(S03E02) The previews for the second episode of this season of House created a bit of a stir in my stomach, what, with a potential alien abduction or something along those lines happening to a patient and all. In reality, did we really think that the creators of this show would *ever* go all X-Files on us, though? Hope not.
Much as last week ended with the dilemma of Gregory House snagging a prescription from Wilson's office to "treat the pain," we open with the good doctor about to take a jog, iPod Shuffle and all, and are quickly greeted by the pitter patter of his footsteps, back at the door, just seconds later. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when his leg pains him, leaving him no choice but to investigate the closet where he happens to have some Vicodin in a jacket pocket. And yes, that was indeed a glimpse of the cane that he's left behind since his surgery and treatment. Some part of me was frustrated by the writers in this episode, as the unethical behavior by Cuddy and Wilson (why should this shock me with how House acts half the time) combined with the oddity of the story seemed a bit far fetched, even for a show where medical miracles come along just about every week. By the end of the show, the pit in my stomach was somewhat cleared up, but that doesn't mean that this was stellar by any means.When a young boy is afraid of the dark and that monsters are going to come for him on a television program, it's really not that shocking. When that same boy is worried that the aliens are going to come for him - again - then that's a little peculiar. And when that same boy has his parents shrugging his concerns off, you know something's up. That's why, when said boy shows up on the front lawn - somehow - with some blood staining his pants from his backside, this is definitely a case for House & Co. Upon hearing the alien story, the jokes are sure to fly, and do, here and there. Chase tries to do his best to figure out what is going on, even attempting to fake out the boy by pretending to remove the metal chip that the aliens "planted" in the back of his neck, but the child isn't fooled.
With multiple tests giving multiple results, the boy is subjected to a battery of tests that his parents seem to become more and more frustrated with. By this point, that boy has tried to remove the metal from his own neck, leaving House to do nothing more than make a joke about how the lab analysis came back, saying that the metal "may not even be terrestrial." Even funnier was that someone actually believed him. Alien jokes aside, House got to have some fun with the various high definition televisions that he was looking at, even telling Foreman he had to steal one for his office. Foreman fired right back with "I'll make some calls to the homies." Good show, man!
Once the cause - or what House believed was the cause - of the child's problem was isolated, they're left to try a number of different ways to find it. This is where it got odd. Chase is doing eye surgery? Since when? After they believe they may have saved him, House is resolute to send him home with his family. All the while his leg is appearing to get worse and worse, and people are noticing. Cameron, having come across the news that Cuddy had saved the man in last week's episode by using House's "cure," she can't help but tell Foreman about it. And, when House is dismayed and about to leave all hope behind for his current case, Cuddy confronts him in the parking garage, and he figures out what the issue is, more or less. The other issue, though, is whether or not Cuddy is pregnant. She says no, but he seems pretty darn sure that she is. Another episode, I'm sure.
I guess we shouldn't be totally surprised at the solution to this week's case was, a "twin" that was embedded in the boy, only to be removed by faking an alien abduction. (House does brain surgery now?) Who knew that alien abduction fakes were such good medical cures. We should look into this more.
Again, I've got to say that the various stressors on the show may just cause someone to depart. Cuddy and Wilson holding information back from House seemed to really hurt Cameron, whether or not she likes House "in that way" anymore or not, and presumably Foreman thought it peculiar as well. She's the likely candidate, if anyone would, to leave. I'll give this week a B- for trying something new. Howabout you?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-13-2006 @ 8:34AM
Lacey said...
As a huge House fan, I've got to say that I was slightly dissapointed by the aliens/twin story line.
Can that even medically happen? When I'm done with this comment, I'm going to look it up.
However, I really enjoyed the storyline with Wilson and Cuddy, and not telling House about how he cured the patient from last week.
Sure, it was super wrong of them to do (especially when Wilson made some comment like "you're not always right, I think you learned that last time" which was completely uncalled for) but it made for some good TV. lol.
And as far as someone leaving, although I would like to see Cameron go, and be replaced by a new girl (I'm getting pretty sick of her) I dont think that will happen, seeing as she quit once already (First season). I think it will probably be Chase. At least if it comes down to Chase and Foreman, I Hope it will be Chase. I like Foreman better, and I'll miss all the stealing cars and whatnot jokes.
