982.

Season six had how many episodes, two fewer than usual?

It opened with a two-hour premiere at Greystone Park.