Swan Song is an 8th season episode of House which first aired just before the series finale Everybody Dies on May 21, 2012. It was an hour-long retrospective on the entire series.
Featured individuals[]
- Susan Bourg, Bourg Crafts Service (Caterers)
- Mel Stetson, Department Head of Hair
- Bryan Bourg, Bourg Crafts Service
- Drew Gardner, Trustee (in charge of the $5 draw held every Friday)
- David Shore
- Janelle Scuderi and Amy Lippens, Casting Directors who assisted in casting the role of Gregory House
- Mark Jameson, Property (Props)
- Katie Jacobs
- Gerrit van der Meer, Co-Executive Producer
- Marcy Kaplan, Producer
- Jon Cohoe, Accounting
- Jeremy Cassells, Production Designer
- David Foster, Co-Executive Producer
- Stephen Howard, Construction
- Eddie Grisco, Prop Master
- Von Varga, Sound
- Marianna Elias, Department Head of Makeup
- Brigitte Bugayong, Makeup
- Kevin Williams, First Assistant Director
- Dalia Dokter, Special Effects Makeup
- Steve Galloway, Video Operator
- Christine Danahy, Second Assistant Director
- Gary Cotti, Second Assistant Director
- Monty Woodard, Chief Lighting Technician
- Lloyd Barcroft, Key Grip
- June Park, Camera
- Isabella Guedes, from Brazil
- Russel Friend, Executive Producer
- Tommy Moran, Executive Producer
- Garrett Lerner, Executive Producer
- Peter Blake, Executive Producer
- Greg Yaitanes, Director, Executive Producer
- Gale Tattersall, Director of Photography
- Rob Carlson, Camera
- Don Carlson, Camera
- Elan Soltes, Visual Effects Supervisor
- Jim Vickers, Stunts
- Allen Marshall Palmer, Co-Producer
- Nancy Haecker, Location Manager
- Steve De Leon, Transportation
- Cathy Crandall, Costume Designer
- Amy Dodson, Costume Supervisor
- Ira Hurvitz, Script Supervisor
- Caroline Patterson, Costumes (on vocals with Jesse Spencer on violin)
Trivia[]
- Hugh Laurie notes that Allison Cameron almost always draped her lab coat over the back of her chair.
- Hugh Laurie recollects that Omar Epps often exhibited hypochondria during the show, becoming convinced that he had one of the diseases they discussed.
- Almost 100 canes were lost or broken during production.
- Although the medical instruments used on the show were real, most of the body parts and blood were faked.
- Over 5 million man-hours went into the making of the show, the equivalent of 566 man-years of labor.
- 4,074 miles of film were used in production of the series.
- In medical jargon, "swan song" is a state of patient, when his condition gets better before resulting in death.
The character of House[]
- From the beginning, the series creators realized the role of House was critical to the success of the series. Dozens of people auditioned for the role. When Bryan Singer saw Hugh Laurie's audition tape, he was impressed by Laurie's deep voice and his beard stubble (Laurie was in the middle of shooting Flight of the Phoenix in Namibia at the time). Singer was also relieved Laurie was American (which he wasn't - Singer was fooled by Laurie's pitch perfect accent) because he believed that a Brit could not both do an American accent and pronounce the medical jargon correctly at the same time.
- House was imagined from the beginning as being disabled. The original conception of the character had House in a wheelchair. However, the producers soon realized that would severely limit where the character could go (they tried it as an experiment in Needle in a Haystack). They then thought of a scar, but eventually settled on the cane. However, once they settled on a cane, they realized that when the character was walking in a tracking shot, in order for him to stand out properly against the other actors, he would have to be well above average height. Laurie's 6'2" height worked to his advantage.
Quotes[]
This is the quote that Hugh Laurie says at the beginning of the retrospective:
- "The ancient Greeks believed that swans only sang once: at the point of their death one beautiful last lament. Well, this is my last swan-like lament."
- ―House/Hugh Laurie about Swan Song.
After the short and exclusive intro, Hugh Laurie talks about the series, appealing to the nature of his character to say it:
- "I'm not saying "House M.D." is the king of TV shows... Wait a minute, no actually I am saying that. But more importantly, if "House" is the king, then the people who make "House" are princes."
- ―Hugh Laurie
Featured episodes[]
Season 1[]
Season 2[]
Season 3[]
Season 4[]
Season 5[]
Season 6[]
Season 7[]
Season 8[]
| Previous episode: Holding On |
Swan Song |
Next episode: Everybody Dies |