After the rule-bending episode last week—no medical mystery, gobs of philosophical dialogue, House in close proximity to the patient throughout—"Needle in a Haystack" is by-the-books House. And it's a pretty good book.
If last week's is the kind of episode I'd special order, this week's is the kind I could describe in my sleep. If I had a very specific kind of sleep disorder that led me to describe TV shows. We meet patient, patient gets sick, patient responds to treatment, oh no he doesn't, conflict with family, hmm what's wrong, okay we've got the real diagnosis this time, House and Cuddy and Wilson shenanigans, doctor-patient parallels bring out emotional side of the story. That may be the overall template of most episodes, but the depth is in the details.
So is the fun. In wintry weather, House pulls up to his hospital parking spot to see someone else's name inscribed on it, and his now some distance away. He clomps into the hospital, more peeved about getting his shoes wet than the effort of walking, it seems, but that's not how he's going to make his case.
He asks his team who this J. Whitner is. Cameron identifies her as a new researcher.
Chase: Is she hot?Cameron: She's in a wheelchair.
Chase: Doesn't mean she's not hot.
And she kind of is, though the fact that the actress, Wendy Makkena, played Sister Mary Robert in Sister Act infringes on that image a little. That's unfair since, after all, Bertie Wooster and Prince George haven't exactly diminished Hugh Laurie's claim to the adjective. In any case, sparks fly a little, as they usually do when House meets a woman who can snark right back at him.
Their battle of the snarks results in a hilariously un-PC battle of the handicaps, as each asserts their right to the closer spot. "Cane!" he cries. "Wheelchair!" she responds.
He does have a point, as he usually does—walking causes him pain, and he could easily slip on the ice, so he needs to be close to the door. But he is also incredibly wrong and pig-headed, as he usually is. "Oh, well, since you asked so nicely ... wheelchair" she tells him when he asks her to trade spots. Cuddy has no sympathy either, pointing out that his new spot is still within the limits of his application for a handicapped space.
The dilemma does let them get into another of their ridiculous but ridiculously funny bets. Cuddy says he can't last a week in a wheelchair. He says he'll do it for the better parking spot. So he proceeds to spend the rest of the episode in a wheelchair.
As much fun as it is to see House do his stupid cane tricks, it's a nice treat to see his stupid wheelchair tricks this episode. My favourite is how he closes the passenger side door after scrambling in there with the wheelchair, followed by House's satisfied smile. And here's some random trivia that hard core fans already know: creator David Shore originally wanted House to be in a wheelchair, but FOX's Gail Berman vetoed that and suggested the cane - the only time, Shore joked, that he's appreciated network interference.
Article comments
1 - pdesr
The return to normalcy.
After last week's episode, where emotions were more primary than secondary, and the humor was more biting than usual, it was nice to see an episode that was formula House.
Cameron and Chase were little more than props, and while we get a better glimpse of the character of Foreman, it was classic House. He was the center, and while we weren't given any new revelations about what makes him tick, we are definitely entertained.
House is like a fine wine - we don't want to break down the complexity all at once, sometimes it is simply enough to sit back and enjoy it!
2 - Kaonashi
I'm sorry, but I did not enjoy last night's episode. In fact, I think that the show is jumping the shark. When I first started watching House 2 years ago, I really enjoyed it. I liked that House wasn't a wussy softy. I liked his cranky, sarcastic side and his witty banter with the other characters. But nowadays it seems as if House is just mean to be mean. Last week he was "treating" patients by not touching them just so he can win a bet with Cuddy. How stupid and dangerous is that? And I found the whole parking space battle ridiculous.
As for Cuddy, how in the hell did she ever become the head of the hospital, when she doesn't have a backbone? She's always folding in when it comes to House, even perjuring herself in court.
I don't like this evolving concept of House being an untouchable God that no one else can question him- not the patients, not his employees, not his best friend, and not even his boss. I thought the point of House in the first place was that he was flawed. He's not a nice doctor with a great bedside manner. He's a cranky old guy who has a bum leg. Foreman, Chase, Cameron, Cuddy, and Wilson are supposed to be brilliant doctors. Why are all of them constantly being presented as useless unless House was around? The show is just losing its believability, and if they keep this up, I may stop watching.
3 - Kaonashi
Oh, and I forgot to point out that in regards to the actual episode...when the patient said that he would rather stick with his family and not fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor because he noted that Drs. Chase, Cameron, and Foreman weren't married, the writers seemed to forget that Cameron is a widow. Not to mention that there are thousands of happily married, successful doctors with loving families. Logic just went out the window in this episode.
4 - Diane Kristine
I highly doubt the writers forgot Cameron's a widow - but the kid had no way of knowing. The point wasn't that no doctor can have a happy family life, it was that for that particular kid, because of the beliefs of his family, he would be choosing between them and medicine. And he chose them.
