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ivyficI watched episode 4 of House last night (thanks ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
veryschway!). This is definitely the strongest episode I've seen so far.
This is the first time that the formula of - they find an unusual disease, they try x, y, and z treatments that don't work and might be making it worse, at the eleventh hour they figure it out and cure the patient - hasn't felt forced. This could be because it's an epidemic where the risk to the infants of wasting time making sure of a diagnosis is very real. It could be because he doesn't save everyone. And in the case of a nosocomial infection affecting infants there are really so many common bugs that could be causing it - it's actually a common cold at fault not some bizarro one in a billion parasite in the brain kind of thing.
This episode makes great use of House's typical approach of make-the-diagnosis-by-starting-treatment. From a medical standpoint, this is unethical. And when the victims are nonconsenting infants, it's even more so. So, when it appears the treatment is causing kidney failure and he must stop one of the treatments, House's conclusion that they basically run a clinical study is both completely immoral and probably the only right decision. House has a habit of dealing with his patients as interesting puzzles, and if his proposal came out of this intellectual curiosity, his proposed test would be cruel and despicable. But the writers manage to make it clear that House is taking the course that he believes will save the most lives. None of his associates are willing to acknowledge that there may be situations where it is acceptable to sacrifice one life for the good of many. They cling to the Hippocratic oath, as they should, and will not sacrifice an innocent, even if this stance costs the lives of many more.
In a way, the show is saying that House is on a higher moral scale. He can see past the absolute of "the sanctity of human life" to what is necessary in this situation. As Wesley says on Angel, "if you try to keep everyone alive, you kill everyone." (I'm paraphrasing.)
That the show feels the need to point out at the end that House's actions had nothing to do with the fates of the babies is the the writer's way of shying away from any conclusions about the morality of House's decision. They allow him to grapple with this decision but then wash his hands of the results of it, effectively preventing any repurcussions. If this was ER, you could bet that House would be slapped with a malpractice suit. (As would his director who in front of a lawyer gave him the green light.)
Now on to the two couples. I liked the fact that one of the 'couples' (I use quotes because their relationship is never defined) is Asian and possibly lesbian. The two women could be sisters, or in a relationship, or just close friends. I like the fact that show does not feel it's necessary to explain why these two are there together without a man. That being said, it's interesting that the baby that dies is the child of an Asian non-traditional couple, while the one that lives is the child of a traditional White, heterosexual married couple. But I don't want to read too much into that.
Cameron annoys me in general. Her storyline here borders on the cloyingly cliche. Oh look! The woman doctor is too soft to tell bad news to patients! Maybe we should stick her in a lab. Of course, none of the men have any problems with this. Oh, no. They're stoic and good at talking to the parents.
What saves this is that, although it is clearly implied that Cameron has either lost a child or been around someone who has, they never say it explicitly. At the end of the episode, I was expecting the "now we hear what Cameron's deal is" scene. Instead, she calls House a bastard for asking and walks out. This is a much more realistic and natural reaction. Too many times in a TV show when one character is clearly affected personally by a storyline, they confess their past at the end of the episode. This confession is often not to someone particularly close - they just sort of gush it out as a way for the screenwriters to explain themselves. I point to Law & Order:SVU for numerous examples of this. I mean, Elliot confessed that he almost beat his daughter to death to his boss. Come on. I'm glad the writers here didn't feel the need to do that.
Cameron is basically playing the Dr. Carter character here. Carter on ER (in the early seasons) was much more empathetic to his patients than anyone else. He was partnered with Dr. Benton who viewed his surgical patients essentially as interesting pieces of meat. This pointed out the difference and difficulty of Carter's approach. What saved Carter was that he was extremely competent and in many cases his soft touch with the patients was exactly what was needed. Cameron has a moment of that here when she makes the parents hold their child (though, maybe it's just me, but the baby-saves-marriage ploy of this plot seems a little trite). But overall, Cameron is clearly hindered by her empathy. Contrasting her to House only shows just how empathetic House truly is to his patients, even though he tries not to show it. The balance is off and Cameron just comes across as a simpering weak female.
For the first time in this episode, we see Dr. Wilson and Dr. Cuddy in the trenches with House. It also shows how necessary House's unconventional approach is (contrasted to Cuddy's strictly by-the-book swab everything take).
The conclusion of the episode is just plain creepy. The teddy-bear volunteer worker is basically a Typhoid Mary. House must bring her sickness to the attention of the authorities in the hospital - to not do so would be putting further children at risk. But I can't help feeling that this will destroy this poor woman's life. She's about to find out that because she wanted to come to work even though she was sick because she couldn't let the babies down, she caused the death of an infant and the illness of five others. It's interesting that when House is talking to Wilson, he automatically assumes the 'shedder' is a man and speaks of him in a derogatory fashion. I wonder if his attitude is changed by the revelation that it's a sweet old lady. Another show might end this scene with a bombastic lecture about hygiene in a hospital. Instead, we are left with House's smug smile.
