House — Episode 16 (Season 7): “Out of the Chute”
Filed under: Comics, Medicine, TV
Frankly, a bad episode. The medicine was incredibly sloppy with imaginary tests and key symptoms that appeared and disappeared at random. The soap opera aspect was better, but still not enough to redeem the episode.
At a rodeo, a bull rider — coincidentally named Lane — finishes a successful eight second ride, and is standing, celebrating, when he spaces out for a second. Unfortunately, this is just enough time for a bull to knock him down and trample him. He is admitted to the hospital and House’s service. According to Foreman, there are two concerns: first, Lane has a ruptured diaphragm, cracked sternum, broken nose and partial hearing loss attributable to the bull injury; and second, some sort of neurological disorder along with fever and muscle weakness. M3 suggests the hearing loss may be related to an inner ear disorder and not the rodeo injury. She wants to test calorics and an ENG (electronystagmogram). The tests are normal, but House tells them this is because Lane is a bull rider with better-than-average balance. He says they need a better test, which they concoct, but it is normal as well (though surely his muscle weakness have affected this test).
Lane now develops bloody sputum. Chase suggests a salivary gland tumor, while Taub suggests a gastrointestinal bleed. Both are tested for, and both tests are negative, though now Lane suddenly shows yellow sclera (a sign of jaundice, and thus a problem in the liver). An x-ray suggests a mass in the liver, but it is hard to tell for certain with the various pieces of hardware (from his previous rodeo injuries) in the way. To get a better look at the mass, they surgically examine the liver, but no mass can be found. House suggests a tapeworm or tapeworm cyst, but the team tells him they’ve tested for it. House points out the intermittently swollen lymph nodes (which the team appears to have overlooked, but how House knows since he’s never laid eyes on the patient isn’t clear), which M3 interprets to mean infection, probably of the brain, given his neurological symptoms. Due to his head injury (but isn’t it an old injury, not a recent one?), she doesn’t think a spinal tap is a good idea because it might cause a herniation, so House tells the team to proceed with a ventricular puncture (getting cerebrospinal fluid from the brain itself) — which ends up being normal. However, during the procedure, Lane develops respiratory distress. They try to intubate him, but the airway is blocked, so they end up giving him a tracheotomy. During the procedure they also realize that Lane has extremely smelly feet. House suggests that these may be a sign of diabetes, athlete’s foot, or gangrene. He then points out that a fungal infection of the feet may have allowed infection to enter the body causing abscesses to form. The team thinks the heart and brain are likely places to look for these abscesses.
A heart MRI is obtained, but shows no abnormalities. A head CT is the next step, but to get a good one would require removing the titanium plate in Lane’s skull, a risky idea. To prove the need for the surgery, House proves to the team that Lane does not have hearing loss, but is instead having multiple brief absence seizures. This convinces them of the need go ahead with the CT, which is, of course, normal. House now decides that they need to take another look at the heart. He suggests increasing the pressure on the heart and aorta by ramping up the blood pressure until it is dangerously high. If the aorta ruptures, then it is a sign of a Bartonella infection and he is right. He points out that it is better for an aortic rupture to happen on an operating room table than a bull ring, and the team ultimately agrees. Cuddy confronts him, but backs down, and the test proceeds. Lane’s chest is cracked and his heart and aorta monitored while his blood pressure is increased. Soon enough, an aortic leak (then a full spray) is detected, proving that House is right. With deft surgical skills (especially important since the suture is several sizes too large), Chase is able to repair the aorta and Lane will live another day.
As usual, major complaints are in red, modest complaints are in blue, and nit-picking ones in green:
This is the sloppiest (medical) writing I have seen in a House episode in a long time, if not ever. Of the three presenting symptoms, two are never mentioned again and the third isonly brought up by House again 2/3 of the way through the show.
Fever is mentioned as one of the presenting complaints, but is never mentioned again through the entire show – even when infection is suspected later on. On every other episode this season, we’ve been assured that fever=infection.
He is clearly having some sort of seizure on the bull ring. House is aware of this fact. Yet the team ignores this important symptom until House brings it up again.
High blood pressure doesn’t just affect the heart, it affects every other organ system as well. The brain, kidneys, and liver are particularly vulnerable and we already know that Lane is having trouble with two of those. This is just another way to say that increase-the-blood-pressure-until-he-explodes idea was very, very wrong.
Bartonella is not an opportunistic skin infection that would work its way into the body through tears in the skin of the feet. Bartonella is transmitted through an arthropod bite vector, or in the case of cat scratch fever, a cat bite or scratch from a cat infected by an arthropod bite.
A gastrointestinal bleed is not going to give you bloody sputum, but then nor is a salivary gland tumor (it might give you bloody saliva, which is different).
The ENG and caloric testing checks the function of the inner ear, not the patient’s balance per se. Lane may have great balance, but a screwed up inner ear would still show up on these tests.
A good physical exam would have detected those nasty feet long before surgery.
An abscess large enough to cause recurrent seizures over the course of several days is not going to show up on CT scan?
His respiratory distress and airway blockage miraculously healed?
This week’s medical mystery was actually interesting, if only they’d only stayed with it rather than chasing every new symptom. It earns a B. The final solution, I guess, kinda, sorta, almost fit if you ignored all the reasons it didn’t make sense or fit the symptoms. I give it a C-. The medicine was incredibly sloppy on every level, a real disappointment. I give it a generous F. The soap opera was the only interesting part, but even that felt a little flat: B.
The review of the previous episode of House
A list of all prior House reviews
March 14th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
By far the worst medicine I have ever seen on House. Terribly dissapointing.
March 14th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
So the MRI roasting his insides was plausable?
March 14th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
They aren’t even trying anymore…should be cancled after this putrid year
March 14th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
House is the only one who would be able to sleep with so many prostitutes and not hurt his professional image…
Even I, who have no knowledge in medicine, could tell that this was an incredibly sloppy medical episode.
March 14th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
What about the lack of eye protection during surgery? Or is that a dead horse you’ve stopped beating? It seemed especially evident to point out tonight, given the heart-spraying-blood-into-Chase’s-eyes moment.
Honestly, I even thought the “soap opera” was pretty drab and boring. No new ground covered. But seeing M3 gush in a puppy dog crush was very cute…I dig her
March 14th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
You forgot to mention glasses in surgery, hope he was safe when he traveled around to meet the fans.
I noticed he seemed kind of dim when he paused all the time and the team didn’t?
March 14th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Nothing about the smoking abdomen in the MRI??????
March 14th, 2011 at 11:20 pm
I admittedly was not giving my full attention to the episode, but word is the rupture-the-aorta plan was House trying to kill the patient to “excite” himself, which is why he’s blankly staring at the surgery when it actually worked. Granted, that doesn’t stop it from being stupid medically, it just means the writers “intended” that.
Anyone paying full attention interpret this, or are people seeing what they want to see?
March 14th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Well that does it, I officially don’t care about medical accuracy. My favourite episodes always end up being ripped to shreds by you. I would rather not know how inaccurate they were.
March 14th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Honestly if the writers are going to be that lackadaisical with the medicine, they might as well just take a week or to to just focus on the soap opera. You can tell they want to. I knew this episode was in for a lashing from you as soon as the heart operation scene happened. I know you touched on it in your review, but did that part make any sense? Surely there was a less batshit crazy alternative the team could’ve taken?
March 14th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
The smoking MRI was pretty impressive. That was probably the point that I wanted to stop watching. Then the rest of it was just sad. The tention between Chase and Foreman could have been better; House with the hookers was pretty funny; and jumping from a balcony gets you kicked out of a hotel, not celebrated. Cutty could have had more backbone. All in all, I just feel really bad for Masters (poor thing).
March 14th, 2011 at 11:51 pm
X-rays are going to be useless? Then what are those pictures on the walls all around them that look suspiciously like x-rays? Of course, x-rays would be pretty useless for diagnosing a neurological disorder, even in a patient without all of the hardware. That is assuming that they were brought in to diagnose the neurological disorder, and not the broken bones and the diaphragm. You can’t be sure since they are apparently the only medical personnel that actually work at Princeton-Plainsboro (once again, doing their own MRI’s!) Oh, and didn’t you mention once or twice that OSHA regulations require eye protection during surgical procedures? Seems they would have come in useful during that particular procedure.
