SERIELAND COULISSE - In 2007, the French discovered on TF1 a doctor as brilliant as he was antipathetic: "Dr House".
He was greatly inspired by a figure in British literature: Sherlock Holmes.
PODCAST
A brilliant doctor, cynicism at will, undetectable diseases ... This week, in SERIELAND, Clémence Olivier takes you behind the scenes of the Dr House series launched in 2004 in the United States.
Dr. House
,
is the anti-hero par excellence.
He has neither the smile of Derek Shepherd, the neurosurgeon of
Grey's Anatomy,
nor the sympathy of Dr. Carter, the intern of the series
Emergencies
... This doctor with blue eyes who moves with a cane, he hates to talk to his patients, he is cynical, does not trust anyone and he coldly solves the most difficult medical cases.
In fact, the character, played by Briton Hugh Laurie, is as much a doctor as a police inspector.
And for good reason, he is directly inspired by one of the most famous detectives in British literature: Sherlock Holmes!
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Charisma, lack of empathy, spirit of deduction
To understand why, I have to take you back to the origins of the series.
When he imagined
Dr House
in the early 2000s, the creator of the fiction, David Shore, had one desire: to stage a doctor like no other, an original character, a man who stood out from the crowd.
And he thinks of a fictional hero who has deeply marked him: it is Sherlock Holmes, the hero of Arthur Conan Doyle.
For David Shore, the detective character is fabulous because he captivates readers while he is totally lacking in empathy.
It is his charisma but especially his spirit of deduction that makes all the salt of the character.
To build the character of his hero, the creator is then greatly inspired by the detective.
Many nods to Sherlock Holmes
But David Shore is not limited to transposing the character of Sherlock Holmes.
He makes many winks at the detective.
First there is his last name: "House", in good French it means "house".
But if David Shore chose this surname, it is in homage to Holmes, which is similar to the word "home" which means, again, to say house.
Another point in common between the two characters, they have the same apartment number: 221 Baker Street for Holmes, 221 B for House.
But that's not all.
The two men also share an addiction.
Cocaine for the detective and for the doctor the vicodin, an analgesic that he takes to relieve pain in his leg.
The arrogant, lazy detective and the doctor also have the particularity of never parting with their sidekick.
A loyal friend who helps them in their investigation.
Watson for one, Wilson for the other.
Finally, Sherlock Holmes like Gregory House are passionate about music.
They could spend hours playing the violin for Sherlock and the piano for the doctor.
An effective formula
Drawing inspiration from this figure in literature is clever.
And it pays!
Up to 20 million American viewers have followed the medical investigations of
Dr. House
, superbly interpreted by Hugh Laurie!
It is considerable.
In 2009, the series even became the most watched series in the world.
If David Shore hadn't made House look like a British detective, would he have succeeded in winning over both fans of the medical genre and those who swear by crime fiction?
Doctor House
8 seasons, 177 episodes
To see on Amazon prime video