House - Episode 2 (Season 4): “The Right Stuff”
A fun episode of House this week, and let me start by breathing a sigh of relief and realizing that medical school and residency could have been a lot worse, particularly if I had applied to work with House. Spoilers follow!
There was not all that much actual medicine in this episode because most of the time was spent on interpersonal issues between House and his multitude of job applicants, and between the applicants themselves. This was actually the best part of the show, though several of the applicants reminded me a little too much of some of my less-than-fondly-remembered medical school classmates.
Greta is an Air Force captain who is training to be an astronaut. While in the simulator, she experiences a sudden episode of synasthesia — a neurological condition where the senses get their wires crossed, and one can hear vision or taste sounds — and crashes. She wants to find and fix what is wrong with her, but doesn’t want NASA to know, so she offers House $50,000 to admit her and solve her case “off the books.”
House, meanwhile, has 40 applicants for his three underling positions. He presents Greta’s case to them but tells them that no records can be kept of her stay. Under questioning from the group, Greta reports that the symptoms are new and she’s never had similar episodes before. She has no psychiatric history and is on no medications of any kind. She does admit to doing a lot of flying as one student suspects that the prolonged immobility from flying has led her to develop deep vein thromboses (clots) of the legs, which are breaking apart and traveling through her circulatory system and a PFO (patent foramen ovale, an abnormal hole in the heart) and causing strokes, which caused her synasthesia. House orders an EEG, MRI, angiogram, and lumbar puncture, as well as a whole battery of lab tests. He also sends a trio of applicants to search her house.
The radiology studies are all normal, and the only significant blood abnormality is an elevated red blood cell count. The inspection of Greta’s apartment revealed a broken fireplace flu flue. The suspicion now is that she has developed carbon monoxide poisoning and she is placed in a hyperbaric chamber (a high pressure chamber that will drive the carbon monoxide out of her cells and replace it with oxygen). As she is getting set-up for the chamber, Greta develops tachycardia (an abnormally fast heart rate), tachypnea (an abnormally fast respiratory rate), low blood pressure, and passes out. The applicants start a code, providing CPR and code medications (but did they check a pulse before beginning CPR?). When the monitors show her to be in ventricular fibrillation, one of the applicants defibrillates her. It restores her to a normal heart rhythm, but also starts a fire in the oxygen-rich environment of the hyperbaric chamber. The fire is put out, and Greta is started on nitroglycerin and “blood thinners” (heparin, probably) for a suspected heart attack.
With symptoms now consisting of synasthesia, increased red blood cell count, and a heart attack, House throws the case to the applicants again. They suggest Takayasu’s Arteritis(inflammation of the aorta and other large arteries) and Whipple’s Disease (a rare bowel disease — which doesn’t seem to fit at all). An older applicant makes a good case for cardiomyopathy (a heart condition that leads to weakening of the heart muscle), and a transeosphageal echocardiogram is ordered (an echocardiogram that looks at the heart through the esophagus — it provides better images of certain parts of the heart, particularly the valves. Frankly, a regular echocardiogram should have been sufficient, but then we would have missed the reveal and character moment at the end). The echo reveals a structurally normal heart, but brief episodes of an irregular rhythm: atrial flutter. A thyroid problem is now the suspect, and a TRH stimulation test (an old and rarely used thyroid test) is ordered. As the test is administered, Greta’s heart rate and BP rise and she complains of feeling warm. She suffers another synasthesia episode as well as a psychotic break (or panic attack, depending on whom you listen to). She runs into a conference room and locks the door. She is persuaded to come out (threatened, really), and sedated — but not before Cuddy realizes something is going on.
The thyroid results were normal, so one of the applicants suggests a liver problem — more specifically: liver cancer with an associated paraneoplastic syndrome. The difficulty is that the Cuddy won’t let them run any more tests without the patient’s name on them, and the patient won’t allow her name to be used. House has to figure out how to diagnose Greta without running standard tests. An applicant suggests loading Greta with intravenous Vitamin D and placing her on a tanning bed (because Vitamin D requires sunlight to function effectively and is metabolized in the liver — but it would take a huge dose of Vitamin D to accomplish this ) while another suggests giving her tequila to see how much alcohol her liver can tolerate. Unsurprisingly, House goes with the tequila option. While House’s team is administering the test, Greta develops severe shortness of breath. She won’t let the team intubate her or give her oxygen because it will show up in the records. Listening to her lungs, House detects a mass and suspects she has lung cancer. Greta refuses a biopsy because it will leave a scar. One of the applicants, a plastic surgeon, suggests giving Greta a cosmetic procedure to explain away the scars, and performing a lung biopsy during the procedure. Reluctantly, Great agrees to a breast augmentation. The surgical lung examination reveals multiple cysts within her lungs. The diagnosis now includes Alveolar Hydadtid Disease (a parasitic disease caused by tiny tapeworms) and pulmonary Langerhans (a disease caused by a proliferation of a line of abnormal cells, in this case in the lungs), but none of them quite fit the case. Chase appears in the gallery and suggests Von Hipple-Lindau disease (a rare genetic disease that causes tumors and cysts to grow throughout the body) with a pheochromacytoma (a tumor that releases high levels of adrenalin and similar compounds, it can be associated with certain types of Von Hippel-Lindau). The Von Hippel-Lindau explains the masses and increased red blood cells, while the pheochromocytoma explains the cardiac and neurological symptoms. The cysts and tumors are removed, but Greta is cautioned that Von Hippel-Lindau is a genetic disease and they could recur at any time. House tells Greta that he has reported her situation to NASA, but it turns out that he is lying and he only told her that to stop the applicants from reporting it to NASA themselves. In the end he picks his applicants, confronts Cameron in the ER (where she now works), and accuses one of the applicants (correctly) of not being a doctor, but hires him anyway as an assistant.
