I saw it last night and … came away thinking WTF? I didn’t realize it was possible to shove 20 lbs of affected preciousness into a 10 lb trash can, but this show sure gives it a try. Beyond blue eyed Hugh Laurie’s affect on female libidos, and his “assholish but brilliant & misunderstood raffish rebel with heart of gold” shtick what is the attraction of this show? The characterizations are cartoonish, the acting is cardboard cutout quality and the writing puts even the plodding “paint by the numbers then add a twist” scripting of L&O’s “Criminal Intent” to shame.
I agree with Eleanor of Aquitaine that this was one of the worst episodes, but I do think that you missed the point about House. The episode didn’t show that he was “assholish but brilliant & misunderstood raffish rebel with heart of gold” but that he only cares about being right. He never cared about the patient, as evidenced by the way he left her on the ground twice, only about his own ego.
I wouldn’t say that it was the worst episode, or that House is absolutely 100% selfish. Discharging her from the hosptial would have meant her dying, so you can’t really say it was ALL about his ego, because I don’t think we really know for sure.
I find this show better this year because I caught probably 75% of them last year.
It’s the most I’ve watched of any show since Seinfeld was still airing new episodes, so I don’t have much to judge it against. I enjoy the medical aspect, as well as Foreman turning the tables on House a bit (or, at least trying to) ala breaking into the patient’s apartment, etc.
I mean, they were actually trying to figure out what was wrong with her. I also liked how the female doc took a page from House by ensuring the piills were left behind, just to see if the patient would overdose on them (just to prove her point on the diagnosis). Something she would have practically threatened to quit over last year, if she saw someone else try that.
I have a question though: When the girl was asked why it wasn’t her who was asked to replace House as the head of the dept (instead of Foreman) Chase responded by saying, “well, you went on a date with House, and you slept with me, what do you expect?”
Again, I haven’t seen all the episodes so I’m not sure if this happened, or was just speculated by the other employees?
Sorry Astro for the blatant hijack, but maybe this will help if you want to keep watching.
Yeah, I watched it for the first time last night as well. So that was a bad episode? I’ll probably watch it again if I can remember to (as the only show I watch with any regularity is Lost). I actually found myself laughing out loud at times, which will endear me to nearly anything. It’s far from being the best show I’ve ever seen, but I’m still giggling about that “jelly” scene.
It wasn’t one of the best. I watch the show primarily for House’s comments; he has some of the best lines of any actor on TV (outside of Arrested Development). The mystery is interesting.
House is a know-it-all asshole who manages to get by solely because he ends up being one step ahead of anyone else by being a superb diagnostician.
As for Cameron sleeping with Chase, the short answer is, yes, it did happen.
Cameron had been exposed to AIDS, got roaring drunk, and came on to Chase when he showed up to see how she was handling it.
My take on House as selfish, asshole etc.: He is one of those people you meet in very high-stakes, demanding professions who becomes a professional first and a human being second. The only thing House really cares about is people not dying. That’s his only ethic and his only value. In that sense, the “complicated” character is a little too simple.
I agree with the majority here, it was a pretty so-so episode. One of my least favorite. Also, a newbie might find this episode to be even less appealing because so much of the drama is only important if you understand the charcters pasts and their existing paradigm. The entire plot device involving Foreman supervising House and Cameron’s annoyance loses a lot of it’s already weak punch if you have no idea what the characters previous involvements were.
In any case, don’t quit on the show just yet. House can be laugh-out-loud funny, no small feat in a medical drama, and the acting is typically very solid for a TV drama.
There’s no arguing that it’s not formulaic, it certainly is, but with the success of shows like My Nace is Earl, Law and Order, and CSI perhaps that’s not damning criticism.
I thought it was the AIDS patient’s Ecstacy that she was high on. Hence the extreme horniness. Not that being drunk can’t make one horny, but she was on him as soon as he walked in the door.
The AIDS patient had Meth and Ecstacy in his bag. Cameron took some of his drugs, it’s never explicitly stated which. Later in the episode it’s alluded to that it was Ecstacy by Chase but she never confirms specifically. The stereotypes of course indicate that it was the X.
I might agree with your opinion about the show as a whole, but Hugh Laurie is absolutely fascinating to watch and makes a rather cliche character interesting, atleast in my opinion.
Hopefully he’ll win the golden globe this year too.
I have to agree that this was pretty much the worst episode of House I’ve seen yet. Particularly because once everyone found out that House had injected the woman with insulin and <some other substance that kills white blood cells>, his career would be over. I don’t think any “but he saves lives” would have gotten him out of that. As far as medical ethics go, it’s just off the charts.
It was colchicine, a treatment for gout that, perhaps coincidentally, was the culprit in a case during the first season. As for the insulin, I don’t think he did that; I think that was her own doing.
I just watched it, and the syringe he gave her contained both the gout drug and insulin.
I thought it was a pretty uneven episode. Couldn’t believe they dragged out the hackneyed “I love the smell of ___ it smells like victory” cliche. Also, Foreman’s “He’s not Rosa Parks” speech was very very weak.
The couple of episodes before this one have been quite good, so this one is a little disappointing aside from the excellent guest star.
Another regular watcher vouching for last night’s lameness; Finagle is exactly right about him being fired.
The show’s virtue is the good dark-comedy writing. It will jump the shark when it starts getting too touchy-feely with the characters, and we start seeing House with a “heart of gold.” (it’s already started, actually) It will be totally lost when House gives in to Cameron or any other decent woman.
