Product Details

• Actors: Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jennifer Morrison
• Writers: David Shore
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: August 19, 2008
• Run Time: 660 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (170 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001A4VH2U
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #358 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #2 in	Movies & TV > Drama > Television > House, M.D.
  #6 in	Movies & TV > Television > Medical Shows
  #21 in	Movies & TV > Boxed Sets > Drama

• This is item 4 in The House, M.D. Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
For Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), there's nothing like a good, tension-filled competition to pick his new team of doctors when his old trio of Chase (Jesse Spencer), Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Foreman (Omar Epps) leave his fold. Among the 40 newbies vying to earn the coveted spots in the fourth season of House, M.D. are Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn, the Harold & Kumar films), Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson, Transformers) and Dr., uh, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde, The O.C.). Taking a cue from Flavor Flav, House dubs the latter with that nickname simply because he can. Though frequently politically incorrect, House is almost always spot on when it comes to diagnosing rare diseases and ailments. His boss Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) puts up with his unorthodox quirks, which include antagonizing patients, berating his colleagues, and being an overall pain in the butt, because he's brilliant. The addition of the new doctors adds a bit of chaos early on. But once the contingent is whittled away to the select few, the storylines grow stronger and the chemistry between the old and new cast members gels. Originally shown during the 2007-2008 television season, House aired only 16--rather than its usual 24--episodes, due to the Writers Guild strike. Though a bit of momentum is lost in the last third of the season, the writers do an admirable job of piecing together loose ends without sacrificing plot or structure. In a nice homage to the Prescription Passion, the General Hospital-esque soap opera he loves, House at one point is afflicted with amnesia. The humorous aspect of the story is offset by urgency as he tries to remember what needs to be done to save a patient. On a separate episode, House kidnaps the star of the daytime drama (played by Sex and the City hunk Jason Lewis) because he's convinced the actor is dying. The season finale is heartbreaking, as one of House's 40 candidates is in a life-and-death situation that even the good doctor may not be able to cure. --Jae-Ha Kim

Product Description
Prepare for even more baffling, complex and shocking medical mysteries than ever before as every season four episode of House arrives on DVD! Reunite with the perplexing and prickly Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie in his two-time Golden Globe®-winning role) as he tackles impossible cases while putting a new staff of potential team members – including Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle), Peter Jacobson (The Starter Wife), and Olivia Wilde (The Black Donnellys) – through the medical wringer with his trademark sarcasm and irreverent bedside manner. Get ready for another dose of one of TV’s most original dramas and what Entertainment Weekly calls “One of the most compelling characters in TV history.”

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars House, M.D. - Season Four, June 2, 2008

By	Joseph Haggard Jr. - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The fourth season of "House, M.D." was one of its best seasons yet. This very entertaining (and popular) drama series has already three strong seasons behind it, and season four does not disappoint. I was kind of weary going into season four because of what happened at the end of season three, when everyone's favorite crabby TV doc lost his team. I wasn't sure if this show would still be as good as it was, but I'm glad I stuck it out for season four. Give the writers credit, because this time they decided to have some fun going into the season, and great fun it was. The show at times is very dramatic, and at other times it's very funny.

The season starts off in the first episode with Dr. House still without a team and trying to diagnose a patient on his own, while Drs. Cuddy and Wilson (House's boss and good friend, respectively) try to persuade him to put together a new team by hiring some new doctors. The humor in episode one is still very much intact, especially in the scene where House tries to get ideas from the hospital janitor ("You were bouncing ideas off a janitor", Wilson tells him hilariously). When House finally decides to give in, there are 40 candidates vying for 3 positions on House's staff. And that's where the real fun of season four begins. The next several episodes turn into a "Survivor" type game where House eliminates the candidates one-by-one until he finally makes his final decision in the ninth episode. These episodes worked very well and it was a lot of fun to watch House play off these potential candidates. In the middle of all this, House's three former team members (Drs. Foreman, Cameron, and Chase) all return to Princeton-Plainsboro, but now working in new positions. The latter episodes deal with the three new doctors trying to deal with House as well as the patients they're diagnosing. And in an interesting subplot, Dr. Wilson finds a new love interest who just happens to be one of the same doctors who was trying to get onto House's staff and lost out. The final episode ends with a heartbreaker as House and company try to save the life of a person who was the victim of a bus crash, and House's inability to find out what really happened since he was also a victim of that same bus crash and has come down with temporary amnesia which makes the other doctors' jobs a whole lot harder.