The medicine was mostly sound, though the team was jumping from one rare, poorly-supported diagnosis to another (but I can see that happening with a bunch of young doctors trying to outdo each other). Have you noticed how I’m not complaining about everyone running their own tests this year, but instead I’m going to stat complaining everytime people are in a surgical procedure without eye protection — it’s an OSHA rule! So far, House is 0 for 2, and Private Practice and Grey’s Anatomy are 0 for 1.
This episode marks a return engagement for the pheochromocytoma. Let’s give it a hand!
I give the medical mystery a B+, it was interesting and the constraints placed on the diagnostic options made it a little more exciting. The final solution I give a C because it came out of nowhere. The medicine was decent, though there wasn’t as much as usual; it earns a B. The soap opera was the best part, particularly the interaction among the applicants — I liked the old guy and Kumar, but Amber was too underhanded for my taste — an A for the soap opera.
The previous House review
A list of all prior House reviews
Tomorrow night I’ll be taking a look at the new ABC show Private Practice (Last week’s review can be found here)
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Didn’t the prologue make you think of “2001: A House Odyssey”?
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:26 pm
Having less than no medical background, I think they don’t do eyewear (at least for the main characters… I think I’ve seen some of the other surgeons in proper attire) for House and cronies for filming reasons… I mean, it’s those faces we’re most interested in. And I see House in surgery a lot without a mask even, would that be allowed?
I absolutely adore your reviews! Thank you for all the insights!
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:31 pm
I really liked this episode for the interactions too. I have to say I was surprised by the LDS person. I am LDS myself and am disappointed he drank in the show. I missed a part of the explanation of why he needed to drink, but from what I heard it didn’t seem necessary. If he stays on the show, this could be an interesting dynamic.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Ditto on the 2001 thing…
That was quite the homage to Stanley Kubrick. I saw the tease last week, and was not let down.
Pity that the actual scene in 2001 is way longer than it needs to be.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:42 pm
Well the appearance of Cameron and Chase are interesting, but more interesting yet to me, is the appearance of Foreman, who should be at Mercy elsewhere. (A nice pun, by the way, of Foreman going to Mercy.) Medically, what sort of coverage do docs on residency enjoy, i.e., malpractice? As in, let’s fire up them paddles in an Oh-two chamber.
Cheers.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:49 pm
I predicted the old guy would get in based on how he talked his way into the apartment complex. I’m hoping the blonde fink girl and the mormon don’t make the team. The girl is just a little too cut throat to be good on a team, and the mormon seems to much like Cameron used to be, so I think it would be a re-tread. The hot girl who suggested that the patient flew alot seems like a lock imo, the third member of the team is more up in the air. Personally I’m hoping it’s the plastic surgeon over Kumar, but there are a lot of docs who made the cut who didn’t get much screen time this episode and who might next (one of the twins maybe?).
Love the writeups btw, wish I had found the site sooner.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Y’know, every single one of the doctors who wanted a job with House (we called them “sheds”) was more interesting than Chase, Cameron, and Foreman have been for the last couple of seasons. I would not be upset in the slightest if we never saw them again and they were replaced by, say, Kumar, Dr. 13, and the LDS kid or the plastic surgeon.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:17 am
MrBuddwing: Definitely “inspired” by Kubrick’s film.
Should’ve kept the Russian, with her stockings, high heels and outrageous accent. That, and if they could stop spoiling the entire next episode in the preview, we’d be on track.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:41 am
I was a little disappointed that the young doctor from last episode (and last season) was eliminated so fast, and so arbitrarily. Maybe it was because she reminded House too much of Cameron…
Been enjoying your reviews for quite awhile, keep up the good work. Let’s just hope the upcoming writer’s strike doesn’t impact the show…
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:44 am
Yah Amber’s driving me nuts. I’m pretty sure if it really is down to three people that she wouldn’t make the cut, though this is probably more of a beyond-the-universe consideration that viewers would find two people constantly trying to out-calculate each other absolutely insane. Also, House manipulates to solve the puzzle, not for personal advancement, which would probably make her very unappealing as a character from a viewer perspective.
