Back in 2004, a new drama about doctors hit the air with House MD. The twist here came from the off-putting personality of its lead character.

This 39-disc “Complete Series” package includes all 176 episodes of House that aired from November 2004 to May 2012. Given that this set fills more than 129 hours, I lack the time to view each and every show.

As such, I picked three per season as a sampler – except for Season Six, solely because that collection includes four commentaries, so I watched all of those. The plot synopses come from the set’s liner notes.

SEASON ONE:

Pilot: “When Kindergarten teacher Rebecca Adler (Robin Tunney) spouts gibberish and convulses in front of her class, Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) quickly calls attendance on his team of medical experts before her rapidly deteriorating condition forces her to drop out of school for good.”

For this opening episode, House brings out the big guns, as it features Bryan Singer as director. While his star has dimmed severely over the last 20 years, Singer was riding high on the first two X-Men movies back in 2004, so he was a good “get”.

“Pilot” manages to launch the series on a lively note. We get a solid intro to our prickly lead character, one that makes him off-putting but just charming enough that we don’t hate him.

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to Laurie’s terrible stab at an American accent. Nonetheless, “Pilot” launches the series well and makes me eager to see more.

Paternity: “The nighttime holds particular terrors for a teen lacrosse player (Scott Mechlowicz) who suffers from delusions. House proposes a risky retinal biopsy in order to see if something in the boy’s genetic makeup is making him afraid of the dark.”

As implied, I’ll focus on episodes with commentaries through these eight seasons. However, S1 lacks any of those tracks.

Initially I figured I’d get the “Pilot”, S1’s last show and a random one mid-season. In this case, however, I felt interested to see how House would shift/progress from its pilot to the next show since often series’ get big changes after those opening episodes.

In this case, no, we don’t see anything to separate “Paternity” from “Pilot”. Whereas some series bring in different/new characters from first to second episodes, that doesn’t occur here.

The tone remains the same as well, so House and his colleagues all deliver the same vibe. Because this continues to entertain, I won’t complain, though I hope the program’s sappy ending doesn’t become a pattern.

Honeymoon: “In spite of the fact that tests have revealed nothing of concern, House’s former girlfriend Stacy (Sela Ward) remains convinced that there is something wrong with her husband Mark’s (Currie Graham) health and she pressed House for a diagnosis.”

Ward’s Stacy debuted in “Three Stories”, the episode immediately prior to “Honeymoon”, though she appeared just as a teaser for this show. Stacy popped up seven times in Season Two but then went bye-bye until the series finale at the end of Season Eight.

Because I’ll sample S2, I won’t see Stacy again until the very end. I don’t view that as a bad thing, mainly because her presence feels like more of an emotional contrivance than anything organic.

Still, this emotional contrivance works fine for one episode. As much as I view the return of House’s former love interest as a gimmick, Stacy serves the show nicely and helps create some unusual drama.

SEASON TWO:

Autopsy: “A surprisingly mature and lucid nine-year-old girl (Sasha Pieterse) with terminal cancer has House suspicious that her hallucinations are not all they seem."

Dying pre-teens means a good chance at mawkish melodrama, and “Autopsy” indeed follows that path a bit more than I’d like. The episode reaches its nadir when young Andie gets a kiss from hunky Dr. Chase (Jesse Spencer).

At least “Autopsy” bounces back fairly quickly with some more acerbic content to contrast the gooey stuff. It does engage in semi-melodramatic material as it goes, but those moments feel more organic, so this ends up as a fairly solid episode.

Casting footnote: look for Randall Park in a tiny role as a man who self-circumcised.

Sleeping Dogs Lie: “A patient (Jayma Mays) with a life-threatening case of insomnia presents House and his team not only with a medical quandary but also with an ethical one.”

If anything will wear me out as I wind my way through the series, it’ll be the relentless abundance of exceedingly rare medical cases the crew confront. At least “Lie” delves into some ethical questions that I’ll leave out as they might offer spoilers, and the episode throws in a twist when it resolves the moral quandary. Expect another brisk and engaging show.

No Reason: “When House is shot by the husband (Elias Koteas) of a former patient, he administers care from his room in the ICU – which he must share with his attacker.”