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9-13-2006 @ 8:43AM
johnnymac said...
i guess if you have something going on in your brain you can haloucinate about anything, why not aliens. and i thought it was cool that we got to see what the child was "seeing".
i also loved the little "Blackadderism" they dropped in. did anybody else catch it?
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9-13-2006 @ 9:09AM
Lacey said...
for anyone interested, I found it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimerism
There's even a reference to this epiosde down under Pop Culture.
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9-13-2006 @ 9:24AM
Toby OB said...
Johnnymac,
I hope you'll eventually share with us the "Blackadderism" that you found. I love that sort of thing!
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9-13-2006 @ 9:34AM
Mark said...
I believe the Blackadderism was when Cameron referred to Wilson and Cuddy's "cunning plan", a phrase much beloved of both Blackadder and Baldrick.
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9-13-2006 @ 9:37AM
Katie said...
Thanks for the link, Lacey.
I saw Chimerism on the Discovery Channel. Some woman had children biologically, but the children had different DNA than her. Turns out she had two types of DNA in her body.
I still fail to understand how the extra DNA was causing hallucinations in the kid. But, then again, when do I ever understand the medical problems on House! :)
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9-13-2006 @ 9:48AM
Lacey said...
Katie -
Yeah, I read through the entire page and found no mention of hallucinations, so I don't know exactly where that came from. I guess they needed something to make it more interesting. lol
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9-13-2006 @ 12:08PM
Omar said...
chimerism exists but the symptoms don't manifest so literally. the kid (7) is imagining the 'other' of his chimer as a literal 'other' (aliens). its interesting writing and cool for tv but its kind of ridiculous.
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9-13-2006 @ 1:12PM
johnnymac said...
right on Mark that was it. my wife (the Brit) came running in from the other room yelling did she just say what i thought she said :-)
"cunning plan"
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9-13-2006 @ 4:00PM
Angi said...
LOVED IT!!! Cried like a big baby when he pulled the cane back out!
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9-13-2006 @ 3:52PM
Ryan McClure said...
They never did say how the metal chip got into his neck. Like Chase said, titainium doesn't just break off.
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9-14-2006 @ 12:33AM
erroneous_nick said...
I laughed out loud at the "cunning plan" line and my daughter shot a look in my direction as if I'd lost my mind. My wife knew what was going on with that line as we've watched the Blackadder series several times over. I hope they toss a few more in-jokes along that line in future episodes just for fun. It would've been easier to spot, although completely out of character, had it been changed from simply a "cunning plan" to "a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel".
I had seen that show on Discovery (I believe it was Discovery) about the woman with chimerism and was annoyed that the crack team of top-notch doctors took so long to figure that one out. As I recall, chimerism is unbelievably rare and of those with the condition only a miniscule percentage ever even find out they have it, much less manifest symptoms because of it.
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9-14-2006 @ 9:56AM
Scott H said...
A second show in the season, and a second sub-par medical plot. I guess these guys do all the surgery on their own now, huh? Talk about ruining the believability. That bothered me a lot.
Also...Chase's snap back at Foreman? (Your mutha...etc.) AWKWARD! I practically had to cover my eyes.
Also, they're really writing Wilson to be a jerk all of the sudden.
And was there anyone who saw the cane with the golf clubs at the beginning of the show who DIDN'T expect us to be back in that closet watching House pull it out by the end of the show?
These were all basic writing issues that could be easily solved. I'm hoping for some better episodes soon!
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9-15-2006 @ 2:39PM
Matt said...
Of course we all knew the aliens would turn out to be a hallucination, but I tuned in this week to hear House's musings on extraterestrial life. Sadly, he's too caught up in his leg thing to bother, leaving the philosophy to Dr. Chase. It's a disapointment.
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9-16-2006 @ 10:29PM
Patti said...
Does anyone know the song that was playing when House was being retrospective - it was a ballad-type song sung by a woman. Thanks
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9-20-2006 @ 6:01PM
phuzzy said...
i thought the episode was funny as hell. i didn't take it to seriously as others i guess. to be honest it is one of my favorite episodes now. i can see yhe flaws others spoke about, but for some reason this epi really had me. to each their own i guess.
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