March 15th, 2011 at 12:07 am
This is probably the nittiest of nit-pics, but who wrote him the scrip for Vicodin? The bottle (last week’s episode) had a Princeton-Plainsboro label and looked brand spanking new. I don’t know the legality of the situation (if you do please enlighten) but I find it hard to believe that any doctor at that hospital would write one for him, or that the hospital pharmacy would fill it. If it was an old bottle that he had stashed, wouldn’t it look a little more worn? And if he had a more easily accessible stash, why would he have ripped the mirror off his bedroom wall to get the two bottles behind it in “Help Me”?
March 15th, 2011 at 12:19 am
jumping from a balcony might get you kicked out of a hotel, but i’m sure it looked like a brilliant idea to a bunch of drunk college students haha.
i really liked the soap opera. so intense and funny at the same time
March 15th, 2011 at 12:25 am
Again, slipping further and further into Gray’s (Grey’s?) Anatomy zone, with totally unrealistic treatments and tests just for the sake of drama.
I’m no doctor, but I’m pretty sure surgery with intent to blow up an aorta is illegal. How does that even work? Making blood pressure extremely high and causing an aortic dissection proves one specific infection?
Cuddy was just dumb. House said to either let him do it or arrest the entire team. She couldn’t have just overrided his orders? She’s still the chief (dean?) of medicine.
You can’t pump ice water into a person to stop a metal plate from overheating. I’m almost completely sure that the body will run out of space, or the plate would fly out.
Well, at least Wilson’s back.
March 15th, 2011 at 12:41 am
When he jumped off the balcony I was like….holycrap holycrap holycrap, no no no nooooo…….aaaaahhhhhhh(relieved sigh). I really thought he was all for suicide. The music kinda puts that atmosphere too..
March 15th, 2011 at 1:04 am
Terrible medicine, great soap opera. I do like the direction they’re going with back-on-Vicodin House. Seems the “screw the rules, I’m brilliant!” plan he’s been coasting on all these years is finally coming back to bite him in the ass. I liked how Taub had the balls to tell House off (basically saying “quit being an ass and feeling sorry for yourself and get in here and do your damn job!”), even if House shot right back at him with the exact same thing (Taub should of said something about how at least he shows up for work and doesn’t need drugs (alcohol is a drug) to feel better, just saying. I can’t remember if Taub did turn to alcohol for a bit, so correct me if I’m wrong). Actually, I find Taub to be one of my favorite characters this season. I guess I just like to root for the loser.
March 15th, 2011 at 1:04 am
Dang, I thought there were some great moments in this show. The bull-riding sequence was gripping. Masters’ invitation to Lane was so clumsy that it was positively squirm-inducing. But the best was Lane taking the news that he’d never ride a bull again — the thing he LOVED to do — with apparent unconcern, and seeing House look at him with an expression of wonderment, horror, envy, and puzzlement all wrapped into one. Wow. And then, at the very end of that scene, it shows Lane’s bull-clutching hand had been wrapped in a death-grip around his blanket. Wow wow wow. That is fantastic writing.
March 15th, 2011 at 1:33 am
I thought that metal heated up near an MRI because of the strong permanent magnetic field, and that it wouldn’t have anything to do with them actually running the imaging. Am I wrong about that?
March 15th, 2011 at 3:28 am
Could someone with medical knowledge please comment on the incident with the MRI machine, and the smoke coming out of his chest? If you have metal in your body that´s heated up to such a degree that it actually starts emitting smoke, wouldn´t that cause seriuos internal damage?
March 15th, 2011 at 4:20 am
Obviously the main character was never going to kill himself with a half dozen episodes left in the season.
AFAIC, the show has never been the same since he got up on stage and started rapping in the mental hospital. After seeing the end of today’s ep, it occured to me that House self-destructing and recklessly killing himself would be a fitting way to end the series. (Ideally at the end of this season.)
March 15th, 2011 at 4:27 am
At first, i thought that Huddy is a good idea, and an interesting drama platform. But it turned out i was SO wrong. 7-th season in general and House-Cuddy relationship was the worst thing that happened to House series ever.
There was like 1-2 episodes that weren’t obscenely boring to watch. House medical genius – disappeared, because 90% of all medical mysteries became just an additional background for the drama, and that ‘drama’ is descending to your average sitcom with every episode. Humor? Come on, the only episode when i had a good laugh was The Two Stories, and before that? Umm… It was somewhere at season six i guess.
Anyways, the only thing that makes me keep watching the series is its former glory, and a hope that screenwriters will come to their senses and do something about this kingdom of boredom. But this hope shrinks with every new disappointing episode :(
March 15th, 2011 at 6:25 am
@anonymoose: I’ve thought for years that that was the only way to end the series. I really hope things shape up a bit before it happens, so I at least care when it *does* happen.
March 15th, 2011 at 6:52 am
@Joe: The heating comes from the rapidly changing magnetic field which produces the image signal not the static field.
Even if “blowing up” the heart found the infection. How does it cure the patient? Wouldn’t you have to remove all the infected aortal tissue and replace it with a graft?
@D: I read the scene of House’s blank stare in the OR after the procedure a little different. I thought that the fact that he came up with the idea during a liquor, hooker, drug binge shocked even him. It (and the singing test where masters called him a genius) led to the balcony scene because he really believes himself superman.
March 15th, 2011 at 7:00 am
Hi, I’ve been catching up with this season online, and while I haven’t watched this episode yet (and so haven’t read the above post) I figured I ought to comment to compliment your blog at the latest post rather than back where I’m still reading.
Last night, I finished watching “Two Stories”, and while I liked the plot in general, the medicine of the show sent me for loop. “A guy *literally coughs up a lung* because a piece of food went down the wrong pipe?! That can’t be right, can it? Wait, haven’t I seen a blog somewhere in which a doctor critiques each episode?”
So I tracked down your blog, and after reading so many of the entries, I had to drop a note saying how excellent your analysis is. In particular, at the end of your post on “Selfish” you point out something that has always driven me up the wall about “House”, and that’s the recurring plot formula that goes like this:
House: Patient has symptoms A, B, and C.
Team: In that case, the ONLY POSSIBLE CAUSES are ailments X, Y, Z and Lupus!
House: It’s not Lupus. Let’s treat for Z, then, without bothering to test for it.
…later…
House: Patient now has symptom D.
Team: Then the ONLY POSSIBLE CAUSES are ailments P, Q, and R (which we inexplicably failed to include in the previous list of ONLY POSSIBLE CAUSES, despite the fact that they would have fit, too).
House: This is totally logical…really, audience!
I love your blog, and commend you for it, but I imagine it must drive you crazy to watch this show if you’re a real doctor. I know very little about medicine, and have to merely ignore highly flawed logic to enjoy the show.
March 15th, 2011 at 7:06 am
i think the soap opera was brilliant though a bit obvious. house going mad and still brilliant enough to get the diagnosis. i liked the heart ripping metaphor cuddy brought up before the surgery. didn’t expect her to cave that easily though! it looks like she’s almost sorry for him.
the medial part seems completely illogical , without having any medial knowledge.
March 15th, 2011 at 7:11 am
This was… a really bad episode, like you said. The drama was just as bad as the medicine (which even I could see was pretty bad, and I’m far from a doctor). We finally get some real Wilson/House time and the writers completely failed to deliver.
March 15th, 2011 at 7:16 am
I loved the song at the end of the episode. Anyone know who did it? It sounded a lot like Massive Attack..
March 15th, 2011 at 8:07 am
@Taile: I was more relieved that Hugh Laurie’s toupee didn’t fly (or float) off during the Great Balcony Jumping Scene.
@ Rebecca: The song is titled “My Body Is A Cage,” which was covered by Peter Gabriel in this episode, but was originally cut by Arcade Fire. Very fitting.
March 15th, 2011 at 8:08 am
Worst. Episode. Ever. I’m going to switch over to How I Met Your Mother on Monday nights.
Some of the hookers were cute though.
