Needle in a Haystack

Season 3, Episode 13, Aired
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Episode Summary

House and his staff must deal with a teenage Gypsy boy suffering from inexplicable respiratory distress. However, House has bigger issues on his mind: Cuddy has given away his handicapped spot.
8.7
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Fan Episode Reviews (40)

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  • They weren't kidding about that needle.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By Canogaparkcindy, Jul 09, 2010 Report Abuse
    I love the patient's girlfriend it seems like she is the mother, seems pretty nuts about his religion or whatever. Every time you think they got a diagnosis, they turn out wrong. Ad the there is a lot of diagnoses for this kid. It turns out it just turned out to be an undigested toothpick, that's why this episode was cleverly plotted. There are two other plots that go along with this one. House has to stay in a wheelchair for a week, he doesn't and still gets the parking space. While Foreman starts feeling lonely, maybe you should be a bit nicer don't you think? Anyways interesting episode with a great twist.moreless

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  • Good filler episode.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By DonStants2, Jun 21, 2009 Report Abuse
    This was one of the first clear filler episodes of the Season, and it was much more entertaining then I remembered. The patient was quite interesting, especially with his curiosity, and the dilemnas he faces with his ethical background.

    The parents really annoyed me this episode- they were cruel and unfair- especially to his girlfriend. When I first saw the girlfriend and her involvement it struck me as a very Season One-esque episode, but it developed from that. There were a lot of interesting issues raised from it.

    House's subplot of using a wheelchair was also quite entertaining and light hearted, although I felt I needed a little more explanation into why he was so intent of getting the space back.

    It was also striking how lonely the doctors are- no wedding rings, as the patient said. I wonder if this is a turning point for them all.

    The clinic scene was also funny, albeit not as funny as previous ones, whilst the House and Wilson dialogue was classic.

    Overall, the first light hearted episode of the Season, and a very entertaining one. This seemed to be the first "filler" episode, as the episode has nothing to build on for the first time (i.e no ketamine treatment, no stalker girl, no tritter etc).moreless

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  • A well written episode that was run during Sweeps Week.

    9.3
    "Superb"
    By CRaivios, Jul 04, 2008 Report Abuse
    There are two themes running in this episode. One is about a 16 year old Gypsy boy with some strange bleeding problem. House ends up almost killing the lad before a miraculous discovery near the end of the show. The subtext was that the teen, while not in school, was very smart. Foreman was urging the patient to continue with school.

    Secondly, Cuddy gave House's handicapped spot to a researcher in a wheelchair. House spends a week in a wheelchair win a bet with his boss to get his spot back. It is stupid, childish and just something Gregory House would do.

    SPOILER ALERT: Do not read beyond this point if you have not watched the show and want to be surprised


    The teen wants to remain with his family rather than pursue a career in medicine. The young man noticed that none of the doctors were married and he preferred life with his family.moreless

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  • Not my favorite episode of the season.

    6.0
    "Fair"
    By Ting13, Apr 29, 2008 Report Abuse
    I wasn't too thrilled with this week's episode.

    The patient storyline wasn't very entertaining. The solution in the end was clever, I liked that part, but I didn't like how everyone was painted out to be a "bad guy". The patient was a bad guy because he was weak and wouldn't stand up for himself. The girlfriend because she kept "ratting him out" and the parents disapproved of her. The parents because they were downright obnoxious. If they wanted to make a point about prejudism (is that a word?) against the Romani then this was not the way to go. I thought all four of them were idiots, with the possible exception of the girlfriend (who wasn't Romani anyway).

    House's wheelchair adventure was a great storyline up until the end. It was very much in character for him and it provided some great comedy. I love the little things, like how he wheeled into Foreman by "accident". But the way the whole thing ended was a let down. It's irritating that House ALWAYS ends up winning; I would like to see him lose every now and then. This was a storyline where it just felt stupid that he won and got his parking space back.

    An fun moment though was when Chase and Cameron went to the wrong house. I just loved how Chase spotted that the couple was having an affair in a very House-esque manor. Chase is my favorite duckling, and it's been nice to see him get to do more lately.

