House

Arguably the most irritating, infuriating and insufferable TV-series hero of all time, Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), infectious disease and nephrology specialist at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey, brought a whole new spectrum of meanings to the words "obnoxious", "abrasive" and "misanthropic". Mercilessly ragging and browbeating colleagues and patients alike (when he actually condescended to speak to them, that is), House trusted absolutely no one, least of all himself. While it could be argued that his incessant anger and sarcasm grew from the fact that his leg was in constant pain, he had only himself to blame for much of the agony because he insisted upon using his cane incorrectly--mainly because it annoyed people when he did so (riding a motorcyle to and from work didn't help his physical wellbeing any either). Add to this the fact that House didn't seem to know what proper grooming was, and that he was addicted to Vicodin and other painkillers and wasn't above forging prescriptions to keep the drugs flowing, and you have a classic example of a sociopathic jerk who under normal circumstances wouldn't be worth the time it took to mention is name. Except for one thing: Dr. House happened to be a genius in his field, his brilliance shining brightest when solving complex medical cases that had thoroughly baffled all the other experts, and correctly diagnosing rare, obscure and highly lethal diseases, literally snatching his patients from the jaws of death at the last moment in many case. There is probably nothing more irksome that someone who thinks he's always right, and who turns out to BE always right: That was House. To his credit, he inspired great loyalty and admiration from his long-suffering staff, including neurologist Eric Foreman (Omar Epps), immunologist/allergist Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and intensivist Robert Chase (Jesse Spencer). And incredible though it seemed, he could boast a good and faithful friend in the form of oncologist Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), perhaps the only person to whom House ever turned for advice. Even his chief antagonist, hospital adminstrator and dean of medicine Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein), grudgingly admitted that House always got results, despite her abhorrence of his behavior and methods. Though officially based on an article about a real-life diagonstician who specialized in unusual medical cases, star Hugh Laurie has admitted that the weekly, hour-long medical drama House was also heavily beholden to the "Sherlock Holmes" stories, and certainly the series contained numerous Holmesian elements: The similar surname of aloof, antisocial "detective" who doggedly scrutinized each and every detail of the case at hand, the Watsonlike best friend, and the reliance upon narcotics. As a bonus, several of the supporting character's names were lifted from the Holmes canon: In the very first episode, House's patient was named Adler (as in "Irene"); and when he was shot and wounded by the disgruntled husband of another patient at the end of the series' second season, his assailant was a Mr. Moriarty! Debuting November 16, 2004 on the Fox network, House (official title: House: M.D.) was the recipient of several industry awards, as well as the prestigious Peabody award for "Best of Electronic Media." As if Dr. House gave a damn.