# House 4/6/2009 "Simple Explanation" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208 "2009-04-07T01:58:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/41 "2009-04-07T19:26:20Z")
> [@RiverRunner](#): > > Please humor someone who doesn’t watch much TV. I have seen _House_ – it’s one of the shows I really liked – but I don’t know who Kutner was. (To my surprise, IMDB says he’s been on the show for two years. How time flies.) Anyway, can somebody give me a synopsis of this episode, and fill me in who Taub is, for that matter? > > RR Kutner and Taub are two of the three new junior docs hired by House in the aftermath of the original trio’s sort-of depature. Kutner is, or rather was, portrayed by Kal Penn, who was (I am told) excellent in a movie called Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Taub is the doctor with the prominent, ah, schnozz; he is a former plastic surgeon. I do not know the name of the actor who portrays him. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/42 "2009-04-07T19:28:52Z")
Oh, Fox has set up a '[memorial page](http://www.fox.com/kutner/) for Kutner. One of the more interesting parts of his biography there is that he attended the Clarion Science Fiction workshop.\* \*Though it’s very rare for anyone to attend more than once (they probably wouldn’t let you, since there’s a lot of people applying and a very limited number of slots). It’s also unlikely anyone attending Clarion wasn’t writing regularly. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/43 "2009-04-07T19:37:53Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > That was my theory, as well. > > Taub confessed to his wife about an affair, several episodes ago, when she gave him the car. > So I think Taub’s wife had a revenge affair… with Kutner. > Kutner felt guilty about it, which was why he allowed Taub to take credit for last week’s medical solution. > Taub found out about the affair between last week and this week, and killed Kutner… which was why he kept avoiding the subject of Kutner’s death. You could probably also factor in jealousy of Kutner doing better than he was in House’s eyes. > > I don’t quite think it’s true, but I guess it wouldn’t surprise me if it had turned out that way. And if this ever would be realized as the Truth, then the show will have officially, unquestionably, and quite stupidly Jumped the Shark. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/44 "2009-04-07T19:42:41Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **StGermain** did a nice synopsis a few posts above. Doh! Somehow I missed that part of the thread. Thanks. RR ---
**Author:** ![Garula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Garula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garula)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/45 "2009-04-07T20:16:44Z")
This episode was really about Taub, it seems to me. Was it last week that he made the remark to Kutner about how he was better friends with the people he plays Halo with than with him? It seemed implied that Kutner didn’t really have any other friends. I think Taub realized that he was the closest to Kutner and that he was the one with suicidal experience so he was the one who should have seen it coming. It’s not his fault, really, but he realized that if he had been a better friend it might have been averted. Of course he’d be angry and in denial, that must be a soul crushing realization. Foreman let House go on far too long in the scene with the parents. He should have known where he’d be going with that line of thought and cut him off far earlier. If the death turns out to have been a murder, then the show will have become officially unwatchable. It seems extremely unlikely, though, especially since there was a mini-PSA about suicide at the end, and that would be pretty insensitive if it was actually a murder. It’s a shame they killed off one of the most entertaining characters (why couldn’t they have offed Thirteen instead?), but they did a good job with it. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/46 "2009-04-07T20:28:47Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Kutner and Taub are two of the three new junior docs hired by House in the aftermath of the original trio’s sort-of depature. Kutner is, or rather was, portrayed by Kal Penn, who was (I am told) excellent in a movie called Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. Taub is the doctor with the prominent, ah, schnozz; he is a former plastic surgeon. I do not know the name of the actor who portrays him. See, I don’t think Taub’s schnozz is all that big. It suits his face. Remember the ep about the guy who couldn’t turn off his mouth? A big deal was made about it then, but I don’t see it. StG ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/47 "2009-04-07T20:32:15Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > See, I don’t think Taub’s schnozz is all that big. It suits his face. Remember the ep about the guy who couldn’t turn off his mouth? A big deal was made about it then, but I don’t see it. > > StG It’s not Cyrano big, but it’s noticeable. But I like him. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/48 "2009-04-07T20:36:01Z")
