(S03E07) I can't be the only one who's getting a kick out of the titles of this show, can I? I mean, "Son of Coma Guy" not only states its case perfectly, but is a fun little play on old-school scare flicks, too. And scare, this show did, although not in the horror sorta way, but more in the "there's a couple of things going on here that could go very, very wrong" kind of way.
Detective Tritter is hanging around the team - still - and is almost begging for something that will damn House to hell, or at least prison. The doctors aren't exactly forthcoming, but they're not exactly hiding everything, either. Cameron's given a little bit of tease about House selling Wilson up the river, Foreman is told that "everyone lies" (which could be a motto for this show), and Chase is pushed a bit on how he might be doing what House wants him to do, not what Chase thinks he should be doing. Well, it's good to see that it took Tritter a long time to figure out a way into the heads of everyone at the hospital, isn't it? Who wouldn't want to see his sitdown interrogation with Cuddy - I'm sure that would work out well.
You also can't ever say that this show doesn't have a hoot of a story just about every single week. I mean, waking up a guy who is in a coma - err, vegetative state - after ten years, just to a) prove a point and b) see if you can help another case is kind of out of control, don't you think? I would seriously hate to peruse the malpractice insurance policy that House and the hospital were using these days.
John Larroquette is making a guest appearance this week playing "Gabe," the father of a young man who comes in to visit his previously asleep dad, but one that House has pushed into a bad situation by forcing seizures on him by flicking the lights and throwing a bag of chips at him. Doesn't sound like much, but I guess when you're right, you're right. Which leads us to this week's theme, pretty much. House at one point tells a story about his father, and when he (House) decided he wanted to become a doctor. While it wasn't exactly the most moving story of all time by any means, it definitely opened a little bit of a door into House's thoughts in general. Although at the same time, it pushes the fact that House, purely and simply, wants to be right all the time. What's so funny about that is while he's good at ultimately figuring things out, he still has to try four or five things along the way.
Getting to see House, Gabe, and Wilson tread their way to Atlantic City so Gabe can get a sandwich that he's been pondering for quite some time - that House feels is a "cover" for his real issues - was kind of comical. Seeing them sit around a hotel room playing a "you ask me after I ask you" game, with Wilson all the while hammering his friend about the police / Tritter situation was well put together, and definitely worth a laugh. Getting to see what someone does when they figure out they have one day left to live, pretty much, was interesting - although spending that day with House is probably not what most people would do.
While we're in a world where O.J. Simpson is (ahem) making headlines for a book and some television interviews about "how he would have done it , were he to have killed his wife and her friend," nothing would really grab headlines the way that the medicine House is practicing on a weekly basis, really. I mean, can't you just see "Rip Van Winkle wakes up, rips out own heart for son" in war font on your local newspaper?
With Wilson apparently in some big trouble with Tritter, it's pretty clear that this whole drugs and police thing isn't going to just drift away, and this show has typically not dropped the ball on anything without some sort of resolution, even if basic. Unless the writers of this show want to have an "end game" in play for it all, I can't see the drug charges killing House's career or putting him in the state pen, can you? I can see that the continued pushing of how he treats his team causing more and more concern on their faces, and definitely making one of them leave the team though. All in all, thought this was a great episode, good use of a guest star, and a crazy ending that we should have seen coming, yet I certainly didn't until House made the call to Cuddy about the heart transplant.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-15-2006 @ 10:16AM
Omar said...
i loved this episode, maybe one of my favorite house episodes so far. i think im just a sucker for the tag-team stylings of house and wilson.
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11-15-2006 @ 10:16AM
Sue said...
As always, great episode. One question, what was the deal with Wilson in the casino hitting on the woman? Did I miss a point he was trying to make?
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11-15-2006 @ 10:20AM
Tom Biro said...
Sue -
The reason they had Wilson hitting on the woman was to create an alibi for House - since Wilson knew exactly what House was up to when he had him leave the hotel room. He paid that man who resembled House, and had his cane, to pretend he was the limping doc. That's why he mentioned the hotel room and whatnot.
Omar - definitely agree, it was a fantastic episode. Definitely reinvigorated the season for a lot of viewers, I would have to say.
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11-15-2006 @ 11:13AM
Amy said...
HELP! I took some Nyquil last night that kicked in too soon - I freakin' fell asleep before the show ended! The last thing I saw was Wilson awkwardly setting up the alibi in the casino (hilarious scene, btw!). What happened after that?? Did Coma Guy *really* kill himself?? Was House able to save the Son?? What's the 'crazy ending' Tom refers to? Can someone help a chick out??