LDS guy seems too one-dimensional to me. Person has principles that House manages to convince them to abandon: yes that idea seems totally original. On the other hand, House’s success in goading people is related to the fact that they all have some sense of pride, so I wonder how that would work on Kumar.
Oliver Wilde seems to keep getting short openings one after another: not sure whether she just has bad luck or whether she’s being given opportunities beyond her means.
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:35 am
Correction to Kevin’s review: Trans-thoracic echo is not adequate to rule out the heart as a source of emboli because it does not visualize the left atrial appendage. Trans-esophageal echo will show it.
Yok
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:52 am
It’s been a while since I started reading and relishing your reviews on the show. Thank you very much for providing the in-in-depth and professional synopses. It’s such a pity that the girl from the ER last episode got kicked out so early in this episode. But the new guys are interesting, particularly when they were exposed to circumstances that our beloved ducklings had so got used to in the past 3 seasons.
BTW, best wishes from Shanghai, China.
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:32 am
[...] You’ll find more information about this here [...]
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:36 am
Thanks from a non-doc for these wonderful reviews.
After watching these last two episodes carefully, the House show seems less about medical diagnosis, and more about star-studded knowledge work in general, and, specifically, writing for TV.
A minor review error is that the forty docs aren’t job applicants, but people House unethically hired knowing he would soon have to let most of them go. Not too realistic, I hope, for a top teaching hospital, but could be spot-on Hollywood satire.
Last week wonderfully captured some of the craziness in my business, computer programming, where we alternate between working alone and bouncing ideas off people. Sometimes it could even help to bounce some off the janitor, if I had the moxie to do it.
Best moment this week: Dream job, just not dream title. I hate credentialism.
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:55 am
I liked the old guy, the plastic surgeon, and Kumar…unfortunately, they’ll probably choose the Mormon and the nasty girl.
October 3rd, 2007 at 7:03 am
[...] I’ve put a link to this article here [...]
October 3rd, 2007 at 8:02 am
I haven’t loved an episode of House this much for a long time. The soap opera interactions of all the “sheds” (good one!) was so much fun!
I don’t mind that the medical solution came out of nowhere, because Chase came out of nowhere. And I love how Wilson was messing with him.
I like the Mormon and the plastics guy and I hate Amber–and not in a love-to-hate kind of way. Who the hell needs a princess with pearls on House’s team? Geez Pete.
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:07 am
One other thing: House is a walking sexual-harassment suit, just waiting to happen.
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:32 am
I think the mormon, the old guy and the girl from the back who suggested flight/dr lopsided, will be the final choices. Kumar and the Plastic Surgeon guy would be great choices but those actors do a lot of other work. Plastic Surgeon is a semi-regular on Law and Order. Both are great character actors with tremendous capability for comedy, but I think they will just be too busy to do more than a 3 or 4 episode arc. (Not that I would complain if they became regulars)
As for the back stabber I think she could only really be interesting for 3 or 4 episodes, unless she starts developing a conscience. The way it works is she is going to be trying to get something over on her coworkers and House. Coworkers will catch her around half the time. House will shut her down when he can be bothered. She will probably end up taking one in the back from Wilson and realize that she doesn’t have the chops to win fair or to out connive anyone. I loved the line, No more prime numbers for you.
The black mormon was convinced to drink by House asking him if he would help an ass out of a pit on the sabbath. (cf Luke 14:5) I think he makes a great character. I don’t see him so much as a faux Cameron as an anti-Foreman.
One little nit pick on the review. It was a leaky flue. Excusable mistake, especially for a doctor. Love the reviews, often better than the episodes.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:16 am
I, for one, am very disappointed in the direction of the show this season. I hate it when commentators focus on some exceedingly minor issue, e.g., House’s ability to play chess well, and insist that it is so unbelievable as to undermine the entire show, but I have to say that I find the soap opera aspect of this season so unbelieveable that I may have to skip the next few episodes. Its understood that House can get away with being a jerk because he’s so good at what he does, but if he’s going to spend more time playing his guitar and interacting with job applicants than treating patients, then it really doesn’t matter how good he is at treating patients. Also, I’m finding it harder to believe that, between dressing like a prostitute and having no ability whatsoever to control her employees, i.e., House, Cuddy somehow became and remains the dean of medicine and hospital administrator.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:20 am
This week’s episode was great. It almost makes up for the crappiness of the third season!
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:24 am
I liked “Kumar” being resourceful — 6 versus 9 — and I laughed at the twins being numbered 15A and 15B. (I didn’t notice until afterward when I saw a photo on a website though — I cancelled my satellite service due to budget concerns and was watching on a fuzzy OTA broadcast). However, I do agree that the rest of the episode was seriously stretching my suspension of disbelief, even for House.
