Maybe he learned when he was in Egypt. I think you can qualify for a Pilot's Licence when you're 13. (Which means I will be off to flying school! :D)

Okay, my two cents worth - Airborne is not one of my favorite episodes, but when I do watch it, I only watch the stuff on the plane. I do love mini-Chase. I hate all the Cameron Chase sexcapade stuff, and just didn't care for the actress who played Robin. RSL is an excellent actor, as was said upthread, the man has a Tony. But I always hate it when he and HL don't have any scenes together. RSL is always more interesting when he has HL to play off of. There has to be something *there* to begin with, which explains why scenes with HL *don't* help JM's acting. As far as LE, I disagree that she doesn't have depth. I don't like the hysterical Cuddy of Airborne and Fetal Position, but I thought the scene with RSL in her office in Finding Judas shows she has the chops when given the material.

The only scene I really liked was when House finally took off that yellow shirt!

The amount of Wilson in this episode did help the fact that at the start of the episode, Wilson wasn't even aware that House had gone to a conference. A little, anyway. I fanwank that as sounding like Wilson was saying, "Where's House?" as in, "When the hell does he get back from that conference?" rather than a genuine, "Where is he because I have no idea where he is." Especially as he never mentioned House or Cuddy's whereabouts in the rest of the episode, nor did anyone else. If they really didn't know where they where both he and the ducklings would've been curious and puzzled. I do agree about LE's acting - a little goes a long way. Also, Cuddy was just plain annoying in this episode (even before she succumbed to hysteria). It's hard to imagine House respecting the woman shown in Airborne. For one, she was not only a crappy doctor, but she was also rather appallingly behaved for a professional woman who is used to being in charge and taking control. When confronted with one sick guy she not only was immediately overhwhelmed but (inexcusably, IMO) she jumped to conclusions and panicked the others on the plane. One of the first things I'd expect of a doctor in charge of a large hospital to do is be able to handle a medical emergency facing a large group of people. For some reason, that brought up "No Reason" issues in my mind - Cuddy, as the boss, bears a huge responsibility for the fact that some guy was able to get deep into her hospital with a loaded gun, enter a doctor's office, nearly kill said doctor, then apparently walk out totally free and never get caught. I guess it's that combined with her behavior in Airborne that makes me think, "Wow, I guess Cuddy really is crap boss." Even though at other times she's actually decent, her screw-ups have been biggies. Of course, then it makes me think of her part with the leg incident...and it makes me wonder why I even like Cuddy in the first place. Anyway, on to stuff I liked, which is the B plot. Loved seeing Wilson in charge of the team - he's no House, but it was interesting seeing him work: he was fair, patient and receptive to their ideas. It gives us an idea of why he's a department head (and why it never worked out for Foreman). And gosh, Fran was adorable. That actress really did a great job - that stuff she had to say was outrageous but she totally sold it as being part of an unhappy woman's midlife crisis, rather than a, "Ha ha, look what the old lady did" type of thing.

For one, she was not only a crappy doctor, but she was also rather appallingly behaved for a professional woman who is used to being in charge and taking control. When confronted with one sick guy she not only was immediately overhwhelmed but (inexcusably, IMO) she jumped to conclusions and panicked the others on the plane. One of the first things I'd expect of a doctor in charge of a large hospital to do is be able to handle a medical emergency facing a large group of people. As I've said elsewhere, I have no problem believing Cuddy's behavior here because she's out of her element, and she doesn't have a specific task to solve (notice she doesn't react until House actively is involved in the case). Give her a thousand crises to deal with, and she can, otherwise she's just as human as the rest of us. During "Kids," she had an entire hospital of crises and logistics to handle. She didn't have time to think about herself. Here, things were very limited and confined (not to mention the fact she was probably jet lagged, tired, hadn't slept and was worn down from dealing with House sitting.) I, at least, am always more susceptible to believing I'm catching the office bug on a day when I've got plenty of free time. If I don't have time to breathe, I don't even notice all the coughing and wheezing.

