I forgot, what was 13's name? I know Cuddy said it but I just can't remember. AAAHHH! I just relized; House no longer has his flame cane; that thing was awesome! I hope he gets a better one soon.

Just re-rewatched, and noticed something odd that I don't think I've seen mentioned... In the scene with Cuddy in House's bedroom, House is lying on the wrong side of the bed, and rolls over to sleep on his right side. Not only is this the same side as his bad leg, but isn't it also the same side as his head wound?

This isn't the first time he's lain on his right leg. He did it in Distractions when he took the nap under the conference room table. The chronic pain is neurogenic -- it might not be affected by pressure. The missing muscles are used to raise the leg and what's left isn't enough to support his body. There is also a lot of muscle soreness and, probably cramping which probably varies in it's intensity. The massages would help with that but not with the nerve damage. I've only noticed two absolute cheats. In Clueless, when Wilson is eating the stuffed peppers, House opens the closet and stuff starts falling out. He kicks it back with his right leg (he raises it and moves it forward). And in Distractions, when the team keeps cramping his exits by telling him they can't do lumbar punctures, etc. on the burn victim, he tells them to get a sonogram, leaves then sticks his head back in, leaning entirely on his right leg, to say "okay then." Also, it has seemed to me that he has had less pain this year than in previous seasons. He has actually worn shoes other than sneakers on several occasions and he's relying on his cane a lot less. Also, he went bowling without using his cane. Of course, in House's Head, he didn't limp when he was hallucinating so that might be a clue.

Also on the subject of the leg, I'm guessing/fanwanking that in some scenes which were "real" and House wasn't limping as badly as expected, it's because the pain from the head injury outweighs the pain in his leg -- the gating mechanism first mentioned back in "Detox." I thought it was a good touch though that when he collapses in the bath, it's his right leg that goes out first, and House falls to the right.

So when the stripper named the five animals, she said cat, bird, rhino, monkey and ? Did anyone get the last one? Good catch on the gating mechanism, Namaste: yes, the bigger pain does make the lesser pain less noticeable. Also, knowing House, he's had his hands on some pain meds and probably doesn't feel the head pain when he's in bed there. And yes the collapse in the bath scene was extremely convincing and well done: sometimes you forget that he's such a big guy, but when you see him shirtless with all those muscles, man, he has a strong physical presence. His expression when he came out of the tank with the realization that it was Parkinson's reminded me so much of the scene in Meaning outside of Cuddy's window when he comes up with Addison's...

My guess is that sometimes pressure on the leg makes the pain worse, and sometimes pressure on the leg helps the pain. He really liked the massage in Detox. Of course, maybe he told the massage therapist not to touch the damaged area of his leg and just concentrate on the rest of his body. But, sometimes he rubs the damaged area himself. Like in the beginning of Who's Your Daddy and Skin Deep. So yea, back to my original conclusion. Sometimes pressure on the area helps him.

Goldfish, huh? I wonder if that was a teeny joke at HL from the writers since he has said so many times that he's a goldfish in terms of his own short-term memory... Anyway, thanks!

One other note that occurred to me about House's collapse in the bath ... I've read/heard comments elsewhere about the use of pads during falls so the actors don't end up bruised (in "No Reason," for instance, David Shore and Katie Jacobs said HL prefers not to use them). Now obviously, there's no way that HL could have been wearing pads in that scene, but he obviously fell hard. Then it occurred to me that the cover for the bath was itself a big old pad and when House falls, he falls to the right (thanks to the right leg issues) precisely where the padded cover is. Clever bit of direction and prop management there ... have a pad handy for your star to hit first during a dramatic collapse.

Good thought, Namaste. The bottom of the tub was probably also padded. I wonder if Hugh doesn't like them because, as he's said, he likes to suffer for his art or if it's because he trusts his body and knows how to deal with a hard surface but feels he's more likely to judge things wrong if the surface gives underneath him. Anyway, I hope he used padding when Greg Grunberg kicked him in Sex Kills/

Also, HL's physical comedy background helps a lot in that area. He's had years of learning how to take hits, and as Stephen pointed out, making them believable. SF said Hugh had a great capacity for flinging his body everywhere which is what really sold their punches, as opposed to Stephen's movements. Anyway, I hope he used padding when Greg Grunberg kicked him in Sex Kills/ I was actually wondering if he had a plate or something under his chest in the CPR scene. I was trying to tell if RSL was just restricting his blows or if maybe HL had some sort of padding on.

I was actually wondering if he had a plate or something under his chest in the CPR scene. I was trying to tell if RSL was just restricting his blows or if maybe HL had some sort of padding on. hahaha, my thoughts exactly! looked like a pretty harsh cpr, can't blame them though, wilson must have gave everything he had to save house hehe