Twenty Vicodin

Last updated

"Twenty Vicodin"
House episode
Episode no.Season 8
Episode 1
Directed by Greg Yaitanes
Written by Peter Blake
Original air dateOctober 3, 2011 (2011-10-03)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Moving On"		Next →
"Transplant"
House season 8
List of episodes

"Twenty Vicodin" is the eighth season premiere episode of the American television medical drama series House and the 156th overall episode of the series. [4] It aired on Fox on October 3, 2011. The episode introduces a new regular cast member to the series, Odette Annable, who plays Dr. Jessica Adams. [5] Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel on the ABC show Family Matters , makes a guest appearance in the episode. [6] In the episode, the storyline picks up eleven months after the season seventh finale with House in prison. [7]

Contents

Plot

Eight months after being imprisoned for driving his car into Cuddy's living room, House has five days before he is granted parole, to which he has become eligible due to space issues and relatively good behavior. He is faced with prison bullies, mainly their leader (Jude Ciccolella), who extorts him into paying them "twenty Vicodin" as "exit tax", and meets Jessica Adams (Odette Annable), a young prison doctor who becomes fascinated with his medical skills. When a fellow prisoner collapses due to mysterious symptoms, House races against the clock and the head prison doctor to find the cure. During his imprisonment period, House has not had any phone calls or visitors; as House explains, human contact is what brought him there to begin with. In the end, House cures the man, but not without punishment from the parole board. [8]

Production

"Twenty Vicodin", the eighth season premiere of House, was written by Peter Blake. [9] It debuted actress Odette Annable as Dr. Jessica Adams, a doctor working at the prison where Dr. House is incarcerated. [5] David Shore stated that it was a challenge for him to appropriately punish House for the deed in the season 7 finale without turning the series into a prison show or changing House's characteristics (while changing the environment around him, i.e. removing Cuddy and "chilling" his relationship with Wilson), and that is why he decided to pick up the story eight months after House's incarceration. [10]

Reception

Critical reception

The episode was received with generally good reviews. The A.V. Club initially gave this episode a B− rating. [11] Anthony Ocasio of ScreenRant.com gave the episode a positive review, stating "the House season 8 premiere presents a wonderfully crafted case study, penned by executive producer Peter Blake, on the man that is House, in which Hugh Laurie masterfully traverses a new environment filled with intriguing challenges and compelling characters." [12] Joseph Oliveto from screencrave.com gave the episode a very good review, awarding the episode 9/10. Oliveto commented that Twenty Vicodin was "A tense season-opener [that] assures us that “House” hasn’t lost the magic". [13]

Ratings

With 9.78 million viewers, "Twenty Vicodin" was the 8th most watched program of the night. [14] This was a decrease of 0.76 million viewers from the season seven premiere, [15] but an increase of 0.67 million from the season 7 finale. [16] The episode was the 14th most watched program of the week for adults 18-49. [17] The season premiere was the second most watched program of the week in Canada with 2.81 million viewers. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Urkel</span> Fictional character on the sitcom Family Matters

Steven Quincy Urkel is a fictional character on the American ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters, portrayed by Jaleel White. Originally slated for a single appearance, he broke out to be the show's most popular character, gradually becoming its protagonist. Due to the character's off-putting characteristics, a tendency to stir up events, and his role in the show's plotlines, he is considered a nuisance by the original protagonist's family, the Winslows. However, they come to accept him over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaleel White</span> American actor (born 1976)

Jaleel Ahmad White is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel on the sitcom Family Matters. The character was originally intended to be a one-time guest appearance on the show; however, he was an instant hit with audiences and White became a regular cast member. The series aired for a total of nine seasons, from 1989 to 1998. White then reprised his role as Urkel for the first time in 21 years in the 2019 series Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?.

House is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on the Fox network for eight seasons, from November 16, 2004, to May 21, 2012. Its main character, Dr. Gregory House, is an unconventional, misanthropic medical genius who, despite his dependence on pain medication, leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH) in New Jersey. The series' premise originated with Paul Attanasio, while David Shore, who is credited as creator, was primarily responsible for conceiving the title character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Annable</span> American actor

David Rodman Annable is an American actor. His roles include Justin Walker on the ABC television drama Brothers & Sisters (2006–11), Henry Martin on the ABC supernatural drama 666 Park Avenue (2012–13), Pierce Harrison on the NBC medical drama Heartbeat (2016), and Neil on the Paramount+ spy series Special Ops: Lioness (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory House</span> Protagonist of the American television series House

Gregory House is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the American medical drama series House. Created by David Shore and portrayed by English actor Hugh Laurie, he leads a team of diagnosticians and is the Head of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in Princeton, New Jersey. House's character has been described as a misanthrope, cynic, narcissist, and curmudgeon, the last of which terms was named one of the top television words of 2005 in honor of the character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Cuddy</span> Fictional character

Lisa Cuddy, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. She is portrayed by Lisa Edelstein. Cuddy was the dean of medicine of the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Cuddy quit her job after the events of season seven's finale "Moving On".

<i>Modern Family</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of the comedy television series Modern Family aired on ABC from September 22, 2010 to May 25, 2011. The season was produced by Lloyd-Levitan Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television, with series creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd serving as showrunners. On January 12, 2010, Modern Family was renewed for a second season by ABC. Season two of Modern Family aired on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. and consisted of 24 episodes.

