HALF-WIT (HOUSE EPISODE)

"'Half-Wit'" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of ''House'', which premiered on the FOX network on March 6, 2007. Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Dave Matthews guest stars in the episode as Patrick, a savant and piano prodigy who comes under the care of Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) for a rare movement disorder. Dr. House also is suspected to have cancer by his staff. Also appearing is actor Kurtwood Smith, best known from his role on ''That 70's Show''. The episode marks the directorial debut of executive producer, Katie Jacobs.

Contents

Plot

Music

Notes

Awards

References

External links

Plot

Patrick Obyedkov, a 35-year-old musical savant, is in the middle of playing a piano concert when he suffers a painful involuntary muscle contraction in his left hand. After Patrick is admitted to Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital with a rare movement disorder, his case attracts the attention of Dr. House. House learns from Patrick's father, Dr. Obyedkov, that Patrick suffered severe brain damage at age 10 from a bus accident that also killed his mother. House is intrigued as to why Patrick, who was a healthy 10-year-old at the time of his accident with no prior musical training, could suddenly play the piano flawlessly after suffering a severe injury. He pushes for further testing on Patrick's brain even though the team has diagnosed him with a simple muscle-contraction problem. While trying to deduce the origin of the brain rewiring responsible for Patrick's mysterious gift of music, House and his team must stop the deadly bleeding that is quickly threatening his life. Patrick's condition worsens as he suffers an onset of seizures, and as the team stabilizes him with House's diagnosis, House presents a very difficult option to Patrick's father — a neurological procedure that would allow Patrick to live normally, but not play the piano.
Meanwhile, Cameron discovers that House has been in contact with a hospital in Massachusetts and suspects that House may be looking to take a new job there. When Cuddy contacts the hospital, she learns that House has been in contact with a brain cancer specialist — not as a job applicant, but as a patient for a clinical trial. When confronted by his team, House denies the gravity of the situation and resents their interference, and they are forced to contend with the possibility his condition may be more serious than he's letting on. The team ignores the patient's condition and focuses on House's condition, contrary to the usual beginning of episodes where House is not interested in the case.
Near the end of the episode, the team diagnoses that House does not have cancer; however, House reveals that the medical file sent to the hospital in Massachusetts was not his and he intended to trick the doctors at the university into getting him "high". The team is downhearted that House faked cancer, and Wilson notes that most cancer patients are fine because they have family and friends; House didn't have cancer AND he pushed away the people who cared. Wilson advises to House to start small, such as eating pizza with him. At the end of the episode, House appears to enter the restaurant where Cameron, Chase, and Foreman are having dinner.

Music

★ In the opening segment, House's patient Patrick plays the opening to the "Waldstein Sonata" by Ludwig van Beethoven. Later in the episode, House and the patient play "The Entertainer", a ragtime piano work by Scott Joplin. During the MRI sequence, the patient plays the third movement of the "Waldstein Sonata" on his leg.

★ On their first meeting, House and Patrick play the opening to "I Don't Like Mondays" by The Boomtown Rats.

★ In the same meeting, the chord that is heard is not the same that is played by House on the piano. The chord you can hear (which is a Ab7(b5/#9), composed by D-Gb-Ab-B-C) is correctly recognized by Patrick, which shows the ability of absolute pitch.

★ As an internal EEG is performed on Patrick to deduce his ailment, "Rainy Day Lament" by Joe Purdy plays.

★ At the very end as House is walking down the sidewalk past the bar/restaurant where Cameron, Chase, and Foreman are eating, the song "See The World" by Gomez plays.

Notes

★ Robert Sean Leonard and Kurtwood Smith previously starred together in Dead Poets Society.

★ In an odd coincidence, this is the second TV show Kurtwood Smith has appeared in to feature a character named Eric Foreman, the first being ''That 70's Show'' where Smith's character has a son, Eric Foreman, played by Topher Grace. This was not a deliberate choice on behalf of the creators of ''House'', as stated in the commentary for this episode, though apparently no one at FOX noticed the name during the production of the pilot episode.

Awards

This episode was submitted for consideration in the categories of "Outstanding Drama Series", "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" and "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" on Hugh Laurie's behalf for the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. ^[1] This resulted in nominations in the categories of Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.^[2]

References

1. Boomer, (June 5, 2007) "2007 Emmys Confirmed Episode Submissions, Los Angeles Times Envelope Forum. Retrieved on June 18, 2007.
2.

External links

★ FOX.com-''House'' official site

★ Television Without Pity-''House'' recaps

★ House Episode Guide at epguides.com

★ TVGuide's Page: Full list of House Episodes

★ House M.D. Guide