(S03E10) For weeks now we've been hearing that the Detective Tritter storyline might be coming to a close, and people have been exclaiming in the comments here, and elsewhere, that they were kind of sick of it. Part of the issue with the whole issue he's brought to light is that it has a longer-term bearing on the whole picture, as opposed to some of the other mid-season plotlines (Stacy, for instance), so I'm seeing more and more why it's become more integral to what's going on, rather than just something that goes by the wayside. After a two-week wait for a new episode, I was not only happy to see some solid story progress, but for a pretty cool case to solve as well.This time around, House is looking for his small dose of Vicodin that Cuddy is slowly dosing him with, when he walks in on his boss diagnosing a patient in the clinic. The 15-year old girl, who is quite small in stature, is with her mother, who is a dwarf. Aside from the fact that House seemed to take a curious liking to the woman, I most certainly wasn't surprised to see him start making height-challenged jokes at the two of them. Also, for as much as House harassed this woman and her daughter throughout, she seemed to see the value of him being at the hospital, which is something that doesn't come through from week to week, even when he does swoop in and save the day.
As for the main plot line, House is offered three days to choose to take two months in rehab to get rid of his drug habit, as part of the "deal" that Wilson has conjured up with Detective Tritter. Of course, the pair are rebuffed, and told to get out of House's office, as he's not interested in taking a deal. But that's not all he isn't interested in. He could care less that his colleagues are, or at least Cameron is, looking out for his best interests. At the same time, no one likes a rat, and while Chase got away with Tritter's attempt to make him look bad in the last episode, everyone knows that Wilson went to Tritter with the details on House's drug use and the prescriptions that got them all into this in the first place.
Unfortunately for House, getting cut off by Cuddy leads him to a very, very bad place. Not only does he look terrible, but he's trying to fight his way through. Aside from trying to be creative and steal a dead man's Oxycontin, which Wilson foils him on, he's looking pretty good at sticking to the detox. That doesn't mean he's looking very good on a personal level, but at least he seems to be surviving. As for that bad place I was mentioning, he really puts himself there by signing for the next Oxycontin prescription at the hospital pharmacy, a move that was blatant foreshadowing, but could have just been a teaser, sort of like his visit to a local health clinic, where he's called out for trying to get a hold of opiates, and leaves before security can nail him.
As the show progressed, some part of me thought that Cameron's visit to House's apartment and the others taking his advice, including Foreman breaking into Cuddy's desk to try and steal some drugs for part of House's opinion, would lead to the team's petition for some sort of leniency as far as Tritter and the law went. While that didn't happen, it doesn't mean that they didn't see their colleague's true value. Wilson, even at the show's end, realized what had happened and what he was a part of, especially after being called out by Cameron as it appeared that he had only ratted on his longtime friend to get his car and bank accounts back.
Every so often, we're also treated to that "other side" of House, this time with him calling home to his family to check on how they're doing at Christmas, only to be greeted with a voicemail message. You could almost see the smile on his face as he left a message. Unfortunately, that almost smile was quickly replaced by a bunch of scotch and way too much medication, even for this pill-popper of a doctor. Wilson's entrance into House's apartment had me thinking that the good doctor had somehow survived and left, but as Wilson finds him on the floor looking bloated and with vomit stuck to his face, it was clear that there was a sea change about to happen as far as this show's overall plot.
When House went to Tritter to ask about going to rehab, it might have seemed like the cliff-hanger that would have a typical show's fans on their feet, but with this show we know there will be a way around it. At the same time, I can definitely see this whole drug situation as an out for the show's creators, should they ever want to go out while on top. Not that I think we're in dire straits like that for this season, but you never know. What I do know is that we can't have seen the last of Tritter, even with previews of House going to court to defend himself on the drug charges. Will Tritter's "vendetta" against House help out the doctor's case, and will his team and Cuddy come to the rescue, and will Wilson see some trouble when he's either forced to testify or lose his license, or has his original testimony brought up in court and he gets jail time anyway? Lots of good questions to be asked, and surely some curious cases to be solved.
What is clear is that Cuddy, as heavy handed as she is with House most of the time, realizes that he is the best doctor she has, and now that she truly is faced with not having him at the hospital, she's probably going to work her posterior off to make sure he's back in some way, shape or form. The fact that she was even willing to give up the life of this one young girl so that many more would be helped out after House rehabbed or detoxed himself proved that.
All that matters is that while there isn't some surefire resolution to the court and Tritter situation, there's enough progress that it's not making me feel like the show has bedbugs or a crab trying to bite its feet as it stumbles along. In some ways, maybe that's how the Tritter storyline is written - to tick us all off in a way just to keep us buzzing.
Thoughts? Predictions?