March 15th, 2011 at 8:08 am
When I started reading this blog a few years ago, a phrase I quickly learned was ” jump the shark.” I was never a Happy Days fan so I have only a distant understanding of the original episode that generated the phrase. But the past 2 shows I have been thinking. inadvertently, about jumping the shark: a show that has gotten so far from its home territory and premises, that has exhausted its characters’ likable or involving dimensions, and finally has to drag in something extreme and over-the top to try to entertain, not just audience, but also writers and actors?
March 15th, 2011 at 8:10 am
@ Rebecca:
It was by Peter Gabriel. The song is called “My Body is a Cage” off his album “Scratch My Back”.
March 15th, 2011 at 8:29 am
Official Comment
I didn’t comment on the MRI scene at first because it was so obviously over the top, but since it’s been mentioned a few times, here’s a few thoughts:
An MRI uses a powerful magnet. They were just focusing on the rod in the chest, but he has metal rods and pins all over his body. Many — in the arms for instance — were also inside the machine and would cause just as many problems.
What were they using to check the temperature in his chest?
They’re missing the forest for the trees. The problem isn’t the rise in local temperature from the rod and the pain it’s causing Lane, but the damage it’s causing to the organs nearby. He was being cooked. For god’s sake, he got up to at least a medium rare temperature. That’s tremendous damage to the bowel, spleen, lung, etc.
The ice water idea would have actually caused more damage. The extreme cold would have caused the blood vessels to contract, leaving the organs and tissues more susceptible to damage. It’s the same reason you don’t plunge frostbite victims into hot water — you end up doing more damage.
Finally, it wouldn’t be a good or useful MRI image. They are trying to get a picture of a moving heart, and the patient is moving on top of that. It’s going to be blur city.
March 15th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Dr Scott,
No comment on his faux suicide? (Not sure what kind of a comment I expect, but somehow, wanted to know your thoughts about it.)
Obviously, I never believed they’d actually kill off House. But I thought that maybe he’d be severely injured? A few episodes of an incapacitated house would’ve been… interesting.
I still hope this series doesn’t have a “happy” ending with House being miraculously cured of all that ails him (mentally more than anything). It just seems too far-fetched given HOW MANY TIMES we’ve seen just how broken he is. Rather than script a sappy ending, I hope when this series draws to an end, it is a realistic end…
March 15th, 2011 at 9:03 am
I didn’t get a lot of the episode. Especially the “We’ve exploded the Aorta and then sewed it back together to fix the infection.”
Smelly feet at the end of a surgery? Why not at the beginning when he was wheeled into the room?
I had hopes. A guy with lots of intractable metal blocking all the fancy imaging and hiding abscesses. I was hoping for TB or something related.
The only really good parts were House and the various people at the hotel.
As for the Huddy thing. Before the breakup I thought it would be a great finale to the series, making a giant arc of House descending into despair and climbing out to a better place.
March 15th, 2011 at 9:37 am
I think we are now beyond the point of “suspending belief” (at least me anyway) when it comes to the “It’s just a TV SHOW!” line. Does anyone else agree? You go on a roller coaster when you’re watching this show: I have swings of “Hey, that’s pretty neat” which quickly move to “This is CRAPOLA” with the next House antic. Examples: Team visits House with Hooker in bed; Patient on fire in the MRI; Wilson continues to stand by and reach out to House whilst House contempuously dumps all over him; M3 openly tries to hook up with the patient; House jumps off the balcony into a pool in front of Wilson and Wilson doesn’t jump in and BEAT the CRAP out of House; House once again gobbling Vicodin and CUDDY doesn’t FIRE him!!!!! and on and on and on. I’m getting sick of it. The scene with House jumping off the balcony was a cheap shot by the writers: THERE HE GOES!!!! OOPS JUST KIDDING VIEWERS!!! THERE’S A POOL!!!! BWAAAHAHAHAHA!!!! LOSERS!!
They have lost me. I am no longer entertained by this show or House himself. I don’t care what happens to him anymore. I’m sick of his act. For those who would respond: “Then don’t watch it.” I respond: I’m there.
March 15th, 2011 at 9:41 am
I believe there was a shark in the pool House jumped over, um, into.
March 15th, 2011 at 9:55 am
Just to add: The quick shot showing the patient letting go of the bedsheet he had wrapped around his hand like he was still on the bull was brilliant! The little clips of M3 flirting with him were great, especially her line: “You are going to be hotter that you have ever been”….. “You[re going to FEEL hotter….” But the writers couldn’t quit while they were ahead: They have M3 asking if they could “Hang out at your ranch…” WHH-AAA-TTT???!!!!. Even the POTW couldn’t believe what he just heard. The scene of House in the OR after the successful aorta surgery: Brilliant!! No dialog but you got everything you needed to know just from the expression(s) on his face: Brilliant! Both the writing and the acting by Laurie.
March 15th, 2011 at 9:58 am
Weird episode with weirder medical stuff, even without any medical knowledge, specially the “i’m gonna blow up your heart and fix it in a buch of seconds to heal you” . Soap opera was ok but a bit boring. Most of the hookers were cute, though…
March 15th, 2011 at 10:04 am
A friend of mine has rods in chest correcting a mild pectus excavatum, he’ll have these rods inside of him for a few years and it is my understand they do not interfere with MRI scans or other imaging methods other than the clamps on the ends of the rod getting a bit uncomfortably hot during such procedures. I presume either I was mistaken or something “different” is going on here.
Scott, how “realistic” was the scene of repairing the torn aorta during the open-chest surgery (in “normal” conditions, granting that for TV the aorta had to “look” more torn to be dramatic on TV)? Someone I watched the show with ranted on and on, and ON about how that was just impossible as the torn aorta would ensure death no matter what.
March 15th, 2011 at 10:07 am
There have been more ‘awful’ episodes, (baby-sitting as child abuse and the school one) but this was just plain bad, and I have to join the ‘enough,already’ brigade. (The only way this season makes sense at all is as Cuddy’s nightmare about what ‘life with House’ would be like — in othr words, it ends with her waking up after the trauma that ended last year. But DYNASTY already did that bit, and even they didn’t get away with it.)
Not only, when House was on the railing, was I hearing myself almost urging him to jump, but a very evil part of me that i rarely acknowledge hoped he’d land on M3 — who I find unbearable, even more obnoxious than Lucas.
March 15th, 2011 at 10:34 am
Frankly speaking,
I could not remember since when I did not care of this drug-addicted doctor.
On and off Vicodin
On and off Huddy
On and Off main actress (Cameron, 13, M2)
—–
House’s suicide might be a good idea to end this series.
March 15th, 2011 at 10:42 am
I was wondering several time – is he hallucinating?
March 15th, 2011 at 11:23 am
WOW! The medicine here was so bad on so many levels that now pretty much everybody: our host, doctors non-doctors and well pretty much everybody that comes to read and post here managed to pin a problem. Instead of doing the same (and possible repeating someone else comment I’ll focus on the side medical mystery the one that pretty much every viewer overlooked:
We have a 45 years old brilliant doctor with a recent drug problem who had a great personal crisis in his life that made him relapse. His main symptoms are inflated ego, self confidence of a god, and euphoria from the drugs. Could somebody care to venture a guess what is really wrong with his colleagues?!? A person who is licensed to practice medicine a person who is in charge of an entire department that deals with VERY complex medical cases relapses and nobody gives a crap about that? The last time he was gulping pills at that rate he was also seeing dead people and nobody cares about that? I don’t buy it. WIlson going to rant about the breakup starting to rant about the pills and than ending getting a massage? I do not buy it. Cuddy just sitting around crying rivers while her star doctor (not to mention the love of her life) is trying to poison himself with pills and is running amoc trough the hospital and she is doing nothing to sop him? I do not buy that as well. Terrible terrible writing on this episode nad I am really sorry the writers decided to go down that road but the one thing that could serve as solace is the fact that Hugh and Sean managed to still sell us that crappy product with brilliant acting. From that point of view the Soap opera is a straight A :). F for writing but A for acting. It was fun to watch and when House gave us that eerie smile before jumping I knew it was a prank from him just like the one with the bow and arrow. That guy is unbelievable yet we believe in him. He is a definition of a modern day anti-hero and that is why some people (including me) still believe he could be a full fledged hero. One medical complaint about that part of the show BTW: House claims he could go on be stoned for a week or two and than go back to normal like it is so damn easy. Relapsing brings euphoria but after that comes the meltdown and after that detoxing is 10 times harder than the first time. So for House to claim that he can switch his addiction on and of means that: A. He is a deluded idiot (which he is not) B. He does not know what he is getting into when he reaches for the pills again (less unbelievable and actually plausible – the major reason for addicts to relapse is false confidence that “they got it under control” or C. The writers missed that point altogether. I would not be surprised. However this season is probably the one season when we see some linear development in the of-medical-drama-plotline. So I cannot shake the feeling that BS and GY are preparing us for something big and unexpected…. Aaaah hope springs eternal. As I said before I do not think that there will be a marriage bells happy ending to this series. But there will be something happy about the ending whatever it is – of that I am sure.