<i>Raising Hope</i> American television sitcom (2010–2014)

Raising Hope is an American television sitcom that aired on Fox from September 21, 2010, to April 5, 2014. Following its first season, the show received two nominations at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Martha Plimpton was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and Cloris Leachman was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Plimpton also won the 2011 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

The sixth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 31 to September 14, 2011. No major changes were made in the program's format, although a number of participants who auditioned later dropped out due to obligations outside the competition. However, the season attracted media attention after one of its participants established a world record during their performance on the program.

<i>Tower Prep</i> American TV series or program

Tower Prep is a live-action teen science-fiction television series created for Cartoon Network by Paul Dini, who is known for previously writing and producing series in the DC Animated Universe. From October 12 to December 28, 2010, the series aired one thirteen-episode season, before being canceled by Cartoon Network.

<i>Breaking In</i> (TV series) American sitcom television series

Breaking In is an American sitcom television series, which ran on Fox from April 6, 2011 to August 22, 2012. The series debuted as a mid-season replacement following American Idol.

This is a list of episodes for the first season of DreamWorks Animation's animated television series, The Penguins of Madagascar. The first episode, "Gone in a Flash", aired on Nickelodeon U.S. as a "sneak peek" on November 28, 2008. The series premiere formally occurred after the Nickelodeon 2009 Kids' Choice Awards with the episodes, "Launchtime" and "Haunted Habitat". During the season, several episodes were aired more than once.

<i>House</i> season 8 Season of television series

The eighth and final season of House was ordered on May 10, 2011. It premiered on October 3, 2011. It was the only season not to feature Lisa Edelstein as Dr. Lisa Cuddy. Olivia Wilde also left the show after the third episode to further her film career, although she returned at the end of the series. On January 8, 2012, Kevin Reilly stated that Fox had been "avoiding" a decision on the fate of the series, as it was "hard to imagine the network without House" and that the decision on the future of the series would be a "close call". Hugh Laurie's contract on House expired once the eighth season was over, and Laurie confirmed that once House was over, he would be moving on to strictly film roles. On February 8, 2012, in a joint statement issued by Fox and executive producers David Shore, Katie Jacobs, and Laurie, it was revealed that the season would be the last for House.

"Transplant" is the second episode of the eighth season of the American television medical drama series House and the 157th overall episode of the series and features the introduction of Charlyne Yi as Dr. Chi Park. It aired on Fox on October 10, 2011.

References

  1. ↑ "House Scoop: Jaleel White Sent Directly to Jail". TV Line. tvline.com/. August 30, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  2. ↑ Handlen, Zack (October 3, 2011). "House "Twenty Vicodin"". The A.V. Club . Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  3. ↑ "House Exclusive: New Details on Top-Secret Season 8 Premiere!". TV Line. tvline.com/. July 28, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  4. ↑ Ausiello, Michael (July 28, 2011). "House Exclusive: New Details on Top-Secret Season 8 Premiere!". TV Line. TV Line Media, LLC. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  5. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (July 25, 2011). "'Breaking In' Co-Star Odette Annable Joins Fox's 'House' As New Regular". Deadline. PMC. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  6. ↑ Gicas, Peter (August 31, 2011). "Urkel, Er, Jaleel White Set to Guest Star on House". E! Online . Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  7. ↑ "House's New Season Will Pick Up (Major Spoiler Alert) Later!". TV Line. TV Line Media, LLC. August 6, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
  8. ↑ Barnett, Barbara (September 15, 2011). "TV Preview: House, M.D. - Season Eight Premiere "Twenty Vicodin"". Blogcritics . Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  9. ↑ Blake, Peter (June 28, 2011). "I'm writing 801". Twitter. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  10. ↑ Barnett, Barbara (September 27, 2011). "House, M.D. Creator David Shore and Actress Odette Annable Talk About the Season Premiere and More". Blogcritics. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  11. ↑ Handlen, Zack (October 3, 2011). ""Twenty Vicodin" · House · TV Review House: "Twenty Vicodin" · TV Club · The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ Anthony Ocasio (October 3, 2011). "'House' Season 8 Premiere Review & Discussion". Screen Rant. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  13. ↑ "House: Season 8 Episode 1: Twenty Vicodin – TV Review". Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Monday Broadcast Final Ratings: 'Terra Nova,' '2.5 Men,' '2 Broke Girls' Adjusted Up; 'Castle' Adjusted Down – Page 106073 – TV By The Numbers by zap2it.com". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  15. ↑ "TV Ratings Monday: Dancing, Castle, Two and a Half Men Up; Lone Star No Star; + The Event, Hawaii Five-0 – Page 64332 – TV By The Numbers by zap2it.com". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. September 21, 2010. Archived from the original on November 18, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Monday Final Ratings: 'Dancing,' 'House,' 'Event' Adjusted Up; 'Law & Order:LA,' 'Clash Of The Commercials' Down – Page 93755 – TV By The Numbers by zap2it.com". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. May 24, 2011. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  17. ↑ "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'Sunday Night Football,' 'Two & A Half Men,' 'Modern Family' Top Week's Adults 18-49 Ratings – Page 106739 – TV By The Numbers by zap2it.com". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. October 11, 2011. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.