I wonder if Kal Penn taking a post in the [White House](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090407/ap_on_go_pr_wh/people_kal_penn) has anything to do with this ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/49 "2009-04-07T20:58:16Z")
This being a medical show, I suppose there’s a better than even chance that we’ll find out that Kuttner was diagnosed with something nasty and incurable. Although I’ll be disappointed if that turns out to be true. ---
**Author:** ![OhFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecccb3/32.png) [@OhFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OhFace)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/50 "2009-04-07T21:58:06Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Penn wasn’t fired. He wasn’t discontent. He asked to leave. And you won’t believe where he’s going. > > [He’s going to work for the Obama administration!](http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/04/house-exclusive.html) Thanks so much for posting that link! I will miss Kutner, but House will continue on. I just wonder who will eventually take the spot. I hope Kal Penn still does some acting here and there; I do like him as an actor. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/51 "2009-04-07T21:58:26Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > I wonder if Kal Penn taking a post in the [White House](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090407/ap_on_go_pr_wh/people_kal_penn) has anything to do with this See **cochrane** ’s post (#21) above. ---
**Author:** ![stargazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@stargazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stargazer)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/52 "2009-04-07T22:11:30Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > I liked the muted lighting used in this ep. Arg, it drove me NUTS! I kept telling them to turn on some freaking lights. We GET that it’s a Depressing Episode, would you please make it not grey. I’m bummed that Kutner’s gone; he was my favorite of the three new Houselings. [nitpick] Also, I’m pretty sure that when Foreman called 911 he said that Kutner was 28 years old, but his online memorial ( :rolleyes: ) says he was born in 1975, making him 33 or 34. [/nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/53 "2009-04-07T22:31:41Z")
> [@Garula](#): > > Foreman let House go on far too long in the scene with the parents. He should have known where he’d be going with that line of thought and cut him off far earlier. I have no idea why 13 and Foreman accepted him coming along at all. And I blame the grey lighting on my not registering it was Meat Loaf (despite the comment in the thread last week :smack: ) ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/54 "2009-04-07T23:05:06Z")
Just watched the episode after waiting for it to freaking show up for download on iTunes. I kind of wish that I hadn’t. For personal reasons, I have a really hard time with things that use suicide as a plot point. That being said, the scene where they find him is just. . .incredible. The panic in that scene was just. . .wow. That and Taub breaking down in the hallway. I’d called a suicide before hearing about it as a spoiler. . .but I thought it would be Taub. This was shocking as hell, and I think that it was meant to be. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/55 "2009-04-07T23:33:40Z")
Did anyone else realize that the wife was played by [Colleen](http://www.seventymm.com/Images/ActorImage/19691.jpg) [Camp](http://www.melofanas.lt/katalogas/images/goods//109537_Colleen_Camp.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/56 "2009-04-08T04:44:19Z")
Amazing how much more dramatic a scene can get if you don’t sensationalize it. No dramatic music, no zooming cameras, just Kutner lying on the floor and the audience slowly figuring out what happened. That he did not collapse from an illness and House can’t do anything to save him. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/57 "2009-04-08T05:32:17Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > [Ahem.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10998797&postcount=25) Yeah I hated reading that post last time, because as soon as this episode started, that’s what I was expecting was going to happen. -\_- ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/58 "2009-04-08T06:41:22Z")
“Did you deduce that by taking off your sunglasses to the strains of a Who song?” - nice backhanded jab at CSI: Miami. 😃 I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for Foreteen? Thirteen wasn’t all too happy with Foreman wanting to be alone. Then later, when Foreman went to her side at Kutner’s casket, then took her hand, Thirteen was making faces. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/59 "2009-04-08T07:10:53Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Some interesting [Codolence Notes](http://www.fox.com/kutner/#) 13 has a name? This is what i get for not watching this season! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/60 "2009-04-08T07:50:41Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > It’s not Cyrano big, but it’s noticeable. But I like him. I \*\*\*LOVE \*\*\*Taub’s nose. The two main reasons why I watch the show are House’s face and Taub’s nose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208.md?page=4)