House
Simple Explanation
TV Flash files “Simple Explanation” as hour 106 of 176 in the TV Flash guide — House (2004–2012) on Fox, season 5, episode 20, aired 2009-04-06, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E20: listed hour 106 of 176 in the House guide, hour 20 of 24 in season 5. It aired 2009-04-06 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Locked In” (S05E19). Next is “Saviors” (S05E21).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Charlotte, an older woman who has spent the last six months taking care of her husband Eddie, is rushed to Princeton Plainsboro for immediate treatment after collapsing from respiratory failure at Eddie's deathbed. With both in the hospital, the husband and wife team becomes a double mystery when Eddie's condition sporadically improves while Charlotte's condition deteriorates. Dr. Lawrence Kutner dies of suicide using a gun without any explanation why. While most of the cast grieve, House tries in vain to understand why Kutner died.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Simple Explanation sit in the House guide?
S05E20 is listed hour 106 of 176 — hour 20 of 24 in season 5, season 5 episode 20.
When did House S05E20 air?
Simple Explanation aired 2009-04-06 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is House just a medical ER soap?
No. It centers on diagnostic puzzles and an openly abrasive genius more than warm bedside ensemble comfort — Sherlock Holmes energy in a hospital.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Sherlock with a cane, Vicodin, and a whiteboard: Hugh Laurie became a U.S. megastar as diagnostician Gregory House, alienating everyone who loves him. David Shore's Fox procedural made "everybody lies" a catchphrase and medical mystery a personality cult. Case hooks and character toxicity in the same hour.
Flash: a cane, a whiteboard, and a British comic who walked onto Fox on November 16, 2004, and became a U.S. megastar without sanding the sneer. Gregory House solves impossible cases while alienating everyone who loves him — Sherlock with Vicodin, bedside manner as optional DLC. David Shore built the puzzle box; Hugh Laurie filled it with limp and monologue. Robert Sean Leonard's Wilson, Lisa Edelstein's Cuddy, Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer — a rotating team orbiting a personality cult. **Everybody…
Filed against
- Hugh Laurie as Gregory House
Hugh Laurie’s George / Prince Regent made Blackadder upper-class vacancy a blood sport — 1980s catalog historical snark, then House stretching the instrument into a cane, Vicodin, and a whiteboard America could not quit. TV Flash files…
- Robert Sean Leonard as James Wilson
Robert Sean Leonard's James Wilson made House a friendship with a cane and a whiteboard — Hugh Laurie's diagnostician alienating everyone who loves him, David Shore's Fox procedural turning “everybody lies” into a personality cult. TV…
- Lisa Edelstein as Lisa Cuddy
Lisa Edelstein ran the hospital as Lisa Cuddy on House — Hugh Laurie’s Vicodin Sherlock needed a dean who could match the cane with a stare, “everybody lies” as workplace policy. Fox medical mystery as personality cult. TV Flash files her…
- Omar Epps as Eric Foreman
Omar Epps made Eric Foreman the diagnostic team’s moral ballast on House — 2000s Fox procedural as personality cult, Sherlock with a cane and a whiteboard, “everybody lies” as catchphrase. Case hooks and character bruising in the same…
- Jennifer Morrison as Allison Cameron
Jennifer Morrison’s Allison Cameron put a conscience on House’s whiteboard — Sherlock with a cane, Vicodin, everybody lies as a catchphrase, Hugh Laurie as a U.S. megastar diagnostician. 2000s Fox medical mystery as a personality cult. TV…
- Jesse Spencer as Robert Chase
Jesse Spencer’s Robert Chase took House’s whiteboard as a career with an accent — diagnostic cult, Vicodin Sherlock, everybody lies, a fellow who made the huddle look international and ambitious. 2000s Fox medical mystery as personality.…