28 within
the section
of ‘House,
M.D. reviews’
http:jeffreyleow.wordpress.comhouse-md-reviews, run by a doctor and a medical student respectively.
As mentioned in the introduction, it was the television series House, M.D. that triggered the original inspiration for the study into applied English
pragmatics. The television series has also proven to be eligible for study since it contains a consistently ample amount of maxim-flouting utterances sarcasm,
irony, etc which are very suitable for this study. The popularity of the show in America also guarantees that the communication happening within the show that
is comprehended by the audience is relevant with how Americans generally use the English language.
This study will analyze the data gathered from the 3rd episode of the first season of House, M.D. in order to demonstrate how implicatures are generated
and the effects that those implicatures carry. The episode is entitled “Occam’s Razor
” and it premiered on November 30th, 2004 on the Fox network.
2. Review of the Characters of
House, M.D. in the Episode “Occam’s Razor”
First, we will review the main characters of the whole series. The lead character of the show is Dr. Gregory House, played by the British actor Hugh
Laurie. House is very selective in choosing which patients to treat and often refuses to treat patients whose illness he find too simple. House is manipulative,
has little respect for authority and hates people in general, often deliberately mocking patients and acting disrespectful.
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29 Dr. House leads a team of highly-qualified doctors – who both resent
House for being a jerk and respect him for his genius. The diagnostics team in the first season is a consistent mix of Dr. Eric Foreman by Omar Epps, Dr. Allison
Cameron by Jennifer Morrison, and Dr. Robert Chase by Jesse Spencer. House’s boss and occasional adversary is Dr. Lisa Cuddy by Lisa
Edelstein, the dean of Medicine in PPTH. Dr. Cuddy seems to be the only character in the series that has some kind of control over House. While she
generally disapproves of House’s eccentric behavior and sometimes extreme medical practices, Dr. Cuddy maintains that Dr. House is a brilliant doctor and
retains a certain level of affection for the doctor. Dr James Wilson by Robert Sean Leonard is House’s best friend. He and
House have opposing characters: Dr Wilson is soft-hearted and caring while House is incurably cynical; although they do share a trait of playfulness and a
talent for manipulation. Dr. Wilson also seems to be the only one who is able to genuinely put up with House’s crankiness and consider House a friend. Vice
versa, Dr. Wilson is the only person that House considers a friend. Next, we will review the episode-specific main characters. The patient in
this episode is Brandon Merrell by Kevin Zegers who was shown to have a cough at the beginning of the episode. He was admitted into Princeton Plainsboro
after blacking out after having sex with his fiancé Mindy by Alexis Thorpe. While Brandon could be described as just another cooperative patient, Mindy, on
the other hand, was smart-mouthed and showed defiance and attitude towards the doctors and Brandon’s mother. Brandon’s caring mother and quiet father
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30 Identified only as Mr. and Mrs. Merrell also appeared in the episode, although
the utterances they made were not very significant for the analysis of this study.
3. A Summary on the Episode “