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Mike Henry and Daryl Hall on a Cleveland Show Thanksgiving
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-13-2006 @ 12:25PM
scott said...
cool twist there at the end... I figured this whole ride with Tritter was over; the show's on hiatus for a couple weeks, which could easily translate to two months in rehab TV-time, House comes back clean and David Morse goes to bug some other doctor at St Elsewhere or something.
But noooooooo...
I loved the 'wanna go for a spin?' line. I hope the dwarf mom is back at some point - she and House were great together.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 1:20PM
Leeanna said...
I don't think Wilson should feel any sort of guilt. The man clearly needs help and he's no kind of friend to his "friend". He didn't even care when Wilson lost his car, money etc. I mean its cliche but you can't help those who don't want to help them self. but then again House would not be house if his pride didn't get in the way of commen sense. Overall good episode.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 12:31PM
Jimmy said...
I'm a sporadic viewer of House -- not because it isn't a fine show with a fine cast of actors; no, it's because I can find very little in the way of redeeming qualities in Dr. House. Nis need to belittle and harangue both patients and physicians, even those who try to be his friend, totally turns me off. You can only take so much of this before it becomes too much. If this was a real hospital I would feel sorry for the patients. A building full of doctors and only one mean-spirited bastards is capable of diagnosing cases? Even for a fictional TV series that's a plot device that grows old way too quickly. The show would be more realistic and watchable if House could be put in his place more oftten, especially by his medical students who should be better than they are by now.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 12:34PM
Susan J said...
First off, I do like the show but see that House has personal problems and needs help. I can't understand why Wilson is being made out to be the bad guy here by fans or House's fictional associates - House stole prescription blanks from Wilson. It's a felony and a breach of trust on House's part. It should not be treated as "wink, wink, nod, nod - but he needed the drugs". House desperately needs an intervention to get his junkie ways modified and I think Wilson understands that. He has gone way beyond pain control. House is a totally self-centered individual who does not care for anyone else in the world except as they exist to fill his needs. Associates exist for him only to do scut work and praise his brilliance. (And I do wonder when the gang will start mopping the floors and cooking, since they apparently do all the other technical/professional work involved in medical care - running the MRI, hang meds, CT, lab, etc.) Although I do enjoy a good drama, this show is starting to fail as such because the writing is divorcing itself from any pretext of medical reality. House is a character-driven show and if House indeed craves the recognition of others, he has the start of a human trait - a need. Let's work with that and see if he can find some semblance of humanity. He is also lazy as evidenced by his unwillingness to explore other options for pain control, rehabilitation or adaptation. He wouldn't even use the cane the way the rehab. therapist told him! An arrest and trial would be interesting - a jury would lock him up as soon as House glared at them and a competent judge would see right though his BS. So maybe a nolo verdict with court-ordered rehab? I do hope the writers don't sell this out with an episode of Tritter getting sick.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 1:06PM
Erin said...
For those of you that complain about the show, you don't seem to realize that House's character is what makes the show. Yes, most of the cases are very interesting, but it House that makes the show so good every week. It's a drama. It's not real. Everyone knows that a doctor in the real world would not get away with treating people that way. If House suddenly had an epiphany about the way he treated people and became less self-centered, I wouldn't watch the show. Who wants to see a nice caring doctor solving weird medical cases? How boring...
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 1:56PM
Rich said...
If Wilson refuses to testify, he can be held in contempt, jailed, lose his license, etc. But they can't use his prior statement to the police against House. It's hearsay.
If the creators of the show wanted to add a legal plotline, they should have talked to some lawyers. That business with Tritter going through hospital files a couple of weeks ago would just never happen. Those files are private, are subject to doctor-patient privilege, and are protected by various federal laws (eg, HIPAA). The police can't just stroll into a hospital (even with a subpoena) and start going through confidential patient files.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 1:56PM
Joe S. said...
when will the next episode air?
next week?
next year?
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 1:27PM
bobinnv said...
While I like this show, I agree with Susan J that Wilson seems to have been made into a 'bad' guy, even though his whole career is being ruined by House. Plus, in this episode Wilson has been turned into a dunce by the writers, unable to help at all. In previous episodes Wilson was a smart guy, sometimes pointing out things that House missed.
In real life, the House/Wilson friendship would be over. For that matter, House would have been suspended or fired, no matter how good a doctor he is. I think the writers have taken things to far to be believable anymore.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 1:40PM
La-di-dah said...
Love House (the show). But did not know how much House (the doc) was really screwed up until this episode. I sort of see the reasoning behind most of the doctors letting House be House (when he is on drugs, he is contained-i.e. self-destructive, but non-destructive to other; when off drugs, he spirals and is a useless diagnostician; there is clearly one choice that hurts more patients). I also think most of the doctors did not appreciate an outsider like Tritter coming in to dictate; I think ordinarily, these sensible doctors might have called an intervention on House a long time ago, but House is ... stubborn. But the choice that saves more patients also causes more House-self-destruction and Wilson (yes, he wanted to save his practice and property) might be the only one soft enough to care that about what House is doing to himself; but he went to the enemy, so that makes it more complicated.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 1:45PM
Amy said...
