K friends...

I missed it!!!!!! :angry: :( In the mess of finals and the end of the semester I have totally lost my brain and realized that it actually was Tuesday about 10:30. Blaugh.

So talk!!! Tell me what happened, pleasepleasepleaseplease!!!

I'm not going to tell you anything cuz I'm evil, and someone else would probably do a better job. I've come up with a new theory as to why we hate Tritter

He's exactly like House, but we never focus on him long enough to see the good he does; we just see an asshole. Now tell me if we only saw House from the POTW pov the and never so the outcome of his actions; we may hate him too. Although I doubt that sense Hugh Laurie does such a great job.


I liked this episode, I mean it was a little out of canon, but it was a nice change. People at TWOP are complaining that everyone was out of character; I don't think so I think yes they do act different this episode. This wasn't a normal episode and we got to see a different side of the characters which was nice. This is why I like the show because the Character aren't one-sided obviously for some that's a bad thing.



I understand why Wilson left at the end of the episode. When my friend got so drunk the third time we were hanging out drinking ; that she had gotten so drunk that I feared for her life; I finally got fed up kicked her out of my car infront of her house, and was like you want to fuck up your life. Fine! I'm through covering your ass and trying to save you and I don't get a fucking thank you. I think Wilson felt the same so too me it was a legitimate reaction to House's OD (He made sure he wasn't going to die, and I did the same with my friend)
We're best friends and have been for awhile and in my lameness to relate to the show I pull paralells between House/Wilson to our relationship.

I also understood why House didn't take the deal until the end of the episode. If someone did that too me I'd be pissed I don't care how long we've been friends. I'm not going to take a deal or go to Jail if I don't think I belong.

I thought the Phone Call to his mom was sweet; and I think he knew he ODed. As he was taking the pills I noticed he kept taking them(more of them at a time then usual) He finished off a whole bottle of pills In a short period of time (although I don't know how legit it is, or how many pills were in the bottle) and I was waiting for him to OD and was like he's either really depressed or isn't thinking straight

Loved the interactions between him and the dwarf mother

Wow! I know I say that all the time but WOW!

Once again so much in this episode to love. And hate.

"Wanna go for a spin?" :lol: Our House is back, at least for a bit. All of the short people snark was too hilarious! I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants (TMI I know but iit was funny!)

I'm not going to bitch about the Vicodin as reward approach. We've all said it and it still is a very bad idea and coming for medical professionals... :angry: Will they ever learn? But then again, House keeps repeating his mistakes so I guess they're even.

I loved Cuddy's reaction to Wilson making the deal. Yes, House is too much a child to accept! :P And I could go on for pages about his actual need for pain meds and admitting that your doing something wrong when you need the meds etc., etc. but it's been done so much better by others already (Check out sasmom's discussion on that topic in several places over there but here's a start)

I am severly disappointed that they did what they did with Tritter. I had hoped for better but I somewhat agree with what Prpl said above about us only seeing a little bit of Tritter and that skews our perspective of him but this really had such potential to show that House's particular dedication to his purpose isn't unique and that many others function without the drugs. That the drugs have nothing to do with his abilities in a direct sense.

But too, there are folks out there like that so I can't say it couldn't happen it's just that it's ordinary in an extraordinary show. Too bad, maybe next year we'll get the arc to end all arcs.

I too completely understand Wilson leaving House in his own mess at the end. I think Wilson finally realized that he couldn't do it, House has to make this decision on his own. That if House wants to kill himself so badly maybe he should just let him. I think there is that element of people keep rescuing him (House) and that until he's clinging to the slowly breaking branch over the cliff face he will keep insisting that it's safe.

Whether Wilson realized that or just couldn't take anymore I'm not sure, I think it's a combination of both. And unlike Prpl, I don't think he had a clear idea that House would be okay. I think he saw that he was alive and moving and semi aware of his surroundings and made his decision. Now if House had been passed out or not breathing or something, I think he would have taken care of House. Gotten him to a hospital or something but as it stood I think he figure House made his choice and needs to suffer the consequences. He's relatively safe at this point having puked up some of the pills and booze but that's no guarentee he'll not pass out and drown in his own puke a little later. Or drink more and finsh the job or whatever.

And again, I think this is just what House needed. I don't think he took the deal to avoid jail or anything else, he did it because he realized he is screwed up and needs help. And the previews tend to confirm that. House has made up his mind and even though it will not keep him out of jail, he knows he needs to do the rehab. which is a good step for House (although may be bad for us and the show but I still trust the writers).

And Benj, you were right, Tritter is just an ass. If a thermometer up the butt is all it take for him to get that vendictive, I think he'd have been thrown off the police force by now. Too bad, it could have really been a great moment in the show.

Also, I have long held to the belief that there was a reason House used the drug seeking example in "Three Stories" and that he may not have been seeking drugs at the time of the infarction but that he may have tried that approach in the past. I also believe, and still believe that House used drugs before the infarction. Maybe not an addict but he got them and used them for his own purposes. But this episode changed my belief that he had used that approach before. I'm not sure why but I really got the feeling that he had to be really desperate to go to another hospital to try to get drugs. And I just don't see him being that desperate before the infarction. I could be wrong either way but my mind has been changed on that account.

Brief rant on Cameron, SHUT UP!!!

And I loved how even though House knew and pointed out to Cameron that if he solved the case there would be no reason for Cuddy to give him his pills, he still worked on the case. As in "Detox", through all that he was going through he still couldn't stop solving the puzzle. That's why I love him! Oh and many more reasons but this is a big one for me.

The whole cutting himself thing was disturbing. It fits but it was still disturbing.

And Prpl, I too loved his interaction with the mother. That would be an interesting ship! :o

I'll stop and let someone else talk now.

Oh, and on the shallow note, was that House stretched out on the picnic table in the preview?! :huh: :) I don't know why, but if it is, I'm in love! I just don't know why that image keeps following me but it has since nearly the beginning of the series and now it looks like they've finally put it on film. I'm happy now :)

**ETA** It is and here's the cap to prove it!
:wub:

House/Picnic Table Love

And for what it's worth, I think that's Cuddy leaning over him.

*jumps in for 5 secs*

Just one thing to add about the whole OD scene thingy...

I think that House was trying to see how far he could go to see if he should take Tritter's deal or not, I think that he had to push himself all the way to the end before he could force himself to even consider what Tritter was offering.

I agree with you prpl I think that Wilson was not only pissed off that House had used HIS patient to get the drugs, but was also stupid enough to OD. He's a doctor, he knows better. I think the fact that he was so worried until he saw that House wasn't dead, and was just pissed after is a legit. response. House knew better, Wilson knew that, and he wasn't going to die so Wilson just got pissed. I may have done the same thing.

Calling his mom: felt a little ummm off to me, unless he wasn't sure he was going to make it through the test he was setting himself. I think that while House is not outwardly suicidal, he isn't really interested in living either, and he will do things that are risky and not worry much about the results.

I was pissed at Wilson and Cuddy though for not looking into what House was taking earlier, they both knew that he had gotten his hands on pain meds, and they both did nothing about it. That seemed very stupid of both of them. Cuddy at least should have tried to take them away when she knew he had them, and Wilson the same when he saw House in the end in his office. Their lack of response to his obviously illegal behavior just led justification to Tritter's actions.

