Thanks, jim. I've been thinking about Carl Reiner and his character in BSN since you brought it up. I, too, loved seeing him again. What a privilege to see such a comedy legend. I thoroughly enjoyed him back in the day as Alan Brady on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which was autobiographical for Carl, with roots in vaudeville, comedy-variety (Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar), and the infancy of situation comedy on television. As a side comment, it also led me to draw a parallel between Dick Van Dyke and Hugh Laurie, with their similar build and mannerisms, and penchant for physical comedy (accents aside, with Van Dyke's British accent in Mary Poppins being widely considered one of the worst accents ever, and Laurie's American accent considered one of the best.) I know I try to read into every subtle nuance in the episodes, trying to understand where the writers are coming from in order to better understand the story and the characters. That being said, I just didn't read what you did into Carl's character and role. What I did think: 1. Carl Reiner was chosen to have a comedy legend portray a character in the Season 5 finale (and all that's read into that...ratings, Emmy consideration, etc.) 2. The parrot and squawking served a two-fold purpose: it came across like a joke or joke set-up which played to Carl's strengths, and it served as a medical plot point to get from comic relief clinic patient to pancreatic tumor/House double-epiphany (medical and personal) with the starkest contrast possible.

which was autobiographical for Carl... All new info. :-) parallel between Dick Van Dyke and Hugh LaurieNice, very nice. I tend to focus on the symbolism, which is always open to interpretation and fun. I've been noticing references to Dickens' "Christmas Carol" back to "Birthmarks" (it probably started much earlier). In Carl Reiner's scene, there was the addition of Dafoe's "Robinson Crusoe" with the allusion to the parrot. Both novels are about isolated men who are miserable alone but Robin continually seeks remedies, a dog, cats, goats, the parrot, Poll, who he teaches to repeat certain phrases. But when Robin finally discovers other humans on the island he fortifies his home in fear and avoids them for two years. Dickens' work is wonderfully atmospheric as he describes Scrooge, the bitter cold emanating out of him so that he is never affected by the cold weather outside but rather one with it. Great stuff. DE, in her interview with Barbara Barnett, said of her script that HL was directed to wake up from the morning with Cuddy as if it were a joyful Christmas. (Just like Scrooge after his conversion by the clever spirits, all in one night.) "Good Morning Sunshine!" could have been "Merry Christmas, everyone!" ETA: I just remembered the parrot in the pilot episode and House being silly with the fellows when he referred to a picture of Rebecca Adler's brain having a green island and some blue sea..., the brain is an island. Already Shore is hiding hints about "Robinson Crusoe", or not. What else have I missed?

I think the Robinson Crusoe thing might be just overreaching a tad. (And House wasn't actually comparing Irene Adler's brain scan to an island. He was mocking the fellows for stating the obvious.) Fiction is filled with stories of the loner, both metaphorical and literal, but I don't think Shore is necessarily drawing on specific aspects of any of them beyond Sherlock Holmes.

I think the Robinson Crusoe thing might be just overreaching a tad. (And House wasn't actually comparing Irene Adler's brain scan to an island. He was mocking the fellows for stating the obvious.) Fiction is filled with stories of the loner, both metaphorical and literal, but I don't think Shore is necessarily drawing on specific aspects of any of them beyond Sherlock Holmes. Namaste, My arms are extra long. House saw an island in a brain scan. It's poetic, Rohrshachian and perhaps Robinsonian. House speaking in a mocking tone doesn't negate what he says. I think the only fictional world House MD is based on is that of Sherlock Holmes by way of Arthur Conan Doyle but Shore does draw on specific aspects from other literature. In "Birthmarks" Wilson remarks, "Good heavens, we haven't missed it after all, it's like the end of "A Christmas Carol", referring to the funeral (So funny!). Kutner, in "The Social Contract" defends the POTW by reminding House and Wilson of the story of Harry Potter's struggle for self-determination against birth and tendency. Every week, the episode draws heavily for inspiration on the work of other artists, song writers, musicians, painters, sculptors, set designers, and costumers. It is the most collaborative art. I was just thinking of the heart breaking ending of BSN when Kutner's ghost says to House, "Too bad it's a lie." If House had been in his right mind he could have quipped, as he did in the Pilot episode, "The truth begins in lies, think about it..."

I enjoy your theories, jim. I don't doubt that the writers of House draw on classic literature (as well as other sources) for inspiration. Just because other viewers don't see what you see doesn't mean it isn't there. It may be a "tip of the iceberg" scenario, where some see the iceberg above the water and think that's all there is, and others see the iceberg below the water and know that there is more than meets the eye. I also believe that there are references that are known only to the writers, staff and/or cast - true inside "jokes" if you will, which some fans may get, or may learn about long after the show's run. The truth is, we don't know what the writers are really thinking when they write these episodes. You can get a tiny glimpse by monitoring them in the media, but beyond that, it is pure speculation. Fun, but speculation nonetheless. And as House said, "The problem with speculation is that it makes a 'spec' out of you and some guy named 'Lation'." :)

It isn't too far off that writers, who love words and literature, would have more than one frame of reference. I, too, enjoy your views Jim.

Thanks, HL and granamica, I should rename myself j.i.m. Lation.

Any well written finale, Both Sides Now included, invites speculation to get fans to think about the next season and get energized by the prospects. I should rename myself j.i.m. Lation. You’re be in good company. The Variegated ‘Lation’ Family Tree can almost tell a story itself: Isolation Speculation Simulation Translation Revelation Modulation Adulation Relation Stimulation Ejaculation Elation Congratulation Population Legislation Regulation Calculation Accumulation Compilation Correlation Formulation Installation Inoculation Ventilation Circulation Strangulation Coagulation Mutilation Annihilation ...

A short summary of BSN: Confabulation Hesitation Perspiration Confrontation Explanation Meditation Simplification Conflagration Humiliation Trepidation Good Vibration Sublimation Hallucination False Sensation Glorification Infatuation Stupefication Combobulation Desecration Victimization Adoration Estimation Cultivation Botheration Realization Castigation Laceration Pronunciation Dedication Liberation

jim, well played! :) I like that your list is populated with contrasting concepts, just as the episode title "Both Sides Now" would imply. Ending with "Liberation" might at first seem ironic, since House will be going off for a stint of confinement, but the decision to go at all is, of itself, liberating.

From this episode: Taub: Bloody tears could just mean subconjuctival hemorrhage. In the news. This kid did it repeatedly. Creepy (but not excessively so) picture.

I cried in this episode.

Me too Millefeuille, me too. Every. Single. Time.

me too! huhuhu
me too! huhuhu ______________ California health insurance agent

Alien hand syndrome makes the news.... http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/ Click down to read the next case for a possible portent of things to come on House: Walking corpse' syndrome, and more tales of the undead The rest of the column is interesting, too...especially for Halloween! :lol: