In addition to that titillating bit of action, this clip will also catch you up on recent events in the House/Cuddy relationship, as Wilson scolds House for checking into an expensive hotel for an extended binge of winning debauchery.
In case you've forgotten, the Republicans control the House of Representatives now. Yes, the American one! But do they remember how to greet foreign dignitaries and other fancy people after their four-year exile in power? Not really, so John Boehner had to send a staffer to etiquette school.
The great thing about the stylistic diversions House has been taking these past few weeks is that they're not just novelties; each gimmick has been used to tell an integral part of the series's ongoing story.
In another stylistic departure for the series, last night's House unfolded like a typically procedural episode for 50 minutes before the team's patient suddenly — and anticlimactically — died in his hospital bed.
Congress, after taking all of last week off, now finds itself with only four days left to fund the federal government before everything shuts down. And, of course, the House Republicans and Senate Democrats are nowhere near reaching a final agreement. So what's the plan? Oh, you know this: Pass a bill that stalls for another two weeks!
The plot of last night's House was basically an excuse to have Hugh Laurie interact with a bunch of precocious 5th graders, but it resulted in some memorable sequences, like this homage to everyone's favorite "old" movie about foot massages.
You see this, leeches? If you want a handout, don't go asking freshman Republican Rep. Dan Benishek, who is a medical doctor. His staff didn't spend all its time making this banner and posting it to Facebook for people to not see it. "If you are here to ask for more money, you're in the wrong office!" Can he be much clearer? So don't even try, because it's not going to happen. Dan Benishek is not your ATM, damnit. Says right there on the huge banner in the middle of his office.
The House Republicans' top anti-abortion guy, Rep. Chris Smith of the lovely No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act fame, was reading some graphic details of abortion cases in the chamber last night. This is America's National Bedtime Story routine, now that Republicans are back in power, and it should continue even after they've defunded Planned Parenthood.
Among the 400+ amendments filed earlier this week for the House Republicans' upcoming spending package was this little gem from GOP Rep. Steve Womack: cutting funding for the president's teleprompter. This machine has been the source of many hilarious Republican jokes over the last two years, like, "Did you see how Barack Obama read his speech off a teleprompter? Bwah ha ha, what an idiot."
New York is full of actresses right now, some of them relaxing, others working. But all of them, as we've interpreted from these paparazzi photos, are thinking about Ashton Kutcher. First up is Natalie Portman who, while waiting for a cab, remembers what it was like filming No Strings Attached. [Splash]
Yesterday's House is the episode that FOX is bound to submit for Emmy consideration at the end of the season: every aspect of the show — writing, acting, direction, production design, etc. — was at the top of its game.
Give them credit: It's only January, but the new Republican-controlled House is already obnoxiously redefining "rape" in pieces of legislation. Under their plan, only abortions from "forcible rape" would be eligible for government funding, instead of the much simpler "rape."
That's right, it's another episode pitting House against Cuddy's daughter Rachel, whom he deems "dumber than a paste sandwich." Plus, Chase's Facebook account gets hacked by a spurned lover, leading to some fantastic nudity and pretty-boy awkwardness.