Woof, that seems like a “high concept” twist, and “Reason” pushes it into melodramatic territory. Some aspects work pretty well but the episode goes a little too far off the rails for me.

SEASON THREE:

Cane & Able: “A medical case has never been more out of this world than when a young boy (Skyler Gisondo) claims to have been abducted by aliens and the team uncovers medical evidence that backs him up.”

Nothing like an episode that starts with imagery of a kid bleeding from his butt! Although the implication of the synopsis indicates otherwise, I don’t think it stands as a spoiler to reveal that aliens won’t offer the solution to the case.

While that seems inevitable, “Able” leaves open this option just well enough to create some intrigue. We find a fairly solid tale here.

Half-Wit: “A musical savant (Dave Matthews) whose talents inexplicably appeared after a bus accident comes under the care of House, who continues to struggle with his own health issues.”

Does the presence of rock star Dave Matthews count as stunt-casting? Yeah, especially because “Half-Wit” casts him as an adult with the mentality of a child.

Matthews overacts and makes his character a cartoon. Add in the complication of House’s brain cancer and this becomes a lackluster episode, though at least Kurtwood Smith adds some punch as the savant’s conflicted father.

The Jerk: “An obnoxious chess prodigy (Nick Lane) arrives at the hospital with mysterious symptoms and an obvious ability to annoy everyone on the staff.”

Given that the series usually offers sympathetic patients, irritating Nate provides an exception. This gives the episode added spice that makes it a nice bounce-back after the meh “Half-Wit”.

SEASON FOUR:

Alone: “An office building collapses on a woman (Bevin Prince) and House must diagnose her without the help of his team.”

Because I skipped the final episode of Season Three, I missed the dissolution of House’s squad. That’s the drawback of selective viewing!

Because I looked at IMDB, I know the regular supporting cast will return in some capacity. Nonetheless, a show without them becomes intriguing, especially when House gets into desperate measures.

House’s Head: “House survives a terrible bus accident and immediately pushes himself to remember anything vital from the moments before the crash.”

Though not mentioned there, “Head” offers the first half of a two-part episode. I’ll discuss my thoughts of it when I go over the next chapter.

Wilson’s Heart: “As House continues to search his memory in order to save another person from the bus accident, his friendship with Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) is tested as more painful memories resurface.”

Because I’m smart – not like dumb, like everybody says – I figured out that between S4’s debut and its finale that House did move on from his original team but those physicians stayed on in different positions. Of course, I missed out on introductions to the new doctors but their personalities become readily clear.

In any case, “Head”/”Heart” becomes a fairly intriguing and dramatic conclusion to S4. It mixes an unusual approach with effective emotion.

SEASON FIVE:

Dying Changes Everything: “Dr. Amber Volakis’s (Anne Dudek) death causes Wilson to resign from Princeton-Plainsboro and House to evaluate his role in her demise.”

Obviously, this all acts as a follow-up to the drama of “Head”/”Heart”, and I like that. It would be easy for House to simply move on and ignore those events.

Those elements add depth to “Changes” but the show still delves into other areas, mainly related to the Mysterious Medical Case Du Jour. Both sides mesh in a satisfying manner to create a solid show.

Locked In: “House finds himself playing physician from the patient’s position when a motorcycle accident lands him in a hospital bed next to a severely injured man named Lee (Mos Def) who is ‘locked’ into his own body.”

Much of “Locked” comes from Lee’s POV, and that gives it an unusual spin. While this clearly acts as a gimmick, it becomes a fairly effective one.

Both Sides Now: “It’s mind over matter when House and his staff uses some extremely unusual methods to test a man (Ashton Holmes) whose left and right sides of the brain are battling for dominance.”

A lot of interpersonal drama among House and others dominates “Sides”. These elements grow more tedious than I’d like.

At least the story of Lefty/Righty fares better, and we find a fun cameo from Carl Reiner. However, we get stuck with so much of the House/Cuddy domain that this makes the episode spotty.

SEASON SIX:

Broken: “Hoping to get his hallucinations and Vicodin addiction under control, House reluctantly checks into a psychiatric hospital but soon tries to undermine his doctor (Andre Braugher) in an attempt to get out early.”

