Pilot is a 1st season and the series premiere episode of House, which first aired on November 16, 2004. A young kindergarten teacher is brought to the hospital and diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer by Wilson. However, when she doesn't improve with treatment, Wilson seeks out House for another opinion. When House fumbles the initial diagnosis, the patient tires of being a guinea pig just as House feels he has found the right answer. Meanwhile, new hire Eric Foreman tries to get used to working with the world's most difficult diagnostician. Cuddy, frustrated with House's lack of a work ethic, decides to go to extreme measures to get House back into the habit of working in the clinic.

Although the style of this episode sets it apart (which is understandable for a pilot episode), what strikes many fans of the show was how little changed between the pilot and the rest of Season One. In many cases, shows are entirely reworked and recast after they are picked up by a network, but the plot devices, characterizations and casting of each character are entirely consistent not only with Season One, but the rest of the series as well. Although many thought the character of Gregory House was unbelievable for his bad behavior, his behavior not only doesn't improve through most of the series, it often gets worse. As for the others, Cuddy remains the stressed-out manager, Wilson the easygoing best friend, Foreman the ambitious achiever, Cameron the innocent ingenue and Chase the talented slacker.

In March 2012, Robert Sean Leonard who played James Wilson said in an interview that this was still his favorite episode of House. He praised the simplicity of its story and its lack of sensationalist plot elements. He also noted that for most of the episode, House himself seldom appeared, preferring to stay in the background as a shadowy character who was merely talked about by the rest of the cast, who carried the story themselves.

Recap

A school teacher in front of class suddenly begins speaking gibberish and becomes confused. Her panic mounts, and she hastily scribbles the words "Call The Nurse" on the whiteboard before collapsing in a grand mal seizure.

A month later, Dr. James Wilson introduces the teacher's case to his close friend Dr. Gregory House, a diagnostician. House is worried people will think he's a patient because of his limp. When Wilson suggests he wear a lab coat, House tells him he's afraid people will think he is a doctor. House thinks that the patient has a brain tumor, but Wilson asks him to take the case because she's his cousin. Wilson doesn't think it's cancer because she isn't improving with radiation therapy. Wilson reminds him that House has three overqualified doctors working for him that would love to work on the case.

House meets with his diagnostic team and reminds them that "everybody lies". New hire Eric Foreman wonders why House isn't with the patient, but Allison Cameron tells him that House doesn't like meeting patients. At this point, House has stopped thinking it's a tumor. Robert Chase thinks it is an aneurysm or stroke. Cameron thinks it might be mad cow disease. Foreman thinks it might be an encephalopathy, despite a negative blood test. House tells them all to proceed with the appropriate tests.

Lisa Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine, comes looking for House to berate him for not working hard enough, including being six years behind in clinic duty. He says he's going home - he can't be fired because he has tenure and is always at the hospital during his assigned work hours. Cuddy agrees that that he still has a good reputation, but it will go to hell if he doesn't do his job.

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