Hugh Laurie:A Real American Doctor FROM AMERICA (House M.D.)

[KrazyerKate]

fixed.

did anyone else notice which video game House was playing?

[Isaac Hill]

House was playing the game that a patient was working on one or two seasons ago. I think it was the guy who was getting alternate diagnoses from the internet.

Of the episodes I've seen so far this season, I've liked the first one best: Wilson stuck in the window, Colonel Sanders tripping (Space)balls, the team trying to cover for Colonel Sanders. Now I'm hoping House makes the jump to pure farce. Instead of just calling his teams idiots, House'll mix in numbskulls and chowder-heads, then start hitting them with his cane to wacky sound effects. The final patient of the season will be diagnosed as a "victim of soycumstance".

[Idhan]

Working outside of her specialty is one thing, but a psychologist failing to make a schizophrenia diagnosis? Ouch.

Well, at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, they do have a dean of oncology who is proved wrong when he says "it's not cancer" about every sixth episode or so.

[Idhan]

Caught the last episode on Hulu. I found the whole "lung cancer keeping melanoma contained" diagnosis pretty dubious. (I'm not a doctor (IANAD? Or is that just for lawyers?), though.) I also found the ending rather forced and maudlin. Yeah, she has two cancers which were so asymptomatic that throughout her pregnancy neither she nor her obgyn nor anyone else noticed, then, a few days later, surprise pulmonary embolism to kill her so that she can be the narratively appropriate self-sacrificing mommy.

Still, I thought Cheng was pretty good. I liked her attitude about the whole thing, and it's a pity she didn't stay. Still, it made sense from the point of view of seeing her character that she wouldn't -- and it's nice to see it acknowledged that, hey, being bossed around by an abusive egomaniac with a trio of drama-queen coworkers (i.e., the situation of being a fellow in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine) isn't actually that great a prize for everyone.

[frezik]

Caught the last episode on Hulu. I found the whole "lung cancer keeping melanoma contained" diagnosis pretty dubious. (I'm not a doctor (IANAD? Or is that just for lawyers?), though.)

Review from a doctor. He notes that while he couldn't find a specific study, the writers usually have some real-world case study for the medical mysteries on the show, even if they tend to twist it more than they should. There probably was some specific case found of one cancer fighting another. However, if these antibodies were being produced, then the baby should have gotten them in utero and kept them long enough to be a non-issue.

Still, I thought Cheng was pretty good. I liked her attitude about the whole thing, and it's a pity she didn't stay. Still, it made sense from the point of view of seeing her character that she wouldn't -- and it's nice to see it acknowledged that, hey, being bossed around by an abusive egomaniac with a trio of drama-queen coworkers (i.e., the situation of being a fellow in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine) isn't actually that great a prize for everyone.

They'll probably go through a Murphy Brown-like revolving door of assistants until it's clear whether Olivia Wilde is coming back or not. So don't expect any of them to stay for more than an episode or two.

[BlackSails]

However, if these antibodies were being produced, then the baby should have gotten them in utero and kept them long enough to be a non-issue.

Not all kinds of antibodies cross the placental barrier. Most do though.

[frezik]

Suddenly, it's my favorite mathematical constant, too.

Should we take bets on how long it takes her to get sucked into House's ethical black hole? I mean, we know that by next week, they'll be breaking into somebody's home again, and she'll begrudgingly not call the cops. And so it will begin . . .

[SlyReaper]

The patient of the week was Mr Bennet from Heroes. Cool.

A mathematician working as a doctor - also cool.

[folkhero]

Suddenly, it's my favorite mathematical constant, too.

e is a pretty common favorite constant, I mean pi is just too obvious and none of the other ones can touch it in terms of importance.

[SlyReaper]

To be honest, it seems odd to have a favourite constant at all. Certainly, you could say it's the most useful, but to have a personal preference? That's odd.

Oh, and what true mathematician actually bothers to memorise constants anyway?

[You, sir, name?]

Seems like the sort of thing kids do in high school (or lower) when they first learn about irrational numbers. But as that's generally the extent of the mathematical knowledge of show writers, memorizing constants (especially pi) appears fairly frequently in popular culture as something that smart like people do, as well as performing simple arithmetic with long numbers at lightning speed (when reality is more like this --> http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive ... micid=1356 ).

[SlyReaper]

Seems like the sort of thing kids do in high school (or lower) when they first learn about irrational numbers. But as that's generally the extent of the mathematical knowledge of show writers, memorizing constants (especially pi) appears fairly frequently in popular culture as something that smart like people do, as well as performing simple arithmetic with long numbers at lightning speed (when reality is more like this --> http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive ... micid=1356 ).

It doesn't even have to be in grad school. That graph also holds for undergraduate maths.