So Chase and Cameron are back? I guess working in the ER would be better for Cameron, she’ll be saving dozens of people every day as opposed to nearly killing one patient every single week. Surely easier on her conscience. So that explains those two, but I’m still waiting for an explanation of why House saw Foreman…
And, Chase and Cameron are engaged? (The characters, I know about the actors). Only a few weeks have passed since “uhh… Microwave pizza?” and “let’s keep it simple” and now they’ve both gone to the opposite extreme? Wow.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:36 am
Medical question: Isn’t a hyperbaric chamber like an iron lung, that is, big enough for someone to be completely enclosed in but not big enough for three doctors and a set of dangerous paddles? (and wouldn’t the doctors also be getting “too much” oxygen while in there with the patient?) (and even bigger — wouldn’t Cuddy have caught on to the shenanigans when the alarm went off?) (don’t even get me started on a sprinkler triggered by a fire that’s already been put out)
Personnel thought: Cutthroat girl (Amber?) is the new Foreman. He wasn’t always as underhanded, but he could back-stab with the best of ‘em. LDS guy is the new Chase. Wasn’t Chase really religous (in the seminary at one point) and sometimes having to balance religious-moral standards with humanist-moral ones? In this case, he did exactly that — weighed his personal beliefs, and possibly future penance, against possibly saving a life. I’m not sure we’ve seen a new Cameron yet, someone who’s so focused on just the emotional cost to the patients, but maybe I wasn’t paying attention. Maybe it’ll be Kumar, but not as a direct clone of Cameron, having instead some other aggravating character-defining trait.
And I like the idea of the old guy being a fourth wheel — could do an even broader range of research (and breaking-and-entering) than the rest of the team would have time for. And he’s certainly shown a whole lot of personal initiative and inventiveness, both in getting into the cut to begin with and in the way he easily socially-engineered his way into Greta’s apartment. He’d be a great counterpoint to the young guns (which is why I’m not sure Plastic Guy would be on the team — he seemed older than the rest).
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:52 am
I’m curious, would the 50K the patient gave House at the beginning cover the tests and everything else?
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:52 am
I don’t think Chase and Cameron are engaged. Wilson said they were but that was another lie. Cameron picked the ER and Chase followed her to the same hospital.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Has anybody notice that all 3 of the “old young guns” still appear in the show’s credits? They will all be back on a regular basis sometime this season.
October 3rd, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Does anybody know where I can find a transcript or a subtitle for this episode? I have a group of people who wants to make a translation of this episode to the Brazilian portuguese.
thanks…
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:10 pm
I sometimes wonder how permanent this “new team” will end up being really - because it seems unlikely to me that the actors who play Chase, Foreman and Cameron would be happy being bit players in a show they helped make a success from here on out. If they are still around and House has a new team (and uses them) then what purpose does the original trio serve? If House spends most of his time with his old team, then the new team is pointless. If he splits his time - then we have 6 actors getting 5 minutes of screen time an episode. I’m thinking that wouldn’t fly especially with the original team.
In short - having both teams either spreads them too thin or makes one team obsolete. I’m betting we’re back to normal by the end of the season.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:13 pm
Does anybody know where I can find a transcript or a subtitle for this episode? I have a group of people who wants to make a translation of this episode to the Brazilian portuguese.
You do know about closed-captioning, don’t you?
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Karl,
I think I’ve read somewhere that they will be back as regulars but not as his ducklings. he’ll have new ones for sure and the chase, cameron and foreman are just going to be working at the same hospital.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:48 pm
In other words, they’ve been reduced to soap opera fodder :-(
October 3rd, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I think that Amber is the anti-Cameron, a totally selfish cheater, and the old guy is the anti-Chase, older, wiser, and under-credentialed.
I’d like to see more of Amber. For three years everyone’s been telling House “you can’t do that” non-stop. It’d be interesting to see him have to deal with someone as bad as he is.
October 3rd, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Meh. Amber’s worse than House. On the surface they seem the same, but House’s drive, ultimately is ‘figure out what’s wrong and fix it if we can.’ He could care less about personal advancement. OTOH, Amber is all about personal advancement. Down to callously allowing a patient to get burned, instead of moving the patient out of the chamber.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Frankly, I hate them all. They all seem so 2-D. Maybe they’ll get better as time goes by, but right now, they all seem really stereotypical.
I think House should hire Mark, Tritter, and Hector. That would a totally awesome plot! (jk)
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:12 pm
I loved this episode and last week’s as well. It’s great to have “House” back.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I don’t think House permanently hired old non-doc. He just said he could. And from the trailer it looks like non-doc’s still a number, and in the competition. Besides, I don’t think House has the money for a fourth person, even at a lower salary.
