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No More Mr. Nice Guy (House episode)
Encyclopedia
"No More Mr. Nice Guy" is the 13th episode of the fourth season of House
, and the 83rd episode overall. It was the first House episode filmed after the resolution of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
. It aired in the United States
on April 28, 2008.
The episode revolves around Dr. Gregory House
(Hugh Laurie
) noticing a man named Jeff (Paul Rae
) in the Emergency Room (ER), who he thinks is "too nice". House thinks that Jeff's inability to get mad is a major symptom of an underlying condition, and decides to find out what is wrong with him. Meanwhile, Dr. Eric Foreman
(Omar Epps
), thinks the other diagnostic team members don't respect him, while Amber Volakis (Anne Dudek
) and House try to create a deal in which they can both spend time with Dr. James Wilson
(Robert Sean Leonard
).
"No More Mr. Nice Guy" was watched by approximately 14 million viewers, making it the night's second most watched program, behind Dancing with the Stars
. The episode gained mixed reviews from critics. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times
stated that the episode was "The worst House episode ever", while Gina Dinunno of TV Guide
commented that she thought the episode was "pretty good".
), one of the nurses, collapses while walking the picket line
. At the emergency room, House suspects Jeff's extreme niceness and inability to get angry is a major symptom of an underlying condition. After various tests, the team suspects his niceness is a personality change resulting from syphilis
. Kutner (Kal Penn
) asks the couple if either of them had an affair, which could lead to syphilis. Deb denies it, stating that it is just the way her husband behaves and that it is impossible for her to not love him.
At the same time, House is annoyed because he is not able to spend enough time with his friend, James Wilson. He attempts to negotiate with Amber, Wilson's girlfriend, about conditions under which they can both have Wilson's company. They are at a standstill, thus House seeks Lisa Cuddy
's (Lisa Edelstein
) resolution. However, she will only lay out the conditions if House does his team's performance reviews (knowing that he hates doing paperwork). House relents and Cuddy sets the rules, although House has Foreman do the team reviews instead.
To further interest the case, House manipulates the team, Cameron (Jennifer Morrison
), and Chase
(Jesse Spencer
), by swapping his own blood sample, leading them to believe he too has syphilis
, perhaps the cause for his misanthropic, curmudgeon personality and unfriendliness. He then pretends to get a nicer personality, but gets less able as a doctor as he pretends to take the penicillin
they prescribe him, and everyone falls for House's trick (which he has confided to Wilson). Meanwhile, Foreman believes he isn't getting the respect he deserves from Kutner
, Taub
(Peter Jacobson
) and Thirteen
(Olivia Wilde
), when he tries to do their performance reviews, which he believes is due to House frequently humiliating him. House replies that if he did not humiliate and taunt Foreman, he would not be strong and able enough to handle the rest of the team.
After House violates one of the conditions set by Cuddy, Amber informs the team of House's ruse of faking syphilis. This discovery leads Kutner to suspect that Jeff's actual, positive syphilis result might really be the result of a parasite called Chagas' disease, which he contracted while working in the jungles of Costa Rica
years ago. The diagnosis is confirmed: the parasite embedded itself in Jeff's brain during his stay in the country, thus causing the shift in his personality and giving him the inability to be angry. At the end of the episode the only evident change is that the patient says he now does not like ketchup, although he does wonder aloud to his wife, "I wonder what else I don't like," which appears to make her anxious.
With the case solved, House hands in the reviews to Cuddy, who discovers they are all the same. House also gives Cuddy a performance review. As punishment for not doing his teams reviews properly as well as breaking the rules she set between him and Amber, she has the two of them cleaning up bedridden patients together, with a smiling Wilson.
. It was the second House episode directed by Deran Sarafian
. When "Don't Ever Change" aired on February 5, 2008, it was the final episode to air before mid-season break due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
. On March 25, 2008, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
reported that House would be returning April 29, 2008. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, House creator David Shore
commented that, although the characters of Cameron and Chase are not on screen as much as they used to be, they take on a different, and greater, weight with the "stuff" they are doing. "No More Mr. Nice Guy" was the first House episode to air after the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
. The nurses' strike in the episode was a reference to the WGA strike. In the episode Jason Lewis made a small uncredited appearance as Dr. Brock Sterling, a fictional doctor in House's favorite soap opera Prescription Passion. Lewis appeared as Evan Greer, the fictional actor who portrays Dr. Sterling, in the next episode.