[H2SO4]

I think the question posed by Taub at the end is kind of a nice twist. Did Foreman or Chase tell her about what was bothering Taub, and therefore she lied that she remembered him to get him to feel better? Or did she actually remember?

For those that didn't catch it (I know I had to listen to it a couple of times and turn the volume up), it was "Is this grandma's tea cozy?" referencing House's "ethical dilemma" he proposed to Powers earlier in the episode ("Lying to a patient to save their life. Would you do it?" "No." "That's a lie. Your grandma gave you a really crappy tea cozy, would you tell her you liked it?" "Yes, but that's different.").

[Robstickle]

Seems like the sort of thing kids do in high school (or lower) when they first learn about irrational numbers. But as that's generally the extent of the mathematical knowledge of show writers, memorizing constants (especially pi) appears fairly frequently in popular culture as something that smart like people do, as well as performing simple arithmetic with long numbers at lightning speed (when reality is more like this --> http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive ... micid=1356 ).

It doesn't even have to be in grad school. That graph also holds for undergraduate maths.

This is so true. Two pages of several variable calculus? Easy. Get to the end where you need to do some simple arithmetic? Fuck it I'm using wolfram.

[SlyReaper]

Personally, I just whip out the calculator. Sadly, I use the calculator program on my computer so often that it's appeared on my commonly used programs list in the start menu. But pondering the minutiae of braid groups and lie algebra and homomorphisms on manifolds is fine. That just takes a lot of chalk.

The only actual explicit numbers I ever seemed to deal with back at university were -1, 0, 1, e and π.

[Yakk]

I think you are missing one.

[SlyReaper]

No, one is the third in my list.

[Robstickle]

Also while we're on the subject. Am I the only one who didn't know that e is more formally called 'Euler's Number'? I seriously had never heard that name...

[BlackSails]

You can also call pi the archimedian constant, and sqrt(2 )the pythagorean constant

[You, sir, name?]

In a non-mathematical context, "e" is a bit ambiguous, so I guess then "Euler's number" is the best name. In a mathematical context it's just cumbersome, though.

[ArgonV]

Am I the only one thinking Masters isn't that cute? Sure, she's good looking, but I'd that Cameron or 13 (in that order) over her any day. Her good girl persona probably doesn't help as well

[H2SO4]

Am I the only one thinking Masters isn't that cute? Sure, she's good looking, but I'd that Cameron or 13 (in that order) over her any day. Her good girl persona probably doesn't help as well

Well, she's not on Cameron's level, but there's a picture of Ahmadinejad that aptly describes my feelings towards Masters.

[SlyReaper]

Can't view the picture from work, but since you said it's Ahmadinejad, I guess it's the "sort of want" picture?

In my mind, she's like a small furry animal that has been tossed into the lion's den. I think we're going to be treated to a few week's worth of watching House and the team slowly crush her, until she's little more than a broken, jaded husk of her former self. It's going to be awesome.

[H2SO4]

Yes. Yes it is.

[ArgonV]

Yeah, sort of want aptly describes what I think about her

[You, sir, name?]

In my mind, she's like a small furry animal that has been tossed into the lion's den. I think we're going to be treated to a few week's worth of watching House and the team slowly crush her, until she's little more than a broken, jaded husk of her former self. It's going to be awesome.

Though. that's obviously what we're expected to expect to happen. Them devious House-writers have a habit of sabotaging such obvious event-chains.

[The EGE]

WMG: Three episodes down the line, her medical ethics kills someone, and she goes down. Hard. Like, Mal Reynolds when Bendis gets shot. That hard. If she stays on after that, then she will come back and be as strong as House, if frequently opposed. After all, now that he's with Cuddy, there needs to be someone to counterbalance him.

[frezik]

Spoiler:

Thirteen is officially coming back this season. ("You replaced me with a med student? WTF?").

Edit: OK, yeah, spoilered.

[Ryom]

Nice spoiler there.

[KrazyerKate]

Am I the only one thinking Masters isn't that cute? Sure, she's good looking, but I'd that Cameron or 13 (in that order) over her any day. Her good girl persona probably doesn't help as well

Wrong kind of cute. She's supposed to be Bunny-And-Rainbows cute, not I-Want-To-Do-Her cute.

In my mind, she's like a small furry animal that has been tossed into the lion's den. I think we're going to be treated to a few week's worth of watching House and the team slowly crush her, until she's little more than a broken, jaded husk of her former self. It's going to be awesome.

Not a single recurring character has changed that significantly in the history of the show. I doubt they'll start now. I got the sense from the episode that she's being set up as as a foil to continually show how old House and his team are getting, and to act shocked when House does something horrible (since none of the other characters would be surprised by his antics by now).

[You, sir, name?]

