House — Episode 1 (Season 6): “Broken”
This was purely a character episode for House, and a pretty good one, at least until it became ridiculously sappy at the end — sappy enough to put a soap opera to shame. There wasn’t that much medicine, which is probably good, because this is a long enough review already.
The episode starts out with a montage of scenes of House locked in a room and undergoing Vicodin withdrawal. Not a very pleasant experience, but he comes through it unscathed.
Now that he has detoxed from the Vicodin, wants to check out of the clinic and resume his previous life. Dr. Nolan, the head psychiatrist of the clinic, confronts House and tells him that he is free to leave, but if he wants the letter of clearance he needs to regain his medical license, he’ll have to attend inpatient therapy. Dr. Nolan points out that it wasn’t the Vicodin that was causing his hallucination, but other deeper problems. Reluctantly, House allows himself to be admitted to Ward Six, the inpatient psychiatric unit.
Dr. Beasley is the young psychiatrist in charge of the unit. Point blank, House tells her that he’s only there until he gets the clearance letter he needs. He threatens to “turn the ward upside down” if he doesn’t get what he wants. He is shown his room and soon meets his roommate, Alvie, a manic depressive (in modern parlance: bipolar) who is in a full manic state because he doesn’t like to take his medications which “bring him down.” (Alvie is a pretty good example of someone who is manic. If anything, he’s more subdued than most manics I’ve encountered.) Alvie introduces him to the other patient including Annie (a mute), Hal (an anorexic), Jay (a claustrophobic) and Richter (a paranoid schizophrenic — probably because he was in all those Revenge of the Nerds movies). They all meet for the first group therapy session, which doesn’t go well, and House finds himself confined to a locked room as punishment.
House rejoins the rest of the patients when they’re outside playing basketball, and quickly turns their psychoses and neuroses against them in order to win the game. House goes back to the ward and encounters Lydia, the sister-in-law of Annie, playing the piano for her. About this time, the orderlies arrive to take him back to the locked room for his behavior on the basketball court.
This time, when House comes out of punishment, he leads a vocal patient rebellion until Dr. Nolan steps in. After things calm down, Steve, a new patient, joins the group. Steve believes that he is a superhero and goes by the name “Freedom Master.” House decides his best bet to get the clearance letter he needs is to find something incriminating on Dr. Nolan and blackmail him. He sends Alvie up to his office, but he can’t find anything. He sneaks a phone call to Wilson, but he refuses to help him.
Now House’s plan is to cooperate, or at least to fake it. He pretends to take his pills and is, to all appearances, getting better and more social. A third psychiatrist, Dr. Medina, wants House to provide a urine sample to prove he is taking his medication. House is ready, though, and has Hal waiting in one of the bathroom stalls to provide a sample. Sure enough, the sample shows evidence of psychiatric medication and Dr. Medina is satisfied.
A little while later, Dr. Medina strolls onto the Ward and confronts Steve about his delusions and the fact that he doesn’t really have superpowers. His extremely confrontational approach angers House, and he becomes even more concerned finding Steve medicated to the gills a short while later. Dr. Nolan steps in. He pulls House into his office and reveals that he knows House has been faking. He had only been getting sugar pills, so his urine should have been clean. Having a positive drug test was proof that he was faking.
Lydia visits later that day, bringing Annie’s old cello. House has Steve help her get the heavy instrument from the car, hoping it will bring back his old super-heroic feelings. Next, he decides that he and Steve should take a ride and he “borrows” Lydia’s car. He takes Steve to a nearby carnival where they have one of those “skydiving over a giant fan” rides (would that really work out in the open like that?). Both he and Steve have fun soaring, and it seems to bring Steve out of his funk — so much so that once again he believes that he has superpowers, and he jumps off the parking garage to prove it.
Steve survives his plummet, but just barely. He has a lacerated spleen and multiple bone fractures. Nolan confronts House and tells him that he is going to transfer him to another psychiatric facility. House is shocked by what happened to Steve and clearly feels guilty. He asks Nolan not to transfer him and promises to comply with his therapy.
House and Nolan start regular one-on-one counseling sessions. He is also started on an antidepressant (an SSRI — serotonin specific reuptake inhibitor. This is a class of antidepressant/antianxiety drug that includes Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, and Lexapro). Nolan takes him to a charity dinner so he can mingle and learn to trust people. Lydia is there, and the two of them have a good time lying and pulling pranks on the other attendees. At the end of the night, she kisses him. Nolan tells House that the night was a success because no one tattled on House’s lies, therefore he can trust other people– which seems a painful stretch of logic to me.
Lydia comes back to visit the next day, but the return of the severely injured and now catatonic Steve to the floor puts a damper on whatever may have happened between her and House. Nolan tells House he needs to apologize to Steve, but he can’t bring himself to do it.
Meanwhile, Dr. Beasley announces that there is going to be a talent show and wants everyone to participate. During group session, House receives an urgent note from Nolan. He meets him at the hospital where Nolan’s father lies in a coma. Nolan tells House that the doctors have told him there is no chance of recovery, but he wants a second opinion. House looks at the CT scans and tells Nolan that his father has had a catastrophic hemorrhagic stroke and agrees that there is no chance of recovery. After being confrontational at first, he pulls up a chair and sits by Nolan as he holds his father’s hands.
Returning to the ward, he finds Lydia by herself crying. One thing leads to another and they end up having mad passionate sex in the office. (Ask anyone: locked ward insane asylum love making is the best kind.) At the talent show, House ends up helping his roommate Alvie rap by stepping in and helping when he starts to stumble over words.
House finally finds the strength to apologize to Steve. He starts to wheel him to group therapy when he notices that Annie is looking down at a music box Steve is holding. He slows down and Steve hands the box to her. She accepts it and opens it.
“Thank you,” she says — the first words she has spoken in ten years.
“You’re welcome,” replies Steve. His first words since the accident.
(And this ridiculously maudlin moment is where all forward plot momentum was lost and along with it, most of the good feelings I had about the story).
Since she is no longer mute, Annie is discharged to an out of state rehabilitation facility. The rest of her family, including Lydia, is going with her. House gets a pass from the hospital and goes to confront Lydia. She tells him that she doesn’t want to leave, but she must because she doesn’t want to break up her family. Nearly broken, House returns to the psychiatric hospital where he encounters Dr. Nolan. Nolan offers to write him the clearance letter he needs — not out of pity — but because House has shown he can change: he cared enough about somebody else to get hurt, and he turned to Dr. Nolan for help when this happened, not Vicodin. The next day, House leaves the hospital and hops on a bus back to his old life.
Not much non-psychiatric medicine this episode, so no major complaints. Minor ones are in blue, nit-picking in green:
Confronting someone with a delusion as strong as Steve’s the way Dr. Medine did is not going to work. Logically, you would think that showing someone that their beliefs are wrong would break the delusion — but by definition, delusions aren’t logical. The mind is very facile and will find a way to keep the delusion despite the evidence. For instance, Steve might now say, “My powers didn’t work because no one was in danger. They only work if there is a lady in distress.” Dr. Medina should know this.
And if you do choose to confront him that way, you don’t do it in public.
Why on earth would you give oral Haldol (a strong anti-psychotic medication. Also a tranquilizer) to someone who’s agitated. First you’ve got to get them to swallow the pills, then you have to wait for them to take effect. It’s much faster just to use injectable Haldol.
And that brings up the ethical question of whether this is an appropriate use of Haldol (my answer: no).
A nitpick here, but House is shown to be receiving 15MG of an unnamed SSRI. It seemed that House was only taking a single pill, but no SSRI comes in that strength. It could be Lexapro, which comes in 10MG, and 15 is a common dose, but that would take a pill and a half
No medical mystery this week, so no grade for it or the final solution. The medicine overall was pretty good, at least until the miraculous cures in the end. I’ll give it a solid B. The soap opera was good — at leas the House part — because it wasn’t as maudlin as Annie, Steve, and Alvie. House’s soap opera gets an A- (everyone else gets a C).
