97 Seconds
Encyclopedia
"97 Seconds" is the third episode of the fourth season of House
and the seventy-third episode overall. It aired on October 9, 2007.
The primary patient in "97 Seconds" is a man with spinal muscular atrophy
(SMA) who develops symptoms that could be related to his SMA or something else.
However, the title "97 Seconds" is linked to a different patient in this episode who was clinically dead
for 97 seconds after a car accident
.
(SMA), using an electric wheelchair
.
While he and his assistance dog
were crossing the street he faints
(syncope) and is almost hit by an SUV
.
House sets his team of ten fellowship candidates to compete in a race to find the diagnosis first.
To do this he splits them into two teams: men and women, but Amber Volakis (Anne Dudek
) elects to defect to the men's team. When House suggests this is because she thinks the female candidates are inept, she says it's because House has never had more than one woman on his staff so if he's going to fire an entire gender it will be the women's team. Because of her previous behavior trying to get on the team, including getting others fired, House and the other fellowship candidates begin calling her "Cut-throat Bitch." Amber continues to do whatever she feels it takes to get the job, initially starting by attempting to schmooze Dr. Cameron into giving her advice.
Initially, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde
) treats him for strongyloides
with ivermectin but with no favorable changes. The doctors eventually decide that they have cured him, and House holds a "tribal council" and fires some of the doctors, including Amber. Amber then turns to Dr. Chase, and attempts to appeal to his grudge against House for firing him in order to get him to help perform some blood tests that she no longer has privileges to do. However, Stark develops a pulmonary aspiration
then renal failure
and pneumonia
and eventually dies from asphyxiation because of the pneumonia. House, Thirteen, and Jody discover that his assistance dog has also died. Based on Dr. House's knowledge of the dog's genes (as an English Shepherd
, it has a defect in the MDR1 gene
), a search of the room reveals that Stark did not take the ivermectin, but the dog did.
Autopsy of Stark reveals that he indeed had Strongyloides, confirming Thirteen's diagnosis.
House confronts Thirteen, who failed to watch Stark take the ivermectin, with a lecture on her screw-up.
He does not fire her because he's positive she will not make a similar mistake again. He does, however, fire the other three members of Thirteen's team: the twins and Jody.
This leaves seven candidates remaining.
who, immediately upon House's entry, sticks a knife into an outlet and tries to electrocute himself. Later he reveals that the best 97 seconds of his life were when he was "technically dead" after being hit by a drunk driver
and before paramedics revived him. When House tells him that his oxygen-starved brain shut down, releasing endorphin
s and serotonin
s that caused his visions, the patient insists that the experience was unlike any hallucinogenic drug he experienced and he believes that there is more than mortal life. This is in direct opposition to House's belief that there is no afterlife of any kind. House is surprised and intrigued.
When the teams postulate that Stark has cancer, Wilson is brought in for a consult. Stark's dismissal of an additional few months to live leads House to deride his philosophical beliefs. Wilson confronts House, saying that he doesn't know any better than anyone whether there is an afterlife. House later uses the knife he took from the clinic patient to electrocute himself (after paging Amber seconds before to come resuscitate him). The experiment sends him into a temporary coma, forcing Wilson to take over the differential and potential candidates. At first, the potential fellows, unfamiliar with the depths of House's eccentricity, think that House has attempted suicide. When House finally wakes up, he finds Wilson waiting for him. Wilson demands to know why House did it, and House reveals he wanted to see for himself what would happen while he was close to dead. Wilson reminds him he's had two near death experiences already (references to "Three Stories" and "No Reason
"). He tells House that "just looking at you hurts. I'm gonna order up some extra pain meds." House replies, "I love you", and his tone is unexpectedly heartfelt.
Although House does not reveal what he saw to Wilson (only asking for the clinic patient, who Wilson informs him has died), he tells Stark's body in the morgue, "I'm sorry to say, I told you so," indicating that he saw no afterlife.
but his boss tells him to stick to the rules/protocol and treat for infection.
