Son of Coma Guy
Encyclopedia
"Son of Coma Guy" is the seventh episode of the third season of House
and the fifty-third episode overall.
guy" and watching television. As he and Wilson talk, the son of the comatose man walks into the room. House tries an experiment on the boy: he flashes the lights on and off, then throws a bag of chips at the boy, and walks over to him, but the boy does not see the chips or House. House diagnoses him as being akinetopsic
, unable to see things in motion, a condition which is often accompanied by seizures. The boy suddenly starts to have convulsions, and is admitted to the hospital (much to House's delight).
The team learns that the boy's name is Kyle, but they can't tell what caused his seizure. They find multiple wine bottles in Kyle's backpack, so the team suspects liver failure. However, House shoots down all of their theories, claiming that "it is genetic". Kyle has no living relatives, except one: "Vegetative State Guy", Kyle's father whose name is Gabe. House proceeds to wake Gabe up using a large dose of L-Dopa and amphetamines. Cuddy and the rest of the team try to stop him, but he proceeds nonetheless. He cites a South African study that shows that comatose patients may be woken up for hours at a time, but Cuddy does not believe him. Nonetheless, Gabe wakes up.
When Gabe is informed that he only has one day until he lapses back into his coma, he decides that he wants to drive to Atlantic City to get a hoagie from a specific deli. House agrees to go along with him, and asks Wilson if they can go in his car. Wilson decides to come along to make sure nothing bad happens. House asks Gabe many questions along the way.
Meanwhile, House finds that Gabe used to make boats finished with mildew-resistant paint. House concludes that Kyle, as a child, was around the painting without a facemask and got mercury poisoning
from the paint. House calls the team, and they begin the test. Gabe, annoyed that House's questions are becoming more personal, establishes a quid pro quo
style of questioning that forces House to answer a question every time he asks one.
House, Gabe, and Wilson arrive at Atlantic City, but they cannot locate the hoagie shop. Gabe wants to go to a casino instead, so House and Wilson get a nearby hotel for the night. House continues the questioning at the hotel, ordering Gabe to give a total recap of how his family members died. During Gabe's explanation, House notices a common theme with the deaths, and that Gabe blames Kyle for his mother's death in a house fire (which was when Gabe entered his vegetative state). House diagnoses this as MERRF syndrome
and calls Foreman to run the test. Foreman informs him that even if they cure ragged red fibers (MERRF), Kyle has a fatal cardiomyopathy
.
Gabe says he wants to donate his heart to Kyle, given that he will fall into vegetative state soon anyway. Wilson opposes, but House agrees, so he calls Cuddy to schedule the transplant. Cuddy flatly refuses the transplant, since it will equate to murdering Gabe. House asks Wilson to leave the room, saying, "You have lied to the cops enough for me." House then lays out ways to kill oneself that would keep the heart intact to Gabe. While Wilson creates an alibi
for himself and House in the casino, Gabe kills himself. Kyle successfully undergoes heart transplant surgery.
, but he was consulted about difficult cases, because no matter his background and social stature, the other doctors listened to him because he was right.
, and tells House he's been questioned by Detective Tritter
.
Later in the episode, Detective Tritter questions Cameron about how much Vicodin House takes, and Cameron says around six pills a day, which is an extreme understatement, and Tritter is about to ask her more questions when she gets paged by Chase and Foreman. They saw her with Tritter, and decide to tell the same story, but not to tell House about it. Later, both of them are also interviewed by Tritter.
In the final scene, while House and Wilson talk, Wilson tries to withdraw money from his ATM and learns that his account has been frozen as a part of the ongoing police investigation into House's drug use. House seems ashamed by the trouble he's put Wilson in, but is still confident that the case will not escalate.
submitted this episode for consideration in the category of "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
" on his behalf for the 2007 Emmy Awards
.
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
and the fifty-third episode overall.
Medicine
The episode begins with House eating his lunch next to "vegetative stateComa
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
guy" and watching television. As he and Wilson talk, the son of the comatose man walks into the room. House tries an experiment on the boy: he flashes the lights on and off, then throws a bag of chips at the boy, and walks over to him, but the boy does not see the chips or House. House diagnoses him as being akinetopsic
Akinetopsia
Akinetopsia, also known as cerebral akinetopsia or motion blindness, is an extremely rare neuropsychological disorder in which a patient cannot perceive motion in their visual field, despite being able to see stationary objects without issue. For patients with akinetopsia, the world becomes devoid...
, unable to see things in motion, a condition which is often accompanied by seizures. The boy suddenly starts to have convulsions, and is admitted to the hospital (much to House's delight).
The team learns that the boy's name is Kyle, but they can't tell what caused his seizure. They find multiple wine bottles in Kyle's backpack, so the team suspects liver failure. However, House shoots down all of their theories, claiming that "it is genetic". Kyle has no living relatives, except one: "Vegetative State Guy", Kyle's father whose name is Gabe. House proceeds to wake Gabe up using a large dose of L-Dopa and amphetamines. Cuddy and the rest of the team try to stop him, but he proceeds nonetheless. He cites a South African study that shows that comatose patients may be woken up for hours at a time, but Cuddy does not believe him. Nonetheless, Gabe wakes up.