I also disagree that the actor who plays the plastic surgeon wouldn’t want to do a series. He (Peter Jacobson) doesn’t have any big stuff on his imdb page. (And four episodes of “Law & Order” does not a recurring role make.) The one most likely to think a series beneath him is Kal “Kumar” Penn, but even he might think a series is worth it, rather than trying to get some of the few Indian roles in movies (or the more difficult job of trying to get roles originally written for white males).
October 3rd, 2007 at 5:50 pm
I thought the actors who played the applicants were absolutely like wet cardboard. No personality. No sparks. Embarassingly bad. I cannot see this series getting the ratings it has if they hire any of these actors. House’s remarks just hung in the air. None of them landed with any kind of reaction from anyone.
I love this show. I watch episodes every day. I was looking forward to this “survivor” thing. So far, they are all dead in the water. If it doesn’t get better, the show has lost it. Casting is critical. Bad casting will put this show on life support. I never thought Hugh could even come off uninteresting, but that is what happened last night, except for the Cameron and Chase scenes.
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I’m with the guy who thinks that we’ll get back with the old team sooner or later. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that within 10 episodes, tops, we’re back to the old team.
The old actors aren’t going to just drop back to making token appearances, and it’s not going to work out to have 3 new team members, an assistant, and the old 3, plus Cuddy and Wilson all vying for time in the episode. There’s no way this new team is going to last long.
October 3rd, 2007 at 6:37 pm
IIRC, Jesse Spencer and Jennifer Morrison are no longer engaged.
IMO, the three will eventually return to House. He’ll beg them, show up at their door, etc., but will find that his new fellows are too boring for his tastes.
October 3rd, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Jean, for unofficial transcripts look for the LiveJournal community clinic_duty.
I really enjoy this medical reviews, thank you so much for doing them. About the alcohol test, how good would House be as a control since he’s physically much larger than the two women and even the non-drinking Mormon?
October 3rd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Original mystery forgotten? OK,so,if Buddy Ebson wasn’t allergic to the makeup, WHY DID he have such a a reaction, and have to be replaced by Jack Haley?
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Peter, Old Not Doctor took House aside and said, hey, Ebsen was allergic. House agreed. It was just an exercise.
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I haven’t figured out why the old crew is still hanging around, except maybe to continue to collect on some pretty lucrative contracts, but I do have some hopes for a few of the new crew.
House’s dilemma is that while he might be brilliant, he absolutely needs a team to bounce ideas off. Episode 1 of this season stresses that quite well. In episode 2, we get to see what he’ll have to pick from. With that in mind, here are my picks.
Peter Jacobson (Plastic Surgeon) won’t make the cut, but I won’t be surprised to see him dragged in from time to time. Smart and unconventional, but the actor is already pretty well established, making his role as an occasional guest more appropriate. That leaves us with a field of relative acting unknowns.
Edi Gathegi (LDS) won’t make it. Too much baggage to unload, his problems will overshadow any strengths that he might lend to the team. Ann Dudek (Schemer) same problem. Too much baggage to unload to make her a team asset.
That leaves Olivia Wilde (13), Kal Penn (6/9) and Carmen Argenziano (The Old Guy).
I’m rooting for The Old Guy because he’s already shown that he is unconventional and willing to buck the system, both qualities that would endear him to House. His lack of an MD could be a problem, but with a hospital full of other MDs, House has no lack of doctors to draw on in order to accomplish procedures.
6/9 is another unconventional sort, yet a lot closer to the center. His resiliance and willingness to put up with Houses bluster will stand him well as he tries to establish his credentials.
13 will provide the female part of the team, as well as being conventional enough to act as a sort of sea-anchor when things begin to get a little out of control.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Sue wrote, “I thought the actors who played the applicants were absolutely like wet cardboard. No personality. No sparks. Embarassingly bad. I cannot see this series getting the ratings it has if they hire any of these actors.”
Hate to disappoint you Sue, but it was announced today one of the sheds is becoming a regular. (I’ll refrain from saying which to minimize spoilers.)
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:48 pm
I loved how the writers had Chase solve the mystery (YET again) at the end and House’s look of loss (he knew Chase was the best, which is why he fired him in the first place). I thought that added a fantastic touch.
In response to my last paragraph on last week’s episode: thank GOD they had Vicodin in this episode. I’m also kind of relieved that it’s taking a backseat lately, so long as they don’t write it out completely like they did last week.
I don’t care who the new ducklings are going to be (only hoping the old guy sticks around), I just want the show to get back to its normal formula. All these new people are making my mind spin trying to keep them in order. >.
October 3rd, 2007 at 11:51 pm
A very fun episode of House, though! I’m not a fan of the “Cameran and Chase???” I agree with Kevin, it’s a little soap opera-ish. But all the other drama in the show was great!