A list of all prior House reviews
September 21st, 2009 at 11:17 pm
I thought it was an *almost* terrific two hours. It did a lot of things right by deliberately slowing down and taking its time in developing the characters and situations, a quality that IMHO was sorely needed and lacking in “Simple Explanation” (the overly rushed episode in which we lost Kutner).
It fell a bit short in a few places. The scene involving Dr. Nolan’s brain-dead father kind of stuck out unconvincingly, and the final quarter-hour resolution(s) seemed way too pat. (Nice touch with House’s “re-birthday cake,” though.)
But I really liked the sequence in which House “kidnaps” Freedom Master and takes him to the amusement park – it showed House’s brand of humanity and humor at its best, culminating in near-tragedy and filling House with some much-needed self-doubt.
And I appreciated that the Mayfield staff was portrayed not as one-dimensional sadists or villains, but as basically decent people trying to do a difficult job the best they can, even if their methods appear questionable at times.
Great guest performances all around, especially Franka Potente as Lydia; the scene in which Lydia and House begin to make love was the gentlest, tenderest moment I can recall in the entire series. Also good to see Andre Braugher as Dr. Nolan (besides “Homicide,” anyone remember the short-lived series “Gideon’s Crossing” in which he also played a doctor?).
I was under the impression that there would be an arc of several episodes set at Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital – obviously I was wrong about that. (Yes, I know that what we saw were two episodes placed back to back – maybe they should have shown them one at a time.) Good to see House will be back at Plainsboro next time – just like the good old days. Except he won’t have his medical license back right away.
By the way … I didn’t know that Dr. Gregory House smoked! When was the last time he did that???
September 21st, 2009 at 11:25 pm
First!!
September 21st, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Nice to have you back. Wish I could say the same of House. I was desperately bored. The soap opera was always the weakest part of the show for me. No medical mystery, no Wilson, almost none of the sharp, painfully funny lines. I hope things improve quickly this season, or I’m outta here, after increasingly disappointing seasons the past two years.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Does this all result in a “nice” House? Ouch! Maybe they are trying to wind the show down while it’s still got some credibility.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:44 pm
I think the previews of the next episode shows house hasn’t given up his jackassery, just his inherent meanness. In other words, he won’t stop riding people’s nerves, but he won’t go out of his way to bring them down like he did before. At least I hope so.
A “nice” house would be boring, but a still-mean House would mean no character development.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Am I the only one who noticed the “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” references? The group therapy sessions. The basketball game. The references to shock therapy. The patient who doesn’t speak. The patient wanting something behind the nurses’ station. (In “Cuckoo’s Nest”, it was a box of cigarettes. In this ep, it was the music box. And in both instances, the hero of the story – R.P. McMurphy in “Cuckoo” and House in this episode – are the ones to retrieve the items.) The patient who doesn’t speak – until the hero prompts the action. I’ve been calling this episode either “One House Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” or “One Flew Over the Cuckoo House”.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Oh, and in “Cuckoo’s Nest”, McMurphy agitates the other residents about the World Series game. In “Broken”, House agitates the residents over the ping pong game. And while McMurphy takes a bunch of patients out of the institute, House only takes one out (Freedom Master). Also, McMurphy tries to help Billy to tragic results. House tries to help Freedom Master, which also had tragic results.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:14 am
One note is that a good friend of Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, is a diagnosed bipolar. Fry did an excellent documentary on the subject for the BBC, worth a look.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:17 am
I thought Nolan said the guests not tattling showed that House could trust people — not the other way around? Or did I hear it backwards?
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:18 am
Well, first impressions were that this episode was a little lacking. We got to see manical and schemeing quickly disolve into futility, but I would have liked to see more schememing, maybe a “gotcha” ending to kick off the new season. The clips of the new season were a little troubling as well. We saw House stick an unsuspecting man in the neck (kind of a reheat from previous episodes), and the potential boiling point of House and Cuddy’s almost relationship. Point of note, I refuse to use the term Hud** in its entire, as a higher power has relayed to me that the term signifies the end of an era, whatever that means.
Maybe its just me, but I wanted to see Amber jump out at the last moment to give a little “well that took longer then I thought but went as planned” speech. Yeah, it would be dragging us through more season 5 material, but it would have given the show a villian. Yes yes, the villian angle has been tried and failed before, but I still think it would have a chance if done right. Sure it wouldn’t make for very mature TV, and might be considered a bad plot device. I don’t claim to know art, but I know what I like.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:23 am
I didn’t really think this episode was all that great. Glad this was only a 1 episode thing and the show will go back where it belongs…the hospital. My interest in this show always came from House’s brilliant solutions to the medical puzzles. This episode didn’t really seem to provide any new insights into the character of House, and felt fairly out of place within the context of the previous seasons.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:27 am
I noticed the “Cuckoo’s Nest” references and “Awakenings” (Robin Williams-catatonic patient), could have been a wee bit more creative I think. I think it was a good premiere though. I cried being the softy I am. I like a happy ending and miracles are my favorites.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:35 am
I think that I agree that this was just boring. It was sappy way before the miracle cures. In fact, all that I could think about during parts of it (such as the talent show) were House’s own comments to Cameron about puppy dogs and sentimentality (or words to that effect). House just happens to get that much freedom in a locked ward? Wouldn’t he have been transferred to a less secure ward first? Also Lydia is in the ward after visiting hours. It seems that she can come and go as she pleases? Or was this just put in so that she and House could have sex? Puhleeze!!! Definitely a > 5 watch episode (hint, how many times do you look at your watch to see when this will be over?).
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:40 am
Official Comment
You’re right, RF. I corrected the statement.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:57 am
It was ’sweet’ mini-movie about how House goes through the Psych Ward but despite the two-hours felt clipped at parts. Most of it worked for me but the scene with the music box could’ve been much more believable. I also was looking forward to House going deeper BUT as others have pointed out we don’t really need him to be brain-washed or to change dramatically. His prickish-ness is fun but only if its balanced out with some humanity and I feel that they definitely achieved that.
As a non-medical mystery episode it must have been painful to watch for a lot of fans…
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:09 am
Ehh… I disagree with a lot of the previous opinions.
Yes, it was sappy, but I think these two episodes were designed to contrast the bleakness and darkness of the ending episodes of season 5. A major point being how it was filmed on his arrival was a dark, almost stormy setting and when he left it was a sunny, bright day.
I do agree with one thing, the double “cure” based on the music box seemed so forced and convenient… I really found that to be disappointing as if the writers were afraid to digress from their original formula for too long. Personally I was hoping this arc would continue at least for a couple more episodes and that the transition would be a little more subtle.
I also hoped that Dr Beasley would be portrayed as sort of the anti-house for a bit longer before becoming best of buddies.
That aside, I think it was a very enjoyable episode and I’m looking forward to this season.
Hopefully they will deviate from the formula a bit more… thing were starting to feel like Scooby Doo.
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:31 am
“By the way … I didn’t know that Dr. Gregory House smoked! When was the last time he did that???”
The last time I remember House smoking was in the episode where he sends himself to detox in order to get away from Tritter, the David Morse character from season 3.
I liked the episode. I noticed many “One Flew…” similarities, if you’ve ever seen the movie it’s difficult not to, but they didn’t bother me. I was happy to be out of the hospital, away from the medical mysteries and have a nice break from the show’s overused formula. The miracle cure at the end was unpleasant. How does a catatonic woman hearing a music box break her out of a ten year silence? Meh. I enjoyed everything else though, even if it was sappy and a bit over sentimental.
Now that the vacation is over, I’ll be happy to go home and see Cuddy, Foreman and Wilson. Although, I’m not looking forward to seeing 13 again (or Foreteen, for that matter). I hope the preview was accurate and she does get fired.
“The clips of the new season were a little troubling as well. We saw House stick an unsuspecting man in the neck (kind of a reheat from previous episodes),”
That looked like an Homage to the Showtime series “Dexter” to me.