On the topic of Tritter, yes, he is an ass, and yes this is all about revenge, but really with what happened in this episode it just goes to show that maybe House would benefit from some counseling. Hell, he's one of the most screwed up characters ever, and while I don't want to see him "fixed" him going off and either being killed or dieing would kinda ruin the show. The writers have backed themselves into a corner, but maybe that isn't such a bad thing because interesting things can come out of corners.

I know a lot of people have been complaining about this part of the season, but really, it's interesting to see House in a position of vunerability, and we all know it isn't going to end too badly, the show is called House, not JailHouse...lol. I think it was about time that something really rattled his cage, he was coasting for so long that he was heading for a fall even without Tritter's help.

Now I just can't wait until Jan. 9th.

Taru

I think he took so many pills to show Wilson and Cuddy that can get his hand on pain meds and there's very little that they can do; he knows they can do very little; except fire him. His reputation saves him in this instance and he knows it. So if you think about given the circumstances the OD was very in character given the circumstances.+ he was drunk. So I think he wasn't thinking when he took all those pills then he realized and combine that with alcohol (which Intensifies the hydrocodone) I think he may have suspected he may not make it through the night. Not that he's suicidal. I think the writer's used the alcohol to justify that scene; and I always got the sense that he was somewhat close to him mom, at least closer then he is to his dad.


I'd like to add to the Tritter thing: Since Tritter is here for awhile and the POTW is usually only around for one episode; the writer's only have an episode to prove to the POTW that House is a genius and knows what he's doing. I'm not saying Tritter's a genius, but I wonder if somone at PPTH or a patient (Think about the people he's hit or insulted) didn't call Tritter and told them about House. That the themoter is not the only thing that made Tritter go after House. We know Tritter has personal experiance. Got a little side tracked. The Patients don't see how the treatments are helping them hell sometimes Cuddy, Wilson, and the Ducklings don't. Not right away anyways. What I'm saying is we're going to have to wait till the end of the Arc to understand exactly why Tritter went after House. Sometimes the treatment's don't work but, I don't think Tritter realizes that House can still function and is not in a position to try different solutions one right after another. We're only going to get to see one solution and it probably won't work.

If I could word that better, I would.

First off, WELCOME BACK FEARLESS (and very, very busy)LEADER!!! We missed you! Hope all is well and you are healthy. Hope exams are going well and will be over soon.

I think he knew exactly what he was doing and that's why he called his mom. He felt he had been abandon by eveyone else. Granted, due mostly to his own pushing but his only friend betrayed him. And I think that, plus everything else was finally sinking in.

He's alone, drunk, high and miserable on Christmas. It's a very good possibility he's going to jail, will lose his license to pratice medicine. Once in jail he's going to lose the drugs and be forced into rehab whether he likes it or not.

He realized that he's going to be in pain no matter what. If he takes the deal he's going to have to detox further and continue to be in pain until they either find something else that works or realize that Vicodin is his only option. If he doesn't take the deal and loses he goes to jail where they will at best ration his Vicodin, at worst give him none.

I think he was looking for a reason not to do it. Who does he have left to call? Wilson? Cuddy? Cameron? He has no one but he needs to try. Needs to know that he tried and if he couldn't think of anyone or couldn't get them to respond then what's the point? I really believe he knows the pain he's about to go through and if he doesn't have support he won't make it through, won't be able to face it.

"Pain make us make bad decisions. The fear of pain is almost as big a motivator."

The call to his mother was a combination last ditch effort to find support and a reason and also a goodbye. From "Daddy's Boy" it seems that his mother understands him or at least will sympathize and comfort him. He really needs that at the moment. He feels no one understands him and what he's going through but mom will, she always does.

And as weird as it sounds I think he did but didn't intend to kill himself. Taruia, your assesment of not being suicidal but not particualrly wanting to live is spot on! He knows the risks of what he's been doing and is about to do and I don't think he particularly cares what the outcome is. But like with his other two experiences with death and near death something prompts him to fight. He does want to live, but I don't think he knows quite why.

Or maybe it's just the thought of what he'd put his mother through if he called her then offed himself and maybe that's why he called her. To give himself a reason to fight.

I also thing the line about adversity making you strong and how much adversity/ how strong does she want her daughter to be, conversation with the mother of the PotW said alot about his state of mind right then.

Does he think he needs more adversity to be strong enough to handle the upcoming rehab?

And I agree that this rehab will create some very interesting possibilities and give us even more peeks into House's rat maze so I like this arc in that sense, I'm just disappointed that they didn't do more with Tritter. It had such potential to examine House through another source and it fell short. Falling back on the "Oh he's just an evil, bad cop being vindictive" instead of this guy is trying to do what is right. And again, that may just be that we didn't get to see enough of Tritter to see that in him. And my question would be why? It was there to play with, they could have done it and they didn't. A missed opportunity in my book.

I agree with Rtlemurs about House realizing his life was over

Has anyone heard Overdose-Tomcraft?
If so, don't you think it vaguely reminds you of this episode ? very very very vaguely. Not sure though, but for some reason when I was thinking about this episode I thought of the song. Particularly the Killa vocal mix

x-posted from my live journal House Reviews LJ



He said it all in his conversation with the dwarf mom. “We’re freaks. It makes us strong, but…” It’s not something you choose as a positive. When House talked wistfully about the buraku in Son of Coma Guy, we could see how he could see himself fitting in with society – surviving in society, even being “different.” But he practically pleads with the mom to let her kid be “normal.” This coming from the man who had in Lines in the Sand railed against “normality” and society’s definition of what “normal” is. “You don’t want this for her,” he seems to be saying. “Who would want ‘this’? Embrace it if your cursed with differentness, but don’t ‘choose’ if you have a chance to live your life without such an obvious difference.” No, I don’t think House is advocating “fitting in”. But I do think House fundamentally wouldn’t wish “freakishness” on anyone. He was empathizing with the girl and her mother on an elemental level. Despite the anguish he’s in, despite the fact that he’s high on the oxy; that he hasn’t slept in days, and is physically and emotionally at the end of his rope, he has a clarity and empathy that is stunning. House tells Wilson that even though he hasn’t slept, is puking his brains out hourly and is in stunning agony, he can still diagnose better than anyone. (leading to the wonderful accusation by House: How can you think you can know what’s best for me?) They all came to him to see his “freak show” see him work his magic, though they were all willing to see him suffer. It wasn’t an obvious connection. But even in his state, off the case, privileges revoked, they still came to him, PPTH’s buraku.

With his own words ringing in his ears, he contemplates his future, wasted. Wilson is worried about him in this state and doesn’t want him to be alone. He is clearly concerned that House might do something stupid (and possibly harmful to himself) and that’s why he offers his company (I also think that Wilson, realizing a long time before, that his plan was stupid, was trying to apologize to House). But House dismisses him with a rueful chuckle. “Better people than pills?” At least the pills haven’t betrayed him (yet).