A double-length episode, “Broken” picks up right where “Sides” ended. We find a show with clear reflections of 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Obvious though these seem, “Broken” provides an intriguing shift in House’s journey. Throw in a pre-Hamilton Lin-Manuel Miranda as House’s annoying roommate and this turns into a strong show.

Wilson: “Wilson puts himself on the case of an old friend (Joshua Malina) whose arms is paralyzed and searches for a cause more optimistic than House’s diagnosis of cancer.”

Far into the existence of House, it becomes inevitable that the series would eventually branch off to focus on supporting characters at times. Not that “Wilson” ignores our lead, of course, but it still offers a change of pace to concentrate on a different role.

In theory, this feels like a good curveball, but because Wilson exists as the show’s most boring character, this program feels a bit flat. Not that it doesn’t work, but it would seem more interesting with a livelier primary role.

5 to 9: “The inner workings of the hospital are seen through Dean of Medicine Cuddy’s (Lisa Edelstein) eyes as she juggles a myriad of issues, staff disputes and her own complicated personal life.”

And here comes another episode that concentrates on a secondary character! At least Cuddy provides a more dynamic personality than dull old Wilson.

This means “5 to 9” offers a somewhat gimmicky program, but it moves at a good pace and it offers an unusual look at the series’ setting and administrative side. Though a little gimmicky, the show still brings a fun spin.

Help Me: “Cuddy, House and the team join forces with a desperate search-and-rescue squad to provide assistance at the scene of a dire emergency.”

S6 concludes with a big disaster episode, one that also engages in some of the usual series melodrama. This combines for a decent show but also one that comes over as a bit over the top.

SEASON SEVEN:

Bombshells: “Tensions rise between House and Cuddy when she faces a serious medical scare, while Dr. Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson) investigates a scarred teen’s (Brett DelBuono) personal life for clues to his troubled emotional state.”

After years of “will they or won’t they?”, S7 finally allows House and Cuddy to consummate their sexual tension – and become a couple, so they don’t just Do the Deed and move on from there. Not that we get a great sense of their situation, as “Bombshells” tosses us into melodrama.

Fairly unnecessary melodrama, I think, as the choice to give Cuddy health issues feels gratuitous. The Taub storyline allows that supporting role some time to shine, but his thread doesn’t fly either. Throw in some silly fantasy elements and “Bombshells” sputters.

The Dig: “While the doctors deal with a patient who is a severe hoarder (Terry Maratos), House picks up Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley (Olivia Wilde) from the prison where she’s been serving a short sentence for assisted suicide.”

Well, that offers one excuse for Wilde’s absence from House while she explored feature film options. Her return offers some spark, as her interactions with House offer some intriguing patterns.

The hoarder case works fairly well too, mainly because it gives the series a quirky case. All this adds up to a reasonably solid episode.

Moving On: “When House learns that Cuddy is seeing someone, his desperate actions will have drastic repercussions for their relationship and his career.”

How many self-destructive downward spirals can House suffer? At least one more, as “Moving On” sends him farther into the void.

After seven seasons, this can feel a bit gimmicky, like the series doesn’t know what else to do with the character other than make him more and more unhinged. Throw in baby mama melodrama with Dr. Taub and “Moving On” provides events that feel over the top and phony.

SEASON EIGHT:

Twenty Vicodin: “House must work with young and energetic physician Dr. Jessica Adams (Odette Annable) at the East New Jersey Correctional Facility where he is now an inmate.”

“Vicodin” doesn’t pick up immediately after the events of “Moving On”, as it comes roughly a year later and shows House eight months into a prison term. We follow his final few days before he goes out on parole.

As gimmicky as the entire concept feels, “Vicodin” provides an engaging show. It gives us just enough kick to keep us with it.

Transplant: “Dr. Eric Foreman (Omar Epps) gives House the chance to assist a new and timid resident (Charlyne Yi) with her unique patient at Princeton-Plainsboro.”

Though inevitable, it seems contrived to land House back at his old digs. Not that the series returns to the status quo, as most of our regulars no longer appear.