For the first time in a long time, I’m really looking forward to the next episode.
October 4th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Some minor annoyances:
1. The solution seemed odd. They thought it was one of two things, so they opened her up, and found a third thing which they were still able to treat as easily as the first two.
2. Some more confusing hospital stuff. No one in the hospital, with the general exception of Cuddy halfway through, noticed the unregistered patient.
3. The usual house-breaking stuff. Why not ask for the key? House says that they wouldn’t be hiding, everybody lies, blah blah blah. What can you hide with a key that you can’t with a break-in? I can’t give someone my key but first make it so that that someone can’t find my bacterial molds growing on the ceiling. Plus, why would I want to hide that? Would that not help my diagnosis and therefore cure me.
4. The general lack of breaking the pattern of diagnosis correct 58 minutes in, cure takes 2 minutes more. Very rarly do we have an episode where there is a diagnosis with no cure, or no diagnosis. Actually, we never have no diagnosis. Even when Foreman radiated someone, we still diagnosed them, just too late. Same with the lady from 24 who had rabies in the first season. Plus, never any boring patients, excepting clinic patients who appear for a few seconds, who have an obvious diagnosis. (With the obvious exception of the lady who had a staph infection and was radiated).
October 4th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I love the idea of Cameron being almost a mentor figure. Seeing her and House talk as equals was great.
October 4th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I think it was a good episode overall- soap opera-wise.
Some of the “new” guns I think would make an interesting addition to the show. Not sure how that will play into the contracts still owned by the “old” guns- let the studios figure that out, but maybe an interesting bit of foreshadowing that Chase, an old gun, still ultimately ended up with the right diagnosis. I like the “old guy” and the potential issues with him working with a team as doc vs. non-doc, older vs younger folks.
Couple of medical comments:
1. Hyperbaric chambers can be quite large and hold many people- they use large ones for Air Force pilot qualifications and other studies and though I forgot the placement of the crash cart in the episode, but if they were already pressurized, they couldn’t open the door without subjecting everyone to an immediate case of the bends, could they?
And the fire situation in that case would be very real and I think much more catastrophic than a 2nd degree burn to her chest- which left more scarring potential than a laparoscopic lung biopsy…
3. The drinking test IMO was more of a “get to know your new guns” test than a medical test. Since when has House needed control groups to place someone in mortal danger to get to a diagnosis? Such as: How far can he push the LDS candidate to do his “evil” bidding. How much does the cute new one have to drink to get drunk, and T-Bird: while House makes a good “heavy drinker” control group, I think that he’s probably much closer to the AF pilot, (yes, even a smaller woman) for being able to compare how her liver holds up than you realize….but really just a “good” reason to do a bunch of tequila shots. Any seconds from a prior AF doc, Scott?
October 4th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Was there any explanation for the synesthesia? I have no medical background whatsoever, but I looked up pheochromocytoma online (http://www.aurorahealthcare.org/yourhealth/healthgate/getcontent.asp?URLhealthgate=%2235761.html%22) and nowhere in the symptoms did it say anything about synesthesia, even though that was supposed to explain the patient’s neurological symptoms.
October 4th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
RE: Does anybody know where I can find a transcript or a subtitle for this episode? I have a group of people who wants to make a translation of this episode to the Brazilian portuguese?
Interestingly, the userid: house089 on veoh.com is posting House episodes from Brazil.
I think she would know if Portugese closed-captioning is on her original recordings.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:00 am
What has me irked is the networks inability to prevent affiliate
stations to take over the broadcast of these shows, only to
force viewers to contend with extremely poor sound reproduction.
Crank er up to level 26 during the show, then back down to
12 for average viewing of the commercials. Even then, cranking it
up to outrageous levels simply intensifies the “hiss” that goes
along with it…(I digress).
It was because of this that I missed the part where House actually
stated that he told NASA, when he actually didn’t, in order to
protect the patients future with NASA.
I have to thank this board for making mention of that through
it’s synopsis of the episode.
Anyway, my comment is that I thought the episode was pretty good.
I still miss Cameron, Chase and Foreman, even though we had a brief
glimpse. I also think that the inclusion of a few more sub characters
will certainly add to the overall show and it’s content in regards
to story line (harkening back to the days of St. Elsewhere).
Off the top, not sure how talented these 2 are, but I think that the
writers could have some fun if they kept the “twin” interns for awhile.
Imagine House dealing with one and then having the other being blamed
for it all, OR having House use them to thwart Cuddy in some way to
get himself out of one of his usual situations?
The inclusion of the older gentleman that never made med school could
also make for some interesting story lines as well.
In all fairness, I think the addition of some new, albeit, temporary
players can only add to the shows credibility through an ongoing basis.
I look at a show like Boston Legal for example and see reacurring players
that are allowed to interact with the main players and it only helps in
making for a fast paced and interesting story line opening up many
possibilities. Let’s face it, it’s not all about Gregory House, nor
should it be.