March 15th, 2011 at 11:33 am
I find it rather sad that the writers have so badly ruined the series that we are wanting House to die. (I think it would be a great ending too, perhaps at the end of this season)
March 15th, 2011 at 11:39 am
FYI, the phrase “jumping the shark” comes from the famous 70s sitcom “Happy Days”. At the end of its run there was an episode in which the Fonz jumped his motorcycle over a tank of water with a shark in it. This idea, although aired as serious, was so obviously ludicrous that there was no way it could not precede the end of the show. So when any show starts deviating from its original formula, especially if it has been on the air for several seasons, people start to wonder if it is “jumping the shark”.
BTW, I just started watching House last year, which, given my past tendency to not get caught up in shows until they are past their prime, means that House is on its way out. :-<
March 15th, 2011 at 11:51 am
MMMillbilly?
March 15th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
It’s the first time I’m commenting here, even though I’ve been following your posts since halfway season 2. I am no doctor and I could see the huge holes in this one, but to tell the truth, I didn’t care! If the soap opera is going to be as good as in this one, let them do whatever they want with the medicine; it’s just a tool for good storytelling anyway – unless anyone watches House to get medical lessons – and it was a good while since they used it so well! This was probably the best episode this year and one of the best of the whole series.
March 15th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
I actually liked the direction they went with House in this episode. I thought what they’d do was have him descend into a vortex of pain, but instead, they brought back angry House, which actually makes a lot of sense, since that’s kind of his go-to emotion.
And, in a music geek aside, I have to say that I LOVED that they had him go to the trouble of finding a hooker who actually plays a medieval musical instrument and then asked her if she could play Freebird on it. LOVED it.
As far as the end of the series, I think there are only three choices – they can have him go on as he is, miserable and addicted, but diagnosing away. They can have him change and grow and have at least a moderately happy ending, which is where I thought they were heading with therapy and Huddy, but I guess not. Or they can have him come face to face with what a truly horrible person he really is (can you imagine having to deal with him in real life?), and have him be unable to cope at all and end up with a Sophie’s Choice type of suicide, where everything is so horrible that death is a relief both for him and for us. Personally, I’d prefer the apotheosis of a happy ending, but I’m a romantic.
March 15th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@ D-r Bulgaria you mean a Bittersweet ending? That’s where I always thought they were headed. You forgot to mention how Chase is so good he can repair an aortic dissection with one eye tied behind his back? Also I didn’t catch the arrow being a joke, I thought the writers had screwed up, but I knew there was a pool as soon as house jumped else they would have shown the crowd from Houses POV. M3 get a crush on a hot patient that’s not very bright but feels nothing for Chase?
March 15th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
Who really thinks House will get married?
OMG we’re gonna be stunned by a new patient next week, can’t wait!!! Sarcasm, not very easy in print.
For everyone that said they will never watch House again, I’ve said that three times, Twice this season and one when I thought Wilson was gone, and still I watch.
March 15th, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Several wonderful scenes.
-House telling Cuddy that his judgement is still better than hers, despite the drugs etc
-Martha was very sweet. Poor girl. :(
-The bullfighter accepting every test.
There were some lame scenes too and the medicine was outrageous.
Still, it’s hard to argue that this was not a fun episode!
March 15th, 2011 at 3:49 pm
Sorry if I’ve missed something, but why is Amber Tamblyn’s character called “M3″?
March 15th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Oh and, for the record, the main plus of this episode for me was seeing House being drugged-up, uncaring, reckless and abusive again. *That’s* the character I fell in love with, and I’ve thought it a shame how he had been watered down since his (outstanding) stay in the psychiatric hospital.
For that reason alone I thought this was the best episode in a long time.
March 15th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
I actually enjoyed the soap opera this week more than a lot of commenters did.
@Melly, I didn’t think your question (about where House is getting his supply) was nit-picky at all. The same occurred to me. I mean, given that he’s been through rehab, I’d think he would have trouble getting a new prescription. I’m guessing this was old stash that he had, but at the rate he was popping, it’s not gonna last long.
@Taile, I knew he was aiming for the pool before he jumped. They had already shown him laying out by the pool, so they set it up. (And, as Anonymoose pointed out, it’s too early in the season for a suicide.) It did remind me, though, of that scene in Forrest Gump where Jenny is high on drugs and gets up on the balcony railing. (And, coincidentally, they used “Free Bird” in that scene.)
I also agree with tomer that it didn’t make sense for Cuddy to cave so quickly — unless maybe she agreed that the procedure was a good idea, and just called House out to let him know that she’s still paying attention.
@ Torbert, lol!
D-r Bulgaria wrote: “A. He is a deluded idiot (which he is not) B. He does not know what he is getting into when he reaches for the pills again (less unbelievable and actually plausible – the major reason for addicts to relapse is false confidence that “they got it under control” or C. The writers missed that point altogether.”
So, what are you suggesting is “C”? Here is my suggestion: He *does* know what he’s getting himself into, but doesn’t care. He just wants immediate relief and figures he’ll deal with the consequences later (much the same way that a dieter decides to eat a piece of chocolate cake because they want the immediate enjoyment, even though they know they will be punished on the scale the next day).
Thanks, Scott, for the great reviews, and everyone for sharing your viewpoints!
March 15th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
It frankly hurts me to read this. Seriously, who cares if they ignore some symptoms, do pathetic CPR, rule out disorders on poor bases or whatever. There’s still a great message going with it! Did you completely miss the scene where House informs the patient about his coming inability to proceed his bullfighting, where he, regardless of everything, tells Cuddy about the value of his judgement. Or at last, but doubtless not least, House’s desperate search for excitement, and how he fooled most of us (and yeah, you can repeat your “I knew the pool was there” a hundred times, but that doesn’t change the fact that you actually worried there, just for a second, that he might actually do it. Well, yes, deep down inside you’re well aware of the impossibility of letting him die, but it gives you something to precess. Because I tell you, it could have gone either way, considering the previous death prank with shooting the hooker).
I think it was one of the greatest episodes of the season. Actually, I think the quality has risen quite a bit the last episodes. Because, I admit, I was a concerned where the show was going earlier this season, but I’m reassured. The writers are all competent (okay, with an exception for the medical parts then – but as someone pointed out above, its not an educational video intended for medical school) and they know what they’re doing and I think it wouldn’t hurt you to show some support. Thanks David Shore and the rest of the team, you’re amazing! I don’t know what I’d do without you!
And by the way, Frank, the character of Amber Tamblyn, Martha M. Masters – three initial M:s, hence “M3”.
March 15th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
Frank, Martha M. Masters.
March 15th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
@D,
I disagree that House intended to kill the patient. I think his blank stare was due to the fact that he didn’t even feel the thrill of solving the puzzle like he normally does. It was his realization that his last hope at holding onto who he was had faded.
I do agree, though, that House was being intentionally reckless with the patient in an effort to increase the thrill. But I don’t believe for a second he wanted the patient to die. All House cares about is solving the puzzle — whether the patient lives or dies is immaterial.
March 15th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
My reaction to the balcony jump was not “Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod” it was more just “What? Really?”
March 15th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Wow, that was just bad. I typically wait until I read these posts to be sure of any medical flaws in the episodes because I have very little education in medicine, but I was rattling off problems without even thinking about it this time.
The granddaddy is probably the MRI scene. I know that inducing an aortic dissection was bad, which I was yelling at the screen along with, “That’s what you get for not wearing goggles, you idiot,” but I remember his internal temperature, presumably measured with a meat thermometer we couldn’t see, getting up over 150 degrees. Based on where it was burning, though my memory isn’t perfect, it was one of his lower right side ribs, maybe seventh or eighth, which I’m pretty sure is somewhat close to the liver. That’s not including the ice water. I know it wouldn’t work in the capacity that they said it would at all and would cause more heat damage later on, but could they do that at all without the severe cold causing problems on its own?