Major cast changes feel like a move from a show running out of ideas after more than seven seasons. This doesn’t shake up matters in an especially strong way, so while it comes with some interesting moments, “Transplant” feels a bit like a series on fumes.

Everybody Dies: “House treats an unforgettable patient (James Le Gros) whose strange condition finally forces the doctor to confront his personal demons.”

House concludes with an introspective episode – well, in theory, at least. In reality, it comes across as forced and tough to swallow, mainly because it attempts to tie up House’s story in a neat ‘n’ tidy package that feels contrary to the character we’ve followed for so long.

In other words, “Dies” feels like a contrived attempt at a traditional final episode instead of one that obeys the “rules” the series set up over the prior 175 shows. While not a terrible finale, it just doesn’t seem right for this series.

Still, I mostly like House - or at least the sampling I took for this review. Like most TV series, it got worse as it went, but it still managed to become a largely engaging medical drama for most of its run.

House MD appears in an aspect ratio of 1.78 on these Blu-ray Discs. The eight seasons showed consistently positive visuals.

Which came as something of a surprise, as I figured we’d see some variations as the series progressed. Instead, even with occasional anomalies, the episodes largely looked good.

This meant fairly solid sharpness overall. Occasional instances of softness manifested, but those remained reasonably minor and didn’t become a real distraction.

No issues with jagged edges or moiré effects materialized, and I saw no edge haloes. Outside of a smattering of video artifacts in the series’ earliest years, source flaws failed to appear.

The episodes came with a variety of palette choices, so I couldn’t nail down one specific trend. The colors worked pretty well and seemed to suit the hues as dictated by each particular program.

Blacks felt deep and dense, while low-light shots delivered pretty positive delineation. All in all, the episodes demonstrated appealing picture quality.

The same went for the series’ DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio. Though no one should anticipate consistent sonic fireworks, the soundtracks suited the stories.

This meant a general emphasis on ambience, with most of that from the workings of the hospital setting. Occasionally we got more “slam bang” audio, such as with disasters or weather, and those moments added spice to the proceedings, even if they popped up without great frequency.

Audio quality worked fine, as speech seemed concise and without obvious edginess. Music offered appealing range and warmth.

Effects felt accurate and full, and they also lacked much distortion. Again, we rarely heard impressive audio from House but the soundtracks worked for the series’ goals.

As we shift to extras, we find audio commentaries for 12 episodes. Here’s the roster:

“Autopsy”: executive producers David Shore and Katie Jacobs.

“No Reason”: Shore and Jacobs.

“Half-Wit”: Shore and Jacobs.

“House’s Head”: Shore and Jacobs.

“Locked In”: writer/producer David Foster and writers/executive producers Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner.

“Broken”: Jacobs, Friend and Lerner.

“Wilson”: writer/supervising producer Dr. David Foster and actor Robert Sean Leonard.

“5 to 9”: writer/executive producer Thomas L. Moran and actor Lisa Edelstein.

“Help Me”: director/co-executive producer Greg Yaitanes and technical advisor Larry Collins.

“Bombshells”: Yaitanes and Edelstein.

“The Dig”: writers Sara Hess and David Hoselton.

“Moving On”: Short and Yaitanes.

Across the commentaries, we learn about story/character domains, cast and performances, sets and production design, music, effects, accuracy, and related topics.

With so many different participants, I went into these commentaries with the expectation that they’d offer erratic quality. And they do, but they nonetheless mostly work pretty well.

To my surprise, the first two tracks become arguably the weakest of the bunch. Shore and Jacobs start out well in those but fade as they go.

Their discussion of “Half-Wit” proves superior, likely because Jacobs also directed it. Nonetheless, it comes with the same loss of steam as it progresses.

From there, the remaining commentaries offer pretty good discussions and I can’t name any that flop. The whole bunch provide useful material.

For the best of the bunch, I’d recommend “Wilson” and “Help Me”. The commentary for “Wilson” proves productive because of Leonard, as he delves into a slew of good insights related to life on a long-running TV series. The “Help Me” track engrosses thanks to Collins, as he gives a great “real world” view of what happens in a crisis.

Though those two seem like the strongest commentaries, all of them come with some worthwhile information. Even the relatively weak Jacobs/Shore tracks still deserve a listen.

