Eric Foreman

This redirect is about the character on the American TV series "House". For the character on the American TV series "That '70s Show", see Eric Forman.

Dr. Eric Foreman
File:Houseforeman.jpg
First appearance	"Pilot"
Portrayed by	Omar Epps
In-universe information
Occupation	Diagnostic Medicine Fellow
Family	Rodney Foreman (father) Alicia Foreman (mother) Marcus Foreman (brother)
Spouse	Wendy (ex-girlfriend)

Dr. Eric Foreman, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is played by Omar Epps.

Biography

Foreman is a member of Dr. Gregory House's handpicked team of specialists at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's Diagnostic Medicine Department. He is a neurologist and was hired by House three days prior to the series' pilot episode (implied in the un-aired version of the pilot).

Dr. Eric Foreman is black (SERIOUSLY???) and has a criminal record; House frequently mentions these as reasons why he hired Foreman, generally secondarily to his Johns Hopkins Medical School degree (an institution from which House himself had been expelled).

Foreman attended Columbia University as an undergraduate before matriculating to Johns Hopkins Medical School. Never getting below a 4.0 grade point average, it is strongly implied that he performed the best academically, compared to his two co-workers, Dr. Allison Cameron and Dr. Robert Chase.

Little is known about Foreman's past, although it has been suggested that his family was not very well-off and they are currently living on a pension (cf. "Histories"). Foreman was also a former juvenile delinquent who once broke into people's houses and stole cars; this is said to have played a major factor in House's decision to hire him in the first place. His father, Rodney (who appears in the episode "Euphoria, Part 2 and House Training"), is deeply religious while his mother is unfit to travel due to a medical condition which is somehow tied to her memory or perception skills, such as Alzheimer's or Diabetes Mellitus.

In the episode "Euphoria, Part 1," Foreman became infected with a mysterious illness. Another patient, infected with the same condition, experiences a very painful death before his eyes. In the conclusion of the episode, Cameron, acting as Foreman's medical proxy, performs a white-matter brain biopsy and the condition is revealed to be amoebic meningoencephalitis caused by Naegleria, a water-borne parasite that, upon being inhaled, attacks the brain. After treatment, it appears Foreman is cured of the meningoencephalitis, but something may have gone wrong during the biopsy. Although his brain had some confusion between the left and right side of the brain, he is in recovery. Upon his return from recovery, Foreman's memory seemed to have been impaired, as he struggled to remember key medical concepts (cf. "Forever") and could not remember how to make coffee. In the next two episodes, however, he seems to be able to once again keep up with his fellow doctors when coming up with medical theories.

Conversely, when Michael Tritter offers Foreman an opportunity to win early parole for his drug-addicted, incarcerated brother, Foreman bluntly turns it down. Tritter sees this as hypocrisy, citing Foreman's own criminal record, and says that while Foreman tries being compassionate to ward off House's training, he is actually just as cold and methodical as his employer. That is supported when Foreman gives his girlfriend a chance to go to a nurse practitioner school as a way to end the relationship, and she states that both he and House can't stand to let people get close to them.

Personality

Despite his youthful offenses, Foreman may be the best-adjusted of House's team. He is shown to possess a level of leadership skills, and was temporarily appointed House's boss by Dr. Lisa Cuddy in the second season, during which time House referred to him as "Blackpoleon Blackaparte." It has also been implied that Foreman and House share certain similarities (cf. "Poison"), both in terms of character and physical habits. Whether this is true is debatable.

Like House, Foreman has also been shown to be extremely honest even at the cost of hurting other people's feelings. This is evident in the episode "Sleeping Dogs Lie," in which he tells Cameron that the two of them were never friends, merely working colleagues. However, during a later bout with a deadly illness (see below), Foreman recants this position. His sincerity, given his dying state, was unclear.

During Season Three, a change in Foreman's character, making him more sensitive to other people's feelings, can be noticed when he resists telling two interracial lovers that they are half-siblings. During the same episode, he is accused of being against interracial relationships. Foreman makes a bet with House saying that Dr. James Wilson is not dating a nurse in the hospital. The white nurse is actually dating Foreman, which explains his sensitivity to this particular case. Later, Foreman offers a gypsy kid an interview for the intern job and tries to help him.

Relationship with House

Foreman is often the subject of House's jokes about race. Although House is shown to make outright racist jabs at Foreman, there is definitely a sense of mutual respect between the two, as seen in the episode "Safe," in which House allows Foreman to use the black marker and write on the infamous differential diagnosis white-board.