As I've said elsewhere, I have no problem believing Cuddy's behavior here because she's out of her element, and she doesn't have a specific task to solve (notice she doesn't react until House actively is involved in the case). I disagree - I think she was reacting right from the start, in spite of House's lack of interest (not with the full blown conversion disorder until House started investigating, but she was still panicking before then). Someone was puking on a plane - not that unusual, especially when the someone had just downed a few drinks. House brushed it off, but Cuddy immediately jumped on it as being meningitis and was the one who ran out to House to try and talk him into thinking it was a big deal, even as House was trying to tell her she was just reacting because of having heard the lecture. She suggested turning the plane around and how half the passengers would die (panicking the girl in front in the process) almost immediately after seeing puking guy and before the conversion disorder hit. That's what I had a hard time believing: she's a doctor herself, and has spent how many years running a hospital through various crises (including it's own epidemics). No matter if it's on a plane or a football field or in a broom closet, I'd expect someone with her training and experience to be level-headed. Or at the very least have the common sense not to do the airborne equivalent of talking fire in a crowded theater. Even when House did realize it was serious, he knew to instruct the flight attendant to downplay and not cause a panic.

Well don't forget that they were coming from a conference on infectious diseases. Of course her brain is going to make the jump to an infectious disease. It's like the opposite of the "horses, not zebras" proverb that dates back to the pilot. If you've just spent three days in rooms filled with zebras, you're not expecting a horse. Like I said, I personally, don't have a problem with her reactions, but I recognize that others do.

DrSpaceman wrote: he knew to instruct the flight attendant to downplay and not cause a panic. And I can assure you that flight attendants do not need any doctor, not even genius doctors, telling them how to do their jobs. She would never ask for a doctor just because a passenger was feeling sick. Despite what a lot of people might think, flight attendants are very well prepared in security flight, and they are not in the plane just to offer fancy meals or tasty drinks and flirt with passengers. Sorry, if I sound angry, DrSpaceman, not my intention at all but this particular plot point annoys me to no end. About Cuddy's reaction, you'd be surprise how medical professionals might react during a flight - a good education and a medical degree don't make any difference, trust me. She could be one of this persons who don't feel safe in such a confined space.

She would never ask for a doctor just because a passenger was feeling sick. Despite what a lot of people might think, flight attendants are very well prepared in security flight, and they are not in the plane just to offer fancy meals or tasty drinks and flirt with passengers. Heh. When I flew to San Francisco in October, a flight attendant made an announcement asking for a doctor to help a passenger. Luckily, there were about four. The guy behind me was the first one to respond. (It was nothing serious, and he was back in his seat 30 minutes later.)

Really? :lol: In twenty years I only asked for a doctor once - because the passenger was suffering a heart attack and the plane actually had to return to the airport, so we had to explain what was happening. This kind of request, done aloud in a plane can be very dangerous because you never know how the other passengers will react and panic must be avoid at all costs, at least it was that that they used to teach us...

Well, I fly a lot, Lully, and I'll admit that it's the first time I've heard the announcement, but it did happen. (I actually had an "Airborne" flashback at that moment.) What would be really bad is if I'd been in the plane with a friend of mine headed to Paris a couple of years ago. They'd just pushed away from the gate when a woman had such an intense panic attack that they went back to the gate -- then had to off load her and her family and everyone's luggage, since of course they couldn't let luggage go through without the passenger because of safety concerns. I was meeting my friend at the airport (I'd flown in earlier because I had business in Brussels) and she was four hours late. Of course, no one was allowed the leave the plane during that time.

Oh, I believe you Namaste! It's not an unbreakable rule, by any means, if the situation is serious enough (and probably that was what happened in your flight, even if later everything was fine). But she shouldn't have done the announcement aloud. This is what bothers me about Airborne, she was in the first class - very few passengers around - and the situation wasn't serious - a guy throwing up after some drinks. At least pretend to be professional, woman! But I know it was just a plot device, I just need some vent! :roll: And I feel sorry for your friend but panic attacks are quite common and luckily they were still at the airport. It's an inconvenience, but it would be much worse if they had already taken off.

About Cuddy's reaction, you'd be surprise how medical professionals might react during a flight - a good education and a medical degree don't make any difference, trust me. I used to work at a nuclear laboratory, and there were people trained and educated about radiation who still had an irrational fear of it.