Late at night, Foreman decides to treat with radiation. Tests reveal that this treatment saved her life because she, indeed, had cancer. Since Foreman didn't follow the rules and — according to the hospital's Dean of Medicine — "confused saving her life with doing the right thing", she fires him.
He splits them up:
After this initial division he consistently refers to the "confederates" as "the danglers" instead. For example, when Amber wants to change teams, he says it's all right with him if it's all right with the Danglers.
Effectively, he splits the group of 10 into 5 men and 5 women, at least initially.
Part way through Amber convinces the Danglers to let her switch teams: making it 6 vs. 4. House announces that this inequity is OK, because one of the Danglers is not a real doctor anyway (this is 26, "ridiculously old fraud", who was revealed in the prior episode as not having a medical license).
Yanks
vs. Danglers
is a naming reference to the American Civil War
.
In the end, House eliminates the "Yanks" team, with the exception of Thirteen, who made the correct diagnosis, and inadvertently caused the death of the patient by failing to supervise his actual ingestion of the medication.
" by Alanis Morissette
.
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 seventy-third episode overall. It aired on October 9, 2007.
The primary patient in "97 Seconds" is a man with spinal muscular atrophy
Spinal muscular atrophy
Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a neuromuscular disease characterized by degeneration of motor neurons, resulting in progressive muscular atrophy and weakness. The clinical spectrum of SMA ranges from early infant death to normal adult life with only mild weakness...
(SMA) who develops symptoms that could be related to his SMA or something else.
However, the title "97 Seconds" is linked to a different patient in this episode who was clinically dead
Clinical death
Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two necessary criteria to sustain life. It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a condition called cardiac arrest. The term is also sometimes used in resuscitation research.Stopped blood...
for 97 seconds after a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
.
Stark
Thomas Stark is a man with spinal muscular atrophySpinal muscular atrophy
Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a neuromuscular disease characterized by degeneration of motor neurons, resulting in progressive muscular atrophy and weakness. The clinical spectrum of SMA ranges from early infant death to normal adult life with only mild weakness...
(SMA), using an electric wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
.
While he and his assistance dog
Assistance dog
An assistance dog is a dog trained to aid or assist a person with a disability. Many are trained by a specific organization, while others are trained by their handler .-Classification:...
were crossing the street he faints
Syncope (medicine)
Syncope , the medical term for fainting, is precisely defined as a transient loss of consciousness and postural tone characterized by rapid onset, short duration, and spontaneous recovery due to global cerebral hypoperfusion that most often results from hypotension.Many forms of syncope are...
(syncope) and is almost hit by an SUV
Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
.
House sets his team of ten fellowship candidates to compete in a race to find the diagnosis first.
To do this he splits them into two teams: men and women, but Amber Volakis (Anne Dudek
Anne Dudek
Anne Louise Dudek is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Amber Volakis on the television show House and her leading role on UK television series The Book Group as well as playing Francine Hanson in the series Mad Men...
) elects to defect to the men's team. When House suggests this is because she thinks the female candidates are inept, she says it's because House has never had more than one woman on his staff so if he's going to fire an entire gender it will be the women's team. Because of her previous behavior trying to get on the team, including getting others fired, House and the other fellowship candidates begin calling her "Cut-throat Bitch." Amber continues to do whatever she feels it takes to get the job, initially starting by attempting to schmooze Dr. Cameron into giving her advice.
Initially, Thirteen (Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
) treats him for strongyloides
Strongyloides stercoralis
Strongyloides stercoralis, also known as the threadworm, is the scientific name of a human parasitic roundworm causing the disease of strongyloidiasis....
with ivermectin but with no favorable changes. The doctors eventually decide that they have cured him, and House holds a "tribal council" and fires some of the doctors, including Amber. Amber then turns to Dr. Chase, and attempts to appeal to his grudge against House for firing him in order to get him to help perform some blood tests that she no longer has privileges to do. However, Stark develops a pulmonary aspiration
Pulmonary aspiration
Pulmonary aspiration is the entry of material from the oropharynx or gastrointestinal tract into the larynx and lower respiratory tract...
then renal failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
and pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and eventually dies from asphyxiation because of the pneumonia. House, Thirteen, and Jody discover that his assistance dog has also died. Based on Dr. House's knowledge of the dog's genes (as an English Shepherd
English Shepherd
The English Shepherd is an extremely versatile breed of working dog of the collie lineage, developed in the United States from farm dogs brought by English and Scottish settlers to early America. The English Shepherd is a highly intelligent, practical all-around farm dog, being used as a herding...
