DVDs in Review

House Season Five

Title: House Season Five (2009)

Release date: October 5 2009

Certificate: 18

Format: DVD

DVD RRP: £34.99

Rating: 4/5

Back with a bang and straight into the biting arguments, Dr Gregory House (a flawless, gravel-voiced Hugh Laurie) has to fight with guilt (or more accurately, coming to terms with being able to open up to feeling even remotely sorry) after the death of a certain cast member from last season.

It makes for a potent opener, and one which has many repercussions throughout the rest of the opening episodes, proving that 'House' isn't just some medical detective show - it's got a heart, even if it's black, cold and surrounded by sarcasm.

As fascinating as Dr House is, the scriptwriters have done a fine job crafting some genuinely intriguing medical dilemmas for the rest of the very interesting team members to diagnose, treat, get wrong, rethink and treat again.

Plot and character overlap seamlessly thanks to patients who bring out little quirks of characters in the doctors - it's this kind of understated development that has made 'House' one of the most watched American dramas of recent years.

Never one to crack a smile: Hugh Laurie as House

It's odd that for a series whereby nearly all of the characters are stressed, miserable or rude that such a genuinely touching rapport can emerge. Naturally, these people lead high-powered life and death jobs - to take it all deadly seriously could tip them over the edge, but this isn't 'Scrubs' either.

'House' has a balance of dark comedy that is hard to match (although 'Mad Men' really does sell it). By this fifth season, there's been a maturity that allows the veterans to break free from their occupations but never forget their place.

Even if the characters weren't as firmly in place, the chance to learn a thing or two about the human body's strangest of ailments is one too tempting to pass up. This show comes highly recommended.

If you're looking for 'E.R' meets 'CSI' with a bit of 'Ironside' thrown in, this is one appointment you'll want to keep.

The six-disc DVD set from Universal contains over 1,000 minutes worth of cutting put downs from House and the team.