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:47 am
Not only is Fry a diagnosed bipolar, but Laurie himself has had problems with depression. According to wiki, he realized something was wrong when he was racing cars, nearly died, and didn’t care.
Kinda helped me figure out what was wrong with me when an airplane nearly ran me over and I didn’t care.
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:50 am
I liked the final shot, zooming out to show that House is wearing Alvies t-shirt, but I can’t put my finger on exactly why.
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:19 am
Looks like the writers are setting an interesting tone for the rest of this season…. Will be interesting to see how a “license-less” House can survive at Princeton-Plainsboro with Foreman running his team… Last time w/ Foreman “in charge’ he kinda made a mess of things that House had to clean up so hopefully he wont make the same mistake twice…
@Benn: David Shore said in an interview that the OFOTCN references were an intentional nod to that great film as was house’s cutting his hair REAL short and wearing the beanie hat in one early scene.
One angle I’d like to see explored this season is 13’s Huntington’s….It was a MAJOR plot point in past seasons then….poof, it all but disappeared…. It would make a great 3-way between Huddy, Chameron (Chase & Cameron) & Foreteen….
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:19 am
I was expecting the consensus here to be “F-minus, please burn this episode so we never see any of it again”.
Medina’s evil for reality-testing Steve when House was 100X meaner to all of them?
The music box sat in plain sight for ten years and no one but Steve noticed?
No one thinks of suing House for Steve’s repair bills?
No one checked the bathroom stall before the urine test?
None of the patients’ performances were medically convincing to me.
The talent show would have been desperately depressing to outsiders.
The charity-dinner prank was unconvincing.
The idea that House was helped by Nolan’s insight or Lydia’s love is contrary to everything in every previous episode.
Blech!
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:31 am
It was also good to see Curtis Armstrong get some work these days…. The Revenge of the Nerds movies and Moonlighting from the 80’s are the only memorable things I can remember him doing (except for this ep. of House)
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:39 am
I also agree that it might have been interesting while House was in Mayfield to have seen Amber or Kutner as the voice in his head…..
We don’t really know how much time this ep is supposed to have spanned in House’s life during the detox and after but for them to not reappear now that House is ‘cured’ I personally think would be a mistake if the writers didn’t find some way to capitalize on at least Amber in future episodes…. she was pure GENIUS in “House Divided”… that last scene where House was in Cuddy’s office and he hallucinated her whispering in his ear sent chills down my spine…
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:45 am
Mostly boring, I didn’t hate it, but I sure as hell don’t buy the miracle cures at the end.
Prediction: House backslides as soon as he gets his license back and in a few episodes, everything will back to the standard middle-of-the-season normality, until the writers blow somebody’s life up at the end of the season for the cliffhanger. That’s an easy prediction to make, because that’s what they always do, but here’s a 2nd one: it’ll be Cuddy’s turn this year.
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:55 am
@ Mr MrBuddwing
During Season 3 episode in which he gets to Rehab cause of Detective Tritter! Not Cigrattes but Weed!
Any one wanna bet Franka Potente will back before the end of the season!
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:04 am
I’m surprised at the good reviews for this episode. As a psych student, I found myself yelling at the television more than once before my (equally frustrated, though less emotional) family made me do something else for the second hour. The homage to One Flew was nice, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the feeling that this was a 1960s asylum, not a 2009 psychiatric institute. There are so many aspects of therapy that certainly would have been used and yet were ignored – at least, for the hour that I watched. I saw more sit-and-talk-about-yourself-to-a-group and pill-popping than, say, cognitive-behavioural therapy (granted, I could have missed that, but… that group wasn’t even composed of people with the same disorder!). And the moment with the delusional man (actually, a number of times leading up to that – that moment was icing on the cake) made me wonder if these workers had even studied psychology, much less obtained degrees.
And I didn’t find the drama very interesting anyway – maybe because I was too busy fussing over the realism. I guess I know how those knowledgeable about medicine feel when watching this show now!
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:05 am
I thought the episode was sorely lacking its usual panache. I kept expecting House to realize something was physically wrong with Annie and solve it.
That said, what could have been wrong with her, that was randomly cured by a music box?
Also, why were a bunch of short-term patients–including House, who was voluntary–in the same ward with a 10-year patient?
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:16 am
I think that we may be missing something obvious.
House is a patient who hallucinates and has delustions of grandeur. We see the world through his eyes. But since he is sick, what he percieves is not reality.
So could it be that his psychiatrist did not ask him to help with his father, he didn’t make love to Lydia, he didn’t cure Annie, …etc? Are these are all more of his delusions? Is the show one long essay on delusion?
Well, doesn’t that make more sense than postulating that the writers, who usually do a very good job of gritty realism, don’t realize that House’s heroics are not credible?
Viewers have long been asking why Cuddy hasn’t fired House. The reason may be that she is also a delusion. In House’s delusional world, he has a glamorous but motherly boss who cares about him and protects him. Right, like that’s what bosses are like!
Perhaps House is no more a great doctor than Freedom Master is a super hero. Maybe House is and has always been an inmate at an asylum. What makes the show so interesting is that, through the show, we are seeing the world in the same way that a seriously deluded individual sees it.
September 22nd, 2009 at 5:33 am
So – the hallucinations were purely from the Vicodin? I’m pretty sure that depression by itself doesn’t cause them. Did anyone try to explain that?
But mostly, I was shouting at the TV for the last few minutes “Mental illness does not work that way!” Much too sappy an ending.
September 22nd, 2009 at 5:57 am
One of the worse episodes ever. This is a medical mystery show not an exploration of character. Also, what happened to that horrible pain in his leg? He was taking vicodin because of unbearable pain.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:07 am
Ok, doesnt it figure that one of Houses therepists would be a hot-as-hell blonde! And that House just happens to wind up in a ward with a cute (not super hot though) visitor (although she did have great legs) who is vunerable enough to have unprotected chair sex with a wacked out scruffy breaded dope addict?
Yeah, I cannt get behind this episode. House is about the medical mysteries.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:12 am
Curtis Armstrong was also an important character in “Better off Dead.”
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:52 am
Personally, i thought it was one of the best episodes yet!
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 am
I think Scott’s review missed one key point about the music box: it was House who made the original connection–he’s the one who got it into the guy’s hands in the first place.
Meaning: House has still got it.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:23 am
It took awhile for me to warm up to this episode, because it wasn’t what I expected. I adjusted my expectations and I started getting into it alot, and I just loved the ‘miracle cure’; but then again I’m a big sap.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank you, Dr. Scott, for running the House challange, it adds fun to an already great show. Although I don’t think there could have been any points for last night.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:25 am
I’m with JB here. This episode was so cringy, and House’s actions didn’t seem to be in character. Helping his roommate rap? With no ulterior motive? Smiling about it? Blech. Corny and unbelievable.
And why wasn’t he suffering more with leg pain? Did he just think he needed his Vicodin because he was addicted, and now he’s detoxed, his leg is fine with nothing more than acetaminophen?
Where does the show go from here? We can’t have a happy, well-adjusted House, that would be no fun at all.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:29 am
I am afraid that I have to disagree with a lot of people here – I enjoyed the episode and thought that the acting was very understated and believeable. I also did not find the ’sex’ to be mad and passionate – I found it to be tender and almost painful to watch, especially the tears in House’s eyes at the end. (I put ’sex’ in quotes because to me it was true love-making and not just physical release)
I found it to be a true homage to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
I missed Wilson but didn’t miss any of the others, Cuddy included. It was a nice break to see House be House.
The miracles were a bit over the top but again could happen – we all need to believe a little bit in miracles, don’t we?