Hugh Laurie once again dominates this show as he has from day one. Lisa Edelstein (Dr. Cuddy) and Robert Sean Leonard (Dr. Wilson) provide great support as usual. Omar Epps (Dr. Foreman) is back and is given a pretty good amount of screen time since his character is now overseeing and watching the new team. Former real-life couple Jennifer Morrison (Dr. Cameron) and Jesse Spencer (Dr. Chase) are also back, but weren't given much to do this time around. This is due to the three new cast members whose characters were the ones that House picked to make up his new team. Peter Jacobson (Dr. Taub), Kal Penn (Dr. Kutner), and Olivia Wilde (Thirteen) were the best ones for the job, and if I were a doctor and I had to chose some new team members, I would have picked these same characters. However I would have picked an additional fourth member to be on the staff: and that would have been Amber. Anne Dudek was a major standout in season four as Amber, who has a personality that's just like House. This character ended up being the last to go when House made his final decision on who he wanted for his team, but she was back (surprisingly) in the later episodes as Wilson's new girlfriend.

Because of the writers strike that shut down television production on all TV shows, the fourth season of "House" is shorter. Only 16 episodes this time around, but they're some of the best episodes that this terrific show has to offer. I hope it gets multiple Emmy nominations this year because it deserves them, and maybe this time out it'll win some Emmy Awards. My fingers are crossed.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Season four - a drop in overall quality , August 14, 2008

By	Meredith Suter - See all my reviews

First let me start by saying House my my favorite show, I couldn't think any more highly of season 1 through 3 - intense, compelling, funny, great camera angles, writing, just everything about those seasons is perfect in my eyes. Even today watching those episodes for 5/6th time, I'm still so impressed.

Season four took a drop, I can't see myself watching the episodes over and over like I could the first three seasons. Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer are no longer in the show (much, anyway) and all the great chemistry between House and his team is gone, replaced by three new boring one dimensional characters. The writing seems like it's slacking, resorting to ridiculous lines that feel as if they're only there for shock value.

If you're new to House, I recommend picking up the first three DVDs before considering this one. It is still a great show compared to what else is on TV, but it doesn't stand out like it used to.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Over the Line, Sagging Badly, July 27, 2008

By	S. Turell (CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have to preface this by saying that House is one of my favorite shows. However this last season was almost unwatchable at times. In the first 3 seasons we learned that House could be a real jerk, but we felt that underneath it all he cared about his patients (and about his relationship with Wilson) and that his less admirable behavior was more from past baggage and not from malice and inherent nastyness. His game-playing usually benefited his patients or forced his team to recognize something in themselves. We forgave him his behavior because the net outcome was always positive. (And because he was always right, ultimately.)

In Season 4, however, House is playing games just for the pleasure of watching the negative reaction. Worse, he is shown as being wrong in his diagnoses. This is over the line. I guess we're supposed to believe that he is sinking to a point where he will be forced to choose between his relationships with patients and friends vs whatever neurotic jollies he's getting from his negative behavior. But you can't change a character's nature just to fit your dramatic needs.

He does indeed reach a choice-point in the final episode of the season, and this is the best episode this year, but the set-up for this isn't worth it.

I do feel for the writers of this show. It's extremely difficult to keep a show fresh over 4 years (and more) and there is a need for longer archs and conflicts. Season 4 just wasn't one of their more successful efforts.