, it has a defect in the MDR1 gene
P-glycoprotein
P-glycoprotein 1 also known as multidrug resistance protein 1 or ATP-binding cassette sub-family B member 1 or cluster of differentiation 243 is a glycoprotein that in humans is encoded by the ABCB1 gene...
), a search of the room reveals that Stark did not take the ivermectin, but the dog did.
Autopsy of Stark reveals that he indeed had Strongyloides, confirming Thirteen's diagnosis.
House confronts Thirteen, who failed to watch Stark take the ivermectin, with a lecture on her screw-up.
He does not fire her because he's positive she will not make a similar mistake again. He does, however, fire the other three members of Thirteen's team: the twins and Jody.
This leaves seven candidates remaining.
House
In the clinic, House encounters a patient wearing a cervical collarCervical collar
A cervical collar is an orthopedic medical device used to support a patient's neck and head. It is also used by emergency personnel for victims of traumatic head or neck injuries, and can be used to treat chronic medical conditions....
who, immediately upon House's entry, sticks a knife into an outlet and tries to electrocute himself. Later he reveals that the best 97 seconds of his life were when he was "technically dead" after being hit by a drunk driver
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
and before paramedics revived him. When House tells him that his oxygen-starved brain shut down, releasing endorphin
Endorphin
Endorphins are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters. They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during exercise, excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm, and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce...
s and serotonin
Serotonin
Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Biochemically derived from tryptophan, serotonin is primarily found in the gastrointestinal tract, platelets, and in the central nervous system of animals including humans...
s that caused his visions, the patient insists that the experience was unlike any hallucinogenic drug he experienced and he believes that there is more than mortal life. This is in direct opposition to House's belief that there is no afterlife of any kind. House is surprised and intrigued.
When the teams postulate that Stark has cancer, Wilson is brought in for a consult. Stark's dismissal of an additional few months to live leads House to deride his philosophical beliefs. Wilson confronts House, saying that he doesn't know any better than anyone whether there is an afterlife. House later uses the knife he took from the clinic patient to electrocute himself (after paging Amber seconds before to come resuscitate him). The experiment sends him into a temporary coma, forcing Wilson to take over the differential and potential candidates. At first, the potential fellows, unfamiliar with the depths of House's eccentricity, think that House has attempted suicide. When House finally wakes up, he finds Wilson waiting for him. Wilson demands to know why House did it, and House reveals he wanted to see for himself what would happen while he was close to dead. Wilson reminds him he's had two near death experiences already (references to "Three Stories" and "No Reason
No Reason (House episode)
"No Reason" is the twenty-fourth episode and the season finale of the second season of House. It premiered on the Fox network on May 23, 2006...
"). He tells House that "just looking at you hurts. I'm gonna order up some extra pain meds." House replies, "I love you", and his tone is unexpectedly heartfelt.
Although House does not reveal what he saw to Wilson (only asking for the clinic patient, who Wilson informs him has died), he tells Stark's body in the morgue, "I'm sorry to say, I told you so," indicating that he saw no afterlife.
Foreman
Foreman is head of a diagnostic department at New York Mercy and leads a team of at least four (including himself), much like House was at Princeton-Plainsboro. He is faced with a patient who has similar symptoms as in "House Training" where he chose radiation to treat cancer, which just exacerbated the patient's MRSA infection. Foreman believes this patient has anaplastic large cell lymphomaAnaplastic large cell lymphoma
Anaplastic large-cell lymphoma is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that features in the World Health Organisation classification of lymphomas.Its name derives from anaplasia and large-cell lymphoma.-Signs and symptoms:...
but his boss tells him to stick to the rules/protocol and treat for infection.
