Maternity

This show is so well made and so realistic at times, it can be hard to watch. MATERNITY is just such an episode. A very nasty bacterial infection or virus spreads like wildfire among the hospital's newborns, and their lives are threatened. It is very hard to tell in most scenes when we are looking at a real baby and an animatronic doll. Death stalks the halls big time in this episode, and that is all I will say about that. As for the clinic subplot, wait until you get a load of the woman harboring a "parasite." And wait until you see how House gets involved with the sick babies. Without giving the specifics away, I will say it is both funny and somehow oddly pleasing to see House in the exact same situation at the beginning and end of the episode.

After the relatively light-hearted Occam's Razor, the fourth episode of House goes in a more serious direction, offering 40 minutes of very intense storytelling, as far removed as possible from Bryan Singer's more humorous approach (ironically, Maternity is directed by Singer collaborator Newton Thomas Sigel, best known as a cinematographer).

The scenario presented by the episode is the textbook definition of "nightmarish": several babies in the maternity ward start showing similar symptoms, suggesting that Princeton Plainsboro has been hit by a potentially fatal epidemic. As the case turns into a race against the clock, House has to make extraordinary use of his brilliant mind, while still finding time to mock his staff.

Like a perfectly paced thriller, Maternity moves quickly, focusing more on dramatic tension than character development, which, given the case-of-the-week structure of the series, isn't a big problem. Besides, there is some room for humor, as House's clinical case allows for a hilarious discussion about "parasites" and yet another showcase of Hugh Laurie's impeccable sarcasm. Very, very good.

For those that are angry because a baby died on the show need to have a reality check. Babies are people and people get diseases. Obviously, the tragedy of one dying before they have a chance to experience life leads to an emotional reaction. But disease doesn't discriminate; it just moves in on us. We expect doctors and researchers to have answers for everything, but then no one would ever die. The situation we find here is overwhelming. House, of course, has his insensitive moments, but he shows much more of his humanity in this episode. The all wrestle with finding a needle in a haystack (which is what this show is always about), but they are also human. Well developed though gut wrenching show.

Episodes the hit me hard, emotionally. My son is now 38 but I can never get my vision of him after he was born! I'm so grateful that something like this was never a problem for him, or us!!!

This episode hits home very hard for me.

This is the episode that sold me on the series more than any other .

The legal aspect of the treatment is explored .

Cuddy may have been ahead of the curve on this one . Cuddy usually has to defer to House and Wilson on medical expertise but here while everyone thinks she's wasting time having everyone swab and clean and test everything she may have just been a decade and a half ahead in her thinking this one time.

I was always puzzled by Wilson thinking House was wrong and too obsessed about find the source . Thankfully he did .

Making it about infants was a good idea too. I think the audience became even more invested in the case .

Great tie in with the clinic patient .