With 14.51 million viewers watching the show, "No More Mr. Nice Guy" was the second-most watched program of the night, ranking behind Dancing with the Stars
. The episode gained a 13 share in the ratings. Out of all programs broadcast by Fox Broadcasting Company
between April 28 and May 4, House was the third most watched, behind American Idol
(Tuesday and Wednesday). Mara Greengrass of Firefox News
' favorite aspect of "No More Mr. Nice Guy" was that Kutner was allowed to have the epiphany instead of House. Jay Black of TV Squad noted that the first image in the episode after the two-and-a-half month writer's strike-induced break was a picket line. Barbara Barnett of Blog Critics Magazine stated that the episode was "a lot of fun, but slightly disappointing".
James Chamberlin of IGN
stated that the scenes in which Amber and House were working out terms for sharing Wilson were "hysterical", and graded the episode with a 8.5 (out of 10). Gina Dinunno of TV Guide
thought the episode was pretty good, and the only thing she was not very fond of was that she felt that the characters of Robert Chase and Allison Cameron seemed "forced into the script". Jessica Paff, from Zap2it
, reported that she was pleased that the love triangle between House, Amber and Wilson went on, despite House's blessing in the previous episode. Sara Morrison of Television Without Pity said she liked the jokes referring to "Thirteen" being bisexual. She graded the episode with an A+. Kal Penn
submitted the episode on his behalf for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama Series
, but the episode was not ultimately nominated.
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 83rd episode overall. It was the first House episode filmed after the resolution of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
. It aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on April 28, 2008.
The episode revolves around Dr. Gregory House
Gregory 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...
(Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
) noticing a man named Jeff (Paul Rae
Paul Rae
Paul Rae is an American film and television actor.Rae was born Paul Rae Stuart in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Jean Rushing and Norman Stuart, and was raised in Bogalusa, Washington Parish, Louisiana...
) in the Emergency Room (ER), who he thinks is "too nice". House thinks that Jeff's inability to get mad is a major symptom of an underlying condition, and decides to find out what is wrong with him. Meanwhile, Dr. Eric 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...
(Omar Epps
Omar Epps
Omar Hashim Epps is an American actor, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His film roles include Major League II, Juice, Higher Learning, Scream 2, The Wood, In Too Deep, and Love and Basketball. Epps' television work includes the role of Dr. Dennis Gant on the US medical drama series ER,...
), thinks the other diagnostic team members don't respect him, while 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...
) and House try to create a deal in which they can both spend time with Dr. James 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,...
(Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard
Robert Sean Leonard is an American actor, who has regularly starred in Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Since 2004 he has played the role of Dr. James Wilson on the TV series House...
).
"No More Mr. Nice Guy" was watched by approximately 14 million viewers, making it the night's second most watched program, behind Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
. The episode gained mixed reviews from critics. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
stated that the episode was "The worst House episode ever", while Gina Dinunno of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
commented that she thought the episode was "pretty good".
Plot
The local nurses' union for the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital is on strike. Jeff, the husband of Deb (Chad MorganChad Morgan (actress)
Chad Morgan is an American actress best known for her voice-over work on Adult Swim's Robot Chicken series, where she performs the voices of celebrities....
), one of the nurses, collapses while walking the picket line
Picket line
A picket line is a horizontal rope, along which horses are tied at intervals. The rope can be on the ground, at chest height , or overhead. The overhead form usually is called a high line....
. At the emergency room, House suspects Jeff's extreme niceness and inability to get angry is a major symptom of an underlying condition. After various tests, the team suspects his niceness is a personality change resulting from syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
. Kutner (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....
) asks the couple if either of them had an affair, which could lead to syphilis. Deb denies it, stating that it is just the way her husband behaves and that it is impossible for her to not love him.
At the same time, House is annoyed because he is not able to spend enough time with his friend, James Wilson. He attempts to negotiate with Amber, Wilson's girlfriend, about conditions under which they can both have Wilson's company. They are at a standstill, thus House seeks Lisa Cuddy
Lisa Cuddy
Dr. Lisa Cuddy, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. She is portrayed by Lisa Edelstein. Cuddy was the Dean of Medicine and hospital administrator of the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. She also becomes House's love interest through the...
's (Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the television drama House.-Early life and education:...
) resolution. However, she will only lay out the conditions if House does his team's performance reviews (knowing that he hates doing paperwork). House relents and Cuddy sets the rules, although House has Foreman do the team reviews instead.
To further interest the case, House manipulates the team, Cameron (Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, model and film producer. She is best known for her role as Dr. Allison Cameron in House, whom she played for five-and-a-half years, and also as Zoey Pierson in the sixth season of How I Met Your Mother...
), and Chase
Robert Chase
Dr. Robert Chase is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Jesse Spencer. His character was a part of the team of diagnosticians who worked under Gregory House until the end of the third season when House fires him. However, he was then re-hired in season 6...
(Jesse Spencer
Jesse Spencer
Jesse Gordon Spencer is an Australian actor and musician. He is best known for his current portrayal of Dr. Robert Chase on the medical drama House and for playing Billy Kennedy in the Australian soap-opera Neighbours....