So House goes home. I have never seen him so depressed. He sees his future (clouded by the drugs, the pressure, the whiskey and the depression) as non-existent. He lives his life in pain, constantly having to justify its validity. He sees his drug use as necessary, he sees his friends as seeing his drug use an option. We do know by this episode, that no one feels that House’s pain isn’t real. It’s acknowleged as real by everyone. He takes the deal, humbling himself before Tritter, admitting that Tritter was right, in effect, and House betrays himself. The pills make him neutral, help him make better metaphors and take enough of the pain’s edge away that he can still be brilliant. Tritter thinks (as he tells Wilson) that taking the pills away won’t affect House. How does that arrogant sob know that. He a doctor? House goes to rehab, he also has to open up (or begin to). I wonder if contemplating the undrugged pain of that might also be preventing House from accepting any sort of rehab. There’s a lot of pain (both sorts) and betrayal in House’s background (I suspect going way, way back). Talking to a therapist might open additional wounds that House isn’t ready to deal with, and maybe that also plays into his reluctance to do any sort of therapy/rehab. If he doesn’t take the deal, he goes to jail and loses his medical license. In effect, his life is over. Lesser of two evils? House feels this is a lose-lose situation, so he does the small bit that he can do to regain control of his situation, which is both out of control and out of his control. He decides to end his life. He does this not quite being in his right mind, but on the other hand, who commits suicide when in their right mind usually. House takes the swan dive off the ledge he’s been perched on for two and a half seasons (more, this season).

He calls home. Not Cuddy, not Wilson, not Cameron. He calls his mother. Just to say goodbye (I’m sure). Hugh Laurie (I know the season’s not even half over, but this is his emmy episode) flawlessly portrayed a man at the end of his rope. The quiet desperation in House’s expression. His stillness was stunning. That tearful message he leaves for his mom: wistful, not being able to bring himself to say “good bye” (although I’m convinced that’s what he wanted to do), but just a simple “merry Christmas.” Hanging up the phone quickly, before allowed himself to say anything else or lost his resolved to do the deed. Glancing at the pill bottle (which only hours before had 30 pills in it) which only has a few pills remaining. Pouring them out of the bottle into his hand. All very resolutely. Then following it with draining the whiskey. Forcing himself to finish the glass (btw—that gesture of forcing himself to drink the last of it convinced me that it was intentional) and falling apart… I think only because House had been having bad nausea and vomiting did he not succeed in killing himself. When Wilson finds him in a stupor on the floor, that pile of vomit is next to him…I’m sure that’s much of the pills he’d swallowed. The other possibility is that he made himself upchuck after deciding that suicide was not the best option. I want to believe that the suicide attempt was aborted intentionally, House “choosing life” as he did when presented with the option in No Reason, sitting aside the wife who was committing suicide.

But it’s too late. The deal (if there even was really a deal—we don’t know if Tritter wasn’t lying to Wilson to get him to turn) is off. House comes in looking like Hell, and, at this point, I think House has scared himself into understanding that he needs help, and accepting the deal would keep him from jail, but also on his own terms (at least in his own mind)—because, I think House would voluntarily enter rehab at this point, deal or not (previews sort of confirm that). So it ends.

I wanted to address that powerful ending act first, because it just blew me away. I do have to say, that, for the first time, since No Reason (?) I held my breath through the entire episode. I was spoiled and knew a lot of what was coming, but it didn’t matter. I was just simply knocked over. I went over to TWOP and, after reading 18 pages of nothing (almost, nothing) but criticism for the episode, I was just plain baffled. House, who couldn’t stay on the ledge forever, jumped and crashed hard. Now he needs to start climbing back to the lobby level. And that climb will not be easy. He may revert, this entire episode (well, arc) a distant memory, once he gets his pain meds back (and he will still have to be on pain meds, of course); he may take a step forward and six back. I can’t wait.

On the POTW—loved this story and what it said about people who have disabilities or deformities and how it toughens them and how some learn to embrace their “freakishness” House completely relates to this family. He absolutely flirted with the mom, who he saw as tough, smart, sassy and completely willing to push back at House. There was a mutual respect and even a kindred-ness between them. I just loved, loved loved this.

On the Fellows: Chase was rather in the background, but I was glad to see that House’s punching out of Chase was not a forgotten line. House’s almost apology (“Did you get that looked at?”) and then inability to look at Chase directly during that initial ddx session, was a nice touch. Foreman actually sees the injustice of what’s happening to House. He knows House is an addict and is always throwing it around; but he was sympathetic, and knew that House would not let the kid die, even off the case. He was non-judgmental. It was the first time I’ve liked Foreman in many, many months. I think he’s beginning to understand where House is coming from, a little bit, and it’s helped redeem him. Cameron was great. I’m not a Cameron/House shipper. I think she’s too young and naïve for him and she’s too judgmental for him. But I also liked her in this episode. She cares a great deal for him, and cut through his defenses in order to get his help even though he had said he wouldn’t help with the case before he got drugs. Sick as he was, he gave her the answer when she appealed to his more noble nature (which I think only she really, really sees consistently). He looked liked Hell when she came to his door, and he reluctantly let her in, knowing that she’d figure out that he was cutting himself. He let her tend his wounds like the fable Daniel and the Lion—and she got what she wanted in return.I loved the explanation that she gave Wilson for why she was upset with him—it wasn’t the deal, in and of itself, it was the fact that Wilson thinks his motives were only pure (which they never are). She believes what Wilson and Cuddy are doing is wrong. So do the rest of the team. Good for them.

Wilson: Finally, Wilson realizes what he’s been missing forever with House. That House’s gift isn’t “luck” or “a flip of the card.” It’s a peculiar sort of genius. Both he and Cuddy missed the diagnosis, didn’t even see it as a potential, and House, ill, detoxing, out of his mind with pain, still had enough presence of mind to figure it out through the fog and torture of his mind. It’s this epiphany that causes him to go back to tritter (too late). I actually can understand why Wilson left in disgust once he saw that House was probably OK. The pile of vomitus was probably a clue that he had either naturally or forcefully vomited up the drugs (or enough) to not die. Maybe he left and called Cuddy, but I think he was disgusted that House stole the pills from his dead patient. I don’t hate Wilson, though I thought I would. His epiphany came too late to help, and by then he was committed to making House give in to the deal. He should never have made the deal, although I think part of his reasoning was to help House, I think Cameron was at least partially right. House’s wings didn’t melt, like Wilson thought, because House thought he was god-like and soared too close to the sun, House’s wings were clipped and instead he catapulted to the ground head first. This was Wilson’s fatal flaw in this.

Cuddy: Cuddy, Cuddy, Cuddy. Like Wilson, she had an epiphany. She’s a good doctor (one would hope), but, like Wilson, she lacks House’s genius, which so sets him apart from everyone else, and what makes him both valued and fragile; it makes him a medical god and a “freak.” The PPTH buraku. I would like to think that Cuddy came by after Wilson, helped House regain his composure and drove him over to the police station that very, very late Christmas eve.

Yeah, TWOP really pissed me off I registered to defend this episode. But it takes a day to be approved. I probably won't because my user name breaks the rules (I've been using this name for awhile now)


I loved loved this episode. I loved when he tried to get Vicodin from another clinic and Wilson sticking his hand in House's pocket after the first time he stole Hydrocodone. I thought when House was on the stairs that was going to be when he over dosed. I think that's what we were suppose to think.

Why I don't hate the Tritter arc . . .

I've been thinking about the Tritter storyline, as well as some comments I've read here and over at TWoP. Over at TWoP, there's a lot of anger (not FOX board level anger, though I haven't visited there since season 1) in response to this week's episode. Here, there's less anger, but some disappointment with how the Tritter character is turning out. Although I agree with many of the points people have made, my reaction to the story arc as a whole is different. And I've been trying to figure out why.

The Vogler storyline annoyed me, in part because Vogler became a cardboard cut-out villian. In the beginning, Tritter had hints that he might have a good side, but this last episode kind of put those hints to rest: the guy is an ass. Yet, this doesn't bother me. Am I being inconsistent? Have my standards dropped? Maybe, but I don't think so.