If there are more episodes like that out there, you can definitely count me a House fan.
veryschway!). This is definitely the strongest episode I've seen so far.This is the first time that the formula of - they find an unusual disease, they try x, y, and z treatments that don't work and might be making it worse, at the eleventh hour they figure it out and cure the patient - hasn't felt forced. This could be because it's an epidemic where the risk to the infants of wasting time making sure of a diagnosis is very real. It could be because he doesn't save everyone. And in the case of a nosocomial infection affecting infants there are really so many common bugs that could be causing it - it's actually a common cold at fault not some bizarro one in a billion parasite in the brain kind of thing.
This episode makes great use of House's typical approach of make-the-diagnosis-by-starting-treatment. From a medical standpoint, this is unethical. And when the victims are nonconsenting infants, it's even more so. So, when it appears the treatment is causing kidney failure and he must stop one of the treatments, House's conclusion that they basically run a clinical study is both completely immoral and probably the only right decision. House has a habit of dealing with his patients as interesting puzzles, and if his proposal came out of this intellectual curiosity, his proposed test would be cruel and despicable. But the writers manage to make it clear that House is taking the course that he believes will save the most lives. None of his associates are willing to acknowledge that there may be situations where it is acceptable to sacrifice one life for the good of many. They cling to the Hippocratic oath, as they should, and will not sacrifice an innocent, even if this stance costs the lives of many more.
In a way, the show is saying that House is on a higher moral scale. He can see past the absolute of "the sanctity of human life" to what is necessary in this situation. As Wesley says on Angel, "if you try to keep everyone alive, you kill everyone." (I'm paraphrasing.)
That the show feels the need to point out at the end that House's actions had nothing to do with the fates of the babies is the the writer's way of shying away from any conclusions about the morality of House's decision. They allow him to grapple with this decision but then wash his hands of the results of it, effectively preventing any repurcussions. If this was ER, you could bet that House would be slapped with a malpractice suit. (As would his director who in front of a lawyer gave him the green light.)
Now on to the two couples. I liked the fact that one of the 'couples' (I use quotes because their relationship is never defined) is Asian and possibly lesbian. The two women could be sisters, or in a relationship, or just close friends. I like the fact that show does not feel it's necessary to explain why these two are there together without a man. That being said, it's interesting that the baby that dies is the child of an Asian non-traditional couple, while the one that lives is the child of a traditional White, heterosexual married couple. But I don't want to read too much into that.
Cameron annoys me in general. Her storyline here borders on the cloyingly cliche. Oh look! The woman doctor is too soft to tell bad news to patients! Maybe we should stick her in a lab. Of course, none of the men have any problems with this. Oh, no. They're stoic and good at talking to the parents.
What saves this is that, although it is clearly implied that Cameron has either lost a child or been around someone who has, they never say it explicitly. At the end of the episode, I was expecting the "now we hear what Cameron's deal is" scene. Instead, she calls House a bastard for asking and walks out. This is a much more realistic and natural reaction. Too many times in a TV show when one character is clearly affected personally by a storyline, they confess their past at the end of the episode. This confession is often not to someone particularly close - they just sort of gush it out as a way for the screenwriters to explain themselves. I point to Law & Order:SVU for numerous examples of this. I mean, Elliot confessed that he almost beat his daughter to death to his boss. Come on. I'm glad the writers here didn't feel the need to do that.
Cameron is basically playing the Dr. Carter character here. Carter on ER (in the early seasons) was much more empathetic to his patients than anyone else. He was partnered with Dr. Benton who viewed his surgical patients essentially as interesting pieces of meat. This pointed out the difference and difficulty of Carter's approach. What saved Carter was that he was extremely competent and in many cases his soft touch with the patients was exactly what was needed. Cameron has a moment of that here when she makes the parents hold their child (though, maybe it's just me, but the baby-saves-marriage ploy of this plot seems a little trite). But overall, Cameron is clearly hindered by her empathy. Contrasting her to House only shows just how empathetic House truly is to his patients, even though he tries not to show it. The balance is off and Cameron just comes across as a simpering weak female.
For the first time in this episode, we see Dr. Wilson and Dr. Cuddy in the trenches with House. It also shows how necessary House's unconventional approach is (contrasted to Cuddy's strictly by-the-book swab everything take).
The conclusion of the episode is just plain creepy. The teddy-bear volunteer worker is basically a Typhoid Mary. House must bring her sickness to the attention of the authorities in the hospital - to not do so would be putting further children at risk. But I can't help feeling that this will destroy this poor woman's life. She's about to find out that because she wanted to come to work even though she was sick because she couldn't let the babies down, she caused the death of an infant and the illness of five others. It's interesting that when House is talking to Wilson, he automatically assumes the 'shedder' is a man and speaks of him in a derogatory fashion. I wonder if his attitude is changed by the revelation that it's a sweet old lady. Another show might end this scene with a bombastic lecture about hygiene in a hospital. Instead, we are left with House's smug smile.
If there are more episodes like that out there, you can definitely count me a House fan.
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-15 10:48 pm (UTC)I have every show except one downloaded to my computer--if you're on AIM, I can send them to you. My SN is Edgehopper.
Oh, and part of the artificiality in the early episodes comes from the lack of continuous story. As they progress, and you start seeing how the characters' relationships progress from case to case, it gets a lot better.
(no subject)
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