Season One, Episode 11, "Detox" - Added Monkey With A Dildo

While trying to figure out why a young patient (Nicholas D'Agosto) will not stop bleeding after a car wreck, House accepts Cuddy's challenge and goes off Vicodin for a week in exchange for no clinic duty for a month. As House's withdrawal symptoms become severe, his methodology for his patient are more harsh and risky, and Foreman and Cameron are afraid he may not be thinking clearly enough in order to save the patient's life. 

& about time too! is this the 1st time addiction gets mentioned? why now? because the Vicodin is late? how is it he doesn't keep a stash in his office for emergencies? or would that be too much of an admission of an addict personality trait? YEAH? LIKE HE ISN'T ADDICTED TO TV AND MEDICINE? well, ok--the latter is harmless and (as discussed previously) more of a substitute for passion, while the latter is..
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"pills don't make me high. they make me neutral." 

 this is a hard argument to fight. the rest of the ep is devoted to him going cold turkey and trying to save another life/solve another puzzle. You are forced to wonder that, IF he had his meds, he would have gotten to the solution earlier. but that is unlikely: the patient history missed the pet, and as foreman said at the outset: "can't be environmental factors. the father had a team come in and test. replaced everything with hypoallergenic bedding too." 

(actually having a mold case here at the law office wherein the plaintiff is accusing the first "remediators" of doing such a poor job that they missed a major part of the infestation and made them sick all over again. so i can see a major lawsuit vs. the ones who did the job on the show.) 

as usual, it is the last bit of casually tossed-off info that breaks the case. but that doesn't negate his argument. when cuddy ("that's double what you were taking when i hired you") and then wilson ("remember? i was there! i know!") allude to watershed moments--she to the actual risk she decided was worth it; he to some precipitous event, either the thrombosis(?) or something equally catastrophic that made him the bitter cynic he is--neither, at either end of this "intervention" (of sorts) really address this issue: neutrality. 

the pills ARE NOT destroying his life. they may be part and parcel of damaging his view of the human race, but that's something we all struggle with--"let he who is without sin," etc. there were mentions of other treatments, palliative care is the term i believe, and he dismissed these outright. and why? 

probably because they would have meant an interruption to the one thing that drives his existence. and PURPOSE is also a drug. give a man a dose and he can move mountains, topple regimes. if palliative care DID NOT interfere with his work, he'd probably opt for it. 

you know, it just struck me the other day, the reason why "House" is so great for you, may have to do with all the time you've spent under physician's care. i listen to the terminology and realize that i am going to have to spend more time at that polite dissent site. i lack basic vocabulary. but i digress... i remember that one pharmoneuro(cologist?) you had who was reading your mood swings like flowcharts. Must've felt like housarbeit. 

AND NOW FOR THE MAJOR REVELATION! 

surrender. you ever heard "sweet surrender" by tim buckley? one of his best, and & that's saying something. 

my quibbles with character flaws must cease; they profiteth me not and naught. in a real world, the way house works miracles would not be seen so much as reason to repel lawsuits as a drawing card for alumni donors. he'd have new yorker profiles and local headlines as "the doctor who saves lives...or people he can barely stand" and even have loveable curmudgeonly portraits painted by his patients on Live at Five. yup. 

[Foreman:] the formula! streetsmart kid who bootstrapped himself up & out and is now probably one step from clarence thomas in his view of that past. 
[Cameron:] Ms. straight-A, goody-two-shoes who was all-varsity field hockey captain while volunteering for meal-on-wheel for AIDS victims, has her mayfly romance/tragedy to give her preternatural wisdom beyond her tender years. 
[Chase:] Aussie dreamboat transfers his desire to aid the afflicted from god to darwin but still can't get over his (probable) jesuit training to accept an authority figure as the Last Word. that's yr. ducklings. 

as for Wilson and Cuddy? jury's still out. PS. comic relief with the masseuse--i may have actually laughed.

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As long as we're talking Darwin, have a stuffed monkey with a dildo

& about time too! is this the 1st time addiction gets mentioned? why now? because the Vicodin is late? how is it he doesn't keep a stash in his office for emergencies? 