For me, the Tritter arc works as classical tragedy. In this genre, the protagonist must have enough good qualities to engage the viewers' sympathy, yet is undone by his own character flaws. These flaws become critical in response to an external stimulus -- a political situation, a family conflict, the actions of another character, the whims of the gods, whatever. Tritter is the external stimulus, but it's House's own personality that makes him unable to deal with the situation. House is constitutionally incapable of kissing ass, of humbling himself, of sacrificing his pride for the greater good or even for his own good. Thus, he is screwed.

Wilson, too, and to a lesser extent Cuddy, is undone by his own peculiar psychological constitution. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with Wilson striking a deal with Tritter. After all, really all Wilson is doing is deciding not to commit perjury for House, and using this decision to negotiate something better than jail time for his friend. But the deal falls into a typically Wilson behavior pattern: trying to manipulate House for House's own good. The vicodin bet, hiding the addison's disease patient's recovery, now the vicodin cut-off -- Wilson may mean well, but the results tend to not be positive, yet he keeps on using this strategy. And Cuddy keeps going along with Wilson, even if it is against her better judgment.

So what about Tritter? I think the argument that Tritter lacks a good side, therefore Tritter is one-dimensional, is what House called last night a faulty syllogism. It presupposes that having a good side is the only way to have depth. Perhaps Tritter is something like Iago -- he's got layers, it's just that none of them are good. I find him to be an interesting combination of sociopath and zealot. On one level, he's very self-aware of his desire to knock House down a peg: he's the bigger bully to House's bully. Yet sometimes he projects the sense that he is doing this for more noble reasons, such as to protect patients. Does he really believe this, or is this just an effective way to get through people's defenses?

But even if Tritter is pure evil and seems endowed with unreasonable powers, he still fills the role of stimulus admirably: he pokes until House unravels.

Is it bad that, I was hoping for a one night stand between the two?

Welcome back from the farside O’ Leader!!!

I haven’t read anyone else (apart from you lovely guys) on this ep and I’m still high off of watching but man, I love this show…….

I’ll get to other stuff but to take up the Tritter thing – I never expected any more or less than we’re getting from Tritter. I’m happy that he is a tool (in all senses) because I don’t feel he needs to be complicated. House, Wilson, Cuddy all need to be complicated but Tritter just needs to create to chaos. I guess the only criticism of the arcs is that they are so clearly episode ‘quota’ driven that there is no need for writer and viewer to invest. Stacy was far by far the best and I loved her a lot but I would have preferred her exit, or non exit, to be suspenseful. But the flipside and much better, in me view, side of this coin is that the regular cast remain the same. I don’t want to skip or skimp on them to make time for understanding Tritter. The wirters have us hooked on House and the main cast and that is why we love it – transient characters wouldn’t cut it. No other protagonist has been added and I think that is a much huger bigger strength than weakness.

I adored the continuity and although the only review I’ve seen, in EW, whined about a Detox repeat I think is worth remembering that was some time ago. Arguably, as fabulous as it was, too early in the show?? Obviously taken in the context of the precarious timeline for a fledgling show but it was early doors. Personally I love it where it was but is a persuasive argument that it bolted from the blue.

So much more to say but this is one to savour…so I’ll savour it and loving everyone’s thoughts!!

I didn't see it as a Detox repeat yes they do mirror each other a bit. Circumstances are different House wasn't forced to give up his Vicodin in Detox he could have told Cuddy no and agreed to work clinic that month; so it was more a conscious choice then. Now it was not his choice at all and was forced upon him. I believe that's what made the Detox so much worse this time; is he knew what to expect and his mind intesified it. That and the fact, if I remember correctly has upped his dose since the 1st season.

I just rewatched Detox last week.

It seems like people aren't understanding this episode or something...at least this one comment I just read was, something about the show being bad because the pharmacist let House get the pills...

Did this guy not put it together that the pharmacist knew of Tritter's seizing of names and thus, signing would be a way to get back at House, chronic ass?

I mean, that's how I saw it. I thought this was an okay episode. I liked it, HL was great as a detoxing House (when he was getting his cuts cleaned his composure reminded me of his Unaccompanied Minors appearance), Wilson made the right choice. Wilson's been putting himself on the line for his friend (for seemingly no reason, there's gotta be a psychological condition for that, Stockholm's?) with no good reason. At least Cameron isn't as bad as season two, but it's still a bit annoying. Foreman's a beast...

Does anyone else find it odd that House was able to walk into Cuddy's office, sit in there and try to break into her drawer for so long? I mean, it's two layers of glass! How could you not see, there are people right there. It's a bit silly.

The OD was saddening, and I was genuinely surprised. When he called his mom, I expected him to say he was going to rehab. Whammo, OD. Wilson leaving is harsh, but honestly, if House truly was in bad shape Wilson would have acted, but he saw that House was at least not dead.

I do think this is sad, though, House ODed and he realized it. He knows that he has crossed the line, even for him. I miss season 1. The show was more dramatic, the characters were nice. The acting is still good, etc., but it seems as if House is in bad shape now. I just like our snarky doctor to be solving cases, particularly with good PotWs like in 1.17 (Role Model) and such. I think House has lost the dramatic sense. I remember a particular song from House, a point where he had come to a conclusion, but no one knew if it would work. It was just playing this song, head on cane, patient, just a great suspenseful moment that makes House what it is as one of the best shows on television. I want that back.

"Statistically, House is a positive force in the universe." :D

Things I loved:

The scene with the little girl and House and the french fries. :lol:

The fact that in the end Cuddy was willing to give House the pills to save Abigail's life.

Wilson's invitation to spend the evening with House (too bad it didn't work).

The mom giving House's snark back to him with interest. I think he likes it when they can do that. ^^

Foreman. The scene between him and House in Cuddy's office was my favorite in the episode, not least because Foreman sounded a little--just a little--sincere when he told House "sorry."

Things I didn't care for:

The return of Wilson and Cuddy's Secret Club of Secretness. (Motto: "What Choice Do We Have?") (How about, leave him alone?? <_< )

Cameron. Her moral outrage felt more forced than usual this time. (Has anyone noticed, she's gotten more and more hard-faced since about the middle of Season Two? It's like all she ever does is grimace now.)

House's call to his mother at the end. I think I agree with Taruia...I didn't quite buy it.

And after Finding Judas, Chase is promptly ignored again. #$*%. :( (I'm not sure what I was hoping for when House saw his bruise, but "did you get that looked at" didn't quite satisfy me.)

Other stuff:

Someone who has more time and energy than I do should compare and contrast the Cameron/House scene in his apartment with the House/Wilson scene in Detox when he bandaged his hand. Maybe the differences in Wilson's overall attitude in this episode compared to Detox. I'd like to read it. ^^

Wilson...sweetie, I love you, but you're wearing me out. "I'm disgusted with House, I'm washing my hands of this whole thing...but on the other hand I care and I'm going to go interfere and do some stuff for his own good...but actually, he got himself into this and he can go to hell. But no, I'm going to go extend the olive branch and be concerned when he doesn't pick up the phone. No, hang on, this is the last straw, screw him." <_< Gross oversimplification, I know. But that's how it's starting to feel. (Just be friends again... :( )

Not that House is helping a whole lot. My heart leapt hopefully when it looked like they might spend Christmas Eve together like DIYD, but...House's laugh was a little derisive. And somehow the lack of his usual snarky comeback made it seem worse. I'm trying to remember if he's ever acted quite that way toward Wilson...usually when they fight he looks a little bit lost or hurt. I liked the way House just gaped at him in the first scene, when he told him he'd made the deal. It was like Tritter wasn't even in the room for a few seconds.