Not a single recurring character has changed that significantly in the history of the show. I doubt they'll start now. I got the sense from the episode that she's being set up as as a foil to continually show how old House and his team are getting, and to act shocked when House does something horrible (since none of the other characters would be surprised by his antics by now).

o_O

[ArgonV]

Am I the only one thinking Masters isn't that cute? Sure, she's good looking, but I'd that Cameron or 13 (in that order) over her any day. Her good girl persona probably doesn't help as well

Wrong kind of cute. She's supposed to be Bunny-And-Rainbows cute, not I-Want-To-Do-Her cute.

Oh, ok, then they're spot on

[frezik]

Not a single recurring character has changed that significantly in the history of the show.

*Dumbfounded* Chase made a huge change last season.

[ArgonV]

I'm sorry, where those two guys in the beginning supposed to be talking Dutch? Even it was Ye Olde Dutch, it didn't even sound like it

Spoiler:

The call-girl's accent is spot on though

[H2SO4]

I'm sorry, where those two guys in the beginning supposed to be talking Dutch? Even it was Ye Olde Dutch, it didn't even sound like it

Yeah, I can't even carry on a conversation with a child in Dutch, but I was like, "Wow, what language is that?" (watches more of the episode) "...That was supposed to be Dutch?"

[ArgonV]

Well, I knew it was supposed to be Dutch, because the sounds they produced somewhat matched with the subtitles, but it sounded more like Luxembourgs than Dutch to me (if you think Dutch is weird, try listening to that)

[KrazyerKate]

Not a single recurring character has changed that significantly in the history of the show.

*Dumbfounded* Chase made a huge change last season.

Yeah, good point. We haven't seen much of him this season, but I guess it's reasonable to assume that he's going to stay the dark, subdued character we saw last season. I'm kinda hoping that he'll eventually revert back to the 'snarky-but-uninvolved' side character he was while House was weeding applicants down to 13, Taub, and Kutner.

none of the other characters would be surprised by his antics by now).

o_O

That's not so much character development as a form of Villain Decay (Warning: TVTropes). It'd start to get predictable if the same people were trying to stop House from doing something reckless in the same ways.


Anyway, I still think they brought on a character that's bright and perky to make the show brighter and perkier, not to show the downward spiral of that character's morals. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but I like a slightly goofier character in the otherwise serious cast.

[H2SO4]

Anyway, I still think they brought on a character that's bright and perky to make the show brighter and perkier, not to show the downward spiral of that character's morals. Maybe that's wishful thinking, but I like a slightly goofier character in the otherwise serious cast.

Well, judging from this last episode, I'd say she's on her way to a downward spiral.

[ArgonV]

What kind of weird shoes is Masters wearing? Platform heels or something?

[Idhan]

Well, the last episode was disappointing to me. Not catastrophic like the premiere, but kind of disappointing. The smallpox episode was pretty decent, but the patients were rather colorless (Maybe that's a good thing: not every patient can be a weirdo or have a dark secret.) However, the crucifixion guy episode was kinda awful for me. It was predictable that House would treat this "House vs. God, part MCCXVII," but this guy was clearly not just a religious patient whom House hates, like the Hasidic Jewish woman and such. He was a guy who was regularly engaging in severe self-harming behavior. It was fine that House neither saw a distinction between these differing degrees of irrationality personally nor had the professionalism to do so as a doctor, but what about the other responsible people around? Couldn't someone have at least suggested "hey, this guy doesn't need an atheism lecture from House. He needs serious psychiatric help."? Like, maybe Foreman or Masters or something?

Second, it was really forced that embryonic stem-cells were the way to cure him. I mean, come on. This is set in 2010, not 2030 or whenever embryonic stem cells are actually a reliable medical therapy.

Third, the soap opera was really forced too. I mean, what's up with making up a marriage in Cuddy's past just so she can pointlessly lie about it so House can catch her in it? What was the purpose of that? They could have developed something with the Chase-being-a-slut scenes, but they punted, just showing it without going any deeper (Is he trying to purge himself of Cameron's memory? Is this something he was always somewhat drawn to but held himself back from thanks to his Catholic upbringing, and his killing Dibala and the priest's subsequent "turn yourself in" command made him lose faith? Is it that he honestly didn't realize he was physically attractive until the speed dating scene in "Private Lives?" Wilson and Sam breaking up also felt really forced. I think that Sam must have really wanted out on that relationship for a while and just used Wilson's remarks as an excuse. I did kind of like the turnaround of Taub's wife chatting with someone else. Still, Taub going through her e-mails should have provoked more. I know that House-and-company do this sort of thing all the time, but that doesn't mean the writers should lose sight of what a shitty thing it is to have done to you. (This is assuming that the Taubs don't have some sort of prearranged spousal help-each-other-keep-up-with-the-mail arrangement.)

Oh well.