Thanks
Kim
October 5th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
Awesome review, as usual. I commented last night that I’ve come to look forward to reading Scott’s reviews almost as much as I look forward to watching House in the first place.
I am a little confused by all these posts trying to predict who House will hire as his team. Did he not announce it at the end when he dismissed them? He said their numbers and said “9 a.m. tomorrow” or something, and told the rest of them to have a nice life.
October 5th, 2007 at 3:37 pm
This question maybe sound lame but has a non native speaker I was wondering ¿What does House mean when ask for “designated shooter”?
October 5th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Official Comment
Lucy,
It’s “designated hitter” and it’s a baseball term. In the American League, another player bats for the pitcher (and is known as the “designated hitter”), while in the National League the pitcher bats for himself.
October 5th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Mostly accurate transcripts can be found at http://community.livejournal.com/clinic_duty/12225.html
These typically take a week or two to come up, though. There is some mixup on some medical terminology. One of my favorites is from “Three Stories,” where House is diagnosing his own wide complex tachycardia, and says, “QRS is getting wider and my potassium is rising,” but it was transcribed as “Either your ass is getting whiter or my potassium is rising.” (One thing missing from the transcript was one of the doctors saying in the background that it was ventricular…at least, I think that’s what he says. Interesting touch, assuming the treatment was correct for ventricular.)
October 5th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
By the way, House is following the moral high ground when he denigrates the DH. It’s the principal reason I don’t follow the AL.
October 5th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
And, Lucy, as Brian implies, the DH rule is a major complaint of baseball fanatics. Supposedly only real baseball has no DH. (Either way, it’s boring.)
Kim, there’s a federal law that the ads can’t be at a higher volume than the show (on broadcast stations). (See http://www.sdreader.com/php/ma_show.php?id=24 .) If you’re sure it’s a problem, I’d tape it and try contacting the FCC.
Dylan, about your complaints. Number 3: Why House doesn’t ask for the key. He knows they won’t clean up any mold, but they might hide antidepressants or other drugs, especially illegal ones. And as for number 4: I agree, I’d like more patients who can’t be treated. I think season 1 had the most deaths, but they need to give an explanation every week. They’ve set up House as someone who’s only been stumped once, and even that one he eventually figured out (”All In”). Plus, if they don’t give an explanation, the diseases could be completely made up for all the audiences know. Currently, the explanation at least keeps them honest (relatively, in TV-terms). I wish they could play more with the timeline as well.
October 6th, 2007 at 1:12 am
I noted that House was shown repairing his guitar with wood clamps and glue, implying that Wilson actually did rip the bridge off. Ouch.
Somebody pointed out in the last comment thread that Hugh Laurie does play guitar and piano. I actually knew that (I’ve seen some Fry & Laurie)– it just seems unusual for people to be actually shown playing instruments, even if they really can! That’s why it was worth mentioning. 8)
I was disappointed that the bright young intern (who looks kinda like Cameron and filled much the same role in the first episode) was canned immediately. So much for that. I wonder if she’ll return. I REALLY disliked the scheming chick.
October 6th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Matt: That was just the first cut. Like the older guy said, the rest are still playing the game.
October 6th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
I loved the show - again there was some humour and lightness - and House was showing some pity when he didn’t tell NASA.
@Anthony: how could the woman hide the drugs when she was admitted in hospital? They only had to ask her for her keys when she was still in hospital.
Thanks again for the review, Scott.
October 6th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
PS: On IMDB, Kal Penn is being credited als playing “Kutner” (but they could be wrong). Most other newbies are named.
October 6th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
I took the 1st season DVD… I watched the pilot… and… what the hell is going on with this show!!!
October 7th, 2007 at 11:59 am
http://www.eztvefnet.org/index.php?main=tvnews&show_news=919
so apparently, it will be olivia wilde, kal penn and peter jacobson. at least the blonde “bitch” isnt chosen.
October 7th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
The new doctors could have been unresponsive to House’s comments because they were afraid of getting fired. He did fire a whole row of contestants, then bring them back and fire a different row instead, all for no reason other than to annoy Cuddy. I probably wouldn’t say too much if I was competing for a job and saw that happen.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
About the house being broken into and asking the key, it seems some people are confused.
1) Woman is embarassed about drugs
2) She goes to the hospital
3) She lis about drugs
4) Doctors ask if they can have the key to search her house
5) She says no
6) Her house gets broken into but nothing stolen
7) Looks suspicious
If they skip 4 & 5 then the break in doesn’t look like the doctors did it and the patient can’t be pissed. This doesn’t matter because the idiots slipped and said they went into her house anyway.
October 8th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Peter: I can’t tell if you’re confused by this (Kal Penn’s character’s name), or if anyone else is, but “Kumar” refers to his movie role. As far as I can tell, “Kutner” is his role on House.
