Frozen (House)
Encyclopedia
"Frozen" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of House
and the eighty-first episode overall. It aired on February 3, 2008, following Super Bowl XLII
; it attracted slightly more than 29 million viewers, making it the highest rated House episode to date. It was ranked third for the week, tied with that week's episode of American Idol
(also on Fox) and outranked only by the Super Bowl game and the Super Bowl post-game show.
House became the first drama
tic TV series to be the lead-out program of a Fox-aired Super Bowl since The X-Files
following Super Bowl XXXI
. This is the second episode of the show to have an Academy Award winner as a guest star – Mira Sorvino
(the first one was Informed Consent with Joel Grey
).
is asked to examine her through a webcam
. Possible causes are struvite
kidney stone
and urinary tract infection
, caused by frequent sexual intercourse. Foreman
suspects cancer
after her right lung
nearly collapses.
House asks to sample her lymph nodes to detect cancer since the test procedures that can be performed are severely limited by the lack of drugs, equipment, and medical personnel on the base. Since she can only biopsy any lymph nodes close to her skin surface, she has to do a physical. House decides to watch over this, and he flirts with her throughout this. While Foreman and Wilson
are looking for makeshift stains for the slides (they test the usefulness of coffee, red wine, etc.), House notices Wilson's quickness to agree and his lavender shirt, and deduces that he's dating someone. Wilson dismisses his suspicions.
After looking at Cate's test results, Wilson concludes she does not have cancer, but Cate's left kidney shuts down. House's theory changes to autoimmune disease
, for which she would need to take prednisone
. Cate insists on proof (prednisone is a limited resource and there is an asthmatic on the base who could die without it). The team tells her to go outside, since extreme cold has been used as a treatment for auto-immune diseases. As Cate prepares to go outside, she faints and lapses into a coma. House discovers that Sean, the mechanic, is in love with her, and convinces him to drink her urine. The urine has a watery taste, indicating that the problem doesn't originate from her kidneys. House goes on to treat her for brain swelling by having Sean drill a hole in her skull to see whether her coma is caused by increased intracranial pressure or a problem with her hypothalamus.
After the drilling, Cate regains consciousness. Kutner suggests there is a fat embolus
. House realizes it would take an untreated bone break to cause the fat emboli
, and that he has seen every part of her body but her feet. A simple examination reveals that her big toe is broken, the pain numbed by the cold. The toe is reset and splinted and Cate is expected to fully recover.
Throughout the episode, House shows feelings for Cate, asking if she's ok and later, telling the only other person with her that he (House) won't let him hurt her. After House sees that the person with her is in love with her, he stops flirting with her. Finally, House goes to the restaurant where Wilson is meeting with his girlfriend, who he learns is Amber, also known to House as "Cutthroat Bitch".
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 eighty-first episode overall. It aired on February 3, 2008, following Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
; it attracted slightly more than 29 million viewers, making it the highest rated House episode to date. It was ranked third for the week, tied with that week's episode of American Idol
American Idol (season 7)
The seventh season of American Idol, the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returning as judges...
(also on Fox) and outranked only by the Super Bowl game and the Super Bowl post-game show.
House became the first drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
tic TV series to be the lead-out program of a Fox-aired Super Bowl since The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
following Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI
Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American...
. This is the second episode of the show to have an Academy Award winner as a guest star – Mira Sorvino
Mira Sorvino
Mira Katherine Sorvino is an American actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Mighty Aphrodite and is also known for her role as Romy White in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.- Early life :Sorvino was born in Tenafly, New Jersey...
(the first one was Informed Consent with Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
).
Plot
Psychiatrist Cate Milton (Mira Sorvino), collapses and vomits in the middle of Antarctica. HouseGregory House
Gregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
is asked to examine her through a webcam
Webcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
. Possible causes are struvite
Struvite
Struvite is a phosphate mineral with formula: NH4MgPO4·6H2O. Struvite crystallizes in the orthorhombic system as white to yellowish or brownish-white pyramidal crystals or in platey mica-like forms. It is a soft mineral with Mohs hardness of 1.5 to 2 and has a low specific gravity of 1.7...
kidney stone
Kidney stone
A kidney stone, also known as a renal calculus is a solid concretion or crystal aggregation formed in the kidneys from dietary minerals in the urine...
and urinary tract infection
Urinary tract infection
A urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract. Symptoms include frequent feeling and/or need to urinate, pain during urination, and cloudy urine. The main causal agent is Escherichia coli...
, caused by frequent sexual intercourse. Foreman
Eric Foreman
Eric Foreman, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Omar Epps.-Background:A neurologist, Foreman was a member of Dr. Gregory House's handpicked team of specialists at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's Diagnostic Medicine Department...
suspects cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
after her right lung
Lung
The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
nearly collapses.
House asks to sample her lymph nodes to detect cancer since the test procedures that can be performed are severely limited by the lack of drugs, equipment, and medical personnel on the base. Since she can only biopsy any lymph nodes close to her skin surface, she has to do a physical. House decides to watch over this, and he flirts with her throughout this. While Foreman and Wilson
James Wilson (House)
James Evan Wilson, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is played by Robert Sean Leonard. The character first appears in the show's pilot episode when he introduces a medical case to Dr. Gregory House, the protagonist of the show. Wilson is Dr. House's only true friend,...
are looking for makeshift stains for the slides (they test the usefulness of coffee, red wine, etc.), House notices Wilson's quickness to agree and his lavender shirt, and deduces that he's dating someone. Wilson dismisses his suspicions.
After looking at Cate's test results, Wilson concludes she does not have cancer, but Cate's left kidney shuts down. House's theory changes to autoimmune disease
Autoimmune disease
Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it. This may be restricted to...
, for which she would need to take prednisone
Prednisone
Prednisone is a synthetic corticosteroid drug that is particularly effective as an immunosuppressant drug. It is used to treat certain inflammatory diseases and some types of cancer, but has significant adverse effects...
. Cate insists on proof (prednisone is a limited resource and there is an asthmatic on the base who could die without it). The team tells her to go outside, since extreme cold has been used as a treatment for auto-immune diseases. As Cate prepares to go outside, she faints and lapses into a coma. House discovers that Sean, the mechanic, is in love with her, and convinces him to drink her urine. The urine has a watery taste, indicating that the problem doesn't originate from her kidneys. House goes on to treat her for brain swelling by having Sean drill a hole in her skull to see whether her coma is caused by increased intracranial pressure or a problem with her hypothalamus.
After the drilling, Cate regains consciousness. Kutner suggests there is a fat embolus
Embolus
An embolus is any detached, itinerant intravascular mass carried by circulation, which is capable of clogging arterial capillary beds at a site distant from its point of origin.By contrast there are non-traveling blockages that develop locally from vascular trauma or...
. House realizes it would take an untreated bone break to cause the fat emboli
Fat embolism
A fat embolism is a type of embolism that is often caused by physical trauma such as fracture of long bones, soft tissue trauma and burns.-Presentation:...
, and that he has seen every part of her body but her feet. A simple examination reveals that her big toe is broken, the pain numbed by the cold. The toe is reset and splinted and Cate is expected to fully recover.
Throughout the episode, House shows feelings for Cate, asking if she's ok and later, telling the only other person with her that he (House) won't let him hurt her. After House sees that the person with her is in love with her, he stops flirting with her. Finally, House goes to the restaurant where Wilson is meeting with his girlfriend, who he learns is Amber, also known to House as "Cutthroat Bitch".
External links
- "Frozen" at Fox.com