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11-15-2006 @ 11:22AM
Omar said...
i didnt even realize what was going on until house said "alibi" and wilson said "yeah" and then it went from great to fantastic episode. thats the kind of stuff that makes me stick with house even though its on the same time as veronica mars and my series 2 tivo can only record one thing at a time.
and the open aspirin bottle thing? crazy awesome.
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11-15-2006 @ 6:11PM
TomB said...
Nyquil? lol Yes Amy, the guy killed himself and the kid got the heart transplant.
Isn't this the second time that House has awakened someone from a coma? What does he know that every other doctor in the country doesn't? A bit far fetched to me. But I still really like the show.
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11-15-2006 @ 11:14PM
linda said...
Loved this episode! Everyone was spot on.
How much do I hate that detective? Soooo much.
Something is going to give here, they are taking House deeper into bad behavior, ( ie criminal) with the looks of the preview, and I sure do feel for Wilson with House as a friend.
What happened with his leg?, I never saw where they said what happened. I thought it was regressing a little and the next week he was back to his cain and pain meds, with no more conversation about the operation that might of helped him.
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11-16-2006 @ 1:11AM
Bryce said...
I really hope that House gets convicted and sentanced to jail. That way, the shows title becomes a clever pun.
Wilson can also be his cellmate, and the two can tade cigarettes for diagnosing other inmates.
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11-16-2006 @ 9:47AM
Rich said...
I'm having trouble with the detective questioning Wilson, Cameron, et al about their prescribing of drugs to House. If they're prescribing him drugs, that means there's a doctor-patient relationship, which these doctors shouldn't be discussing with the cops. They should know better.
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11-16-2006 @ 12:45PM
Amy said...
Many thanks for the update, Tom! :) (Need I point out the irony of missing the ending of a show about a doctor's addiction to self-prescribed meds BECAUSE I took self-prescribed meds???) I agree with your point about the apparent ease of bringing patients out of comas - I thought the same thing. If it was truly that simple, then why not resurrect coma-patients on special occasions like their birthdays or anniversaries? Sure, they may go back into their comas like Coma Guy was going to, but why not give them a day to visit with family & get caught up on current events? Give them a cake and a "Happy Coma Day!" card! Anyway, it was a great episode, and it's even better now that I know the ending!!
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11-17-2006 @ 3:54AM
Ben R. said...
I heard that the actor, John Larroquette, was looking for a meaty character role.
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11-19-2006 @ 2:01PM
TomB said...
lol again, Amy. I take Ambien, and if I take it at 10pm I can never remember the ending of the 10 o'clock episode I'm watching - even though I'm still awake. :)
You know, another thing that bugs me about this show (not that I don't love it) is that there doesn't seem to be a staff at this hospital. The doctors give the medicines, take the x-rays, perform the scans, do the lab work, etc., etc. I'm an RN and would love to work at this hospital. All I'd have to do is run into the room once in awhile and exclaim, "What are you doing!?!" Looks like a cushy job to me.
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11-21-2006 @ 12:43PM
Mark said...
Nice reference to Arrested Development Ben R. I couldn't stop thinking about that as well while I watched this episode.
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11-21-2006 @ 3:02PM
Ben R. said...
I'm glad someone got it!
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11-24-2006 @ 1:47AM
Jen said...
OOH
I am so mad..
I have been working 2-10 pm..per diem lately and I have just missed the last two episodes! Is there any way you know of to view them? I do not own TIVO
I am in severe withdrawal pleeze help!
And I agree with the nurse...lady
I work in a hospital and i always wondered how Cameron gets stuck in the lab; running tests...how they run the MRI machine...etc!
Gee...i wish the residents that I work with were that knowledgeable...
I use Netflix and thus am able to review all of the shows from the prior two years..but alas..want to see the two I have just missed..
any advice is appreciated..
tx!
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11-25-2006 @ 12:00AM
MonkeyHawk said...
John Larroquette is one stone solid actor.
I've seen most of his work but what stands out in my mind is the night he did a staged reading of a Neil Simon play-in-process at the Geffin Playhouse. (Vince D'Nofrio read a small part; it was a magic evening.)
Thing is, with no direction and the script in his hand, Larroquette created a character (based on Dashel Hammit) that was head and shoulders above the guy who, a year later, played the character in the final production.
Larroquette's career might have been tainted by the brilliance of his old "Night Court" character. But that's called *acting!*
He's good. He's damned good.
Someday he will get the role that will make everyone realize that watching John Larroquette act is like watching Picasso paint.
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