House Credit

Huh.

I've been watching House for three years now. It's a good show, a fine showcase for Hugh Laurie's acting chops, and has been getting better as time goes on. I keep waiting for its formula to become repetitive, but... I dunno, at least for me it hasn't yet. I suppose that there's a place on television for fine episodic content, as opposed to the sprawling serial structure of shows like Lost (which I also still enjoy).

Anyways, I was watching this week's episode, and for the first time I found myself actually thinking about the images that show over the opening credits. This is reaching, but I thought you could make an argument that each actor's image actually corresponds to their character or their role on the show.

Briefly, then:

Hugh Laurie (House). Image: Brain. Obviously, the main aspect of this character is his towering intellect; there's no doubt that he's the smartest character on the show, and his smartness is responsible for both his admirable skill and his despicable arrogance.

Lisa Edelstein (Cuddy). Image: Nervous system. As hospital administrator, she is responsible for connecting House with the rest of the world by bringing him cases and information. She also "feels" things much more than the insensitive House brain does.

Omar Epps (Foreman). Image: Skeleton. Bones convey strength and power. Foreman is the most talented of House's assistants, and the one with the most inclination and ability to oppose him.

Robert Sean Leonard (Wilson). Image: Brain. But it's different from House's brain; the shot here emphasizes the division between the hemispheres. This may allude to House's endless criticism of Wilson, his inconsistency (doing things he doesn't want to, wanting to believe things he can't, etc.)

Jennifer Morrison (Cameron). Image: A discordantly beautiful scene of a boat on a lake in the wilderness. Similarly, Cameron doesn't really fit into the hospital due to her idealism and extreme compassion.

Jesse Spencer (Chase). Image: A spine. Like the skeleton, one would think of strength here, but the angle chosen emphasizes how much the spine's shape bends. Likewise, Chase has the greatest capacity for accommodation among all his colleagues, which allows him to weather bad situations more than people who actually care.

That's that. Again, I doubt any of this is intentional, just an example of me projecting my own thoughts on what's probably a random collection of pretty images.