Inside the Mind of ‘House’.
By Greg David
2009-02-01
‘House’ creator dishes on Huddy sex, and 100 episodes
With the 100th episode of House bowing tonight, we snagged creator – and Canadian – David Shore to wax poetic on five seasons of Dr. Crankypants.
TV Guide.ca: Congratulations on Hugh Laurie’s SAG win…
David Shore: Getting two would have been nice. Getting one for the whole cast…those guys have been ignored for way too much.
TVG: It’s true! Are you happy when you guys win awards, or is it old hat now?
DS: Now I sound like an ingrate! First of all, there is a certain amount of silliness to all of these things. I genuinely think that. It’s arbitrary…the idea of judging any artistic endeavour and ranking them is somewhat ludicrous. It’s nice to be included. It’s nice to be considered, but you obviously can’t get too hung up on it.
Having said that, it is nice to win, and Hugh, I believe, deserves every bit of accolade that he gets, but I also firmly believe that he’s only as good as the people around him.
TVG: Where are you guys in production at this point? Are you getting near the end?
DS: We’re getting near the end; we’re a little ahead than we were last year because we got right into things right after the strike.
TVG: Congratulations on 100 episodes. I watched a screener of “The Greater Good,” and I have to ask: how do you guys keep up the level of writing for 100 episodes?
DS: Thanks for even asking that question!
TVG: It boggles my mind. Every week, it’s another great story with great humour and drama. How do you do it?
DS: Thank you. It just that everyone matters to us. There is nobody around here that is feeling a reduction of character. I feel as much pressure to deliver on Episode 100 as I did on Episode 1. Maybe I should relax a little, but sometimes I think doing that is the kiss of death.
TVG: And back when you guys debuted, I’m sure you weren’t thinking 100 episodes.
DS: No. You’re thinking just around the corner. You’re just wondering “how can we get them to pick up a few more episodes?” You’re not thinking about how you can get them to pick up the next 90.
TVG: In the 100th episode, we’re seeing characters moving forward. Forman and 13 are moving forward with their relationship, Wilson is moving forward with his life after the death of his girlfriend…and House and Cuddy are moving towards having sex. You’ve said in the press that they will sleep together this season, is that right?
DS: I said something was going to happen this season, but I was marginally misquoted. I said that we are moving forward, we have figured out that something is going to happen this year.
TVG: Obviously you’re aware of the pitfalls of having these two hook up. You’ve thought this through, right?
DS: I hope so! Again, we’re not mapping out 12 episodes; we’re mapping out six or seven. We’re trying to take it slow and do it in a real way, and we’re trying to be true to this character. I think when it does happen, the way that we handle it will surprise people and I think it’s interesting. At least, it’s interesting to me, and I hope the audience finds it as interesting as I do.
TVG: Is that the secret to the success of the show? Storylines that keep you interested?
DS: I don’t know if it’s the secret. I think it’s the only way to do a show. You do a show that interests you and hope you have an audience. If you do, great, and it you don’t, at least you did something that you believed in. I think if you do it any other way, you end up with a watered-down version of something.
TVG: We’re also hearing that Cameron and Chase will be coming back into House’s clutches later this season. Can you confirm or comment on that?
DS: I can’t go into detail, but it’s something that we’ve been struggling with. I have liked the way that we have used them the last couple of years, but I haven’t liked the extent to which we’ve used them.
TVG: Did adding three new characters play out the way that you thought it would, or did they take away from the core cast too much?
DS: It certainly set up challenges for us that were both good and bad. No matter how much you have to do, you’re got 42 minutes to cover it every week. Ultimately I think it’s been good, but nothing is perfect. The one thing you don’t want is the audience wanting less of your characters. [laughs]
TVG: Last question, and this is kind of hard because it’s like asking which child is your favourite. Is there an episode or storyline that stands out in your mind out of the last 100?
DS: It is kind of like naming your favourite kid; the only difference is that if I pick one, I’m not going to screw up the other 99. [laughs] It is tough, because I try to love every one of them. The pilot is special; also “Three Stories,” which won some awards and is a very different episode…but I like them all.
TVG: One that I really liked was “Birthmarks,” where you got to see House and Wilson’s road trip to House’s Dad’s funeral. The interplay between the two in the car…Hugh and Robert Sean Leonard are so fantastic together.
DS: They were really great, and that’s actually one of the things I’m really proud about with the series, and that episode, is that you don’t see a lot of that on TV. I don’t think you see a lot of friendship between two people on TV today, the trails and tribulations of being a friend. I like that stuff. Good call!
Tags: David Shore, Fox, House, Hugh Laurie, Interview, SAG, Spoilers