I don't think the show's believability level has changed over the seasons (which isn't to say I thought it was ever gritty realism), but I also don't see House being presented as anything other than horribly flawed rather than an untouchable God. I wouldn't like the show you describe either.
5 - Kaonashi
True, the kid didn't know about Cameron's history, but it still seemed a little weak that the writers would use that reasoning to justify the kid's choice. He's basing his choice on what he sees from just those 3 doctors. He doesn't consider the thousands of doctors who sucessfully balance family and career. But you have a point in that it probably doesn't matter for the kid, since it conflicts with his family's beliefs.
As for House, you don't think that the whole Tritter story arc cemented the notion that House can get away with anything? Everyone constantly lied for him. Cuddy perjured herself in court. Wilson almost went to prison for him. The Cottages (mini Houses, heh!) had their bank accounts frozen because of him. When House was in rehab, the other doctors were so useless, constantly consulting him. It was absurd. He's always right and everyone else is always wrong. Wasn't there a patient who almost died because House wasn't around?
The one time House was wrong (the little girl who was allergic to light) was when he was suffering from withdrawal. Chase caught the mistake, and House punches him in the face.
Chase, Foreman, and Cameron are full-fledged specialists, right? They're not med students or interns, but they often appear that way because of House. Wilson is head of Oncology, but in some cases House can diagnose a cancer better than he can. And Cuddy well, I still can't figure out how she got to be Chief of Staff (is that the proper term?) at the hospital.
6 - Morgenstern
"He's always right and everyone else is always wrong." I think you chose the wrong episode for that comment. While you may be right most of the time, the fact that in this episode it was Foreman who spotted the problem and not House (no granulomas, no, just a toothpick) made me grin widely. I like the tendency of the show to build up Foreman as a mini-House. But I agree with you when it comes to Cuddy. I would love to see Cuddy win more battles with House. You know, just occasionally. To give me some kind of "hah, serves you right, House!" feeling. But I also have a sneaky suspicion that we might get to see more of Doctor Whitner. Maybe she will be more of a sparring partner in the future than Cuddy is. Just don't give up hope, Kaonashi. We might be in for a treat!
7 - DJRadiohead
It was a fun return to form. It wasn't until the game of wheelchair chicken in the hospital hallway that I realized what has been missing this season: fun. House's confrontation with Whitner in this seen is done largely with smiles and even the slightest undercurrent of attraction between the two. I actually did laugh out loud during this. House was being an infant again, and rather than doing it in a shrill, grating way (which has happened on occasion this season) he was fun.
It wasn't the best episode of the season, but I will watch a few times when I get the DVDs.
8 - Diane Kristine
Kaonashi, I think we have a fundamental difference of opinion of what House's role in the show is. You seem to see him as the hero, while I think he is and has always been the anti-hero. The show isn't a morality play where House does something bad and is punished, and I think it's a richer show for it. House is presented as a misanthropic, emotionally crippled drug addict, not as a role model.
I hated how the Tritter arc ended not because House got away with it, but how cheaply his getting away with it was written. He damaged his already damaged relationships and lost the respect of Cameron, even. That's about as low as he can get, I'd say.
House almost always gets away with things because the premise of the show is that in diagnosing medical ailments, he's "almost always eventually right." It's the one thing in his life he's great at and it's why Cuddy keeps him around and why people let him get away with outrageous things (things for which, if this were a gritty realistic series, he would have long been fired, had his medical license revoked, and been thrown in jail - so realism doesn't really enter into the discussion).
Cuddy's mission through the whole series has been to try to teach House some humanity. That's the root of most of their silly bets, and the root of many of their interactions. She fails almost every time. So what has House won? The right to be a miserable, unhappy drug addict. Yay House. He won a parking spot through a week of effort and loss of dignity when if he'd asked nicely, Cuddy could have reassigned another spot closer to the door, or Dr. Whitner might have agreed to a trade.
All House gets away with in this show is the right to continue to be the gleefully miserable bastard I still love to watch. But that's not much of a prize for him.
9 - Kaonashi
@ Morganstern: Yes, you're right in that it was Foreman who spotted the toothpick. House even embarrassed himself in the operating room when he *ew* was feeling around that poor boy's bowels. Oh yeah, Foreman is definitely destined to be House Jr.
And yes, I did like the sparks between Dr. Whitner and House. I laughed during her little attempt at feigning lesbianism to distract House. I hope to see more of her. I can't believe she was the sweet young nun from Sister Act! Has it really been that long since I was in high school? Wow.
@ Diane: I don't see him as a hero. In fact, at I mentioned, I started watching the show because of probably the same reason as you- he's an anti-hero. He's not one of those perfect, polished doctors who gets along with patients and staff. He's flawed physically, emotionally, and psychologically.
The thing is that I've just been noticing in several episodes that the writers have been taking the character of House too far. He is mean for the sake of being mean, and that everyone is helpless if he's not around. I'm just looking for a little more balance and realism to the character.
10 - Lisa McKay
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States.