Seasons Six and Seven come with Universal’s U-Control interactive feature. In the case of House, this brings us “A Beginner’s Guide to Diagnostic Medicine”.

As the programs progress, pop-ups occasionally appear that give us details of various conditions. These provide mildly interesting material but they don’t become especially compelling.

All Season One’s extras appear on Disc Five, and Dr. House runs six minutes, 35 seconds. It brings notes from executive producers Bryan Singer, Katie Jacobs and David Shore, and actors Hugh Laurie, Sela Ward, Jennifer Morrison, and Jesse Spencer.

The reel looks at the series’ lead character as well as Laurie’s take on the role. Expect a superficial featurette without much substance.

Medical Cases lasts four minutes, 23 seconds. It features Shore, Morrison, Spencer, Laurie, medical consultant/writer Dr. David Foster.

As implied by the title, “Cases” covers the challenges House and his colleagues encounter along with the actors’ attempts at realism. It largely feels self-congratulatory.

Next comes The Concept. This one fills four minutes, 47 seconds with info from Shore, Singer, Jacobs, and Laurie.

Also implied by its title, “Concept” digs into the series’ origins and development. We get a few insights so this one fares better than its predecessors, though I’m not sure I swallow the notion that Singer couldn’t tell Laurie used a fake American accent.

A Set Tour occupies five minutes, 36 seconds, as Jennifer Morrison and actor Lisa Edelstein lead us around the series’ main stages. We get a decent look at these places and their use in the series.

House-isms takes up four minutes, one second and involves Laurie, Edelstein, Spencer, Morrison, Shore, and actor Omar Epps. They discuss House’s zingers in this fairly uninformative piece.

S1 ends with a Casting Session that spans one minute, 23 seconds and shows Laurie’s audition. It’s short but fun.

Season Two includes Alternate Takes for scenes from “Daddy’s Boy” (0:51) and “Sleeping Dogs Lie” (1:03). Entitled “Valley Girl Versions”, these are more bloopers than anything else, as they provide amusing comedic readings of lines from Morrison and Edelstein.

Next we get an actual blooper reel that runs five minutes, 27 seconds and delivers the usual goofs and giggles. Some funny moments result even amid the standard nonsense.

It Could Be Lupus goes for one minute, 20 seconds and collects the series’ various mentions of lupus. This creates an oddly amusing compilation.

S2 concludes via a reel called An Evening with House that lasts 18 minutes, 18 seconds. Moderated by critic Elvis Mitchell, it presents an Academy of Television Arts & Science live panel that includes Shore, Laurie, Singer, Jacobs, Morrison, Spencer, Epps, Edelstein, executive producer Paul Attansio, and actor Robert Sean Leonard.

“Evening” looks at the series’ genesis and path to the screen as well as story/character elements, cast and performances, and other tidbits. We don’t get a tremendous amount of depth here, but the chat offers enough useful material to make “Evening” worth a look.

Season Three brings another Alternate Take (1:09) for “Cane & Abel” that features Edelstein and Morrison as they go Valley Girl for their readings. However, this one makes them angry Valley Girls – with plenty of bleeped-out profanity - and amusement results.

All the remaining S3 extras appear on Disc Five, where House Soundtrack Session goes for seven minutes, 18 seconds. It features Laurie, singer Bob Guiney, newscaster Lester Holt, music producer David Foster and actor Greg Grunberg.

They discuss “Band from TV”, a musical group put together with television personalities. It seems fluffy.

Anatomy of an Episode goes for 21 minutes, 24 seconds. We find info from Jacobs, Shore, Epps, Laurie, Morrison, Spencer, Edelstein, director Daniel Sackheim, director of photography Gale Tattersall, researcher Matt Lewis and actor Nick Lane.

“The Jerk” becomes the focus of this featurette, as it digs into aspects of that program’s creation. Though a little superficial, it delves just deep enough to offer an enjoyable overview.

With Blood, Needles and Body Parts, we discover a three-minute, 35-second segment with info from property master Tyler Patton. He gives us a little tour of the prop room in this moderately interesting view of all the medical components the series uses.