In later episodes he does, can't remember which. A season or two later. It was played more as a joke than anything else. I'm not sure if this is the first time "addiction" is mentioned. House's habit is front and center but I can't remember if there's been any sort of conversation about it, other than his liking to pop pills in front of people whenever he can.

You also see, in this episode, that even though House is incredibly manipulative, Wilson is just as manipulative in his own way. After all, Cuddy presented the detox idea as hers, but it was Wilson's. Wilson believes House is an addict, so he has House put through this to "prove" Wilson's point. But it doesn't really "prove" anything except, as we talked about, that it makes it possible for House to function normally. 

i listen to the terminology and realize that i am going to have to spend more time at that polite dissent site. i lack basic vocabulary

Most viewers who aren't obsessed as I am--the majority, actually--have no idea what the doctors are talking about. That's one of the reasons for the Magic School Bus Cam. Have they had anyone go into anaphylactic shock yet? That's one of my favorites. The throat closing together like fast elevator doors. 

that's also the one caused by peanuts? maybe. i mean, I've seen a couple that they may have said it, but it goes by so fast when they get into those "trauma ward chase scenes", to coin a phrase. (Or not. for all i know that may be another of your clan's tropes.) 

i remember that one pharmoneuro(cologist?) you had who was reading your mood swings like flowcharts.  

That was when my psycho-pharmacologist had me in that study of bipolar women and their reproductive cycles. So truly a flow chart, hah. Since my lady parts came out of the factory broken, apparently my moods were never affected by my cycle. Life events, yes, menstruation, no.

Aussie dreamboat transfers his desire to aid the afflicted from god to darwin but still can't get over his (probable) jesuit training to accept an authority figure as the Last Word. 

Actually, Chase is a weaselly rich kid whose father made a phone call to get him on the team. Yes, his seminary training gets in the way, but Chase looks out for Chase, first and foremost. And his lips are super-glued to House's butt.

am i missing something or is that not a contradiction? "me first" but "House first"? 

Season 1, Episode 6: "The Socratic Method"

Part One

this sounds pretty cool: ask questions until the thing-itself gives answers. the point that gets misunderstood today is that you have to ask the RIGHT questions. talking heads who think they're reporters think they're being probing when they phrase a question as "some people say" or "informed sources have it" or "it has been said" because a talking point has gotten a headline or some blogosphere nut has been quoted on fox, when they are really deflecting the probe into another area that is non-productive (to the discussion) or entirely self-serving (to them having a trenchant retort to end a segment).

but housearbeit?--he always ask questions; that's his job, what makes him good. because he goes after the edges, inconsistencies, aberrations. that's where science has more "huh?" moments than "aha!" moments, and that's what lead to breakthroughs. he always questions "the disease", as if it were an uninvited guest he has to figure out how to make at home.   

not much else to say about the ep. couldn't quite figure it out. the ending i mean. vague. the woman was FAKING it? pretending to be schizo so her son would be taken away and not have to deal with her death-by-tumor? so how did we get the voice-overs of multiple personality disorder? what did i miss? i could rewatch it, but thought you might remember.

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As I recall, it wasn't that the woman was faking being schizo.  It was the son's attempt to take care of her that was pushing whatever disease it was    into overdrive, plus whatever meds she was on.  (If you remember me ten years ago, you have a walking, talking example of what the wrong meds can do to you.)  

 
Hearing voices is not a sign of multiple personality disorder; it is a symptom of being psychotic.  I've spent enough time hanging around the halls of New York City's mental health system to know the difference.  In fact, I've never actually met anyone with multiple personality disorder, unless they managed to maintain the same personality during the duration.

Here's a quote from the recap from televisionwithoutpity.com: I couldn't quite remember, except that the son's over-controlling ways was part of why his mother was so fucked up:

Friedman grits that he's never thanking House, because House turned Friedman in. That is so much more important in the grand scheme of things than the fact that House saved his mom from the copper prison of her mind, and also from DYING AT AGE THIRTY-EIGHT. SHUT IT, Friedman. Friedman's mom just shifts uncomfortably until House rescues her, saying he just wanted Friedman out of his life: "That's why I had Doctor Cuddy call Social Services." Ha! The elevator reaches its destination, and Friedman wheels his mother away. 

