Failure to Communicate
Encyclopedia
"Failure to Communicate" is the tenth episode of the second season of House
, which premiered on the Fox
network on January 10, 2006. The episode's title is a reference to the film Cool Hand Luke
, a famous line being "What we've got here is ... failure to communicate.
"
) collapses and hits his head on a desk while making a farewell speech for his retiring boss. He wakes up moments later but is talking nonsense, and is later diagnosed with both aphasia
and dysgraphia
, although it is clear that he believes he is speaking and writing normally.
House
is in Baltimore with Stacy
, justifying Medicaid
billings. Stacy and House are in a long meeting with the Medicaid review officer. Stacy manages to appeal to the official's better nature. House offers Stacy dinner but Stacy has set up a later flight than House's and declines. Snow delays House's flight and Stacy turns up at the airport. House notices her crucifix
is missing and suspects that something is up. Stacy is irritated as House continues to persist at discovering the reason for the missing crucifix. Stacy reveals she and her husband had a fight over nothing and she thinks he's pushing her out of his life. There is an announcement that all flights are grounded. Stacy reveals she already has a hotel room booked and invites House to join her.
Meanwhile, at the hospital the tests show drug use although Fletcher claimed he was clean. House recommends treatments over the phone and tells the team to get a medical history – Fletcher can answer in one-word sentences of yes or no. Fletcher takes sleeping pills, a fact he wants to keep from his wife. Chase and Foreman find diet pills at Fletcher's office and then head to his home to collect more information, but they don't find any more drugs.
In the hotel room, Stacy admits she misses House, and they begin to kiss but are interrupted by House's phone. The staff tries to decode Fletcher's statements with House over the phone, trying to draw patterns to what he's saying. Cameron concludes that it's Elizabeth's presence that makes Fletcher reluctant to answer truthfully. House figures out that when Fletcher is talking about a bear, he is talking about a polar bear—leading to the conclusion that Fletcher is bipolar and has been using sleeping pills at night and amphetamines during the day.
House is being pressured by an airport security guard to board the plane but continues talking on the phone. He concludes that Fletcher covered up his disorder while a journalist but tried to change for his wife, and underwent secret surgery. While House delivers his diagnosis, Elizabeth overhears the news and unhappy at Fletcher's secrecy, leaves. House recommends they test the blood again visually to confirm the diagnosis – cerebral malaria. Foreman is shocked and upset because if anyone had actually looked at the blood and not just run it through a computer, Fletcher would've been diagnosed instantly. House talks to Stacy as she boards the plane and says he hopes she can get him off the No Fly List
.
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, which premiered on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network on January 10, 2006. The episode's title is a reference to the film Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke
Cool Hand Luke is a 1967 American prison drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg and starring Paul Newman. The screenplay was adapted by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson from Pearce's 1965 novel of the same name. The film features George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D...
, a famous line being "What we've got here is ... failure to communicate.
What we've got here is (a) failure to communicate
The phrase "What we've got here is failure to communicate" is a famous line from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke.There are actually two close variants of the line that are spoken at different points in the film. Nuances of accent, delivery, and intonation aside, they are as follows:# "What we've got...
"
Plot
Reporter Fletcher Stone (Michael O'KeefeMichael O'Keefe
Michael Raymond O'Keefe is an American film and television actor.- Early life :O'Keefe was born Raymond Peter O'Keefe, Jr. in Mount Vernon, New York, the oldest of seven children in a devoutly Roman Catholic Irish American family. His father was a law professor at Fordham University, as well as...
) collapses and hits his head on a desk while making a farewell speech for his retiring boss. He wakes up moments later but is talking nonsense, and is later diagnosed with both aphasia
Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
and dysgraphia
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a deficiency in the ability to write primarily in terms of handwriting, but also in terms of coherence. It occurs regardless of the ability to read and is not due to intellectual impairment...
, although it is clear that he believes he is speaking and writing normally.
House
Gregory House
Gregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
is in Baltimore with Stacy
Stacy Warner
Stacy Warner is a fictional recurring character portrayed by Sela Ward on the Fox Broadcasting Company's medical drama House. She was in a relationship with Dr. Gregory House , when he suffered an infarction in his right leg during a game of golf...
, justifying Medicaid
Medicaid
Medicaid is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the state and federal governments, and is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent...
billings. Stacy and House are in a long meeting with the Medicaid review officer. Stacy manages to appeal to the official's better nature. House offers Stacy dinner but Stacy has set up a later flight than House's and declines. Snow delays House's flight and Stacy turns up at the airport. House notices her crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
is missing and suspects that something is up. Stacy is irritated as House continues to persist at discovering the reason for the missing crucifix. Stacy reveals she and her husband had a fight over nothing and she thinks he's pushing her out of his life. There is an announcement that all flights are grounded. Stacy reveals she already has a hotel room booked and invites House to join her.
Meanwhile, at the hospital the tests show drug use although Fletcher claimed he was clean. House recommends treatments over the phone and tells the team to get a medical history – Fletcher can answer in one-word sentences of yes or no. Fletcher takes sleeping pills, a fact he wants to keep from his wife. Chase and Foreman find diet pills at Fletcher's office and then head to his home to collect more information, but they don't find any more drugs.
In the hotel room, Stacy admits she misses House, and they begin to kiss but are interrupted by House's phone. The staff tries to decode Fletcher's statements with House over the phone, trying to draw patterns to what he's saying. Cameron concludes that it's Elizabeth's presence that makes Fletcher reluctant to answer truthfully. House figures out that when Fletcher is talking about a bear, he is talking about a polar bear—leading to the conclusion that Fletcher is bipolar and has been using sleeping pills at night and amphetamines during the day.
House is being pressured by an airport security guard to board the plane but continues talking on the phone. He concludes that Fletcher covered up his disorder while a journalist but tried to change for his wife, and underwent secret surgery. While House delivers his diagnosis, Elizabeth overhears the news and unhappy at Fletcher's secrecy, leaves. House recommends they test the blood again visually to confirm the diagnosis – cerebral malaria. Foreman is shocked and upset because if anyone had actually looked at the blood and not just run it through a computer, Fletcher would've been diagnosed instantly. House talks to Stacy as she boards the plane and says he hopes she can get him off the No Fly List
No Fly List
The No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the United States government's Terrorist Screening Center , of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States. The list has also been used to divert away from U.S. airspace aircraft not...
.
External links
- "Failure to Communicate" at Fox.com