), by swapping his own blood sample, leading them to believe he too has syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
, perhaps the cause for his misanthropic, curmudgeon personality and unfriendliness. He then pretends to get a nicer personality, but gets less able as a doctor as he pretends to take the penicillin
Penicillin
Penicillin is a group of antibiotics derived from Penicillium fungi. They include penicillin G, procaine penicillin, benzathine penicillin, and penicillin V....
they prescribe him, and everyone falls for House's trick (which he has confided to Wilson). Meanwhile, Foreman believes he isn't getting the respect he deserves from Kutner
Lawrence Kutner (House)
Lawrence Kutner M.D. is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is played by Kal Penn. He becomes a member of House's new diagnostic team in "Games", the ninth episode of the fourth season...
, 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:...
(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...
) and 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...
(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...
), when he tries to do their performance reviews, which he believes is due to House frequently humiliating him. House replies that if he did not humiliate and taunt Foreman, he would not be strong and able enough to handle the rest of the team.
After House violates one of the conditions set by Cuddy, Amber informs the team of House's ruse of faking syphilis. This discovery leads Kutner to suspect that Jeff's actual, positive syphilis result might really be the result of a parasite called Chagas' disease, which he contracted while working in the jungles of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
years ago. The diagnosis is confirmed: the parasite embedded itself in Jeff's brain during his stay in the country, thus causing the shift in his personality and giving him the inability to be angry. At the end of the episode the only evident change is that the patient says he now does not like ketchup, although he does wonder aloud to his wife, "I wonder what else I don't like," which appears to make her anxious.
With the case solved, House hands in the reviews to Cuddy, who discovers they are all the same. House also gives Cuddy a performance review. As punishment for not doing his teams reviews properly as well as breaking the rules she set between him and Amber, she has the two of them cleaning up bedridden patients together, with a smiling Wilson.
Production
"No More Mr. Nice Guy" was the fourth House episode written by David Hoselton and the first he wrote along with David ShoreDavid Shore
David Shore is a Canadian writer, best known for his work writing and producing in television. As a former lawyer, Shore became known for his work on Family Law, NYPD Blue, and Due South...
. It was the second House episode directed by Deran Sarafian
Deran Sarafian
Deran Sarafian is an Armenian-American Actor, film and television Director.Sarafian has directed several episodes of the FOX series House and was made a Co-executive producer of the show for the 2007/08 season...
. When "Don't Ever Change" aired on February 5, 2008, it was the final episode to air before mid-season break due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
. On March 25, 2008, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
reported that House would be returning April 29, 2008. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, House creator David Shore
David Shore
David Shore is a Canadian writer, best known for his work writing and producing in television. As a former lawyer, Shore became known for his work on Family Law, NYPD Blue, and Due South...
commented that, although the characters of Cameron and Chase are not on screen as much as they used to be, they take on a different, and greater, weight with the "stuff" they are doing. "No More Mr. Nice Guy" was the first House episode to air after the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
. The nurses' strike in the episode was a reference to the WGA strike. In the episode Jason Lewis made a small uncredited appearance as Dr. Brock Sterling, a fictional doctor in House's favorite soap opera Prescription Passion. Lewis appeared as Evan Greer, the fictional actor who portrays Dr. Sterling, in the next episode.
Reception
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
. The episode gained a 13 share in the ratings. Out of all programs broadcast by Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
between April 28 and May 4, House was the third most watched, behind American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
(Tuesday and Wednesday). Mara Greengrass of Firefox News
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
' favorite aspect of "No More Mr. Nice Guy" was that Kutner was allowed to have the epiphany instead of House. Jay Black of TV Squad noted that the first image in the episode after the two-and-a-half month writer's strike-induced break was a picket line. Barbara Barnett of Blog Critics Magazine stated that the episode was "a lot of fun, but slightly disappointing".
James Chamberlin of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
stated that the scenes in which Amber and House were working out terms for sharing Wilson were "hysterical", and graded the episode with a 8.5 (out of 10). Gina Dinunno of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
thought the episode was pretty good, and the only thing she was not very fond of was that she felt that the characters of Robert Chase and Allison Cameron seemed "forced into the script". Jessica Paff, from Zap2it
Zap2it
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services , part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
, reported that she was pleased that the love triangle between House, Amber and Wilson went on, despite House's blessing in the previous episode. Sara Morrison of Television Without Pity said she liked the jokes referring to "Thirteen" being bisexual. She graded the episode with an A+. 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....
submitted the episode on his behalf for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama Series
This is a list of the winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: Roddy McDowall – Not Without Honor*1962: no award*1963: no award...
, but the episode was not ultimately nominated.
External links
- "No More Mr. Nice Guy" at FoxFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...