This was a fun recap because it was written by someone who didn't know and didn't like the show. 

I think House called Social Services, just to keep the brat out of his hair.  I'm not sure why they let the kid back into her life, and always wondered if she went into an epic downward spiral afterwards.

no. it was the mother who dropped the dime on the kid. house was simply trying to live up to his role as healer; he's not after credit or  thanks--just wants the patient out of his life ASAP because THAT'S  WHAT HE'S SUPPOSED TO DO! he gave him the gift of hate. hate is a very  powerful focusing mechanism, as shirley maclaine says to dean martin at the end of "what a way to go!", or as michelle bachman says every  night to her mirror.

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Part Two: Who Do You Love?

In this season, I think the creators were going for the whole sexual romantic tension thing with Cameron.  I don't want to give too much away, but suffice to say it didn't happen.  There are still crazed fans out there who haven't gotten over it.  Inadvertently it happened with Wilson, in my opinion.  The guy who recapped the last two or three episodes from this period kept making observations about how gay they were, and I know the two actors enjoyed playing the hell out of the subtext, just to annoy Fox's censors.

Chase became the doctor who could perform almost ANY surgery known to God or Man.  I have a soft spot for him in those early seasons because I like little boys, and those rosy lips and blond hair do something to me.  Not necessarily a healthy something.  Also, particularly in this season, he's a weasel who will kiss House's ass so much he practically gets dragged around by his lips.

 

OK. but now i find out [last ep] that this is a TEACHING HOSPITAL, or  did i misconstrue some remark? sort of stands to reason, then, that  MAYBE dr house might want them to run their own tests to see what  might go wrong? this isn't an apologia--bytheby--as much as a  plausible alternative view that fits in with an approach to medicine.

it's called Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (or PPTH for short), and House is kicking their asses both for his own amusement but also to teach, not just medicine, but various life skills.  That last sentence was so lame I'm ashamed of myself. everything  house does RIGHT is usually only after he, or the others, do something WRONG. you can't make an intern without breaking ovum.

  

OK. the pretty boy is chase? so how come no one tells him he's a dead  ringer for the dish on GH? i mean, house himself commented on the F  asst's 1st class assets [and she is cute, but not porn star cute]; how  come nobody else notices this guy? no reason on earth he shouldn't be  boffing candystripers by the gurneyload.  or would that spoil your relationship with him?

No, I'm willing to share.  My favorite duckling is Foreman (the black guy), just because.  I don't have the hots for him, I just like the actor and the character.  Any complaints I have will have to wait until later on.  

Dr. Foreman is judging you. Harshly.

Jesse Spencer auditioned but didn't get a callback.  But he wanted the part so badly he flew back to LA from Australia on his own dime and auditioned again.  At first the character was going to be an American playboy, but they let Spencer be Australian.  Since Hugh Laurie is British and has to act with an American accent (he's likened it to "having a pebble in his shoe" in regard to his acting), there's a certain amount of envy there.

 

Season 1, Episode 5, "Damned If You Do"

Description:

It's Christmas time in the clinic, but there's no occasion for joy when Sister Mary Augustine is brought, apparently suffering from stigmata. Figuring that it is nothing more than an allergy, House treats the nun accordingly--and as a result she nearly suffocates. As the other nuns set up a prayer vigil (much to House's annoyance), the clues to solving this medical mystery are painstakingly pieced together, leading unexpectedly to an incident in the Sister's distant past.  She was once a free spirit, and has had a copper IUD inside of her for decades, causing a copper allergy. Ho ho ho!

i bet you like this one if only for the fact that it is his 1st confrontation with organized religion, which i do not equate with "god". what i don't get is how the cute M dr. could say under his breath, "i hate nuns" and then become her best buddy. flies in the face of his blanket statement. i hate nuns, but i have a very good reason. he went to seminary school. ok. so what part about seminary school has ANY contact with a sisterhood order? the answer is: NONE. so unless he has grade school experience, which would make him as bitter and resentful as i, then he has no business not being even more arch than house.