Until whoever said it did, I didn’t even figure that he had bloody sputum. I figured his mouth was just bleeding. Wouldn’t bloody sputum point more towards a respiratory problem and come along with coughing?
The drama is passable, but uninspired and, like the medicine, passing up good ideas to chase worse ones. I think it’d have worked better for Lane to have died on the table from the clear complications that the surgery should have caused, and House, now beginning to lose his genius effect along with his lady love, resolves to kill himself because he has literally nothing left. Then the episode cuts as his head pass the balcony and goes out of view. That would have been a good punch.
March 15th, 2011 at 5:57 pm
Thanks, Jakob and Marten.
BTW, am I the only person that got the impression that M3 is starting to get a bit wowed by House? She was *really* impressed by his singing test, and seemed to really enjoy blowing the heart up. She’s either starting to like his methods or be impressed by him as a person (starting to fancy him?). Or both. I think that’ll be something to watch over the next few weeks.
March 15th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
When House was on the balcony he used his right leg to step onto a table or chair. Although it may not have hurt much (vicodin & alcohol) surely he doesn’t have enough thigh muscle to do that.
March 15th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
What I enjoyed most about this episode was the music. “My body is a cage”, which I had never heard before, was a major part of one of the most chilling endings ever. I can’t believe that some people thought that House was happy in the last scene, having found some new excitement. Didn’t they listen to the lyrics of that song?
The writers of House are clearly incapable of writing about a serious relationship between 2 adults. We’ve never seen one on this show. Surely, if it was realistic it ought to be 50:50. Some couples DO succeed. This is because none of these writers is capable of writing a female character with any depth. It’s very disappointing. They turned House and Cuddy into characters I didn’t recognize after they put them together. They could have made this pairing so much more interesting instead of the bloody bore they became courtesy of abysmal writing.
House in this episode seemed in some ways worse than he was before. He wasn’t even his bitter, sarcastic and funny self. He was just angry. I’m not sure where this is all going, but I hope they do a better job of fleshing out these characters.
March 15th, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Bad medicine does not make a bad episode. It’s a television program. So long as it’s a good story, why is bad medicine a problem? It’s not like it’s being promoted for educational value.
March 15th, 2011 at 7:59 pm
The medicine has been criticized ad nauseum. But what struck me as implausible was House’s jump. I have to watch it again to see which floor it was from, but I think at least 4th floor? 40ft height? Being half drunk and having even the slightest hesitation/rotation he’ll have blunt trauma hitting the water at even the slightest angle; then break some bones (possibly his spine) hitting the floor of the swimming pool (no public pool has enough depth for a jump this high).
March 15th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
In the pool, when House screams, “when you win, whaddya do: party! what do you do when you lose? PARTY HARDER!”. First i thought it was funny (one of the rare moments last night), then i realized it was the show’s writers talking about themselves. replace the word “party” with “write bad” and it accurately forshadows this season’s caliber of story line.
Suicide would be welcome relief but seeing as how they didn’t explore House’s stint in the sanitorum to the fullest extent, don’t think they’ll be brave enough to do a fitting end to what started out as original character.
March 15th, 2011 at 9:26 pm
The episode was bad, but in strange way interesting. I remember Laurie has sadi that he once selfidagnosed a depression. While driving in amateur car race he’s find out he doesn’t care if he dies in the eventual car accident.
I think this episode shows a similar case of heavy depression. House is looking for a reason to live. Vicodin, checked. A horde of prostitutes, checked. Let’s rip Lane’s aorta, checked. Still no joy. So how about jumping into the pool, from the 4th floor? Sort of worked, for a while.
I think it would be a very interesting and fitting way to end the series – with House’s selfdestructing into a suicide. I doubt the creators of House will be brave enough. After all it has still a lot of watchers, ratings are at least OK.
March 15th, 2011 at 9:27 pm
I’m not going to lie, this is the first episode I’ve watched of this season. I spotted a shark fin poking its head out of the water as soon as House and Cuddy got together at the end of last season (I’ve never been a fan of the whole House/Cuddy ship). And after seeing the grade-A junk that was last night’s episode, including the horrendous medicine and cheesy soap opera, made worse by the presence of Amber Tamblyn (WHOSE idea was it to create that character, because I’d like to slug them), I will say that the shark has jumped, and these guys just need to cut their losses and get out of the water.
March 15th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
First things first: I enjoyed the episode. I really enjoyed it. Regarding the medicine, I have to say again that I simply don’t have any clue of what is realistic and what not, but I don’t care.
I always watched the show mainly because of his protagonist and how he’s behaving and acting. I loved the dialogues of former episodes, the chemistry between House and his team, House and Wilson, House and Cuddy, House and his patients. And I am seriously entertained by the bitterness he displays after the break-up with Cuddy.
House is a twisted character, a guy who is all about himself and his obsession to solve riddles. He acts acerbic, hurting, insulting, and everything that comes close to this. He has a perverted funniness to him that makes him repelling and attractive at the same time and that is one of the major points I keep in mind whenever I’m tuned in to the show.
I believe, and I somehow have the impression that I am supported by the show’s title, that the focus is definitely on House, with the medical mysteries he brilliantly and often ridiculously solves being only a nice (and sometimes really fascinating) extra. Who cares if there’s a lack of logic in the procedures or if there are flaws medical accuracy? If I want to see those things a hundred percent in order I watch a lecturing video of medical operations.
What I’m interested in is the delving into the manners, the ways, and the psyche of Gregory House, and in my humble opinion, this longing is fulfilled by the show. And I think you can’t blame a show that has nearly had a hundred and fifty episodes to come up with brand new medical mysteries every time, that’s why the writers want to compensate with different concepts like the dream sequences in the last episode and stuff like this.
Of course, these are only my two cents, but I felt an urge to make them public after I have read so many comments about the show having jumped the shark or following a downward spiral into boringness. I’m looking forward to every new episode
March 15th, 2011 at 10:26 pm
I’d probably put on a face shield if I were wanting to blow up an aorta.
March 15th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Nice review, thanks. I enjoyed the episode.
March 15th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
I think the shark jumping argument comes less from the “It has” side thinking that the poor medicine ruins the episode and more that the soap parts have gotten poor enough that they don’t redeem or at least cover up the bad medicine. I mean, I don’t think that it’s completely beyond saving, but that’s just barely.
The preview was the worst part of it. Thanks, Fox. I’m glad you feel like you have to trick me into thinking the episode’s going to have some emotional weight to it.
March 15th, 2011 at 11:54 pm
Other than the aforementioned oversights (medical and otherwise), what bothered me most as was the Taub and Master’s lack of basic neurophysiology.
The prefrontal cortex is responsible for complex thoughts and behaviours, not primitive sexual drive. That’s hypothalamus. Even wikipedia could have told you that; just proves how lazy the writers are getting.
Also, House, being both an expert doctor and a keen observer of the human condition, should have realized that not being excited by anything is not a cue to jump in a pool, but take some SSRIs. It’s a classic symptom of depression.
March 16th, 2011 at 12:18 am
Like some of you here I have also been thinking about that pool jumping shot. I couldn’t quite see how realistically House could have pulled that off but perhaps we were supposed to suspend disbelief (or maybe it’s a dream?) There are behind the scenes photos of the shots at a German House forum – to get an idea of how high the balconies are and how deep the pool, etc. in case you have not seen it.
drhouse-forum.de and go to the Out Of The Chute link…
March 16th, 2011 at 12:46 am
ps. From the video of the writer of the episode, it looks like it really happened. So I think we are supposed to just go with the moment and assume the pool was deeper (and hopefully no one “tries this at home”).
