The House M.D. episode “Three Stories” first aired in 2005.
It was broadcast on May 17, 2005, as the 21st episode of the show's first season. The episode was written by David Shore and built around Gregory House presenting three diagnostic cases to medical students. Its layered structure makes the audience reconsider which events are taking place in the present and which belong to the past.
The episode is especially important because it reveals background about House's leg injury and his long-term pain. Rather than treating that history as a simple flashback, the story connects House's personal experience with his approach to diagnosis. His own suffering helps explain both his insight and his distrust of easy conclusions.
“Three Stories” received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series at the 57th Primetime Emmy Awards. It also won a Peabody Award. The episode is often remembered as an early example of the show's willingness to experiment with chronology and point of view.