When Gabe is informed that he only has one day until he lapses back into his coma, he decides that he wants to drive to Atlantic City to get a hoagie from a specific deli. House agrees to go along with him, and asks Wilson if they can go in his car. Wilson decides to come along to make sure nothing bad happens. House asks Gabe many questions along the way.
Meanwhile, House finds that Gabe used to make boats finished with mildew-resistant paint. House concludes that Kyle, as a child, was around the painting without a facemask and got mercury poisoning
Mercury poisoning
Mercury poisoning is a disease caused by exposure to mercury or its compounds. Mercury is a heavy metal occurring in several forms, all of which can produce toxic effects in high enough doses...
from the paint. House calls the team, and they begin the test. Gabe, annoyed that House's questions are becoming more personal, establishes a quid pro quo
Quid pro quo
Quid pro quo most often means a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. English speakers often use the term to mean "a favour for a favour" and the phrases with almost identical meaning include: "give and take", "tit for tat", "this for that", and "you scratch my back,...
style of questioning that forces House to answer a question every time he asks one.
House, Gabe, and Wilson arrive at Atlantic City, but they cannot locate the hoagie shop. Gabe wants to go to a casino instead, so House and Wilson get a nearby hotel for the night. House continues the questioning at the hotel, ordering Gabe to give a total recap of how his family members died. During Gabe's explanation, House notices a common theme with the deaths, and that Gabe blames Kyle for his mother's death in a house fire (which was when Gabe entered his vegetative state). House diagnoses this as MERRF syndrome
MERRF syndrome
MERRF syndrome is a mitochondrial disease. It is extremely rare, with an estimated prevalence of 1/400,000 in Europe, and has varying degrees of expressivity owing to heteroplasmy-Presentation:...
and calls Foreman to run the test. Foreman informs him that even if they cure ragged red fibers (MERRF), Kyle has a fatal cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy, which literally means "heart muscle disease," is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium for any reason. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death or both. Cardiomyopathy can often go undetected, making it especially dangerous to...
.
Gabe says he wants to donate his heart to Kyle, given that he will fall into vegetative state soon anyway. Wilson opposes, but House agrees, so he calls Cuddy to schedule the transplant. Cuddy flatly refuses the transplant, since it will equate to murdering Gabe. House asks Wilson to leave the room, saying, "You have lied to the cops enough for me." House then lays out ways to kill oneself that would keep the heart intact to Gabe. While Wilson creates an alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
for himself and House in the casino, Gabe kills himself. Kyle successfully undergoes heart transplant surgery.
House
In the hotel, House had promised to Gabe that he would answer one humiliating question after he had finished questioning Gabe about his family. Gabe asks why House became a doctor. Reluctantly, House reveals that while his family was living in Japan, he saw a man who was from the buraku, a Japanese social class traditionally looked down on. His appearance caused House to mistake him for a janitorJanitor
A janitor or custodian is a professional who takes care of buildings, such as hospitals and schools. Janitors are responsible primarily for cleaning, and often some maintenance and security...
, but he was consulted about difficult cases, because no matter his background and social stature, the other doctors listened to him because he was right.
Tritter
In the beginning of the episode, Wilson walks in and confronts House over the fact that House stole one of his prescription pads and faked his signature in order to get more VicodinVicodin
Hydrocodone/paracetamol is a combination of two analgesic products hydrocodone and paracetamol used to relieve moderate to severe pain...
, and tells House he's been questioned by Detective Tritter
Michael Tritter
Detective Michael Tritter is a recurring fictional character in the medical drama series House, portrayed by David Morse. He is the main antagonist of the third season, which ran between 2006 and 2007. Tritter is a police detective, who tries to get Dr. Gregory House to apologize for leaving him...
.
Later in the episode, Detective Tritter questions Cameron about how much Vicodin House takes, and Cameron says around six pills a day, which is an extreme understatement, and Tritter is about to ask her more questions when she gets paged by Chase and Foreman. They saw her with Tritter, and decide to tell the same story, but not to tell House about it. Later, both of them are also interviewed by Tritter.
In the final scene, while House and Wilson talk, Wilson tries to withdraw money from his ATM and learns that his account has been frozen as a part of the ongoing police investigation into House's drug use. House seems ashamed by the trouble he's put Wilson in, but is still confident that the case will not escalate.
Awards
John LarroquetteJohn Larroquette
John Edgar Bernard Larroquette, Jr. is an American film, television and Broadway actor. His roles include Dan Fielding on the series Night Court, Mike McBride in the Hallmark Channel series McBride, John Hemingway on The John Larroquette Show, and Carl Sack in Boston Legal.-Personal...
submitted this episode for consideration in the category of "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Guest Supporting Actor.-Award winners:1970s*1975: Patrick McGoohan – Columbo: By Dawn's Early Light...
" on his behalf for the 2007 Emmy Awards
59th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on September 16, 2007 and were televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. EDT for the first time in high definition...
.
External links
- "House: Son of a Coma Guy - TV.com", Copyright 2006 CNET NetworksCNETCNET is a tech media website that publishes news articles, blogs, and podcasts on technology and consumer electronics. Originally founded in 1994 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through CNET Networks' acquisition...
, Inc., November 13, 2006. - FOX.com-House official site
- "House M.D." IMDB Profile