March 16th, 2011 at 3:09 am
The Vicodin: We remember during the Tritter story ark how hard it was for House to get a prescription for Vicodin when both CUddy and Wilson cut him off. He tried putting pressure on his team blackmailing pretty much every doctor around him and even scamming a free walk in clinic. However I have serious reasons to think that afterwords he would cut the crap and go straight for the illegal – online shady drug shops or drug dealers directly. The prescription bottle is just a smoke screen – no doctor in his right mind would give a prescription to a proven drug addict. Not in PP hospital nor in any other hospital. But than may be just the writers a cooking a bigger fish and do not want to delve in the mystery of “where is he getting it”. I have serious doubts about next episodes though – if they keep House on Vicodin that practically means erasing a whole stroy ark alltogether from the series – it was established at the end of season 5 that Vicodin makes him hallucinate. What he is magically cured form that too? Or does he have to see Amber and Cutner again to realize he cannot go back down that road. Either that or the writers have problems with both short and long term memory…. I am actually surprised that nobody even mentioned that here exept me?!?
March 16th, 2011 at 8:22 am
what a disappointment…
the only highlight for me was really the moment when House complains “Come on, I’ve got a squash game at 2″, coincidentally right when I had a squash game at 2 that day.
Anyway, IANAN but let me point out that the way they just wrung their hands saying we did an EEG and there was nothing abnormal — that is ridiculous.
The whole point of an EEG is that if you suspect there is abnormal activity, you hook them up for up to A WEEK or at least overnight until you DO get something.
Let alone the fact he’d been constantly having mini-seizures all this time.
Also, if I wanted to get nitpicky, absence seizures can occur mid sentence (or song) as they did, but they do not go unnoticed by the patient. Unless they are extremely short (as in only a few fractions of a second, which these were not) the brain does not just ‘compensate’
And what he was showing at the bull fighting arena was probably a *simple* partial seizure, but that’s harder to tell for sure
March 16th, 2011 at 11:03 am
HL apparently jumped from a platform into a pool, but not at that height, obviously. There was some trick photography involved!
Dr. Bulgaria, I guess it depends on how long they keep House on vicodin, or whatever else he may be taking…viagra?? The whole “arc” between House and Cuddy was so poorly written (with the exception of the first few episodes) that I’m glad it ended (but not in this way). They totally destroyed the characters of both House and Cuddy when they put them together. Where was the banter, the sensuality, the fights? They emasculated House and made Cuddy into a whiny bitch. These writers couldn’t produce a full-blooded female character if their lives depended on it. Nor can they write about a successful relationship. Pathetic!
March 16th, 2011 at 11:58 am
@RAK I have to dissagree with you about Huddy. I liked the idea of House and Cuddy being together – if he can have a real relationship with any woman at all that would be Cuddy. She does complete him – actually she is like him but missing entirely the misantropic hating the world part – she is brilliant self assured even arrogant at times, confident in her abilities, smart-witted quick thinker, pretty much all-House genius and non House jerkiness. If anybody can keep House in check while sexing him up to happiness it’s her. However the story between them while very well started became too fast a background noise for some crazier than usual plot lines. I cannot honestly say when they (the writers) lost it. And I think that Huddy had so much potential and still has, but they need fresh ideas that do not ruin the characters – on that part I agree with you.
March 16th, 2011 at 11:58 am
Hugh Laurie was safe (his much much much lower jump was supervised by a professional) but House is the question at hand.
Wikipedia has a 5 meter/16′ deep requirement for a 10 meter/32′ safe dive. The only depth I can read is 10′ but it may be deeper at the end.
March 16th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Am I allowed to say something this week?
March 16th, 2011 at 4:27 pm
:-) Biff, post away! This is “polite dissent,” after all.
@D-r Bulgaria, your post made me consider that maybe House is getting his pills on the street, but putting them in left-over labeled prescription bottles from PP that he hung onto. (That way, if questioned, it would look like his supply was legitimate.)
I haven’t watched the season 5 shows since they aired, but as I recall, there was more going on than drug abuse that was causing House’s hallucinations. There was prolonged sleep deprivation, for one thing. I remember House asking something to the effect of, “I’ve been using Vicodin for years, but I’ve been hallucinating for 3 days. What changed?” And I didn’t think that question was ever really answered.
I was hoping that the writers would land on something other than (or in addition to) drug use — like maybe House’s motorcycle accident, or the time he let Wilson drill into his brain, for instance. But they seemed to go with drug use. To me, that was the first glimpse of the shark fin (although I’m still watching, so obviously, I’m still interested). But, as I’ve said in previous threads, the problem with House’s long-term over-use of Vicodin would have been liver failure (and addiction, of course), not realistic hallucinations with whom he can carry on prolonged conversations. I really hope they don’t make him start hallucinating again, unless they come up with another reason why it’s happening.
March 16th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
I hated the pool jump : this a very stupid idea – fashion – of drunk young people that led to severe accidents and deaths. I understand that the writers wanted to tell how bad House felt, but that is too much for me.
March 16th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
@InChronicPain I agree. The hallucinations were poorly explained (and we discussed that extensively) way back in season 5. In season 6 D-r Nolan said: “Your problems run deeper than drugs” However he did mean exactly that: that House has more issues than the drug addiction alone. The hallucinations were from the Vicodin period. That is what the writers decided would be the explanation (and while it is a poor one it has some credibility: drug users have all kind of psych problems adn they may kick in pretty much any time). I have lived with an alcoholic for 25 years after all – I know. So unless they (the writers) want to conveniently forget that Vicodin=Amber (oh how I miss her) They cannot keep House on the pill. He’ll have to detox again
March 16th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
I have watched every episode of House and read the reviews on this site (which I love!) I have never felt compelled to post a comment until now. I really think this last episode was a cheap attempt to hold the audience’ interest with shock scenes etc. – House excesses: how far can he go – who cares?! And then, we are led to follow him to the balcony rail thinking that he is going to do himself in … and he jumps in the pool? It actually made me mad…. maybe the writers were trying to distract us from all the sloppy medicine…
Like the smelly feet… assuming that nobody had actually examined him (like Scott pointed out) the team was in the patient room quite a bit… did never smelled anything until they were in the OR? Were they too distracted by House’s games at the hotel?
March 16th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Dr. Bulgaria, you are a man of narrow vision. Either that or you have the world’s biggest crush on Lisa Edelstein.
March 17th, 2011 at 12:21 am
@Devils Ad. OK have you actually seen LE? She IS smoking hot! How can I not like her? But I do not see why that makes me narrow minded. So far I have only recapped past events I barely expressed any opinion exept what I would like to happen. You are insulting me Dude and with no good reason for that.
March 17th, 2011 at 1:24 am
Yes, I have and without her make-up. Near-sighted, bad skin, a little scrawny, unpadded bra… Hooray for Hollywood (and Fredericks of Hollywood). I’d rather see her praised for her talent, rather than objectified by “gentlemen” such as yourself whose brain becomes transiently ischemic at a glimpse of a little side boob. Nice try, though. At least your posts are more interesting than this show, these days.
March 17th, 2011 at 6:00 am
@Devils Ad: Gee dude lighten up. Did you eat something sour? And when exactly did you manage to score LE :) High five! OK point taken but I have praised her as na actress as well many times (check and see). SO again you comments are insulting and now you insult the women as well by objectifying her as an actress alone. You/Your wife/mother/sister/girlfriend probaly is also not a pretty picture in the morning without makeup and shower. Why exactly are we having this debate? Because I like to think that a TV SHOW could have a happy ending or because I happen to like gorgeous women? Frankly now I am simply baffled. A man can watch a nice movie be pleased by the good performence of the actress and still think: “God how I would like to hit that!” To illustrate simply watch Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” or better yet “Closer”. Class A acting and class A+ hottness
March 17th, 2011 at 6:26 am
The writers should have taken their own advice. When Cuddy says, “You can’t go backwards.” it’s true. It seems like the realized things were a bit boring with a happy House and decided having him drug addicted and crazy made better writing. Which is true but they already brought him out of that. He’s a different person now. I find it hard to accept that someone as stubborn and proud as House would embrace being a drug addict again. Furthermore I don’t see how Cuddy, Wilson, or the team will accept it. I can’t see Taub, Chase or Foreman putting up with it anymore. They’re accomplished doctors that have been doing this a long time. I don’t see how any of them will accept a pill popping, unrepentant asshole version of House. Especially Chase since he quit already and only came back when House got clean.
The reason the medicine has started to suck is House has been separated from his team. He’s always off dealing with Cuddy, avoiding Cuddy or at his hotel. He’s now the Deus Ex Machina of the medical staff. When something goes wrong the phone rings and House sends them in the right direction and then he goes back to being an asshole.