Speaking of people making up their minds. "My goal is to humiliate House...no, actually House is a threat to his patients and my goal is to Save Lives...but really it's not personal anymore and I want to help House help himself...what? He took the deal? Nah, never mind, I'm gonna laugh like Dr. Claw and send his @$$ to jail." I agree, rtlemurs; I was excited about this at the beginning but now it feels like Tritter's just got a stick up his rear end. (Maybe we should check on the whereabouts of that thermometer... :rolleyes: )

More later, maybe. It wasn't one of my favorite episodes, but I'm interested in seeing what's going to come out of it. (Everybody on the show looked about as tired as I feel.) January?? *looks at calendar incredulously*

Frickin January . . . . UGH. They are so evil to us. And we *like* the show, as opposed to other boards, apparently.

The actress who played the mother did an awesome job. (She was in an ep of CSI once, and did a similarly awesome job.) And she made House smile, which is fairly impressive.

Boo to Cameron's moral outrage scene, yay to the fact that she just bandaged House's arm and left without getting all weepy or clingy.

House's voice when he answered the door was just heartbreaking.

House calling mom was perhaps the effect of the drugs, to a certain extent? Keep in mind that maybe another reason he called is that he knew no one would be home . . . presumably, if he'd actually wanted to talk, he'd have tried a cellphone, or his aunt's house.

Yay picnic table shot! How come I don't have a Hugh Laurie lying across my table? Life isn't fair.

Yay to Taru and shoes being back :D

Yeah, what's up with that? They punched him clean outta the show :(

"What we have here is a faulty syllogism." Indeed.

Some more random thoughts:

Hee! I think the House/HotLittleMama ship would rock :-)

Yeah, Lilly, the scene where House rejects Wilson's Christmas eve invitations was striking. Wilson should have known that it was too soon for an olive branch, but I was sad to see House slap it away so definitively.

I'm not sure that lack of Chase follow-up is a bad thing. Chase was the only one of the team who didn't seek House's advice. He was conspicuous in his absence. And there was an interesting distance about him when he said "I'm fine" to House. If Chase has relegated House to the people-I've-decided-to-stop-caring-about category, I would think this would show itself in subtle ways more than in dramatic exchanges.

I think we need start a ship between the two; what should we call it? Screw him and Cameron or him and Wilson He belongs with the Dwarf

Oh Housie.. god, I do love this show if only for it's purpose of distracting me from reality. Wonderful in that way. Last night's ep totally sucked me into it and still hasn't really let go of me. Especially since work is completely dead today and I have literally been sitting on my hands. Good god, today was supposed to be my last day. The thing about this whole arc is that is makes me (and I suspect others) uncomfortable. I like House- I like his intelligence, his humor, his philosophy of life. I respect him. But what I like about him doesn't jive with him forging prescriptions and using up his only friendship. I want to side with him and be angry at Wilson for ratting him out. You did WHAT to your best friend? (And then left him in a pile of puke... I'm in denial over that, btw... he was just going to get his little black bag from the car... riiiiight). Wilson (and perhaps his mother)? are pretty much the last people he trusted... and Wilson betrayed him and his mother doesn't answer the phone. So no surprise that he choses the pills over people. But at the same time, House's drug use/abuse is so out of control, that Wilson and everyone else involved have very little choice. It sucks that Tritter has to be involved and that it has to potentially involve putting people in jail. But it could've never happened any other way. Within the context of the hospital setting, Cuddy and Wilson were never going to get serious about House's problem. It takes a third party to intervene and make consequences a reality. I actually wish Tritter was going to be a little more sympathetic to the problem- and I think this is probably how House gets out of this. It's clear that the only people this has affected are House and Wilson- he's not out selling drugs, robbing stores, etc. But yet Tritter just wants him to go away- vengeful little sucker, ain't he? And tricky. I like that there isn't an easy solution to this problem. Problems like these are never easy.

Loved the dwarf spinning scene- hilarious. And HL does House pain so well that it almost made me cry (which is no small feat). That whole arm scene hurt to watch. Heck, the whole detox hurt to watch. But it's a gooood hurt. Okay... back to my hole now...

I'm not sure Denny would agree with it, and I'm sure he could take on House in a wrestling match.

This arc is really eye opening...I think that House has been, to me, almost a fantasy guy. I've seen him popping the pills, but those are readily available! No harm, no foul.

Now that we see him without anything to fall back on, being forced into detox...we see how ruthless an addict he really is. It's a painful look into just how real his pain is, and I don't think we've really been introduced to this. He is an addict, he will lie and cheat and steal so he can get rid of the pain.

Which reminds me how much I love this show.

Well, hearing about what TWOP has to say, I'm glad I went here first then. I've noticed that times when I've gone there desperate to hear other opinions on an episode when things were slow here I've found myself suddenly becoming negative about an episode I actually liked. It seems as if TWOP takes pride not just in being exacting in their standards for good television, which I whole-heartedly agree with, but actually making snarky comments about everything. It reminds me of certain food, theater and movie critics who seem to feel it's a failure on their parts if they don't absolutely trash whatever they're reviewing. The things is, it hits the point where, as I state in regards to my local movie critic, you start to take their trashing whatever it is as a sign of quality.

Okay, now on to my thoughts on the episode. You've all covered a lot of what I wanted to say already. Someone was complaining about the number of child PsOTW, but as much as I don't enjoy seeing children in peril, I have to say House/HL is just so cute with kids. I don't know about House as a dad, though I suspect he might actually be pretty good, but he'd certainly make a good "fun uncle". He's exactly the kind of person that kids, especially smart ones, like because he get's into their frame of mind, but talks to them as if they're intelligent people. And "little-girl-in-a-wheelchair" I've got to agree with House: it's a bear, ears are all wrong. As an aside this reminds me of a story that my family delights in telling about me as a child. I was around four or five and we were on vacation--in Mesa Verde, not that it makes a difference-- and our room looked out across the road toward an open field/meadow sort of area. One day I noticed a whole herd of deer standing over there and called out to my parents to come over and see the "dogs". Apparently, it never gets old :rolleyes:.

I have to add my opinion to those who say House was sort of, but not really, suicidal at the end. He at least had a hunch, I would say, that this might be the last time he would get to tell his mom that he loved her--even though he never said the words;does he ever, could he ever-- and decided to do it one last time just in case. On the other hand, being that House is a doctor, I can't imagine that he couldn't think of a better way to die--from what I've gathered Oxycodone/Vicodin overdose is not an especially easy way to die (I even think that vomiting is one of the symptoms, which is natural since the body is trying to get rid of the "poison" as it perceives it as quickly as it can).

I wasn't especially disturbed by Wilson leaving House on the floor either. While he was pretty out of, he did seem to be conscious enough to keep himself from choking--he had either landed on his side or turned himself that way when he vomitted, which is basically how you'd leave someone in that condition. It was sort of harsh, but then I was reading a board connected to the TV show Intervention (on AE) where someone was talking about figuring out how to not enable her husband in his drinking/drug use and someone used the example of finding him passed out on the floor and just checking to make sure he wasn't in immediate danger, then throwing a blanket over him and heading off to bed, rather than getting him up, putting him to bed, giving him attention, etc. Also, you've got to think that Wilson was pretty disgusted with House by then, so seeing him lying next to his own vomit on the floor and having him look up at him like a drowning fish was more than he could take. However, I will continue to "fanwank" a missing scene in my head where Wilson calls/comes over again to make sure that House is still okay.