Late at night, Foreman decides to treat with radiation. Tests reveal that this treatment saved her life because she, indeed, had cancer. Since Foreman didn't follow the rules and — according to the hospital's Dean of Medicine — "confused saving her life with doing the right thing", she fires him.
The fellows
House splits the 10 remaining doctors up into two groups to compete head-to-head to diagnose the patient first.He splits them up:
- "if your sex organs dangle...you're the confederates"
- "if your sex organs are aesthetically pleasing...you're the yanks"
After this initial division he consistently refers to the "confederates" as "the danglers" instead. For example, when Amber wants to change teams, he says it's all right with him if it's all right with the Danglers.
Effectively, he splits the group of 10 into 5 men and 5 women, at least initially.
Part way through Amber convinces the Danglers to let her switch teams: making it 6 vs. 4. House announces that this inequity is OK, because one of the Danglers is not a real doctor anyway (this is 26, "ridiculously old fraud", who was revealed in the prior episode as not having a medical license).
Yanks
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
vs. Danglers
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
is a naming reference to the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
"Yanks"
| # | Actor | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Olivia Wilde Olivia Wilde Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr... |
"Thirteen" Thirteen (House) Remy "Thirteen" Hadley, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House, portrayed by Olivia Wilde. She is part of the new diagnostic team assembled by Dr. Gregory House after the disbanding of his previous team in the third season finale... |
| 15A | Melinda Dahl | "A" twin |
| 15B | Caitlin Dahl | "B" twin |
| 32 | Meera Simhan Meera Simhan Meera Simhan is a film and stage actress and writer. She appeared in Date Movie and several television and stage productions. She was born in England and is now based in Los Angeles. She is married to actor Ravi Kapoor.-External links:... |
Jody |
"Danglers"
| # | Actor | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Kal Penn Kal Penn Kalpen Suresh Modi , best known by his stage name Kal Penn, is an American film and television actor, producer, and civil servant.... |
Lawrence Kutner |
| 18 | Edi Gathegi Edi Gathegi Edi Mue Gathegi is a Kenyan-American film, stage and television actor. He is best known for his recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole in the television series House, as Cheese in the 2007 film Gone Baby Gone and as Laurent in the films Twilight, its sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Darwin in... |
Jeffrey Cole |
| 24 | Anne Dudek Anne Dudek Anne Louise Dudek is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Amber Volakis on the television show House and her leading role on UK television series The Book Group as well as playing Francine Hanson in the series Mad Men... |
Amber Volakis aka "Cutthroat Bitch" |
| 26 | Carmen Argenziano Carmen Argenziano Carmen Antimo Argenziano is an American actor who has appeared in over 50 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes.... |
Henry Dobson |
| 37 | Andy Comeau Andy Comeau Andy Comeau is an American actor. He is best known for playing Theodore "Teddy" Huffstodt, the mentally unbalanced brother of lead character Dr. Craig Huffstodt on the Showtime series Huff... |
Travis Brennan |
| 39 | Peter Jacobson Peter Jacobson Peter S. Jacobson is an American film and television actor.-Life and career:Jacobson was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Chicago news anchor Walter Jacobson. He is a graduate of Brown University and Juilliard... |
Chris Taub Chris Taub Christopher Michael "Chris" Taub, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Peter Jacobson. He becomes a member of House's new diagnostic team in the Season 4 episode titled "Games".-Professional life:... |
In the end, House eliminates the "Yanks" team, with the exception of Thirteen, who made the correct diagnosis, and inadvertently caused the death of the patient by failing to supervise his actual ingestion of the medication.
Music
The song playing while House contemplates putting the knife into the electrical socket is "Not as WeNot as We
"Not as We" is a song from Alanis Morissette's seventh studio album, Flavors of Entanglement. "Not as We" was remixed and released as the second single from Flavors of Entanglement in North America, while "In Praise of the Vulnerable Man" was released as the second single in Europe.The single was...
" by Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
.