this is the third allergy and 2nd to use copper as a villain. [actually, i probably remember "star trek" much too well. but copper was also the basis of spock's blood, in case you'd forgotten, didn't know, or didn't care. now, as for me? i'm basing an entire novella/novel ungothic vampire story on the use of tungsten in the place of molybdenum... figure that one out! heh-heh...] i bet that a lot of this stuff was very good for big pharma to get more people ordering prescripts from their docs after these shows and astro-zenca-zyrtec-zipcar-type commercials that end with 10 second speed-readings of hazardous side-effects.

 
how many times have you said to yourself: IF ONLY I COULD OUTLINE ALL MY PROBLEMS IN DRI-ERASE MAGIC MARKER ON AN EASEL-MOUNTED WHITEBOARD, I COULD BE HAPPY!

now, i think it's time to say something about the deep tissue eye-massages we get from the sf/x people. [bet you didn't know i was a big fan of isaac asimov when a tad. i remember reading "fantastic voyage" in the boy's life scouting magazine and was smitten by its passages through the circulatory system.] does that site of yours, the one where doctors discuss the shows, ever say anything about the representation of the organs, and the way they inflame, or contract or pulsate like gushy icky bags of mucus-covered goo-traps? it is cheesy and surrealistic at the same time, sure, but is it more than shock value...and a chance to ramp up the dramatic music? [by the by: soundtrack by massive attack. that's verrry hipulatic.]

Chase bonds with nun

The admin bazoomer--after something like this, any rational person would have said 'i owe you a big one' but all she says is thanks. and that he let's her get away with it...you know, human beings, in general, behave pretty much, as heretofore mentioned, like wild monkeys. they don't really vary their habits [like diet, say] unless forced to. house must have some ulterior motive for not tearing her a new one, like he would with anyone else. i'm not saying "vindictive"; i'm just saying that his "triumph" over her, well, it could have used a little more "mounting", if you catch my drift, unless he was saving it up for later use. but that seems improbable too, as these things happen all the time at the shop; how come he's never called in favors before? or is that yet to come?

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I have no idea how accurate the representations are, and the special effects people have admitted they are WAY too much in love with the stuff. Most of it is to give the viewer a sense of what's happening in the body while the doctor is rattling out the medical jargon. One regular commentator calls the effects the Magic Schoolbus Cam!


The doctor site, which you SHOULD check out, is politedissent.com It doesn't cover just House, but many other aspects of media. Oh, yeah, they love allergies, and they adore heavy metal toxicity.

As for Chase's feelings about religion, I have no idea about that part of his life, other than he went to seminary school and he's the only one of the three ducklings (or Cottages as some call them) with any religious feelings of substance. Cameron's more or less an atheist and Foreman is a lapsed Baptist or something like that.

[bytheby: soundtrack by massive attack. that's verrry hipulatic.]

 Hugh Laurie chose that. He's hip-tastic. 

This is a sucky episode, and the wig the nun is wearing...well, I'd rather watch the squishy goo. Are you trying to extrapolate deep literary thinking and depth of character from a television show? Beyond a certain point, ain't gonna happen. If at some point you feel yourself screaming "I can't take any more of this shit!" I'll resend you my favorite episodes.

the admin bazoomer

On the Tropes site, this character is called Ms Fanservice (any character obviously there to gratify the viewers' sexual fantasies). 

Male characters are called The Estrogen Brigade. You really should check it out. Last night's episode truly blew goats. (Season 7, ep. 10, Carrot or Stick) 

housearbeit? 

German for homework. [actually s.b.= hausarbeit] 

"I can't take any more of this shit!" > I'll resend you my favorite episodes. 

no need. still in my system. all this blather is by way of saying: 'so, you must have considered this at some point or other, or read it in the blogs, and how did they answer/approach dismiss/dispense it?' i figger if you spent so much time with this, you probably hit the same notes. or am i really not getting it at all? 

i mean, we're used to comic strips existing outside of time and space, but i'm sort of wondering if there is any bit of all the trauma that has gone down previously coming to a head. if house's back story is what gives him his brooding depth, you assume there is some sort of accumulation in experience that leads to a richer one to come? 

like the admin-bazoomer thang here. in any real world this would amount to a blank check, a maker to be called in w/no questions asked. but here it is just another dissociated day at the orifice?