I also like the fact that we established that neither House's pain or his medication affect his diagnostic ability. Like he said, he's sick, exhausted, and in awful pain, but still pulls off diagnoses no one else can. Of course part of the reason he kept working on the diagnosis may be because that was all he had left--he doesn't have the meds to ease the pain and he doesn't have work to distract him from it, nor apparently did he have a lot of human interaction or companionship to serve the same purpose. Add that I believe part of House's problem is he can't shut his brain off even when he wants to once he takes and interest in something.

As you know, Cameron is not one of my favorites, and as I said, she's become somewhat less annoying to me this season, although I continue to be disturbed--admittedly after paying to much attention to TWOP who are absolutely certain we're being lined up for another try at House/Cameron, or "Ham"-- that the changes in her maybe an attempt--a very inadequate on in my mind-- to show that she's now ready to be in a relationship with House and would be an appropriate partner ( and yes, of course we all only get involved with appropriate people, right ;) , the inappropriate relationship might be fun to watch, but I have a fear that's not the way they'd play it). If my fears are correct, it may be that the intention is to show that's she's the only one who really loves, understands, and sticks by House, but she's definitely looking like an enabler now--not healthy for the enabler or the enabled, to be honest. I don't think House is on the level that Tritter seems to believe he is, or for that matter even the level that Wilson or Cuddy think he is, but I don't think you can honestly say that House wouldn't benefit from a closer examination of his relationship with Vicodin. In some ways Cameron is back to the same position she was in during the first season but with a different approach: whatever House does is always right, no matter what. I mean, I love the guy too, but he is a mortal, and it seems he actually wants, and needs, the "ducklings" to question him.

The only big eye-rolling statement for me tonight was the one about the right choice being easy. You'd think someone who claims to be as in touch with morality and justice, she'd know that the right choice is often--historically and now-- NOT easy. Maybe knowing the right thing to do is easy, but the actual doing thereof isn't. It starts Classically--or really before, but it illustrates it so simply in my mind-- with Sophocles' Antigone and we continue to write it and be fascinated by it to this day (Antigone knows she needs to bury her brothers against royal decree, but she also knows she'll have to die, or at least risk the chance of it, but she goes ahead and does it anyway), or to take an example from the show, Stacy made the right choice with House's leg--I think even somewhere deeply buried House knows she did-- but she knew that in making the choice that allowed House to continue living she was risking losing him in an entirely different way; of course she hoped that he might forgive her immediately or eventually, but she had no way of knowing. For that matter, consider our hero, the best chance in Maternity to save the most lives was to take an action that pretty much ensured that one of the babies would die. Easy to know what's right: obviously House's duty as a doctor dictates that he find out the answer so that he can save the most lives, but condemning a baby to almost certain death, even one to whom he has no emotional connection, is a horrible choice to make and one he agonises over. Similarly--and I'm speaking from a lay prespective, but I believe I've got it right-- is triage in a disaster situation (and incidentally why I decided maybe I don't want to do emergency training, despite my knowledge and interestin first aid, because I would then have to make that kind of decision and I know I couldn't). Triage then has to do not just with who is hurt the worst, but also who is the best investment of time. There are the people first who are hurt, but not badly enough that they'll die if they wait or even die at all; they wait for treatment. Then there are those who are hurt badly enough that they might, probably would, die without immediate attention but who can probably be saved without getting too heroic or investing a huge amount of resources (personal and otherwise); these are the ones who get treated immediately. But there is another group, those who are hurt badly enough that they would die without medical attention, but are also hurt so badly that they would probably also die even with medical attention or those to whom CPR other heroic measure would be given in a non-disaster situation--though, granted, it's not a sure thing; these people do not get treatment, or at least don't get treatment beyond being made as comfortable as possible. It makes perfect sense in the abstract: a team of medical and rescue personal could spend X amount of time working on Person A, who is very severely injured, and that person quite possibly would still die, or that same team could work on Persons B, C, and D, who would have a good chance of living and even fully recovering, in that same amount of time, if they focus on Person A then they can't be working on B,C, and D, so if they did that, Person A plus B,C, and D will die, whereas if they don't treat Person A then that person definitely dies, but B, C, and D are likely saved. All well and good, but what if that first person is currently able to talk to you, or they remind you of someone you love, or possible are someone you love, and they or their family member as begging you to not let them die, and breaking down and possibly calling you names, or asking why you're so cruel that you'll ignore them? I've never been there, but seeing as I have to psych myself up to even crush a bug crawling along the floor, I wouldn't be able to handle it, and stouter hearts than mine would still probably find it difficult. Okay, I got a little wrapped up there. Anyway, it seems that this is a lesson that Cameron, especially as a fully fledged physician in her own right--remember all the fellows could be attending in their own field had they chosen to do that-- should know.

Again, I am a sick, sick puppy--or kitty in line with my name-- obviously, but suffering!House is so beautiful (or Hugh really is just that good, but that's not likely right :P ). It's both that he looks cute when he's scruffy(er), and that my hormones go into overdrive (heaven help me, it's not even "that time of the month") and I want to take care of him, (which I acknowlege he would hate unless he really was dying and then even then. . . sort of like a former cat of one of my neighbors who was on the verge of death--they had to put it down eventually-- but still managed to bite and claw everyone to ribbons when they tried to get it into its carrier to go to the vet).

And now in the geek department (specifically one case, the English-majoring-navel-gazing-geek department), I didn't think of it that way, and am still not sure that I do, but the fable being reference a few posts back is, I believe, Androcles and the Lion. Daniel also gets up close and person with a lion, possibly many lions, but that's not the story you're after. Just yet another service of she who possess far too much random information. Second, totally agree with the absolute yumminess of House stretched out on the <a style='text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 3px double;' href="picnic%20table" onmouseover="window.status='picnic table'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">picnic table</a>. I have no idea what he's doing there, I guess from the closed hands he could be meditating, but c'mon, this is House, so probably not. I do have to say besides the fact that House/Hugh is just plain a sexy beast part of the appeal may be the evocation of Christ on the cross--it's amazing how often that pops up perhaps even unintentionally even to those involved with the story/filming of various things (for instance the last scene of Kenneth Brannaugh's version of Hamlet, which totally rocked even though I don't know that I approve of the slightly more modern setting, but I'm a snob like that).

I do believe I have talked myself out now. I join the rest of you in impatiently awaiting January. I hope we at least get some reruns between now and then to tide us over.

Just edited to add one more thing, for someone who presumably knows what a drug seeker looks like, House did a pretty unconvincing job of appearing legitimate. From what I understand about it, he was doing all the classic drug-seeker tells: hard to verify pain, which the patient claims is excruciating, angling for a specific drug (Oh, by the way Doc, I'm allergic to everything but <drug of choice>, or every time I've had this, <drug of choice> is the only thing that works; granted House was alittle more subtle than either of these examples, but not by much), and even, though I suppose that could be justified, going back for treatment somewhere other than where the intial treatment happened (like I said, I guess he could argue that he was taken to the nearest emergency room by the EMTS, but actually lived closer to this one). Apparently, ERs and urgent care places do in fact see a lot of this (add to this the person who's had the same backache for a week, but suddenly decides he needs to be seen in the emergency room at 4 am) and the employees get very frustrated and cynical about it; generally they can spot this at 40 paces. While I'm sure House in his own clinic duty might have more sympathy than most for the drug-seekers, I just can't see him giving in to someone displaying that kind of behavior (at least not unless they swore on their dear, sweet, granny's grave that this was the absolute last and they were on their way to detox immediatly thereafter--see Carly in Control, sort of).

