Picspam/Recap: House 7x09 Larger Than Life - part 1
Candice Bergen! Candice Bergen!!!!!!! Whoo hoooo!!!!
Okay. I've never been this excited for any guest star, ever. I feel like I grew up on Murphy Brown. LOVE her. She can do no wrong. Unsurprisingly, any character she plays can do no wrong. Seriously; if, for some reason, she plays a serial murderer, I would watch and marvel at the subtlety of her performance.
Also, if you'd indulge me for a moment: on the show, Murphy's mother, Avery Brown (Sr :)) (played by Colleen Dewhurst! aka, among other things, Marilla Cuthbert!), also seemed "larger than life." This means that Cuddy? To my mind has some kick-ass tv women in her family tree.
Sara Hess's relevant tweets, because they're fun:
- What do you wear to your first day working with Candice Bergen?
- I need something that will look flattering on me when I'm cowering mutely in a corner tomorrow, sweaty and grinning like a baboon.
- Philosophy on Bergen: she can do whatever the hell she wants. She wants to do a Moroccan accent, or wear moose antlers, it is cool with me.
- Seriously, once the cameras are rolling, it's her oyster. I'll just be over here, not-having five Emmys.
- Anyone who at one point had to politely ask the TV Academy to stop giving her Emmys? Is someone to whom Sara Hess will not be giving notes.
- Just rehearsed her first scene. She could not be sweeter and I didn't fall down or spill anything on myself, so: success! It is ON.
Ahem. There's more to the episode than just Candice Bergen (hereafter designated as Candice Fucking Bergen! or CFB). I actually enjoyed this episode quite a bit. I was also in the mood to create borders for some of the pics; no idea why :D
Little girl: What's the difference between a sea lion and a seal?
POTW: Um, seals tell the truth but a sea lion's always lyin'?
Little girl: A sea lion has ears.
Heh. In his defense, it did seem like a set-up to a joke. He's only there for two days and then he's off for three weeks? Yes, that really does suck.
He jumped onto the tracks. Raise your hand if you were nervous that this was leading to some odd While You Were Sleeping episode (and then became thrilled when it didn't).
And no one helped. It isn't surprising; that train is coming awfully fast and aren't there studies on the actions of crowds? How, in the aggregate, people don't respond quickly in emergency situations, etc., etc. But sometimes people can surprise and humble you, what they can do in a dangerous situation, even if it's in their self-interest as well.
HOUSE: God she's still talking, make it stop.
CHASE: House's world view doesn't include random acts of self-sacrifice. He's going to count heroism as a symptom until proven otherwise.
MASTERS: The guy did a wonderful thing. Can't we just take that at face value.
HOUSE: You are adorable.
"Subway hero." That's...not really catchy. The press/people in general seem to prefer alliterative titles. For example: "Hero of the Hudson" or "Tucson: Together We Thrive." So for this . . . Subway . . . Savior? Meh.
Okay, never mind: Subway Hero it is. Plus, it explicitly introduces the motif of the episode with a nice tie-in to the title: it's a bird! it's a plane! It's Subway-Man!! (so much worse! :D)
Masters labels the folders with sticky notes. Why do I find that adorable when, really, it's the exact same file going to everyone. Unless she highlights neurological symptoms for Foreman and . . . yeah, I got nothing. I've always wondered about that intermediate step we never see between having one file and then copying it for the entire team, so I like that Masters did it all herself. (What? I fixate on weird things. That's not clear by now? :))
House does have a point about firefighters and their training. The desire to go through that training is something else, perhaps.
"The coward has spoken" and Taub's *Right on.* It's good to see that he's embracing that about himself. Bodes well. He gets a nice little arc in this episode; cowardly to brave, even though it scares him.
HOUSE: I need your advice. Dinner with your mom on Thursday.
CUDDY: That's my birthday.
HOUSE: I know. I'm definitely coming. But Wilson's got tickets to the Hong Kong Film Festival and ever since his break up he's been a mess and I haven't been able to tell him that I'm not going. So maybe if you happen to see him, you can mention how important this is.
CUDDY: You should go.
HOUSE: What? I can't! It's your birthday.
CUDDY: Mmm, it's fine, it's sweet that you care about your friend and frankly, as you will find out sooner or later, my mother is a handful. Go.
When I first saw this, I thought Wilson was being such a passive-agressive ass. He doesn't know Cuddy's birthday? His assistant doesn't have it marked down in his calendar for him?
House was also being an ass. HL is awesome, and obviously I could spend the entire time talking about that, but here he does such a good job of, well, making you think he might be playing her. Although, I can't really blame him. He avoided Mrs. Cuddy throughout the holidays which is impressive on its own, and the thought of having dinner with her versus sitting through the Hong Kong film festival . . . huh. Okay, it's a toss-up, as I'm thinking that the dinner, although more painful, would be shorter.
And Cuddy? Might be seeing what she wants to see. She doesn't seem too adverse to keeping her mom and House separated a little bit longer.
HOUSE: I need your advice. This film festival.
WILSON: I have had these tickets for two months.
HOUSE: Yeah, I know. I'm definitely coming.
WILSON: Okay.
HOUSE: But Thursday is Cuddy's birthday and her mom's coming down, it's a whole dinner thing, and I thought, maybe if you see her, you could mention how upset you've been.
WILSON: You have to go. Your girlfriend's birthday? It's not even a question.
HOUSE: She has one every year. How often do you break up with the love of your life? I mean, for you it's more often than most, but still. ♥
WILSON: I'm a big boy. I think I'll survive.
HOUSE: I'll definitely make this up to you.
Hearing the whole thing: Wilson's still an ass, but less of one than I thought. Still ridiculous that he doesn't know Cuddy's birthday. And I don't mean to be (too) mean, but two months for tickets? Did they, ahem, sell out quickly?
House is being an idiot, though, for thinking that they wouldn't find out. These are big events and it isn't last minute; they have time to talk. Silly, House.
"How often do you break up with the love of your life? I mean, for you it's more often than most, but still." Heh. Wilson must have been just miserable the last few months (although -- did Wilson buy the tickets for him and Sam, or were they already over and her bought the tickets, assuming he'd drag House along . . . why he thought the latter would work is rather beyond me but Wilson's head is a curious place).
Subtle billboard is subtle. That has to be creepy, though, seeing a billboard of yourself.
CHASE: Are you asking?
MASTERS: Yes, I'm asking. I've only read how to do it. Practice is different than theory.
Chase is spending a great deal of time with Masters, isn't he? So: (1) combo of Foreman pulling rank/Taub having home issues, (2) Chase having a tell and losing every game of rock/paper/scissors / fing/fong/fooey, or (3) Chase working an angle? Or a combination of the three?
HOUSE: So, we finally know what Taub would look like if he were life-size.
TAUB: Can we go back to the office now?
HOUSE: Are you kidding? We got a differential to run. Cardiac arrhythmia.
TAUB: That poster got me laid when I got home last night, so, do your worst.
You so should not have said that, Taub.
But silly House. Not life-size. "Larger than life." Come on, know the episode title.
CHASE: "That's my elbow in the corner. What's your wife doing later?" Heh. She's available now, Chase.
HOUSE: "Inappropriate? I mean, because of the Jew thing?" Hehehehe. Oh, Show. Look at you, making me find Hitler jokes funny. And Chase's face (penultimate row, third cap). Heh. Although I was fully expecting Taub to grab the marker from House as he walked by . . . not the time for that yet in his little arc.
Later: if the wife thinks "being on a billboard" implies smart, then, wow, so not good for her. I mean, it does explain some things, but yikes.
Next Part: a^2 +b^2 =c^2