It’s hard to keep a show going when the main character turns into an utterly unredeemable jackass. To me this episode was that point. He shit on the team, on Wilson and utterly destroyed Cuddy.
March 17th, 2011 at 7:11 am
@DA: “. . . whose brain becomes transiently ischemic at a glimpse of a little side boob”
Include me in that group.
March 17th, 2011 at 8:10 am
Lately House lectured to kids that pointed out how implausible his job description was with for example many doctors working with only one patient. Newer episodes how drifted to even weirder territories although earlier sharkjumping seemed to happen around the asylum episode. Also Chase being surprised to hear he was actually not a brain surgeon added some absurd comical side.
This show feels doomed. It’s built around fictional biology and i can’t see them suddenly jump from fantasy medicine to real medical possibilities. Haven’t seen any show change its format like that. They’d rather experiment with even more unrealistic events. Kinda felt that House deliberately told his team to do extreme procedures (drilling randomly to brain, exploding heart and smoking the patient in MRI) to test what he himself could get away with by still getting right answers and near the end he seemed wide eyed scared after realizing that even his exploding heart tests solve medical problems.
March 17th, 2011 at 8:24 am
@Jason
It’s hard to keep a show going when the main character turns into an utterly unredeemable jackass. To me this episode was that point. He shit on the team, on Wilson and utterly destroyed Cuddy.
Completely agreed! I’m sick of House the character. I’ll stick the show out for the rest of this season, which will hopefully be the last, then we’re parting for good.
March 17th, 2011 at 9:45 am
Can we declare this site a “shark free zone”? IMO, the discussions about whether the show has jumped the shark are kind of boring.
March 17th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Oh, please. Include practically any straight man in that group. Y’all are sweet, but you lose your minds.
March 17th, 2011 at 10:43 am
D-r Bulgaria: I’ve discovered your secret….LE and Natalie Portman, dude, you just LUV Jewish women!! Who knew??
March 17th, 2011 at 11:12 am
Regarding the ‘downfall’ of the show, IMO it’s not in dire straits simply because season 7 is better than season 6 was, much like season 5 was better than season 4 (again IMO). It may not be at the seasons 1-3 level anymore (and probably never will be), but it’s not all bad. Anytime you’re improving, you’re not at death’s door.
Also, I think the show is expected to be renewed for an 8th season, so House is not going to die … yet. That – and the fact that we’re not at season’s end – made the balcony scene a bit of a cheap shot.
I do like angry/bitter House a lot more than happy Cuddy-House, who inexplicably could still not be decent to most people. His unhappiness and isolation explains his antisocial bahavior, but him being antisocial and mean-spirited while in a fulfilling realtionship was unconvincing, no matter what his past or who he is. I don’t buy the “I’m just a jerk no matter what, it’s my job, it’s what I do” routine; if he was, that would preclude the possibility of a successful relationship with most anyone with any self-esteem, and a lot sooner than 15 episodes into the season, even if Cuddy was willing to give it a try in the first place.
Still, this is better than season 6’s centerless meanderings, and it can get even better still now that House is (or can be) House again. The scene where he called Cuddy’s bluff is proof of that: he’s still the king of nasty.
March 17th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
the episode was medical disaster that will never happening in real life (increasing the pressure in the most muscular artery of his body ? given the fact that was comprised with aneurythm will rather blow up his recently operated brain………. the soap Oprah is most remarkable (i like it)
March 17th, 2011 at 2:14 pm
@RAK C’mon lady give me a break and don’t make me list non jewish women that make me “transient Ischemic” (Natalie is Jew? Really? Where did that come form? A who cares! I would love for somebody like DA who seems to always be on the wrong side of the bad to explain to me how Natalie is actually really ugly and only the lights and the cameras are beautifying her :) Now that would be a laugh for everybody! Hell let us go postal on all the pretty Holliwood chicks TV or Cinema. Megan Fox – computer enhanced hot (that is actually truth for Transformers 2! Alissa Milano – too cute, too slutty! Scarlet Johanson – too blonde! Carey Mulligan – too childish! Evangeline Lilly – wow I am runnig out of ideas…ah yes! A Canadian!! Bring it on DA!
March 17th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
@Anonymouse, did wikipedia say anything about the depth needed for a cannonball? House didn’t *dive* into that pool.
I think most House fans could fall into three groups: pro-Huddy, anti-Huddy, or don’t-give-a-crap-about-Huddy. I liked that part of the soap opera, but I also recognize that more often than not, removing the sexual tension between two lead characters can ruin a show (Exhibit A: Moonlighting). Leaving the potential for sex between lead characters is more intriguing (Exhibit B: X Files).
Addicts use drugs in order to avoid facing difficult feelings; people with depression can have trouble feeling anything. In this episode House seemed to have both going on. He was doing everything he could to avoid the pain of losing Cuddy while trying to feel something positive. But everyone else’s reactions just don’t ring true. I’ve known addicts, and at some point you realize that you are an object, a means to an end for the addict, and you have to choose your own safety and sanity, and you shut out the person. That’s why I think the season will end NOT with House’s suicide, but the death of his job. Office locks changed, House escorted from the building, and Cuddy inside, going on with life. This would be in keeping with the reality of addicts having to hit bottom more than once before they make progress.
More could be said about the way Cuddy must be damaged herself; she’s no pro at relationships,either.
I agree with what everyone said about the surgery scene. It is Very Bad when people who have no medical training are yelling at the TV, “Where the hell is your clear plastic shield to protect your entire face from that blood?!!” :)
March 17th, 2011 at 5:46 pm
D-r Bulgaria: I’m teasing! But I think it’s cute that you luv us Jewish females! Natalie Portman was actually born in Israel I believe. She’s also probably only one of a scant few Hollywood stars with a degree from Harvard.
One other thing. I was watching a rerun of “Who’s Your Daddy” today about the young Katrina victim brought in by House’s old friend who believes he’s her father. That was also the episode in which House was injecting Cuddy with fertility drugs (Please bring back those ultra sexy times!). At the end of that episode, Cuddy comes into House’s office and just stands there for a bit and then finally thanks House for the injections. House then asks her if she came all the way up there just to tell him that. And she just says “no” and walks out. I never understood that scene. Anyone? I never thought that she might be thinking of asking him to be a sperm donor, but I think think what else it could be.
March 17th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
I have no medical background whatsoever, but from Season 1 I was hooked on House. As the show changed gradually over the years I tried to ignore the increasing lack of realism (e.g., doctors routinely breaking into patients homes, not always bothering to get the patient’s consent) and predictability (major new symptoms before the commercial, House having his “aha” moment, etc.).
I told a friend about the show and at that moment, “House Divided” from Season 5 was on. My friend was baffled as I explained the convoluted story behind Amber’s ghost, and asked me, “the fourth ventricle in the brain??” at which point I was stumped and found this blog to verify the medical accuracy (or lack thereof).
As Season 6 progressed, I found “Black Hole” totally implausible, with the convenient experimental cognitive pattern recognition device that just happened to be there. Back in Season 1 I thought I’d be happy to have these people as my doctors, but not anymore. I would not want my doctors routinely jumping to random conclusions, having huge lapses in judgment, forgetting to do basic tests, or performing major unnecessary surgery.
This episode continues the downward spiral; I found it almost unwatchable. From a non-medical person’s perspective, I think the changes in the show look even worse than from a medical perspective. The medicine used to at least *look* plausible (to me, anyway) and now it doesn’t look even remotely realistic. It’s as if the writers are inventing crazier symptoms and treatments just to try to top themselves, but I liked it so much better when it seemed almost believable.
March 17th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
@Jason: It’s hard to keep a show going when the main character turns into an utterly unredeemable jackass. To me this episode was that point. He shit on the team, on Wilson and utterly destroyed Cuddy.
That’s just what addicts do. Just when you think they’ve changed, they’ll hurt you worse than you thought possible. Of everything in this crazy episode, I found that most believable.
I hope it leads to a reappearance of Andre Braugher.
March 17th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
“jumping the shark” refers to an episode of Happy Days when the Cunninghams went to Los Angeles and inexplicably brought along Fonzie. In one scene, Fonzie went water skiing wearing his leather jacket and jumps over a shark.