I am not in the medical profession, so may view it differently than those who are.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 am
Actually I think the main development to come out of this episode is that in the future neither we nor House will be able to blame things on his addiction, which if he begins to deteriorate again will make for a more interesting mystery. I disagree with those who are only interested in the medical problems and not in character development because that is what makes for good repeat viewing. I am reminded of two of my favorite detective shows from the late 70’s – 80’s; The Rockford Files was very intelligent paying homage to Chandler and Hammett but very formulaic with little character arc. Once you know the solution to the mystery there is less reason to return. Magnum PI, on the other hand was virtually all about character (Magnum growing up). Its antecedents seem to be Shakespeare and Conan Doyle, usually through the Higgins character. The mysteries became more of an afterthought as the series went along (except for the Vietnam plot line) and most critics rate the penultimate season 7 as the best. It also holds up to repeat viewings. I think House is getting better.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:48 am
A few thoughts.
I am reminded of the episode of the Simpsons where they go to Brazil. Homer drinks a cup of Brazilian coffee, and has to gulp down mouthfuls of dirt just to balance the sappy sweetness of the coffee. The ending was that sappy sweet.
Seeing House smoke, and the camera pan up to show the asylum’s security camera made me think that House was going to pull a Metal Gear Solid in his escape plan. But that went nowhere. Oh well.
Still. Another high-concept episode of House from a writing staff that is still bold enough to break formula every now and again. I recognize the weaknesses other posters have made, but I think the strength of Hugh Laurie’s performance and the strong writing and character moments overcame them.
House still deserves to be the “most popular T.V. show in the world.”
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 am
Agree with Benn – if they’re going to rip off Cuckoo’s Nest they should acknowledge the homage.
HOUSE jumped the shark when the music box cured the cellist. to rip off another oscar winner: “You lost me at ‘thank you.’ “
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:54 am
I liked the episode a lot. It demonstrated to me what a charismatic actor Hugh Laurie is. I did not even notice the other regular characters were missing and felt totally engaged with the House character set in new circumstances. The scenes with Andre Braugher were exceptional. Nice to see Hugh Laurie batting it back and forth with him–fine acting. In fact, I thought all the actors were great. Franka, who played his love interest, and his roommate were name players, but the entire cast gave top notch performances.
It was said that this was supposed to be the condensation of many months of a hospital stay, but I think I would have felt this better if there was some reference showing this to me. Maybe snow on the ground outside in a later scene or something like that would have helped.
I liked the last scene. House sitting at the back of the bus is reminiscent of the scenes where he was using crazed methods to try to recover his memory about Amber’s death on the bus. And now here he is, sitting in the back of the bus, smile upon his face and upon the smiley shirt he is wearing. Are we supposed to know that he saw his failure/mistake and moved on to a place where he can live and be happy with himself?
I would like to know the direct cause of his crazy hallucinations during last season, but I suppose I have to be satisfied with his drug addiction and depression causing them.
Oh, and I was so yearning to hear House play the piano–I was angry it was locked!
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:04 am
My husband (a psychologist) was irritated beyond belief from all the hokey pop psychology ideas in this episode and the resulting deus ex machina. He was also irritated by the 70’s throw back portrayal of the hospital (which he said he was as irritated as any doctor in any modern city should be if a show depicted modern hospitals using hacksaws for amputations). The only thing he gave a thumbs up too was Steve jumping off the parking ramp after House affirmed his delusions.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:12 am
Last season was boring me silly. All the medical mysteries seemed the same to me after all these years and House’s antisocial behavior week after week was boring too. I was so glad for a change and am now looking forward to the new season.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:17 am
“HOUSE jumped the shark when the music box cured the cellist.”
I personally first had that feeling when House dressed up as a chauffeur and kidnapped his favorite soap star. Even this episode was marginally better than that one. This one at least had legitimately funny moments (especially in the first half).
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:49 am
Long time reader, first time poster.
Great episode. Unfortuantely, as most pointed out, the final stretch kept it from being a fantastic episode. The Nolan’s father thing was unbearably dumb, in my honest opinion. It came from absolutely nowhere. And in the end, I don’t think it even helped Nolan form his opinion on whether or not to write that letter. It was utterly useless. I think it was the writers’ feeble attempt to inculde SOME medicine beyond pills.
As for the miracle, that got me in the same vein as Nolan’s father, but at least they wrap it up with the fact she’s still going to need rehab, and at least she wasn’t jumping up and down “YAY I’M CURED.”
Could have been better, but all in all, a good start for Season Six. Looking forward to this season and your reviews, doctor.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 am
Official Comment
Ledasmom,
According to Dr Nolan, House hallucinated because he had what amounted to a psychotic break when he tried to internalize/cope with the deaths of Amber, Kutner, and his father. So the Vicodin was not to blame.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 am
I liked the episode. It was a necessary departure from formula, and by and large, it was well-done. Personally, I would’ve liked a B-plot showing what’s going on back at Princeton-Plainsboro, perhaps including a minor medical mystery, but I realize that would’ve basically been filler. I’m really looking forward to next week, with Foreman as the department head and what shenanigans will ensue with House as a smart-assed subordinate. Also, here’s hoping we get a little more of Chase and Cameron this season.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 am
A nice musical touch; on finally getting to the piano, House immediately plays the opening four notes of Beethoven’s Fifth, also used to signify ‘Victory’ by the BBC during WWII. (It sounds like the letter ‘V’ in Morse code – V for Victory.)
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:32 am
Regarding the carnival flying thing, my impulse is to say that it would work as long as you stay in the center (which is the case for all of these fan-based flying rides, even the enclosed ones, albeit for different reasons). It’s Bernoulli, same as sticking the ping-pong ball in the exhaust of the hair dryer. Get too close to the edges and you’re not held in. Within the enclosed spaces, it’s something similar, plus you get caught in the difference of airflow by the walls.
^_^ That said, I’m a computer engineer, not an aerospace engineer, so I could be messing this explanation up entirely.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:35 am
Its ridiculous if anyone thinks this show is truly about medical mysteries and that’s all that matters. Yes, a medical mystery drives the action most of the time but in reality non-medical people (in other words, 99% of the audience) tune in because it is a character study (and then we come here out of curiosity about the supposed answers to the medical mystery du jour).
As a character study, this was an excellent episode – and I have no fears that House will become some sort of super nice guy. He’s still a misanthrope par excellence, and he will never suffer fools gladly. But is something missing if he starts treating his friend Wilson like a normal person treats a friend?
Getting House off Vicodin and into therapy is the best thing they could have done because after four seasons, they exhausted the possibilities of Doctor Maladjusted Misanthrope Who Pops Pills Continuously.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:58 am
It didn’t really have a medical mystery, but it still managed to feel like House. Good stuff. I found the Alvie/House sequences really entertaining.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 am
I’ve got to agree with Dan and pretty much debunk Ava’s comments. There’s been character introspection since “Pilot.”
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 am
I really enjoyed this one – I thought the funny parts were funny, tho the sappy parts were a bit too sappy for me.
And crazy unprotected chair sex in an insane asylum in the middle of the night? H. O. T. Better than Huddy at the end of last season, IMO.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:17 am
Polite Dissent I’m going to let you finish but that was the worst house episode of all time. OF ALL TIME. I’m sure Kanye West would agree with me.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 am
A really unusual epi of House, nothing we´re used to! I missed the medical mystery, I always have fun trying to solve it!
1. Not quite interested in House involved with another woman!
2. Psych patients recovered overnight???
3. I´m really interested in House´s non-narcotic pain medication. Our neuropathic patients most often receive a combo of gabapentin, metamizole and NSAID´s. I bet this could work for House, too. Only some require tramadole or codeine derivatives.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:32 am
For all of those who don’t like the ending to this ep, let me propose an alternate ending and let’s hear what you think about it in comparison…
Annie takes the music box from Steve but says nothing and just holds the box. House encourages her (ok, yells at her) to have some sort of reaction to having her music box back, but she does nothing. Steve looks dejected and becomes more hopeless because his superhero cure didn’t work.
