Dr. House – The Sherlock Holmes Of Medicine

A Masterful Doctor Investigates In The Style Of A Detective

If in our previously published articles about the Sherlockians and their endless game concerning the immortality of the Sherlock Holmes myth we have spoken, then we are referring not only to the numerous film adaptations, series, computer and console games, fan fiction and book continuations surrounding the master detective, but also to references that may not be apparent at first glance. One of the best-known and, despite or because of his eccentricities, most popular television characters, who displays clear similarities to the great London predecessor of our detectives in Hamburg, is Gregory House, portrayed by the British actor, comedian, musician and novelist Hugh Laurie and known from the FOX series House, M. D. (2004–2012). Below, we would like to present the similarities between the two characters and their respective environments.

House, M. D., a Master Detective in Hospital

Consciously modelled on Sherlock Holmes by David Shore, the creative mind behind the series House, M. D., even the name of the brilliant super-doctor points to the master detective: Holmes, pronounced with a silent “l” like “Homes”, corresponds to the meaning of the word “House”, that is, both signify “house, home”.

 

Like his role model, House is a difficult character who, due to his peculiarities, does not make it easy for people to like him; he is often alone by choice, tolerates only his closest confidant in his vicinity – sometimes not even him – and shows those around him all too openly that he is more than aware of his own brilliance. In his approach and in the search for even the smallest, seemingly insignificant detail in his patients’ medical histories, he certainly reminds not only our private and corporate investigators in Hamburg of Sherlock Holmes, who, like his television successor, is capable of solving almost any case, no matter how obscure and deceptive it may be. Cases at which many others have failed are ultimately resolved satisfactorily and masterfully by Holmes and House – this is the fundamental narrative principle of both figures, which serves as a framework for the elaboration of their characters.

Role Models, Eccentricities And Cross-References

A further indication of the diagnostician’s closeness to Sherlock Holmes can be seen in the fact that Conan Doyle based his detective on Dr Joseph Bell (1837–1911), a Scottish physician who occasionally acted as an informant and analyst for Scotland Yard in various murder cases, that is, a medical professional, which lends the profession of Gregory House a superior significance in the comparison of the characters. Like Holmes, House pays attention to every small detail; he observes the behaviour of patients and relatives and undertakes risky experiments in order to draw them out and thus wrest their secrets from them, which usually lead directly to the resolution of the cases. With his instinct for secrets and the unusual, he proceeds much like the investigators of our Kurtz Detective Agency Hamburg; he is not misled by false leads or the opinions of others, but remains steadfast in his occasionally stubborn investigative approach, which – like Holmes – not infrequently brings him into difficult situations.

 

The passions of the two sleuths are also similar: when Holmes is stressed or immersed in intense thought, he devotes himself to playing the violin; House, on the other hand, sits down at his grand piano or picks up one of his guitars in order to play predominantly jazz and blues. Both are drawn to chemical substances: Holmes to cocaine and opium, to which he turns in times of boredom, House to the opioid Vicodin, which he primarily requires because of pain in his leg, but which he also often uses to suppress worries and troubles. Morphine appeals to both of them equally.

 

Although the street in which House’s flat is located is not known, it is striking that his residence, like that of Holmes, bears the number 221b. The Sherlock Holmes Museum, at least nominally located at 221b Baker Street in London, has long been visited by Holmes pilgrims and the curious alike and is regarded as an entertaining landmark for the work of detectives such as those of our Kurtz Investigations Hamburg.

Holmes And Watson = House And Wilson

Not only House is clearly modelled on one of the protagonists from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, but also his best friend and close confidant James Wilson. Like Holmes’ sidekick John Watson, who is referred to at one point in the Holmes stories by his wife as “James”, James Wilson is also a doctor and the only person in whom House confides. Despite all the closeness and affection that both the literary forefather of our private investigators in Hamburg and the exceptional diagnostician House feel for their constant companions, this is outwardly softened by a rather brusque manner and the constant use of surnames, presumably in order not to appear vulnerable or emotional.

 

For a short time, House and Wilson, like Holmes and Watson, even share a flat and lead a bachelor’s life that is mainly interrupted by Wilson’s and Watson’s relationships, as Wilson was married three times and Watson at least twice, according to the assumptions of the Sherlockians perhaps even more often. However, the loyalty of Wilson and Watson is unparalleled; both the wife of one and that of the other regularly complain when their respective husband leaves all ongoing activities – and his wife – behind as soon as House or Holmes requires assistance.

Drugs, Hobbies And Women

While Watson claims to have brought Holmes’ cocaine addiction under control, Wilson struggles unsuccessfully against his friend’s Vicodin addiction. He is also unable to do much about House’s enthusiasm for video games, mediocre medical series and pop music, which, according to House actor Hugh Laurie, is intended to reflect Holmes’ love of classical music and endless monographs. Both pursue their hobbies primarily when they are immersed in a case but occasionally seek to relax their thoughts.

 

Just like the role model of our corporate investigators in Hamburg, Gregory House is also presented with an alluring yet antagonistic counterpart: his Irene Adler is, in part, Lisa Cuddy, who, as his superior and later lover, does not make everyday life easy for him and throws him off balance emotionally on several occasions. A further reminiscence of Irene Adler can be found in the pilot episode of the FOX series, in which a Rebecca Adler appears. This strongly recalls the very first Holmes short story, A Scandal in Bohemia, in which Irene Adler succeeds in outwitting the master detective.

Further Indications Of The Connection Between Holmes And House

Naturally, Professor Moriarty, Holmes’ arch-enemy and greatest intellectual adversary, must not be absent from the series about House and Wilson: in the episode No Reason, House is shot in the fictional Princeton Plainsboro Hospital by a man who, although not named within the episode itself, is referred to in the credits and in an additional commentary as “Moriarty”. As a small extra, House also receives an early edition of Arthur Conan Doyle as a gift in the Christmas episode It’s a Wonderful Lie. Upon closer examination of individual episodes and characters, further conclusions and references to the world of Sherlock Holmes can of course be identified and discovered – a game that is sure to appeal greatly to the Sherlockians.

 

However, should you require the services of detectives outside the world of literature and television, please feel free to contact our Kurtz Detective Agency Hamburg free of charge and let us advise you on your specific case: +49 40 2320 5053.

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

 

Kurtz Detective Agency Hamburg

Colonnaden 5

D-20354 Hamburg

Tel.: +49 40 2320 5053

Mobil: +49 163 8033 967

E-Mail: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-hamburg.de

Web: https://kurtz-detektei-hamburg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-hamburg