"Help Me"
House episode
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 22
Directed byGreg Yaitanes
Written by
Original air dateMay 17, 2010 (2010-05-17)
Guest appearances
  • China Jesusita Shavers as Hanna
  • Doug Kruse as Jay Dolce
  • Jamie McShane as Captain McCreaney
  • Desean Terry as Charles

"Help Me" is Episode 22, the season finale of the sixth season of the American medical drama House. It first aired on May 17, 2010. The episode covers a crane collapse in which House tries to save one of the victims, Hanna, who is trapped in rubble. "Help Me" was positively received by critics.

Plot

After a crane collapse buries a woman beneath rubble, House must split his time between staying with her and diagnosing the crane operator who passed out. But when she dies despite his best efforts, House must avoid the temptation to relapse on Vicodin—until Cuddy admits her love for him.

Production

Filming

This episode was shot entirely using Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras.[1] These digital SLR cameras are primarily designed for still-picture photographs, but are one of the first to include high-definition video recording capability. These allowed the production team to work in very tight spaces, using minimal lighting, while also offering a very shallow depth of field putting the backgrounds out of focus, and making the work very challenging for the focus pullers. Original plans only included some scenes to be shot digitally, but eventually the Canon 5D cameras were used for the entire episode. After successfully using the cameras for scenes on the episode "Lockdown" director of photography Gale Tattersall convinced producers to film an entire episode using the cameras. The episode was filmed using a wide variety of lenses, on loan from Canon. Motion stabilization rigs were also used to make the cameras more like motion picture cameras.[1][2]

Reception

Ratings and viewership

The episode was watched by 11.06 million American viewers, the 17th highest watched program of the week.[3] Between the 18–49 category, the show received 5.6 million viewers and was the 9th most watched program within the 18–49 viewers.[3] The program, broadcast by Global Total, was watched by 2.55 million Canadians, making it the 4th highest watched program of the week in Canada.[4]

Critical response

Jonah Krakow of IGN rated the episode 9.5 out of 10, calling it "fantastic". Jonah Krakow praised the episode's pacing and drew similarities to "5 to 9".[5]

Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B rating.[6] Handlen wrote: ""Help Me" is strong, no question. I cared about the Patient Of The Week for the first time in a very long while...Plus, as familiar as so much of this was...it was done well, and Hugh Laurie was so strong, that it really made Hanna's fate matter."[6]

Screenrant.com reviewed the episode very positively, calling it a "beautiful masterpiece in both acting and writing, but also a refreshing return to basics."[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Bloom, Philip (April 19, 2010). "EXCLUSIVE: In depth interview with Greg Yaitanes, Executive Producer and Director of "House" Season Finale shot on Canon 5DmkII". Retrieved 2019-12-20. Interview with Greg Yaitanes about Season Finale of House by PhilipBloom. Archived from the original (m4a) on 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  2. ↑ Jefferson Graham (May 14, 2010). "'House' director producing episode with digital camera, memory card". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  3. 1 2 Seidman, Robert (May 25, 2010). "TV Ratings Top 25: Dancing Tops Idol With Viewers Again, Lost Finale Wins With Adults 18-49". TVbythenumbers.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Top Programs – Total Canada (English) May 17 - May 23, 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
  5. ↑ Jonah Krakow (2010-05-18). "House: "Help Me" Review. The season comes to a close, but not without a fight". IGN. News Corporation. Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  6. 1 2 Zack Handlen (May 17, 2010). "House "Help Me"". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 2010-05-23.Rating B
  7. ↑ "Screen Rant Review". Screen Rant. 22 September 2010.
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