    One thing that has become evident in this season is that they choose one duckling at a time to give a larger storyline. That duckling is 95% of the time either Foreman or Cameron. Chase has really drifted into the background. It also seems as if they do "periods". A couple of episodes had Foreman in the foreground and then a number of episodes had Cameron, and then back to Foreman and so on. I'm not sure I'm too fond of this. I like that they get episodes where they're more in focus, but not every episode should be like that. I want to see the ducklings as more of a team.

    Oh, and something I didn't get... Towards the end of the episode it seemed like they were putting focus on how Foreman (and also Cameron and Chase) is alone and has no time for love. But isn't he dating one of the nurses at the hospital? Just because you're not MARRIED it doesn't mean that you're single.


    Best dialogue of the episode:
    WILSON: Ah yes, if it isn’t Dr. Ironside.
    HOUSE: Ah, if it isn’t Dr. “I had no friends when I was growing up, so all I did was watch TV by myself which is why I can now make constant pop cultural references which no one understands but me.”
    WILSON: That’s my name, don’t wear it out.

    Wilson is getting more and more clever by the week. I think this is the fourth week in a row where he's had the best lines. Awesome!moreless

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  • pretty exciting...

    9.4
    "Superb"
    By VaMpIrEsSuCk, Feb 09, 2008 Report Abuse
    There is a new doctor on the block. The catch, she is stuck in a wheelchair. House gets furious when Cutty gives the new doctor his usual parking space in front of the buliding. To prove a point, Cutty and House make a bet saying that House couldn't last one whole week in a wheechair. To complicate things, House is faced with a gypsy boy that isn't all that willing to open up with the facts of his personal life. Soon, the boy's parents come into the picture. After the Holocaust, the boy's parents are very judgemental of all treatment which makes it nearly impossible to give the son the new, still experimental treatment. This is one of the most controversial and exciting House episodes of the third season!moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • In the OR the surgeon talks about the spleen that exploded, but is operating on the right side of the abdomen. Unless Stevie has a Situs Inversus Abdominalis where the organs in the abdomen are on the other side, the spleen should be on his left. The liver is on the right side, the spleen left. Edit
    • In her office, Cuddy tells House he'll get back his parking space if he manages to do his work in a wheelchair. After that Cameron meets House in the hallway and she needs to ask about the wheelchair, yet somehow right after that she knows the specifics of the deal. Edit
    • In the O.R., that is not how the small intestine looks like in a human being. In a normal human it is embedded in the mesentery and it's not a long loose "rope" as seen here. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • International Air Dates: Italy: October 3, 2007 on Italia 1 The Netherlands: September 6, 2007 on SBS6 Greece: December 15, 2007 on Star Channel The Czech Republic: February 18, 2008 on TV Nova Belgium: February 28, 2008 on KanaalTwee Sweden: April 29, 2008 on TV4 Edit
    • Music: In the Waiting Line - Zero 7 ,Sleep Don't Weep - Damien Rice Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • House: This is about who can most easily cross the parking lot. You're the winner. Dr. Whitner: Oh, and the prize is apparently a parking space. Edit
    • Dr. Cuddy: Your application for handicap space says you can walk 50 yards. House: And Whitner's says she can roll 50 miles between oil changes, I can't change my leg! Dr. Cuddy: The space I moved you to is only 46 yards away from the front door. I measured; you'll be fine. House: Great, so I can collapse four yards into the lobby instead of outside in the cold. Dr. Cuddy: As long as it isn't in my office. Edit
    • Dr. Cameron: We were treating him for Wegener's when everything went wrong. House: Not everything. Dr. Foreman: Yeah, It was a very lovely day outside, on the other hand the treatment made him worse. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • House: Because we need to take the center square to block. Referencing the TV series The Hollywood Squares (1966) and its several successors. The game is basically a giant-sized version of Tic-Tac-Toe, where the contestants listen to a celebrity answer a question and determine if it's true or false. If they're correct they "get the square." As in regular Tic-Tac-Toe, taking the center square is usually necessity. Edit
    • House: I like that kid. He's got spunk. Referencing the line spoken by Ed Asner as editor Lou Grant in the first episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. The complete line is "You know what? You've got spunk! ... I hate spunk!" Edit
    • Dr. Wilson: Ah yes, if it isn't Dr. Ironside. Referencing the 1967-1975 series Ironside, starring Raymond Burr as Robert Ironside, a wheelchair-bound consulting detective. Edit

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