How do you keep a medical show, entering its fourth series, fresh for another round of episodes? If you?re House, it?s easy: get rid of the main team, and have a new bunch come along and audition to be doctors. It?s a very House thing to do, and it makes the first half of season four an absolute blast.

Much of the reason for that of course is Hugh Laurie, in the title role. As House, he manages to turn himself into the medical Simon Cowell, chucking out outrageously sarcastic asides, while also giving space to the intriguing collection of supporting players. It?s a stunning performance. On top of that is the usual assortment of medical mysteries, including a brilliantly constructed remote diagnosis of a patient stuck in the South Pole.

Even when the audition phase is over, House has plenty to offer, not least a terrific concluding two-parter that continually pulls the proverbial rug. And the ingenuity of the scriptwriters shouldn?t go without praise, continually delivering a series of brilliant medical whodunits for Laurie and his team to solve.

If there?s a problem with House season four, it?s that it tries to cram too many characters in there, but it?s not a serious concern. For it?s a show that knuckles down and gets on with things quickly, continually managing to surprise and entertain. You may never want to be treated by Dr House, but it?s enormous fun watching him treat others? --Simon Brew

I have to admit - as much as I love this show, somewhere around the middle of Season 3 I was wondering how long the House team could keep it going at the same quality. Although the personal lives of the team are ever in flux, at the heart of each House episode is the same structure. Mysterious case that gets wrongly diagnosed a number of times while House is derisive, Foreman is annoyed, Chase is belittled and Cameron's heart bleeds all over the joint. It's funny, but after a while that same formula was bound to run out of juice.

So when I saw that the team had all been fired or resigned at the end of the Season, I saw that the writers were way ahead of me and I was intrigued. The result is the most ridiculous and arbitrary kind of candidate testing that only Gregory House could come up with, and it's hilarious. The mix of characters amongst the wannabes is engaging and interesting, you still have the familiarity of the old team (albeit it in new jobs) to counter balance the sudden change and the emotional arcs for the staple characters is involving, particularly the one involving Dr Wilson.

Still, I do get the feeling that having the season cut unexpectedly short by the writers' strike has taken its toll - we don't have as much time as I'd like to get used to the new world order, it all moves pretty fast and we don't get as much depth out of the newbies as we could have with another handful of episodes.

All that said, this is still a thoroughly enjoyable season. Hugh Laurie is still on top form and everything here gives me great hopes for Season 5. As far as giving things a shot in the arm and getting some fresh blood goes (I'm sorry for the bad puns, it's not my fault the cliches are all medical), this was a pretty original way to do it and I think it works.

One of my favourite ever TV shows continues to be fantastic. The writers have necessarily changed the format slightly from previous series in order to keep it interesting, but it still hasn't lost its magic. Every episode definitely deserves second or third viewings. The finale is spell-binding. Extremely highly recommended if you have an ounce on intelligence.

I bought te set in August from amazon.com. We live in Japan which is really slow at showing new programmes from the US and UK and in the summer of they were still showing season 3! We couldn't wait and weren't disappointed. The medical cases as really bizarre and the new situation of House creating a new team is highly entertaining (although Foreman's position is not quite clear and doesn't quite fit the new situation it seems ... and its a bit strange to see Cameron more smiley and jolly). You do lose a bit of fizz towards the end of the series (the new team don't have that snap crackle pop like the old ones). However, the last two episodes are brilliant! It's just a shame the series was so short. The extras on the DVD set are a bit better than previous DVDs as you get snippet interviews with the cast. I would certainly recommend this set.

At the end of Season 3 I was really, really scared that Season 4 would turn out to be a dissapointment. I was scared that the loss of the old team would ruin the show, but I turned out to be oh so wrong. At first the season is rather confusing and lacks real emotion, but as it progresses and we find out new team, the season really begins to shine. In particular, the episode "Frozen" shows us what House is like when he cares, even slightly, for his patient. Who of course happens to be at the south pole.

This review is targeted at those House fans who, like me, didn't like the ending to last season. Trust me, "No Reason" doesn't stand a chance in comparison to this season finale. It is a pure, unadulterated ride of emotion and intensity. Season 4 is definately worth buying. The only negative thing to say, is that it should have been longer (it should also be cheaper! Less episodes = less cost?) although it's at a fair price for a truly amazing season of a truly amazing show.

I like the serie but was surprised there was no subtitles at all.
Amazon sites should be more informative on the language features of the DVDs.