Open House spans three minutes, 39 seconds and features Jacobs as she leads us through the production offices. Expect another decent – if not particularly memorable – reel.

Finally, S3 concludes with another blooper reel that lasts five minutes, 35 seconds. It delivers the standard silliness and mistakes.

As we hit Season Four, New Beginnings occupies 26 minutes, one second. It includes info from Shore, Epps, Jacobs, Moran, Lerner, Friend, Morrison, Edelstein, Spencer, Leonard, and actors Kal Penn, Olivia Wilde, Peter Jacobson, and Anne Dudek.

The program examines the introduction of a new supporting cast as well as other character development in S4 and the impact of a writers strike on S4. This turns into a semi-fluffy but still generally information piece.

Via House’s Soap, we find a six-minute, 44-second segment that lets us see scenes of a fictions “daytime drama” that appear on TV during S4. It’s a fun extra.

Meet the Writers goes for 14 minutes, 45 seconds. Here we find notes from Lerner, Moran and Friend.

Unsurprisingly, this reel examines the challenges faced by the series’ writing staff. Expect a nice summary.

After this we find The Visual Effects of House. Through this 15-minute, 26-second reel, we hear from Shore, visual effects supervisor Elan Soltes, Encore Hollywood managing director Barbara Marshall, Encore Hollywood 3D supervisor Mitch Gates, and Encore Hollywood senior Inferno artist Edward Black.

As expected, we get info about various effects used for the series. The featurette delivers an appealing discussion of these domains.

Anatomy of a Scene fills five minutes, 45 seconds. It offers comments from Yaitanes, Jacobs, Dudek, and stunt coordinator Jim Vickers.

We get a look at the bus crash sequence from the S4 finale. This winds up as another informative segment.

S4 finishes with My Favorite Episode So Far. It runs six minutes, 47 seconds and brings remarks from Laurie, Jacobs, Shore, Wilde, Penn, Jacobson, Dudek, Edelstein, Spencer, Epps, and Morrison.

They reflect on – surprise! – their preferred programs from House’s first four seasons. This feels a little puffy but at least they explain their choices.

When we go to Season Five, House Meets a Milestone takes up five minutes, 40 seconds and involves Shore, Jacobs, Edelstein, Laurie, Epps, Wilde, Jacobson and Morrison.

In this reel, we cover the celebration for the series’ 100th episode. As expected, it leans toward happy talk, so don’t anticipate much substance.

Keeping It Real spans seven minutes, 20 seconds. It includes info from Foster.

The program covers the inspirations for the medical cases found here as well as research and attempts at realism. Foster gives us useful details about these choices.

Next comes Dr. Mom, an eight-minute, 44-second segment. We get notes from Shore, Jacobs, and Edelstein.

Via “Mom”, we inspect Cuddy’s arc. Some of this seems moderately interesting but the show doesn’t provide a lot of depth.

House Guests runs 11 minutes, nine seconds. This one features casting directors Amy Lippens and Stephanie Laffin and casting associate Janelle Scuderi.

We get notes about casting for the series, with a mix of remarks about the main cast and guest actors. This turns into an engaging view of the processes.

S5 comes to a close with Anatomy of a Teaser. The 12-minute, two-second reel brings info from Yaitanes and Tattersall.

“Anatomy” covers the process of shooting the episode opening that introduces that show’s medical case. We get a nice discussion of the connected challenges.

With that, we head to Season Six. An “original short” entitled Before Broken goes for nine minutes, 53 seconds and brings notes from Jacobs as she relates the nature of this clip.

Before gives us a loose dialogue-free piece that lets us see a “concept reel” of what would develop into the “Broken” episode. Before delivers a mildly interesting curiosity.

A New House for House lasts 22 minutes, 40 seconds. It includes remarks from Laurie, Jacobs, Tattersall, Patton, production designer Jeremy Cassells, set decorator Natali Pope and construction coordinator Steve Howard.

This featurette covers various elements related to “Broken”, with an emphasis on the psychiatric hospital locations/sets. This becomes a fine take on the topics.

Next comes New Faces in a New House. In this eight-minute, 45-second segment, we locate statements from Laurie, Jacobs, and actors Lin-Manuel Miranda and Andre Braugher.