Annie’s family decides enough is enough and decides to transfer her to the other facility… (continue the plot line where House goes to Lydia’s house).
In the parking lot with Nolan, House also asks him why his treatment of giving Annie the music box didn’t work. The punchline is that House comes to the conclusion that he can’t fix everyone. This, combined with the other reasons given, is why Nolan decides that inpatient therapy is no longer needed.
Fill in the blanks with other details.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:35 am
Are you kidding me???? I work in a psychiatric hospital, and there were at least 50 more things wrong with this episode. Most glaring? House treating his psychiatrist’s father!!!! So many ethical boundaries crossed, I don’t know where to start! Worst episode of House ever!
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:35 am
I wonder if they intentionally modeled the blond nurse after Shelly Sprague from Celebrity Rehab. They look, talk, and act almost identical.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:57 am
Are you kidding me???? I work in a psychiatric hospital, and there were at least 50 more things wrong with this episode. Most glaring? House treating his psychiatrist’s father!!!! So many ethical boundaries crossed, I don’t know where to start! Worst episode of House ever!
Good to hear all the comments from people in the know about psychiatric facilities who found the portrayal of Mayfield terribly unrealistic as well as outdated. I for one am grateful that I’ve had no first-hand experience with psychiatric hospitals, either as a patient or the relative of one.
Portrayal of psychiatry aside, I don’t have a problem with Dr. Nolan asking House for a consult – and that’s all it was, an informal, off-the-record consult. Nolan’s father was already brain-dead, so there was no “treatment.”
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
For the record, I didn’t think the “Cuckoo’s Nest” references were a rip-off. I kinda knew they were there on purpose. But I did find them a bit distracting.
At the party, Nolan told House he could trust people since no one ratted him out about the stunts he pulled. Nolan then identified some of the pranks. Well, if Nolan knew about them, who squealed? Somebody had to have Nolan. Or did I miss something?
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Terrific episode. I was a tad dissapointed at no Amber though…. also I thought this arc would least at least a few episodes. I hope it’s not just business as usual next week.
And yeah, the oral Haldol thing made no sense even to a layman. Clearly it had to be that way for the plot.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
That next to last sentence of mine should have read “Somebody had to have told Nolan.”
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Hmm, had a connection problem so I’ll try again, hoping it’s not a double post…
To all those who know psychiatry : could you give details as to what the episode got wrong and what it got right ? How is modern psychiatry different from what happens there ?
After all we come to Polite Dissent to see how right they got the medicine and how things work in the real world, but this episode is about psychiatry so we’d need a psychiatric review…
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I also had problems with Nolan releasing House so quickly. All House had to do was apologize to Steve and he’s free to go? House’s issues are resolved? I wouldn’t think it’d be that easy. I mean, isn’t there going to be any sort of follow-up? Anything to reinforce House’s positive steps? Any other issues with House that need to be resolved first?
Strange, isn’t it, that apparently no one from Princeton Plainsboro goes to visit House? I mean, I know Foreman, Chase and Taub wouldn’t. But Cameron? Thirteen? Cuddy? Wilson? And yeah, I know early in the ep, House breaks off with Wilson since Wilson wouldn’t check out the license of that car.* But still, after a few months, surely the two would have made up again. Would that not also have been a condition of House’s therapy and release?
*And failing with Wilson, why didn’t House have his detective, Lucas Douglas, run the license plate?
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Strange, isn’t it, that apparently no one from Princeton Plainsboro goes to visit House? I mean, I know Foreman, Chase and Taub wouldn’t. But Cameron? Thirteen? Cuddy? Wilson? And yeah, I know early in the ep, House breaks off with Wilson since Wilson wouldn’t check out the license of that car.
That crossed my mind too, but consider: If you were House, would you want your colleagues/boss/subordinates to see you in a mental hospital? And if you were any of them, would you want to see House that way?
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
MrBuddwing: That crossed my mind too, but consider: If you were House, would you want your colleagues/boss/subordinates to see you in a mental hospital? And if you were any of them, would you want to see House that way?
First of all, I would imagine they already know he’s there. So just knowing would be enough. Besides, as “Rational Man”, I can’t see that it would make that much a difference to House if his colleagues see him in the institute. His team, maybe, since that might undermine his authority with them. But not Cameron, Chase, Cuddy or Wilson. Besides, back in season 3, House had no trouble with having visitors when he was going through the vicodin rehab.
One more question? Where was House’s cane? There shouldn’t be any reason why House couldn’t use ‘little little Greg” instead of a facility walking cane. They certainly allowed House to wear his own clothes.
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm
That song that the cellist plays at the end…. I know it from somewhere. I’m almost positive they’ve played it in another House episode, but I just can’t remember where. This is going to bug me all day..
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
You guys forgot to mention Curtis Armstrong’s hilarious guest appearance on iCarly in which undercover cops set up a sting operation in Carly’s apartment to catch the owner (Armstrong) of the market across the street suspected of selling illegal pirated DVD’s. Turns out he sells home-made “pirate”-themed movies Armstrong and his friends acted in, not pirated movies.
But on to the “House” Season 6 premiere, even the different opening credits sequence (which did not feature the names of the regular cast or worse, the now iconic “Teardrop” song by Massive Attack) was a disappointment. “House” ranked in the top ten TV shows from 2005-2007. Last year, it dropped to 18th overall according to Nielsen ratings. I think most people would agree with me that except for a few, sporadic great episodes in Seasons 4 and 5, “House” has been on a steady downhill ride since the Season 3 finale. I have a terrible feeling that this is gonna be a LONG boring season and we might be kissing good-bye to Princeton-Plainsboro and the doctors who work there real soon. =(
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
@ Michael: you forgot to mention that House is still the most watched TV show in the world even with what you say are the slide in ratings it’s had the last 2 years….
This Ep was merely setting a stage IMHO one that will set the tone of the rest of the season.
House now has several issues to deal with:
1.) His future relationship with Wilson now that Wilson ‘betrayed’ him in his hour of need… Remember, Wilson’s willingly done EVERYTHING that House has EVER asked him to do over the last 5 years… from him giving House large amounts of $$$ whenever asked for and House not paying it back to writing House phony ’scrips for Vicodin. Now Wilson’s finally gotten the courage to say NO and turned his back on him “for House’s own good”..
2.) His “relationship” w/ Cuddy… Remember House has just had his heart broken by the leaving of Lydia to Arizona and he barely got through that without wanting to abuse opiates again so the skin over that wound is still pretty raw. Plus can House really trust 100% that his *feelings* for Cuddy in light of his repeated hallucinations about her are really genuine or are they nothing more then just a result of years of opiate induced fantasies?
3.) His relationship with “the team”.. Apparently from the teaser for the upcoming season shown at the end of last nights ep.. there’s one brief scene showing Cuddy lecturing House after his return to Princeton-Plainsboro and she tells him until he gets his license back he can perform no procedures and have no patient contact to which House replies “I think I can deal with that last one”.. Does this mean he and not Foreman is back in charge? Would Foreman willingly step back in to a subordinate role to House ESPECIALLY when he’s always thought he can do the job better then house without actually needing to BE House?? Will Foreman be second-guessing House all season because he doesn’t trust his judgment b/c House was in a Psychiatric Hospital as a patient?
4.) His relationship with House….Can House really make it through every stressful thing his life throws at him this season? or, will he like a true addict does, tun back to the drugs to ‘escape’ the pain and hurt of life and living it being open and vulnerable like he’s shown glimpses of being able to do this ep…
House says he “wants to get better” because he is “broken” by his own admission but what does that really mean? Better as in pain free but still getting high on the opiates? or “better” as in being more able to emotionally connect with people and being empathic? or “better” as in being able to get past the guilt of Amber and Kutner’s deaths on top of his Fathers?
Wheels within wheels within wheels….
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Of interesting note that Lydia bears a striking resemblance (as well as the same name) as the character who helps Robin William’s character in The Fisher King through his mental illness.