My thoughts exactly, Erin. Although having worked with doctors in a couple of different settings, House says what a lot of people in the medical field wish they could say!
What I find REAL, and so much more important than the med. stuff, are the interactions between the characters and the emotions the show deals with. For example, the hard, ugly look at addiction is very true to life for me - House is both pathetic and sympathetic at the same time, only the way a true addict can be. The fallout among his friends/colleagues and the conflict that someone else's addiction creates for other people is also spot-on. It's frequently not the addict who is affected by their own problem - the addict causes problems for everyone else in their life (until they're busted like House, then they have problems!). House lying in his own vomit was also an unglamorous view of addiction and gut-wrenchingly real.
Unrelated to this subject - I thought the scene with House reluctantly sharing his french fries with the little girl was SO cute!!
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 2:04PM
gadlaw said...
Great episode, coming back on Jan 22 I believe. I read a comment somewhere else that the mother was one dmilf. That cracked me up, she is quite attractive and a worthy House foe/foil. Great episode, hate the wait.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 3:00PM
Walt said...
Re: Dwarf - when do we get the crossover with William Shatner? And it's a shame about her real life husband.
Re: Laws allowing local officials to go through drug logs at a particular hospital - I'd buy a quick acting tumor in Morse's character's head before I'd buy a DA who had that kind of pull, as Cutty would have known about it, as well as other folk. Nice twist, but that's a bit of a reach by the writers.
All things considered, the show is still fun to watch, and yes, watching House get in a pickle is fun. I hope the trial scenes are just as fun!
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 2:45PM
malren said...
*sigh*
The entire Tritter storyline is ridiculous. No local cop would have this kind of legal authority and no fancy hospital would let one of their own be legally bullied like this. House is a flight of fancy at the best of times, but my suspension of disbelief only goes so far.
They've stretched too far with this. Wrap it the frack up already.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 2:41PM
Steven Rubio said...
House is definitely screwed up. Hurray for that ... without that frakked-up character (and "frakked" is the proper phrase, the only TV character right now I can think of as messed up as House is Starbuck on BSG), this would be a standard doctor show, and I wouldn't have watched past the first episode. Same thing with this, the "xmas" episode. House passed out on the floor from booze and drugs and barf ... Wilson being a snitch ... Cutty willing to let a patient die in the greater good ... and best of all, the brief, mirthless laugh with which House responds to Wilson's idea that House might prefer spending xmas eve with people rather than drugs ... it was the anti-xmas episode, and much the better for it.
There are plenty of touchy-feely xmas episodes out there, and plenty of doctor shows (and all genres, for that matter) where the hero or heroine is flawed but decent. House is a prick who screws over his friends, and lives not to save patients but to figure out puzzles. I'd hate to know the guy in real life (although I wouldn't mind having him for my doctor in an emergency), but as a TV character, I am thankful that he has so few redeeming qualities.
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 3:16PM
Shortt Sirket said...
Not that it honestly matters, but he wasn't drinking scotch. He was drinking Makers Mark Whiskey. Sadly enough I could tell this the instant I saw the bottle.
*sigh* ;-)
Reply
12-13-2006 @ 3:22PM
Dave T. said...
I'm a big house fan for the past season and a half. but I thought this would be it with the whole detective angle. Plus why hasn't the DA taken over by now? Why isn't the DA offering the deal? I'd be shocked any DA would want to put a brilliant doctor into jail who has a drug problem. If every celeb gets off the hook I'm sure a guy with A: a real problem and B: who helps people when no one else can will get a slap on the wrist and medical treatment.
I'm sure House could be diagnosed with depression after the accident and pain returning set in and ruined his life, again. Anyway yes this storyline went on one episode too long
Reply
12-14-2006 @ 4:41PM
Bitgod said...
I'm tired of the cop crap. It's like the first season when that new boss came in, after a while I got tired of it. I usually like long plotlines, but for some reason, not in House. Just keep it simple.
Reply
12-14-2006 @ 1:22AM
wardude said...
Tritter did not scan the logs, we will (I think) find out that Wilson told Tritter about the pills - he look at the bottle and left them at the scene, on House.
He is doing this to save his buds life and avoid the lack of testimony threats from Tritter and the guilt trip Cameron laid on him earlier.
Reply
12-14-2006 @ 3:05AM
rjbhiemstra said...
I think the storyline with the detective should have been wrapped up in this episode. Like mentioned before there's going to be a break for a few weeks so they could have make it believable that House went to rehab.
On the other hand, House shouldn't stop being an addict at all, because it would take away a part of the show.
Reply
12-14-2006 @ 8:21AM
Manda said...
I've got a big ol' jeer for TV Guide for getting my hopes up by printing "Tonight, David Morse's story arc concludes..."
Reply