October 8th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
“transeosphageal” –> transesophageal. It’s driving me nuts.
October 9th, 2007 at 4:56 am
[...] Scott wrote a fantastic post today on “House - Episode 2 (Season 4): âThe Right Stuffâ”Here’s ONLY a quick extractWith symptoms now consisting of synasthesia, increased red blood cell count, and a heart attack, House throws the case to the applicants again. They suggest Takayasu Arteritis(inflammation of the aorta and other large arteries) and … [...]
October 9th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Brazilian Portugese subtitles.
house089 says:
Thanks for the info ;)
Tell her/him that is a group at orkut who is making subtitle for the episodes
http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=39833897
here’s the link for download: http://rapidshare.com/files/60254929/house.s04e02.hdtv.xvid-xor__By__LEGENDERSMD.srt
October 9th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
[...] Scott wrote a fantastic post today on “House - Episode 2 (Season 4): âThe Right Stuffâ”Here’s ONLY a quick extractAs she is getting set-up for the chamber, Greta develops tachycardia (an abnormally fast heart rate), tachypnea (an abnormally fast respiratory rate), low blood pressure, and passes out. The applicants start a code, providing CPR and … [...]
October 11th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
“RE:Jean
Does anybody know where I can find a transcript or a subtitle for this episode? I have a group of people who wants to make a translation of this episode to the Brazilian portuguese.”
Jean, the site http://www.overcampus.com/isfree/series.php posts not only House but a lot of TV series with and without portuguese subtitles in AVI and RMVB formats.
The episodes for new series are posted 2-3 days after broadcasted in USA.
October 14th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
this is the 3rd episode I saw the old car. Wtf happened 2 House’s bike?
October 16th, 2007 at 7:53 am
“Tesla was robbed!” on House’s blackboard refers to Wireless for which Marconi got credit which was Tesla’s brainchild.
October 20th, 2007 at 3:33 am
I agree I think you should start a counter on all the different PPE violations that they commit on each episode and post them in there own box after the episode run-down (because everytime I watch an episode, I always look for things such as that - being how BADLY we’d get chewed out in the workplace for doing the same - that’s like me drawing someone’s blood andnot wearing gloves!!!) Another thing to do too, is come up with a point system into which each violation has it’s own amount to it as well.
October 24th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Nice work,dude! Keep making those reviews :) I’m a bit jealous,because you can play along with House thinking on the case and figuring out what’s going on. Mom told to do medical school,but…hey,nobody’s perfect,right *wasntme* Anyway,great job,I like reading your reviews,so keep posting them *smile*
Greetz from Bulgaria
November 30th, 2007 at 3:29 am
lol, “the old guy and Kumar”.
This is fantastic, I love seeing the doctor’s perspective. I’ve been a patient for a long time, and, too, noticed the lack of eyewear during surgical procedures. This is awesome!
November 30th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I don’t get why some people are so obsessed with breast implants this was a sad episode :(
February 7th, 2008 at 5:15 am
I love your OSHA “wear your goggles” rant. I wish everyone would but I’ve been in the OR a few times, and guess what? No goggles! They passed them out to everyone last year, and many stay in the lockers. Some people are scrupulous about putting them on but if OSHA paid a surprise visit or worse someone got a splash of contaminated fluid in their eyes….
April 12th, 2008 at 3:24 am
Gelsamel: Could also be a reference to his work with Edison. I’m glad someone else got the reference — Tesla deserves the recognition.
April 19th, 2008 at 1:26 am
Am I the only person to wonder why a in a chamber with high oxygen pressure, an electric shock would start a fire???
I mean, we aren’t talking about hydrogen or any other flammable gas here. Oxygen should help maintain a fire that has already started and make it much harder to put out - but what got ignited in the first place??
May 8th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I could be wrong (It’s not uncommon), but I’m fairly certain the girl House fires for not knowing who Buddy Ebsen is at the start of this episode was the doctor House consulted in the previous episode. It was a nice touch of continuity.
August 20th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Don’t you think pheochromacytoma would have been a real problem to fly IRL ?
Knowing that pheochromacytoma can be easily stimulated.
Excuse me if my english isn’t correct, I’m french, and I really can’t find a website as good as yours in french.
August 26th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I haven’t seen the episode yet but I was wondering if syaesthesia is considered a malfunction to worry about or treat.
Isn’t it simply a different way of perception?
(I CAN understand why people who do not normally experience it would worry bout it, but I’ve never heard of it being a problem or having to be “cured”.)
September 8th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Of course they have to solve the puzzle every week. People with no medical background haven’t the faintest chance of figuring it out, and nobody likes a puzzle with no resolution.
May 9th, 2009 at 10:26 am
I don’t really like this episode. I don’t find this episode interesting. To me, this episode is just boring and filler.
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