Wednesday, April 11, 2007

House: Fakes on a plane

"House" spoilers coming up just as soon as I find out what the in-flight movie is...

Well, that was a lot of fun, wasn't it? A&B stories with relatively equal weight, Wilson in charge of the young'uns, House repeatedly getting over on Cuddy, House recruiting three passengers as fill-ins for Chase, Foreman and Cameron, the parallel editing as both patients got a spinal tap... this was one where the producers' joy at messing with the formula was palpable.

So, a few questions:
  • Given the circumstances under which they met, is Wilson calling the hooker with the heart of gold for a date, or for a "date"? And, regardless of his intentions, is she within her rights to charge him? And how much fun is House going to have with this, regardless?
  • Between the hooker and the very helpful flight attendant, this one was just an ode to the service industry, wasn't it?
  • Does Chase have any shot at getting Cameron back, or was she 100% using him while waiting on House to appreciate her wonderfulness?
  • If the latter, who's hernext boytoy: Foreman or Wilson? Or does she really try to get House's attention by choosing the hooker with the heart of gold?
What did everybody else think?

11 comments:

K J Gillenwater said...

I really disliked the "mass hysteria" angle on the plane illness. They could have done without that and just had panic ensue as everyone on the plane (and Cuddy) assumed it was a deadly communicable disease.

I also had problems with his doing the LMP on the plane and attempt surgery! If a guy had really swallowed drugs and was dying on the plane, they would just let him die. I don't think a doctor would enlist help from a kid, a dude who doesn't speak English, and an annoyed woman to help slice someone open.

When House made the final diagnosis, there was very little time to explain to us how the plane's pressurization aggravated the guy's problem.

I was waiting for Cameron to dump Chase. All last week, people kept warning Chase not to break Cameron's heart....I knew it would be the other way around. Not sure how this will play out next week...

BF said...

When House made the final diagnosis, there was very little time to explain to us how the plane's pressurization aggravated the guy's problem.

I understood it fine. (It helps if one of your favorite movies is The Abyss.) But you're right that the show normally does their CSI-special effect thingy during explanations.

who's her next boytoy: Foreman or Wilson?

In a special sweeps episode, Nurse Brenda! (Who can forget "I hit that, and it was totally hot.")?

No other real thoughts about the episode (i.e. good as usual) but was anyone else annoyed at the cab-driving cartoon? I thought it was a teaser for a Fall show. Turns out it's just a way to make sure you're not TiVo-ing the commericals.

Anonymous said...

The picture you have here caught my eye. While I don't watch the show, um.. .I've flow MANY times in the past, and whether its coach or first/business class (granted my experience there is mostly just walking through it to get to coach), THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A COMMERCIAL PLANE WITH THAT MUCH ROOM BETWEEN SEATS!!!

-Tasia's Daddy

Anonymous said...

House was in first class. That accounts for the extra room.

Just the other day I was thinking I hadn't really been enjoying House much this season. The show has always been formulaic, but lately it's been bothering me more. And their attempts at breaking from formula haven't really worked well in my opinion (especially the Tritter arc.) And then the show goes and does something like this and totally redeems themselves! I thought it was a great episode. (Though I do agree having a little kid hold the guy down, let alone being present, during the surgery was a bit much even for this show.)

Anonymous said...

I think they may be going for a "House Loves Cuddy" arc so House/Cameron probably isn't in the cards... or is it?

rukrusher said...

I was hoping the reason Cuddy and the Girl were sick was the same reason, they were both pregnant. House said statistically 2 people on the plane were preganant. I also love the herpes diagnosis, great moment.

Unknown said...

I second the call against the cab driver cartoon. The Rosie/Donald bits were only dated, and the "Which detention center am I being taken to" could have been a savvy anti-xenophobia dig... but when it started in on the whole inane "hooker/prostitute" stuff it was just dumb, offensive, pathetic.

Fun departure episode, even if using "mass hysteria" to explain the generation of identical rashes seems waaaay out there.

Re: the call girl (who was introduced nicely... given the promos for the ep, I was wondering when they were going to do the "D'oh, she's not a hooker, she's a travel agent" thing), Wilson's just asking her out. That's his "lesson learned" from the whole "being punished by staying home" thing. He's too clueless to pick up on her dayjob... and to be fair, the show didn't give him many clues (the fem patient's sexual adv in Venezuela were hetero, etc.). So there will be painful lies, awkward revelations, etc.

Of course, given House's history, he'll probably know the woman.

Last week's episode, with the pregnant photographer, had a really out-of-the-blue powerful moment. Unexpected.

Anonymous said...

Well I guess the cartoon didn't stop me from Tivo-ing. I have NO idea what you guys are talking about.

Anyone care to elaborate?

Anonymous said...

I didn't see the cartoon thing either. My DVD record skips in 30 second increments, unlike my dead DVR which skipped in 28 seconds at a time.

Pam

Brent McKee said...

What I'm expecting is that (1) Wilson doesn't know that she's a hooker (with a heart of gold), and (2) House does because he has used her services in the past.

And maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but it seems to me that Cuddy's advice to Cameron a few weeks ago about Chase was because Cuddy had exactly the same sort of arrangement with someone she used to work with. And given all the hints that they've been dropping, I'd be shocked if that someone was a younger Greg House.

Anonymous said...

The cartoon cab driver was featured in a series of bumpers. It's apparently a new character called Oleg the Taxi Man. There's an Ad Age article here explaining the purpose -- to keep people watching throughout commercial breaks, natch -- but not why the content is so pathetic.

The bumpers I saw during the Idol breaks concentrated on Oleg's passengers. Trump was in one, and Oleg asked him why he didn't spend more $ on his haircut. (So FUNNY.) Rosie O'Donnell was in another, grumbling "Mememememememe."

The bumpers during House were stupid, offensive, and really distracted from the program they led into. Two of them -- which you can watch here (the clip options are in the lower right corner) -- had Oleg practicing along with a "How to Speak English" tape... Practicing lines like "Which detention center am I going to?" and "Will you please tell me where is my court appointed attorney?" Two of the other bumpers seemed to have him mumbling about prostitutes?

Cab driver jokes are old news. But Oleg presents the immigrant as a criminal, a lecher, and an idiot.