'Kay, this time I think I'm really done.

Androchles. I knew that. Sorry (and embarassed). I'm a sort of biblical scholar (I teach "Biblcal Hebrew and Bibe studies). So when I think of lions and people together, I think of daniel. Big oops. I had the story right, just not the hero.

Good point, although I think I'm willing to suspend disbelief on account of him being in pain and dealing with detoxing... I'm willing to believe that he'd grow impatient (and desperate) when he felt he was so close to scoring. He wasn't behaving rationally...

The counter-argument to that would be -- yes, but he still got the diagnosis right... And the counter-argument to THAT would be -- yes, but there he was solving the puzzle -- pursuing one of his other addictions, and as someone noted above, not able to shut his brain off and STOP solving the puzzle.

Yes, no, maybe?

Clearly desperate measures, but the fact that he's House... rationality was still part of the game. I'm betting he knew exactly how unconvincing he was going be. The only thing he had going for him was he knew what direction to push it in (the face injury without outward bruising, the sleep deprivation issue, etc). I loved how MLC stripped House down to the extreme basics- but yet he still gets the diagnosis if only to rub it in everyone's faces. God, he's a bastard. I really want to say something smart here, but too many of you guys have beat me to the punch.. so I'm just going to stop now.

I’m not going to talk about Cameron because there are no words for how much her ‘doing the right thing is easy’ argument cheesed me off. However Wilson does seem to be getting it from all sides. Cuddy, who I adore, cut him a new one over making the deal but what else does she suggest?? Cuddy has taken a leaf from House in the head burying stakes but what alternative form of action does anyone think he could have take?

From the moment Tritter faced him with the faked script Wilson was in all kinds of trouble. Cameron’s argument about Wilson giving House up for his own ends falls apart right there – if Wilson wanted an easy life he would have coughed to Tritter there and then. As it was he lied and House still paid no attention – what else could he have done? Cuddy failed to exert any control over the situation while House took the piss and I think Wilson was basically snookered. Offering Tritter something in return for some damage limitation strikes me as his only hope.

finally got my hands on a copy for a rewatch.... anyone else bugged by the disappearing neck scar? I looked and looked and all I saw was the faintest of (perhaps?) a red mark.... details schmetails...

nomad - re.the scar or non-scar

I'd say that House was so generally run-down and done in physicallywith his Detox that he was generally lacking in colour and maybethat affected the scar?

Props to Hugh and the makeup up people because he looked on his way out through out the ep.

Re: Cameron

Another thing I didn't care for was her description of Wilson's deal as a "windfall."

Getting his own stuff back is a windfall? :blink:

There seems to be a bit of narcissism and hubris appearing on TWOP regarding the Tritter storyline. There is the presumption from some, that their fanfic demonstrates their writing, characterisation and plotting is superior to that of the screenwriters of HOUSE MD eg

WOW! Why not apply to join the writers list on House?

Of course they do, they are professional writers and have the skill to tell and structure believable and compelling drama within the television hour. I believe even in real life anyone’s personality could alter perceptively, in less than 42 minutes, if they found themselves the target of a vengeful cop and discovered the judicial machine was already up and running.

Another said

Oh really? Tritter is far from ridiculous. He is chillingly accurate and most members of the police force be it in the United States, the United Kingdom or even Australia would confirm they had, or were currently serving, alongside such a person.

she continued.

Shame she did not research further. She would have discovered that cops do get involved, SWAT teams can burst through the doors of unsuspecting pain patients and black helicopters have been know to circle a family doctor’s offices. I know a lot of people dislike the Tritter arc. Or they don’t like the possibility that House might be an addict. Fair enough, but the problem is in the legislation.

It does not matter whether House is, or is not an addict, either way he is in a terriying and powerless situation. My blood ran cold when I read the following because within this paragraph lies the dilemma which faces Cuddy and Wilson in their concern for House:-When protracted prescribing [of narcotic drugs] is utilized for the alleviation of intractable pain, practitioners shall remain alert to the availability of new or alternative types of treatment. The practitioner should attempt periodically to either cease the medication or taper down the dosage, or try other medication or treatment modalities in a regular and vigilant effort to reduce the addiction propensity for the patient. (New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners, 1993, p. 64)

I dabbled in fanfic well over a year ago introducing the subject of breakthrough pain and the politics of pain. The more I researched, the more I realised how precarious House's position could become. I was appalled to discover how people suffering chronic pain were under-treated, humiliated, dismissed and brutalised by a system which chose not to differentiate between those suffering acute and chronic pain and hardcore addicts or recreational drug users.

Failing to alleviate a person's pain is tantamount to engaging in torture. The legislation is determined by the same criteria that is applied to the illegal drugs is forcing medical practitioners to protect their licenses at the cost of breaching the human rights of their patients. I have a special interest in human rights and published my research notes along with my fanfic here and on other House sites and, while acknowledging HOUSE MD, separately through humanitarian networks .

I applaud David Shore for creating in Gregory House a lead character who is suffering chronic pain and therefore probably dependent on (as opposed to possibly addicted to) prescribed drugs. The producers, the writers, actor Hugh Laurie and the supporting cast are doing a great service to those who live with pain by encouraging understanding in the viewers of this compelling, complex, entertaining and intelligent series. I trust the writers to carry this arc to a successful and surprising conclusion the actors to breath life into their words.

Therefore, I was gobsmacked to read in TWOP this description of HOUSE MD

on the appropriately named Bitterness Thread.... I hold a very different view.

I simply wish to thank David Shore, the cast and crew of HOUSE MD for their brilliance, courage and humanity. May all at HOUSE MD together with their families, and all those who follow the series and their families, enjoy a very Happy Christmas and Chanukah. And may people of all beliefs be able to experience many moments of happiness and greater safety in the coming year 2007.

Merry Christmas from Australia.

Magdala




FURTHER READING

INTRACTABLE PAIN TREATMENT LAWS AND REGULATIONS:- http://www.painpolicy.wisc.edu/publicat/95apsip.htm

NO RELIEF IN SIGHT:- Torture, despair, agony, and death are the symptoms of "opiophobia," a well-documented medical syndrome fed by fear, superstition, and the war on drugs. Doctors suffer the syndrome. Patients suffer the consequences. by JACOB SULLUM http://www.reason.com/news/show/30113.html

RICHARD PAEY 60 MINUTES:- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/25/...in1238202.shtml

PAIN RELIEF NETWORK:-
http://www.painreliefnetwork.org/richard_paey.html

DOCTORS BEHIND BARS:- Treating Pain Is Now Risky Business:- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...8B63&sec=health

PUNISHING PAIN by John Tierney:- http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/opinion/...serland&emc=rss

TREATING DOCTORS AS DRUG DEALERS: The DEAs War on Prescription Painkillers:- http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa545.pdf

Merry merry xmas magdala and well-said on the discussion of twop and the problems with intractable pain. I'm not well-versed at all in medical issues but I am somewhat versed in legal/law enforcement issues and can very easily see a cop like Tritter pursuing House. Sometimes cops get their hooks into someone and it's very difficult for them to let it go- they don't particularly care about the good things the "perp" may be doing... fact of the matter is he broke the law and justice must be served. That's the mentality. Whether it's a good mentality for cops to have or not is certainly up for debate.