As expected, “Faces” covers the guest cast for “Broken”. It turns into a decent overview, albeit one that leans a bit fluffy.

Crazy Cool Episode spans 22 minutes, 29 seconds. We locate remarks from Soltes, Yaitanes, Shore, Wilde, Jacobson, Epps, visual effects producer Tom Kendall and visual effects artist Rodrigo Washington.

This program looks at S6’s “Epic Fail” episode, one in which some segments depict a videogame environment. “Cool” details the creation of those scenes and becomes a lively take on these areas.

For the final S6 segment, A Different POV takes up seven minutes, 21 seconds. We get info from Laurie but mostly follow him through the shoot of an episode.

Laurie made his House directorial debut with “Lockdown” and “POV” covers this topic. It becomes a decent diary of his experiences.

Let’s shift to Season Seven and Meet Martha Masters. This one fills seven minutes, six seconds and involves Shore, Wilde, Lippens, Laffin, Jacobs, Edelstein, Laurie, Jacobson, Spencer, Epps and actor Amber Tamblyn.

Because Wilde took a break to work in movies, the series brought in Tamblyn as a new female physician. We get useful notes about the actor and the role.

Huddy Dissected occupies eight minutes, 33 seconds. Here we get comments from Edelstein, Shore, Laurie, Jacobs, Epps and Jacobson.

After six years of teasing, Cuddy and House finally attempt a romantic relationship in S7, and “Dissected” discusses aspects of this shift. This delivers a few insights but feels fairly fluffy overall.

After this we go to Anatomy of an Episode. The 23-minute, 21-second piece brings notes from Laurie, Shore, Hess, Yaitanes, Jacobs, Edelstein, Leonard, Tamblyn, Jacobson, Spencer, Epps, Cassells, Patton, co-writer Liz Friedman, costume designer Cathy Crandall, and choreographer Mia Michaels.

This “Anatomy” offers more info about the “Bombshells” show. Expect a good overview.

We wrap S7 with Thirteen Returns. In the four-minute, 45-second featurette, we find Shore, Jacobs, Wilde, and Laurie.

As anticipated, we hear about Wilde’s hiatus from House and the way the series brings back her role. It lacks much substance.

Season Eight caps the series and Swan Song goes for 43 minutes, 40 seconds. Called “A Memoir by Hugh Laurie”, we find a mix of episode scenes, tours of House locations, and comments from Laurie, Shore, Lippens, Scuderi, Singer, Jacobs, Leonard, Spencer, Edelstein, Yaitanes, Soltes, Wilde, and Jacobson.

As the title implies, “Song” offers a fond farewell to the series, mainly as we see the production and meet some of the workers. It lacks a ton of new information but it nonetheless becomes an engaging summary.

The Doctor Directs spans 47 minutes, 13 seconds. It features Laurie, Shore, Vickers, Tattersall, Spencer, Jacobson, Epps, Soltes, Jacobs, Leonard, co-writers John C. Kelley and Marqui Jackson, location manager Nancy Haecker, property master Mike Casey, 1st AD Robert Scott, script supervisor Ira Hurvitz, co-executive producer Andrew Bernstein, video playback Steve Galloway, 2nd AD Gary Cotti, set decorator Amy Wells, medical advisor Bobbin Bergstrom, soundman Von Varga, and actors Odette Annable, Charlyne Yi and Rachel Eggleston.

The program looks at the shoot for “The C-Word”, an episode directed by Laurie. Despite the inevitable “end of series” fluff, we find a fairly good production diary accompanied by occasional interview insights.

Finally. A Postmortem lasts 18 minutes, 41 seconds. It delivers remarks from Epps, Jacobson, Laurie, Annable, Leonard, Shore, Spencer, and Yi.

Implied by the title, “Postmortem” covers the final episode and the series’ end. It becomes a reasonably introspective summary.

A medical program with an intentionally unlikable protagonist, House MD delivers a largely solid series. Inevitably, we get ups and downs, and the show declines toward its end, but it still provides plenty of stimulating episodes. The Blu-rays come with consistently positive picture and audio as well as a fairly informative collection of supplements. House delivers an above average hospital drama.