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Seeing Dudley Dawson, aka Booger, made we weep with happiness. Who else could tell you the street price of pure snow.
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I’ve got to say I really enjoyed this (double) episode and am slightly surprised by the general negativity of various people on this board (although everyone is entitled to their opinion).
I thought the scenes with Nolan were exceptional; nice to see House interact with someone who appears his equal rather than someone he dominates. Franka Potente is always a welcome addition to anything she touches.
The fifth season was weak to say the least and getting rather tired. It’s good to see House in a genuinely vulnerable position and for him to demonstrate his human side. I’m sure next week it will get back to the medical mysteries but it was the most interesting and different episode of House I’ve seen for ages. Laurie, along with Michael C Hall, are the two most exceptional talents working in TV today.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Ok lets all just agree that this episode was rather lame and was more intended to let the writers have fun before jumping back into the typical House formula.
Everybody good with that? Great!
Now lets get back to discussion of how a long time opium addict, now on SSRI’s (which have a limping effect on the male noodle) could not possibly give a moody, middle aged, yet still hot, house wife satifying late night sitting position sex.
Just couldnt happen! Wouldnt be cool if she showed up pregnant with Houses baby in furture episodes?
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
@Eric
The music is by Bach and it is the prelude to his Cello Suite Number 1. If you YouTube Bach+Yo Yo Ma you will find it.
It has been used in House before in the episode “Informed Consent” where the scientist collapses whilst experimenting on mice.
It was also used to devastating effect in The West Wing – Noel.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:16 pm
OK, so this was House’s “Seven Percent Solution”.
It almost seemed to have two sets of writers. One was House’s ordinary writers, responsible for “bad House” — the one disrupting the ward, cheating on his medications, etc.
The other, from whoever writes the “very special episodes” of just about everything, for the rather unbelievable “good House” who took his meds and had sympathy for the psychiatrist. And for the looney looney-ward.
The facility was just ridiculous. The kindergarten-teacher doctor running the groups. Using the padded cell as punishment, and using it for patients who weren’t violent. The patients, many of whom simply weren’t all that ill; most of them (certainly including House) would be very unlikely to be in an inpatient facility. The sister-in-law of the patient with the run of the place. Letting a patient loose to wreak havoc at a dinner for donors. By the end, I was starting to really hope the whole episode was a detox nightmare.
Oh, and a little more fridge logic for you — the sister-in-law of the catatonic woman supposedly wanted to move to Phoenix for years. Why not just DO so? Surely there are psychiatric facilities in Phoenix she could have been transferred to; it’s not like Mayfield was doing a great job with her.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I must say that anyone watching any TV series, and expecting realism is clearly watching for the wrong reasons. I have watched every episode of House for at least few times, and I never cared if the medicine is real, because a) that’s not the point, b) I don’t understand medicine in the first place. And I know many people watching this show, and none of them cares about medical part. That’s only the setting for the show, it’s not the show. If the writers were to write about real medicine (and they can easily do that), this show will be boring, and would be canceled after few episodes. Everyone knows that medicine is only part way real, but guess what: no one cares. The number of people that actually understands medical stuff, and is able to point out errors is only a fraction of the fans this show has, and the fact that House is the highest rated (yes, for TV rating is the number of people watching it) show in the world proves that people are not watching House for the medicine.
I like visiting this website and reading about medical aspects, but for the most part I don’t understand most of the people commenting here: why do you watch House? You know that medicine is not going to get better, and you still hate it. Honestly, I don’t understand.
Yes, there were some elements that even to laymen didn’t looked plausible, like overnight releases and the music box, but that doesn’t mean that this was bad episode, it was actually pretty great, and this website is actually the only with so much negative comments, again proving my point about medical part.
This was a character episode at it’s best, and shows the real strength of House character, and in the same time shows all that was wrong with the previous season: giving to much space to Foreman and 13, diverting from House to Kutner or something else that was wrong. Hopefully, writers realized that this should be about House. And improving House character can only be good for the show, because we get to see more diverse stories and more of the Hugh Lauries talent.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:48 pm
All nitpicks aside, this was a very, VERY good double episode of House. It point blank hit the target between being interesting and moving on one hand, and exciting and motivating on the other. Sure, there are some sentimentalities that we could have been fine without (Nolan’s dad, the music box, etc.), but, in the end, it was very touching, and, most importantly, promises to give a very, very rare thing on TV these days – character evolution. By that I mean not some sporadic, spur-of-the-moment change of hearts, but something more… Longterm.
It will be pretty exciting to see how this healthier and a bit less burdened House will cope with new cases, however. Hope he doesn’t start being a meanie again! That card’s been played for FAR too long.
Oh, one more thing… Is it just me, or did anyone else think Lydia should stick around a bit longer? She’s, and I’m sorry in advance for a bad pun, just what the doctor ordered :)
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:51 pm
P.S. Failed to mention – my faith in character development on ‘House’ has been shaken several times, but this episode definitely restored it. Heck, even kicked it into overdrive. No other show has such a rich tapestry of human emotions and psychological responses as ‘House’. That’s why it’s my favorite show.
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:06 pm
@ Nybbler… GREAT Holmes reference….
Mayfield DID seem a little lax with most things….almost as if it were a portrayal of what/how a mental institution is supposed to be if the writers had asked anyone with no frame of reference what it would be like to be in one… the person being asked SORTA gets some things right because they have seen movies like Cuckoo’s Nest or had seen glimpses of them on TV to throw something together, but it’s not “ringing with accuracy” by any means…
I wonder why the writers didn’t get a consult from a shrink who works at one for medical accuracy?
Or would that have made the ep. way too grim by showing those places how they REALLY are?
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I was sooooo expecting Amber to appear next to House on the bus, right at the end. Ruined the soppy ending for me. :)
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:02 pm
As a psychiatrist, I was really disappointed in the way they handled this episode. There was so much factual inaccuracy in terms of how they treated patients… you can’t put someone in the seclusion room just because they refuse to participate in group or therapy.
And to the blog writer, my nitpicking on your coverage. First, psychiatric medicine IS indeed medicine, don’t be so dismissive!!
Secondly, giving oral Haldol (or PO versions of any multitude of antipsychotics or anxiolytics) is preferable in cases of verbal or behavioral outbursts if the patient will take the pill and there is no imminent harm to be had to them or anyone else. We always want to avoid having to hold someone down and force an injection on them; it ruins the therapeutic alliance and traumatizes not only that patient but others on the ward. In a situation where someone’s safety is in immediate jeopardy (like a patient actively assaulting another person), you would indeed use an injectable. Orals are preferred in all other instances where possible as they give the agitated patient more control over a situation where in all likelihood the problem is that they are feeling out of control.
And third, this was ethical use of Haldol (given that the staff did not know that House simply made a choice to hit the guy). In the situation portrayed, House was not simply “agitated”, he was physically assaulting someone. Anytime you have a patient who is an imminent danger to self or someone else, safety is the first priority, which often necessitates sedation, seclusion or restraint (physical or chemical or combination). We minimize these interventions as much as possible, but they still are required in certain situations.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Well, good thing everybody doesn’t have the same taste. I loved it. I think House needs to grow and finding out why he is such a bast**d would be a big step. Good on you mate~
Oh, I have worked in a psych ward and they weren’t that far off, tame if anything.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Lame. It was certainly a nice two hours, but all the hype surrounding the episode lead me to believe that it was going to be more than one episode taking place in the hospital. I find that the duration of someone like House working through his problems seemed way, way too short; either that or there is a severe lack of time-frame reference. It would have been nice to have an idea of how long he was there.
Also a lot of it was cute, but I can’t stand the whole “monkey parade” that always ends up in these types of shows: specifically the ‘mental hospital talent show’. Patients acting crazy for the sake of entertainment for rational, mentally healthy people? It just seems like a disgusting plot device. Is that all these people are good for?
If we’re to believe that the hospital is a serious endeavor, and mental illness is a serious problem, then making them seem like a sideshow does very little to convince the audience of that truth.