I'm not going to turn this into an "reasons i hate twop" thread- but the quotes from there that you posted are pretty much the reason I only lurk there for spoilers and fanfic recs. I refuse to get involved in conversations there because they inevitably turn to reasons why the show's writers suck, why certain characters should or shouldn't have relationships, and the somewhat common postings of "this show is sooo bad now, I can't watch it anymore." Then why waste your time in a forum? Hmmm.... Anyway. And I'm not even a positive person... I'm downright cynical... but anyway... Rant done.

I'm going to talk about Cameron in MLC now so we can be on topic... as House put it once- she seems to have an "insane moral compass" and she probably thinks that everyone else should have one too. She did say that it wasn't Wilson's going to Tritter that pissed her off, it was his pretending that it was all altruisitc for House. But what are Wilson's options at this point? Turn House in- get House a deal and Wilson gets his life back. OR Let House circle the drain and Wilson gets to lose his life too. At this point, I do wish we had more clarity on whether House really is out of control with the drugs OR if the cop arc/Wilson issue hasn't forced him out of control. Looking forward to the next ep :)

Now TWOP people boggle my mind especially their reasoning on how House could be gay, I'm not getting in to that and if I do it will be in another thread but I have to leave to go out so I don't have time.

I never had too much of a problem with Cameron, until she yelled at Wilson for being selfish. Yeah, because money's never important or being able to write precriptions for patients either. We live in a happy little world where we use leaves as currency and all drugs are legal go down to Walgreens and get a gram of coke or a bottle of Vicodin remember it's legal. Oh, and the syringes for the H are complimentary. I didn't nessecerily agreed with what she said in other episodes but it wasn't anything like this. By we I mean they but, still we since this show tends to mirror our reality a bit.


Ok now that I've gotten my bitterness out of the way. I think Cameron's moral compass is too good, and that's why people don't like her. Too good to the point that its bad and gets on everyone's nerves. Another thing that I would like to touch on is House/Cameron arc. I've been re watching season 1, and House always appeared more of a Father figure for Cameron, when She was re-calibrating the Centrifuge and House caught her crying it was like he cared a little but it wasn't like. Oh, baby, baby I want to sleep with you way. It could also be he was looking for answers about her past and he knew that if he played the concernced father-figure card he'd be more likely to get answers from her, but that can't be the only reason why he did that. I should probably get back onto MLC but I have nothing to add at this time.

Is it January yet? <_<

Yet? :huh:

How bout now? :blink:


Come back, House! :(

Merry Little <insert holiday you celebrate here> everyone!

Wow.
This episode was a real thinker (what House episode isn't?), and I liked it, but I've only really had the chance to get my two cents in now. So be prepared for a long, belated, piecemeai post.

I sort of agree with you prpl, except that we have dislike for the two in different ways. House has done some pretty inexcusable stuff, but there's always a payoff and he's always doing it to seek after something.
So while we have respect for House we may not always admire his actions. But almost everyone in the fandom has this outright hate for Tritter, because he's big and mean and seeking revenge. He's similar to House, but the motivator and the scale differs enormously. I doubt that House would ever make anyone's life a living misery purposely. But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Just my impression.


I know we're not so crash-hot on House after this episode but I kind of have pity for the guy. Talk about wallowing in angst.

I still find Wilson's actions, and Cuddy to a point, to be pretty inexcusable and childish. Wilson hardly made a noise when he first found out that House had forged a prescription, but as soon as things started going badly for him (and for House) he kicked up a stink. I'm not excusing House's actions in any way, but I do think Wilson could be handling it better.
Adding to this is the old pain-meds question, oft-discussed, and Wilson and Cuddy's continuing treament of House as a child. Yes, he is House, but he is neither dumb nor uncomprehending, I think it's unprofessional and bloody annoying of Wilson and Cuddy to go around squawking about him as if he is such. But enough Wilson/Cuddy bashing, the latter point is something I've noticed in episodes before.

Again this may not be a popular opinion, but I think storming off on an OD'd friend was taking the whole diva thing too far. Would Wilson let House die on principle? I doubt it. I can only assume that Wilson knew House wasn't near death. He was conscious, and lying in a pool of vomit, on his side. (I'd have to watch again but as I recall the way he was lying was pretty near the safety position, also. I think St. John Ambulance got there before Wilson. :D ). So he wasn't terribly healthy, but he wasn't on death's door, either.


House's call to his mother was dreadfully sad.

Couldn't agree more on all of that, Taru! And welcome back!

I agree with tpel1. I don't hate this arc at all, I've never hated an arc of this show. I have trust in the writers. Leave fanfic to the fans and the show to TPTB - I'm cool with kicking back and watching whatever they come up with (well, within reason: I'm not expecting vampires or an alien invasion any time soon. Famous last words, anyone?).

Tritter is more complicated than Vogler, but I think that's only in terms of motive etc. Tritter isn't exactly the classic villian, cold and without character, but he's predictable enough to bounce other character revelations off without getting boring - exactly what you want in an 'arc character'. Well said.


House is going through such a rough time now, but something that amuses me (well, sort of) is the way the fans are going through the wringer too. What a unique character, someone like House with whom people empathise so completely.

Lily, I like your take. I loved Wilson's karmic speculation, as well.

Yes, this thing needs to be disbanded. It's annoying, for one.

Tritter's really going all out on this vendetta thing. Seriously, does that man have a life? Either he doesn't or he's just really really dying for a fag. For God's sake man, get a nicotine patch!

Ok, listen up. I'll only say this once. Go Cameron!

If TPTB set out here trying to intensify feelings on the drug issue they've succeeded. We've seen House detoxing, we've seen in him in pain, and we've also seen a lot of scenes that would perhaps make the pills, and the pain (to a certain extent) seem almost trivial.
But not now. This arc is ugly.

I second Nomad and say that was a pretty cool entry Magdala. I also add my standard bitch-about-the-bitchers phrase: It's a TV show, for God's sake!

Anyway, cheers.
AE.

Nice thinking AE!

Although I do disgree with you re.the final H/W you scene. There is a point which Wilson had to reach where he couldn't take anymore. He offers up his liberty for House only to find House o'd'ed. It's a two fold pissed off - the cumalative pissed off from years of trying to help and the suicide angle. I'm not saying House was trying to off himself but in that split second that would be one of Wilson's first thoughts. Suicide makes you angry for a long time before it makes you sad. The same is true with addiction - no matter how long you spend trying to dilute someone being bent out of shape with logic - it gets you in the end. Wilson's reaction was very human and very much in character.

Also from a character point of view - Wilson is no saint. He has as many deep and dark reasons for being tangled up with House as the vice versa but he was pushed beyond that in one action. If Wilson cleaned House up and moved on as if nothing happened then it betrys the depth of emotion that went before. He needed to leave House and House needed to be be left. For both their dignity and their future friendship they both needed distance.

I definitely agree with you there benj, you put it very eloquently. Of course Wilson had a very good reason for leaving House there, and I don't blame him, I just can't help but link it to the annoying behaviour he's been exhibiting in recent episodes. House and Wilson, they deserve each other. :D