This is a case study on the medical drama 'House' which I produced for my AS-Level Media Studies

1. 'House' Case Study

2. The TV series 'House' is an American show made by David
Shore.
The show consisted of 8 series which ran on the Fox
network from November 16, 2004 to May 21, 2012.
All the series combined consisted of 176 episodes in total.
The show starred Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps,
Robert Sean Leonard, Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer
and Peter Jacobson.

3. 'House' is a medical drama in which Dr. House
(Hugh Laurie) and his medical team consisting of
Dr. Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), Dr. Chase
(Jesse Spencer) and Dr. Foreman (Omar Epps)
are faced with challenges related to patients. In
many of the episodes, patients are brought into
the hospital in which they work and diagnosed
with a condition. However, the condition that is
diagnosed if often wrong and has to be re-analysed,
the condition is often diagnosed up to 4
times as different things. In some episodes, lives
are lost, but in most, a treatment for the condition
is found and the patient leaves the hospital well.

4. Throughout 'House' many camera angles are used to express
certain elements of the scenes. For example, close-up shots
are used on people when they are speaking so that the viewer
is focused on them, to express their facial features and
emotions relating to the situation. Establishing shots are used
in the series to show the moving of the characters from one
location to another. Wide shots are also used to show all the
characters in a scene interacting with one another in
discussions and such, close ups are also used in these
scenes to draw attention to one speaker.

5. The channel which 'House' was presented on (Fox)
show an understanding of the convergent nature of
modern media by offering extra content to viewers,
including behind the scenes of the show and
interviews with actors. Along with this the show was
also available to watch on catchup via streaming on
the internet on the fox website.

6. Within the series, certain groups are presented in different ways. Fore
example, women are presented as powerful over the men in the series and
almost controlling. Dr. Cameron, who is a female doctor acts as the head of
Dr. House's medical team and often tells the other two male doctors what to
do, and they do as she says most of the time. Also, Dr. Cuddy, another
female doctor, runs the hospital in which Dr. House works, showing that she
has a lot of power, she often uses her power to get her own way and control
Dr. House. Also, the older people in the series are presented and very cold
and almost heartless. For instance Dr. House is one of the older characters in
the series and shows almost no care or responsibility for his patients,
whereas younger doctors, such as Dr. Cameron, almost always find
themselves emotionally attached to a patient and fighting for their life.