Living the Dream (House)

House (TV series) episode
episode_name= Living the Dream
episode_no= HOU-414
airdate= May 5, 2008
writer=
director=
guest_star= Jason Lewis
Rob Benedict


season= 4
diagnosis = Hypersensitivity vasculitis due to quinine allergy (cinchonism)

"Living the Dream" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of "House", and aired on May 5, 2008.

Plot

House is convinced one of the actors on his favorite soap opera (guest star Jason Lewis) “Prescription Passion” has a serious medical condition after observing his symptoms on television. House decides to intervene and take matters into his own hands, but both the actor and House's own team dismiss House’s assessment and do not believe there is anything wrong with him. Meanwhile, Amber and Wilson's relationship develops. Cuddy tries to keep up appearances when an inspector makes an unexpected visit to Princeton-Plainsboro.

Reception

Mara Greengrass of Firefox News felt "Living the Dream" was a "snoozer" and that in comparison to the previous episode very little happened. [cite web |url=http://firefox.org/news/articles/1476/1/Review-House--quotLiving-the-Dreamquot/Page1.html |title=Review: House--"Living the Dream" |accessdate=2008-05-02 |last=Greengrass |first=Mara |date=05/8/2008 |publisher=Firefox News] IGN reviewer James Chamberlin was pleased to see Cameron get more screentime. [cite web |url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/871/871915p1.html |title=House: "Living the Dream" Review |accessdate=2008-05-02 |last=Chamberlin |first=James |date=May 6, 2008 |publisher=IGN] Jen Creer of TV Squad noted the inconsistency in House trying to save an actors life when it's previously been made clear that House doesn't care about the patient, he cares about the symptoms. [cite web |url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/05/06/house-living-the-dream/ |title=House: Living the Dream |accessdate=2008-05-02 |last=Creer |first=Jen |date=May 6th 2008 |publisher=] (Though within the first five minutes of the episode, House tells the actor that he doesn't care about him; he cares about his character on the show.) Sarah Collins of North by Northwestern felt the episode proved that House is a "whack job." [cite web |url=http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2008/05/9913/house-recap-living-the-dream/ |title=House Rec
]

Cultural references

*The premise of this episode is very similar to the last months of the late Michael Zaslow's long run as Roger Thorpe on "Guiding Light". In summer of 1996, the Roger character was involved in a storyline involving electric shock therapy. When the character's speech was slowed, fans first thought it was part of the story. However, Zaslow's unusual speech patterns continued and became gradually more prominent, prompting speculation that he might have some health problem. Eventually, Zaslow was diagnosed with ALS. Also, in the "House" episode, the character is involved in a storyline about a woman pregnant with twins by two fathers. During the period of Michael Zaslow's illness, the character of Blake Thorpe, Roger's daughter, was involved in a similar plotline.

*When going through the dressing room of the soap actor played by Lewis, Dr. House discovers an Emmy award. He plays with it as if accepting the award for himself before putting it down to take a call from Wilson. This is a reference to Hugh Laurie's two nominations for the award, both of which he did not win. [ [http://www.tv.com/house/living-the-dream/episode/1198785/summary.html House: Living the Dream - TV.com ] ]

External links

* [http://politedissent.com/archives/1981 Medical Review of "Living the Dream"]

References