The inventor of the term claims it’s when a show hit it’s peak. I’d argue that the modern usage is that it’s after a show hit it’s peak and it’s an obvious point where you know–everyone knows–the show will never peak again. (It’s when even the biggest fans admit that the show may be going down.)
I think House jumped the shark last week, though you could argue that it was this week when it became clear the show wasn’t going to recover from its nose dive.
March 18th, 2011 at 12:31 am
@ Dr. B: I think Natalie Portman is absolutely lovely. She is very talented, very intelligent, extremely well-educated, speaks three or four different languages, and shows a great deal of interest in the world around her. She has a lot going for her; she’s not just “a body.” Sorry, but I just don’t get that vibe from Lisa Edelstein. Anyone who proclaims publically that Fox should put her tits and ass on the payroll just doesn’t have much goin’ on, in my estimation. Ms. Portman is a woman of substance. Ms. Edelstein is not.
March 18th, 2011 at 3:18 am
Maybe I’ve thought about this episode too much (ha) but while the medicine part was a fly in the ointment, the rest was freakin brilliant. The connections between House, the POTW, the team, Wilson, the music…..again, maybe I’m being too intellectual about the whole thing, finding deeper meaning in it all than the writers intended but I loved it.
March 18th, 2011 at 3:19 am
@RAK You assumed correctly. This scene I think was about 2 things: A) Cuddy realizing that for all his jerkiness House can actually be a good person (and that he is a good person in his heart – doing the right thing when needed such as not telling the “father” the truth and lying to the girl to make their fake relationship real. Keeping Cuddy’s secret giving her the shots and screening “frozen daddies” for her. She was considering asking him to be the donor, but was scared at the last moment. B) Cuddy realizing she is feeling something towards House – tension atraction chemistry whatever you want to name it. I think that is the reason why she just thanked and walked – she felt scared from her realization and the fact that she is about to ask something from House that might actually bring them together.
March 18th, 2011 at 6:36 am
So when Master’s was explaining her crush…she was all like “I know it’s a bad idea, but my prefrontal cortex is telling me to go for it” or something like that….um, no? prefrontal cortex would be telling her it’s NOT a good idea, since the prefrontal cortex is in charge of impulse CONTROL. unless I misunderstood what she was saying.
And also, with the infamous MRI scene; I’m pretty sure that in addition to heating up of the metal rods in his body, they would also move under the force of the magnetic, causing internal damage/bleeding.
Not a doctor or anything, but those two things jumped out on me.
March 18th, 2011 at 9:29 am
Elle wrote “More could be said about the way Cuddy must be damaged herself; she’s no pro at relationships,either.”
Thank you – I keep saying that too. One of the things I had hoped the writers would do with the relationship between House and Cuddy was explore the idea that they were both fairly damaged. They did some of that by bringing in Cuddy’s mother – that certainly explained some of her quirks.
So many people see House as the only damaged person in this group, but he’s not. Cuddy’s a mess, Wilson’s a big mess, the ducklings all certainly have their share of problems – it’s not like anybody in that hospital is healthy. And apparently the transplant committee is staffed by totally heartless ogres.
March 18th, 2011 at 11:03 am
Thanks, Anonymous. I thought it was a terrific scene. Your explanation makes sense.
March 18th, 2011 at 11:39 am
After this travesty of an episode, I’ve decided to pre-screen episodes here so I can decide if it’s worth it. If they aren’t, I’ll just delete them from my DVR.
March 18th, 2011 at 7:46 pm
It would seem that people like this: http://www.facebook.com/House#!/House/posts/205483879477440 are responsible for the soapification of House. It looks like the writers are going to drag this one out till the bitter end
March 18th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
I’m sorry but the balcony jump was bloody brilliant, no matter what you may think. It’s impact was trully great, like nothing you see on TV. Fooling the viewers? What the f*ck is that? 99% of the shows “fool” the viewers every time, that’s how you keep it interesting.
You can criticize the medicine, that’s fair, they should be at least a little bit competent with it. But saying this isn’t House anymore because of that. This blog exists because the writers were never truly competent with it, it was always, ALWAYS about the soap opera, about HOUSE. The medicine is what you would expect from a “rare stuff” department whose boss is an arrogant genius who always “figures it out” stuff magically, how else would they do that. They need to “distort” the medicine.
March 18th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
@ Dr. R: It would seem so. We got 15 episodes of “Huddy” and now we have to sit through 7 or 8 episodes of “House acting out following the Huddy fall-out.” The show doesn’t even come close to resembling what it once was, does it?
March 19th, 2011 at 12:52 am
@ Dr. B: I think Natalie Portman is absolutely lovely. She is very talented, very intelligent, extremely well-educated, speaks three or four different languages, and shows a great deal of interest in the world around her. She has a lot going for her; she’s not just “a body.” Sorry, but I just don’t get that vibe from Lisa Edelstein. Anyone who proclaims publically that Fox should put her tits and ass on the payroll just doesn’t have much goin’ on, in my estimation. Ms. Portman is a woman of substance. Ms. Edelstein is not.
A piece of advece: If you ever meet Natalie in person and by some bizarre twist of fate she is available, do not compliment her college degree or her language skills. For some unknown reason no matter how many good qualities a woman has she needs you to go for the looks and compliment her….shoes for example. It’s crazy I know but that’s how it is :):):)
March 19th, 2011 at 12:59 am
Just recalled a rare moment in the show when Foreman was the one making the joke. It ideally illustrates my point of view:
13: What are you looking at?
Foreman: I find your strong attachment to the working democracy extremely sexy
13. Oh you smooth talker!
Tehy both knew which part of her democracy he was referring to right :):):) On a side not if we compare actress skills LE scores way better than any of the other women in the show (except may be Mira Sorvino)
March 19th, 2011 at 2:52 am
That dive from House has some reminiscence, maybe, to the one that Charly García -an Argentine musician- did some years ago.
He jumped from the 9th floor of a hotel window directly the pool. García also did some drugs some time before the jump, cocaine not vicodin, though, some drug at all.
Nothing happened to him.
Here are two videos from that crazy jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikIfnh_ygeM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePt_yW0aa2w
March 19th, 2011 at 6:06 am
Blast you, Dr R! I hope those two preview scenes you linked to are out takes. They were god awful.
March 19th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Actually, I’ve met Natalie Portman. She is, in fact, very proud of her college degree and her language skills. I don’t believe her shoes even came up in the conversation, nor did her looks.
Most women are a lot more secure than that for which you give us credit, Dr. Bulgaria. We want to be respected for our thoughts, ideas and creativity, just like you boys.
Welcome to the 21st century.
March 19th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Ahhhh I wish I had met at least one women who when you compliment her brains instead of her looks feels flattered…. May be women here in Bulgaria still feel insecure? Or may be I am just unlucky. Or may be JAP being a lady yourself you are a little bit hypocrite as well :) I know that women like to be viewed as more than a pretty package but at the same time no women would ever go for a man who is in her brains entirely and not even a itsy bit in her looks. It is what it is. And us men we know – even when we do not mean it we say what we need to say and we lie and we say what you want to hear. But we got sidetracked from the show and from LE who is the Girl in question (thanks Joss) Let us reverse the argument here and go like this – if Cuddy was all brains and no body and beuty would she be: A) Half as popular with the fans? B) House’s (of all people) soul mate? She was designed as House’s foil and antagonist when the show started her role was secondary. How come she is in the center of attention now? Could it be because: A. LE just happens to be a good actress AND B. She is smoking hot? I thing both and I think that non should disagree unless he feels gay or he is a she and is jealous of all the attention LE is receiving from all the male audience :):):) I root for LE because I feel she is the whole package and deserves all the praise fro the fact that the show is still rolling – Hugh Sean and Lisa are the tree cornerstones that are keeping House MD afloat. BTW they are keeping it afloat even with the horrible writing that is being thrown their way lots of the time and that is not a small matter.
March 20th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Maybe the point extensive medical inaccuracy/decisions in this episode was to showcase house’s ” damaged,depressed,drug-addict judgement?”
March 20th, 2011 at 5:26 pm
@Nico: Some drugs? Charly did all the drugs, and then some! LOL