Informed Consent (19 Sep. 2006)

House and his team face a lot of moral dilemmas when a patient wants them to help him end his life.

Director:

Laura Innes

Writers:

David Shore (creator), David Foster

Stars:

Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Hugh Laurie	...	Dr. Gregory House
Lisa Edelstein	...	Dr. Lisa Cuddy
Omar Epps	...	Dr. Eric Foreman
Robert Sean Leonard	...	Dr. James Wilson
Jennifer Morrison	...	Dr. Allison Cameron
Jesse Spencer	...	Dr. Robert Chase
Joel Grey	...	Ezra Powell
Leighton Meester	...	Ali
Stephanie Venditto	...	Nurse Brenda Previn
William Charlton	...	Mark
Bobbin Bergstrom	...	Nurse

Storyline

Ezra Powell, a renowned pioneer in the field of medical research, collapses in his lab. House is struggling after the ketamine treatment wore off and doesn't want to talk about it. When the team put Ezra through rigorous diagnostic tests and don't come up with anything conclusive Ezra demands the team to help him end his life. Now the team goes through twists and turns of the moral dilemma of ignoring his wishes or to assist in his suicide and abide by Ezra's wishes.

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Plot Keywords:

pass out | animal experimentation | syringe | fluid in lungs | experimenting on children | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2006 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 10, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Hat Harry Productions, Shore Z Productions, Heel & Toe Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joel Grey, the actor who plays Ezra Powell, played the Wizard of Oz in the Broadway show "Wicked". As Dr. House examines Powell behind a blanket, House says "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain," a quote from The Wizard of Oz.

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Goofs

When checking Mark (rhinovirus) in the examination room, the position of Dr. House's fingers changes. In the first shot, House's index finger is positioned above Mark's right eyebrow. The immediately following shot has the index finger positioned above the nose in the middle of the forehead. (Mark does not flinch in pain.)

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Quotes

Dr. Gregory House: I try to kill him, you're mad. I don't kill him, you're mad.

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Connections

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Into Dust"
Written & Performed by Mazzy Star
Courtesy of Capitol Records

User Reviews

Great discussion generator

As House goes, this is a fairly typical episode, with lots of soapy melodrama, overacting, one-dimensional characters, and an overly simplistic view of medicine combined with lots of dramatic license. However -- it's a GREAT academic tool. I teach "Medical Law and Ethics" to budding health care professionals (it's one of the first three classes in their curriculum), and have now used this episode in about ten classes over the last five years on the last day of the course. It does a nice job of incorporating half a dozen basic principles into a package, from informed consent for research to informed consent for treatment; from active euthanasia to passive euthanasia to "let nature take its course." It is a gripping tale despite its unrealism, and a powerful educational tool as a springboard to class discussion about the general and theoretical principles they have been studying for many weeks. It's been a great way to wrap up the class on the final day. Class member feedback has been that it's very moving, very thought-provoking, and there's JUST enough ambiguity so that the viewer has strong suspicions but is ... not ... quite ... completely certain exactly who might have been in the hospital room at 2:30 a.m. It's an episode worth watching, especially for medical newbies as an academic exercise.