I would have appreciated maybe three, four episodes of House locked inside, maybe even half the season. If we are lead to believe that at some point he will quit Plainsboro (vis a vis the trailer after the premiere), then a one hour episode simply isn’t sufficient “build up” time to really make everyone believe House has changed.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
make that a “two hour” episode. Fail on my part.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I agree that the ending was a bit too happy for me-but, l think that the high is going to wear off pretty quick, once House faces the reality of going back to work in the real world. I imagine that someone in his position would be, on some level, scared to leave the place that has sheltered him as he healed-it’s the devil he knows.
Milan P- I agree with a lot of what you are saying. I also believe that some people tear this show apart to feel superior about their knowledge of medicine, and I tend to skip over the really negative posts. I have a lot of curiosity about medical stuff, and this show helps me. I tend to overlook the mistakes as I do the ones in movies. That way I can enjoy the show, too!
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:35 pm
“It has been used in House before in the episode “Informed Consent” where the scientist collapses whilst experimenting on mice.”
Thank you. I actually remembered it being in Informed Consent about an hour after posting the question.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I think David Shore said it best: House at his absolute core cannot really change, but he has to grow and learn and can’t be stagnant. House being a jerk only goes so far. Him belittling the same three people three years went so far. I can say with 1000% certainty House, the character, will never change in any way that truly matters. His backstory pretty much confirms that, since he was snarky long before the infarction to his leg.
If I have to complain about anything though, it’s when the cases stopped being related to the overall plot of the episode/season. Y’know, when it’s background noise. Season 5 reaked of this and hope this season takes a good look at the second or third seasons.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
@Milan, agreed.. and in utter disagreement with HousefanNY : super hot she’d act . So in the deluded world of House, that makes her super hot: anybody fancying a House taking some hollywoodian cutie out clubbing tonight ? Me neither.
More on that Lydia thing: I was delighted, astonished even, by her very convincing play – save for a “love” scene where noone really was. Convincing, I mean. Realizing who she is (Franka Potente): isn’t she possibly the highest profile actress (or actor) to have guested in the whole series ? Only Mira Sorvino comes close. Methinks they had to assemble a very strong backing cast for Hugh Laurie, and achieved the polish and appeal similar to that of a theatrical movie.
Nolan made a superb hyper smart match for House, kind of like a nicer Tritter. Lydia I have already elaborated on all fancies I might have towards. Heck ! even the nice little blonde doctor and the other psychiatrist (Medina?) could be very decent backups of, say, Cameron and Chase.
Thanks for that touching, delicate and so nice break, team.
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
A few comments…
I noticed the Haldol problem too, no way that they wouldn’t use an injection, but would not go with the minor point plot of episode, so overall minor error.
I still do not get the ‘Rosebud’ like moment with the music box…was there any logical or medical explanation for this at all?
Overall, I thought it was a great episode, particularly House’s gags in the first part.
One more question, is it just my memory, or did the music box play the exact same theme that was played by Clarice Starling towards the end of Silence of the Lambs? Or do all music box’ play that song?
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Ironic that it takes a mental institution setting to give House a good emotionally significant sexual experience.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:17 pm
FWIW, I was inpatient at a psych facility – albeit not quite as “long term” of one as Mayfield seemed to be – for a while, and I didn’t think this episode was very far off the mark. The patients were believable I thought, and for the most part the medical environment seemed roughly accurate.
There were certainly things which were just unbelievable or wrong, like confronting the delusional patient in public, but I think that’s par for the course when you dramatize something on television. You have to sacrifice a little reality for a lot of drama.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I’m in Australia and my Lexapro comes in 20mg, so 15mg in one tablet might be possible.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 pm
This is a somewhat difficult post to write:
@ Milan Petrovic: 1) I don’t hate the show (although I hated this episode). Just because people at this website pick at the medical portion of the show doesn’t mean they hate the show. 2) This is a website directed at picking both comic books and some TV shows apart medically. It’s fun, it’s entertaining and I don’t think that I or others do it to feel superior. It’s just fun to have a bunch of people who notice similar things bringing them up and discussing these aspects of the show. Frankly, I find that I learn more about medicine by reading and participating. 3) As a veterinarian, I find House to be hilarious albeit a hilarious jerk. I have often wanted to tell some of my clients off and House does this. The show even makes this somewhat believable in context.
Most patients are not as ignorant or the idiots shown in the clinic scenes on House, but unfortunately enough of them are that this is somewhat amusing (for instance the woman using her inhaler on her neck last season was a classic) and I could probably come up with some really great veterinary examples. For instance, the “fear” of vaccinations is not only limited to human vaccinations, but pet owners seem to think that spending $5.00 or less on a rabies vaccination is exorbitant or will permanently harm fluffy (Yup, that’s rabies, the incurable disease). . .
I am able to live somewhat vicariously through House, which is what a TV show does, although I never ever (when I practiced) even cracked a smile when someone said or did something that I felt was ignorant. Instead, I patiently tried to educate. In fact, this was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding portions of my work (and something that House never gets to experience). And it was great to see someone understand the information that I gave them and use it to make an informed decision about their pet.
During this episode, I missed that acerbic aspect of House. But maybe he was out of his element and didn’t need it to keep people at a distance.
PS: Where do we link to to see our scores (if applicable) in the House challenge last night?
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I think it was an interesting episode. Definitely not classic house with much less witty remarks and cunning plans. In fact, we see House actually being tamed by another doctor. Granted House isn’t in a position to manipulate very well, so he may have done well under the circumstances. I do hope, however, that House doesn’t just become another emotional doctor who lets emotions get in the way. I’m not saying it is bad to be emotional and be a doctor (most are). However, House was a special case, and I’d hope he stays that way. We’ll see if he can keep up this act for a while and how he copes with leg pain without the vicodin.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:33 pm
@HousefanNY
That’s only a *possible* side effect of SSRI’s. Delayed or lack of orgasm is another; meaning, he could have gone all night long.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I loved the song at the end. Seven Day Mile by The Frames if anyone wanted to know.
As for the episode, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:38 pm
This episode puts a clean end to the Amber/Kutner hallucinations. They are gone now (and let’s imagine that in real life the actors have moved onto other projects).
This was one of those episodes where you kind of have to go with the flow – it was pretty formulaic and sappy, but it ended the only way it could – with House out of the funny farm. Hugh Laurie did a fantastic acting job in this episode. The writers are doing a very good job exploring the many facets of his character. They have shown him as vulnerable and human, which is refreshing compared to his usual cold cruel thoughtless manipulative and ambivalent character.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Edit: The music box bit was just awful, but that’s about it.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:16 pm
I think I’ve resigned myself to never seeing science portrayed accurately in popular media.
…wait, no, I haven’t.
I did like the fact that Nolan was able to outwit House so often, however. Like he said, House isn’t God.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:19 pm
i REALLY WANT TO KNOW ALL THE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTION ERRORS PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE THEY SAY THERE ARE ERRORS BUT THEY DONT SAY WHAT ERRORS.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:28 pm
I was wondering about the detox. How could he go from Vicodin to non-opiate based (btw can somebody list non-opiate pain killers that are as stron as Vicodin?) that fast?
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:05 pm
What’s really interesting is how this seems to be steering toward Houses’ original inspiration. You remember that episode that guest starred John Laroquette?
House revealed why he decided to be a brilliant doctor..
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Official Comment
Anna,
I think you’re being overly sensitive. I was never dismissive of psychiatry or said it wasn’t medicine. I merely said that the majority of the medical errors this episode were psychiatric in nature and I — a non-psychiatrist — did not have any major complaints about them.
I understand what you’re saying about PO vs IM Haldol, but it seems to me that you’d have difficulty trying to get a patient in the middle of a fight to stop and swallow some pills. Though, admittedly, it would hard to jab somebody with a needle in those circumstances, too.
As for the ethical aspect, I stand by my answer of “no” — though I understand opinions will vary. Where I did my Psychiatry rotation, the attendings were adamant that the use of chemical restraints is never appropriate so I’ll stick with what I was taught.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:43 pm
One thought has occurred to me. In the months that House has been at Mayfield, Foreman has been running the team. And apparently, he’s been running it successfully. I think it’s safe to assume that they did not run into a case they couldn’t resolve. From all appearances, they did not have to call House to get his help on anything. If this true, I wonder if it will call into question whether House is truly needed at Princeton-Plainsboro.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:59 pm
I didn’t like how the Cello girl just immediately snapped out of it and was playing Bach’s Cello Suite #1 flawlessly the next day. What? Is she a robot and just needed the activation command?
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:07 am
The whole episode seemed like the writers were trying to cram in a reference from every single film set in a psych ward ever made, the most obvious being Cuckoo’s Nest. I also noticed similarities to The Snake Pit; Girl, Interrupted and Twelve Monkeys. Maybe it’s just that Hollywood has insisted on making these scenes so one-note that they all look the same, but I really felt like I was just watching a movie mashup – House could just as easily have been portrayed by Nicholson, Ryder or De Haviland – and the disingenuous ending felt useless. The moral of the story: “If you give in and let the doctors tell you what to do you will be happy.” Come on.
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:42 am
Being in a wtong country, I’m not going to see this episode in years so I comment based on this review.
Someone wrote something about the entire serial being a hallucination. I don’t really believe that. The first seasons had most things right so it would have to be the hallucinations of a real doctor then. But I think this episode may have happened only in House’s head. It would make most sense.
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:05 am
Michelle,
I think this moral would be more like “You need to accept help to be helped”… And yes, the blame is on Hollywood.
Scott,
House behaviour was always a “reject the others first before you get yourself rejected” (you may change “reject” with “hurt” if it makes it easier to understand). By putting him to do some nonsense random socialization in that charity party he was just trying to show that House’s strict way of seeing relationships couldn’t be axiomatic.
Also, I don’t think Anna was being overly sensitive on a comentary that she said to be a “nit-picking”, a not “over at all” expression. But then, I am the one making nit-pickings now so… I will go back on my cheering for a great season continuity after this perhaps revolutionary episode. By the way, good to see that Franka Potente is still a great actress.
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:04 am
I thought it was a good episode to start the new series.
also the name of the hospital is a famous hospital in UK!.
True that there were some serious inaccuracies in the episode, esp with psychiatric treatment, but it is good to see a trial of house trying to get better mentally. Maybe this serie is all about House becoming better in himself.
I enjoyed it enormously!
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:05 am
Skooma : I didn’t like how the Cello girl just immediately snapped out of it and was playing Bach’s Cello Suite #1 flawlessly the next day. What? Is she a robot and just needed the activation command?
Yeah, that shocked me too. After ten years there is such a thing as “out of practice” ! I can accept that she was proficient and it might all come back fast enough, but… ten years ? next day ? that’s fast.
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:39 am
Did anyone else have a problem with the doctor switching house over to a placebo?
This would not be ethical as House did not have knowledge of the posibility of receiving a placebo and the doctor’s would be withholding drugs that could help him if they were wrong about him ‘cheeking’ them (not to mention causing rebound effects).
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:42 am
I really emjoyed the episode, house doesn’t really seem nice yet, just different, so all is well
the music box bit was a bit trite though, i kind of think it would be better for house to see that he can’t fix everything, that was my favourite part of the episode was seeing how alvie was still stuck in there, house can’t have entirely happy endings.
also i tend to think that this episode is supposed to have taken place over 3-6 months, so the cello girl didn’t snap out of it and house didn’t magically change.
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:49 am
Benn – One thought has occurred to me. In the months that House has been at Mayfield, Foreman has been running the team. And apparently, he’s been running it successfully. I think it’s safe to assume that they did not run into a case they couldn’t resolve. From all appearances, they did not have to call House to get his help on anything. If this true, I wonder if it will call into question whether House is truly needed at Princeton-Plainsboro
there is no way cuddy and wilson would cave in this time, i mean they are pretty weak characters but i think they could deal with a few corpses in exchange for getting house back, as i said earlier i think that house needed to know that he wasn’t perfect, he couldn’t solve everything in order to get better. That’s why the music box thing was so stupid. the ep was already happy (well maybe 50-50 happy-sad) enough as house was getting better without the miracle.
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:57 am
The nods to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest were definitely deliberate – I think that was explained to the viewers in House’s first scene with the other patients. He walks past a guy wear a knit cap, grabs it, and walks into Nolan’s office wearing it. He might as well have been carrying a sign reading, “Call me McMurphy for the rest of this episode”.
I agree with others who were expecting some shade of medical mystery to happen here, especially centered around Annie. That she was not suffering selective mutism but actually the result of some long undiagnosed disease. Kind of disappointed that she was just missing her magical music box. Seriously, has that been sitting on a shelf for ten years? Must have been taken by the same jackass psych who challenged Freedom Master to lift the piano to prove his powers.
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:26 am
Excellent episode… The Hospital Director performance was excellent. The cast selected was excellent also… Susan, Freedom Master, Medina, Alvie, everyone… The story was also excellent…
Thanks Scott for the review.
Heishiro.
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:41 am
I was briefly in a civilian inpatient facility in 1986 for evaluation in circumstances similar to House in that it was “voluntary”, but there would have been professional ramifications if I checked myself out before the staff thought I was ready. (FWIW, in my case it was PTSD from “government service”). Can’t speak to the purely technical aspects (I’m a Scientist/Engineer, not a Medical Doctor), but from a patient perspective, this episode was creepily close to what I remember (well, except for the hot German hausfrau sex). Maybe (hopefully) things have changed in 20 years.
First half was great, second seemed forced/rushed and would have been better split up as two episodes. Watched it again, second half seems to hold up better on the second watching. Overall this is a fantastic TV series.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:47 am
I think it’s important to point out that this entire series is one whacked out, Jacob’s Ladder style fantasy world created by our friend, Hizouse.
So the “miracle cure” – isn’t. This is reinforcement of the theme “House is God”, a theme we see used in the show very often. Nolan even states specifically “you’re not God, House” yet less than 20 minutes later, he’s staring in dumbfounded disbelief that “oh crap, he really -> is <- God."
What seems like sappiness to outsiders, is actually hilarious blasphemy.
See also: When he made the deaf hear, and wheelchair man stand and walk.
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:14 am
I liked parts of it, but I absolutely hated the affair he had with the german woman. The whole “relationship” looked utterly unnatural.
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:29 am
“I was wondering about the detox. How could he go from Vicodin to non-opiate based (btw can somebody list non-opiate pain killers that are as stron as Vicodin?) that fast?”
That whole montage was over a period of a few months, at best, IMO.
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:43 am
Hi:
Thanks for the fast and nice review. Hey House is back!!!
Overall I liked it that House is back. The episode was good in many ways but it ended well too easy. I expected some more struggles.
Thank you for mentioning the Haldol mistake! At the moment that they tried to make House take the pills I shouted “are you serious?”. It seems they sacrificed true medical approach just to make House’s plan work and it was a setup to convince us that Wilson will turn House down. I just worked in a ward for two months during my medical training but believe me you have no way to make such a patient swallow the pills and I believe such an attempt can harm the patient and everybody around (the patients sometimes bite, punch, scratch…).
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:50 am
Official Comment
Acute Vicodin withdrawal shouldn’t take more than a few days, a week tops.
Long term use of narcotics can sometimes potentiate the pain, and make it even worse. They’ve mentioned this previously on the show, and it may be why House’s pain can be controlled on other medications — the Vicodin may actually have been making it worse. (Plus House is experiencing chronic pain, which is different from acute pain and their are other medication choices besides your classic pain killers)
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I like how everyone here glosses over the fact that House was commiting adultery with a married woman.