HOUSE Recap: Not Cancer
September 24, 2008 by Kath Skerry
It’s a brand new day…and time to meet another new member of Team GMMR. This season Erik is going to be taking on the surly Dr. Gregory House and sharing his antics with all of us. Stand up, pop some Vicodin and wave your cane at Erik!
House Season 5, Episode 2 “Not Cancer”
Air Date: September 23, 2008
Greetings from the triage area. My name is Erik the Orderly, and I am excited to share this season of House with the GMMR community. With the tour de force that is Hugh Laurie in the driver’s seat, it promises to be a year of insensitivity, displacement, and cruelty from Dr. Gregory House. What does that mean for the audience? The kind of ratings juggernaut that cannot be ignored.
The big news from Season 5’s premiere was Wilson’s resignation, triggered by the grief of losing his fiancé and the resentment he feels about House’s connection to the tragedy..
Episode #2, “Not Cancer”, featured the show’s trademark medical mystery and a quirky new employee/confidante for TV’s most eccentric doctor. As the story unfolded, viewers were introduced to two unique talents: Felicia Day & Michael Weston.
Familiar to Joss Whedon fans as Penny from “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, Ms. Day portrays Apple, a teacher who quickly becomes the last of six organ donation recipients to survive after a series of sudden, yet unrelated traumas. While the hospital staff races to unearth the missing piece that will Apple’s life, she shares critical scenes with House. When doctor & patient are first introduced, we hear the fascinatingly harsh detachment in Laurie’s voice, as evidenced by this exchange:
Penny: “Am I going to die?”
House: “Can we talk about something besides you for a moment…?”
As Penny’s condition grows more dire, House pushes his team to properly diagnose her condition, then acts boldly to get her the treatment needed to live. By episode’s end, we witness a softer side of House, stricken by the loss of his lifelong friend, as he reminds his young patient that the world is worth seeing, even with all of its flaws.
This week also brought a new player into the dysfunctional family; Lucas Douglas, a private investigator who displays awkward social skills & an inability to bend the truth. Beginning with his reveal, when the docs quickly deduce that a coffee machine technician would not wear argyle socks, Michael Weston plays Lucas as a quirky cocktail of armchair psychiatrist, social outcast, and passionate capitalist. In the absence of Wilson, House appears willing to reach out to this strange new presence in his life, yet recoils when the P.I. offers his friendship. Instead, House prefers to keep writing large checks for information on his staff, his patients, and especially Wilson. Their relationship ought to provide the comedic relief that earlier seasons offered through the House/Wilson dialogue.
After Season 4 underwhelmed many House devotees, both due to the writer’s strike & a large percentage of screen time devoted to the “Reality Show” elimination plot to find new doctors, this year has begun in stride. With Hugh Laurie front & center and the supporting cast focused on medicine, I believe Season 5 of House is shaping up to be the kind of disciplined & intelligent show we have come to expect.
What do you think? Was the introduction of a private investigator too far afield for you? Will you ever stand that close to a corpse during a colonoscopy? Wasn’t it a nice song choice for this episode to use Dave Matthews Band’s “You Might Die Trying”? I look forward to reading your takes on this season, and continuing the conversation all the way through the finale!
How does Erik stay grounded from his luxurious life as a substitute teacher? He keeps it real with ALF DVDs & Fantasy Football. On weekends, the GMMR HOUSE & SURVIVOR guru spends quiet time imploring the TV gods to bring back Sports Night & Ed. Erik resides in South Florida and spends his summers following Dave Matthews Band.
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Filed under House, House Recap, Posts by Erik
I loved the P.I. Definitely added to my enjoyment of the show. My question is, though, are they writing Wilson off? I couldn’t find anything on the internet saying they were, but I still get nervous.
I don’t think they are writing Wilson off. I know Robert Sean Leonard once joked about having a deal with the writers that they would pay him for every scene he’s not in (or something silly like that). I think removing Wilson from the pic a bit really forces House to confront some of his many, many demons. I like the new PI though. He’s a lot like House, but a kinder gentler House.
I’m still missing the old ducklings, and I definitely missed Cuddy last night. Wasn’t there only one Cuddy scene? This is one House fan who’s definitely still underwhelmed with the new characters. I’m sticking with it for now since I heard there is going to be more interactions between the old and new teams, but instead of watching live I think it’s heading to my online viewing pile. No need to fight the room mates for the TV over it.
Was I the only one who though that the PI wasn’t offering his friendship but rather his services only? I wonder how they will show Wilson and if they will ever give House’s old team an actual storyline.
Erik,
As someone who is hoping for them to bring back Sports Night, you might be very happy to hear they are releasing a 10th anniversary edition of the whole series on September 30th. You can go pre-order it on Amazon.
Jenn, I share your interest in seeing House’s two worlds collide, and whether loyal fans still see the show they fell in love with. It strikes me as akin to the way we felt about our high school sweetheart, and how those emotions changed when the newness of college or a job beckoned. Will the dramatic shift in the House/Wilson dynamic keep us from finding the funny, or will we accept the Lucas character as a proxy? I am avoiding spoilers for future episodes, though the excellent cover story from the 9/19 EW offered a few encouraging nuggets.
Andi’s point about the P.I. is a legitimate topic of discussion. Though Lucas appeared to be fascinated the cast of characters in House’s life, there was some room for ambiguity in his offers of friendship. My take is that Lucas’ inability to lie effectively lent credence to the sincerity of his interest. However, House’s dismissal of the thought allowed the question to linger until next week. Big question: Will we see Wilson interact with the other docs at some point? What role will Cuddy play in bringing the old friends back together?
Andi’s point about the P.I. is a legitimate topic of discussion. Though Lucas appeared to be fascinated the cast of characters in House’s life, there was some room for ambiguity in his offers of friendship. My take is that Lucas’ inability to lie effectively lent credence to the sincerity of his interest. However, House’s dismissal of the thought allowed the question to linger until next week. Big questions: Will we see Wilson interact with the other docs at some point? What role will Cuddy play in bringing the old friends back together?