David Shore Interview about House M.D’s Series Finale (Everybody Dies)

On when the ending was planned:

David Shore: We came up with this idea and it still wasn’t defined whether this was the last season or not and we had a semi-backup plan. But you can’t work on two shows at once. We had to decide which show we were doing: Season 8 or the final season. Ultimately, I made the decision that I couldn’t allow it to drag out any longer and we proceeded with it.

On House’s moment of epiphany:

Tell me about House’s big epiphany before he strides toward the exit. The show has always sort of suggested that people don’t change, yet it seems House wants to try.
Shore: That’s exactly right. I don’t know that House can change, and I don’t know that he needs to change. But the recognition, the striving for change, the striving to constantly be better in spite of our nature, which doesn’t make it easy, is one of the thing that keeps us human.

On whether the ending is more sweet than bittersweet:

Shore: We’re bordering on that. But one of those two guys on the motorcycle has five months to live. I know it’s a cliché, but it’s House and Wilson riding off into the sunset almost literally. That is a cliché, but the fact is, Wilson is dying. I like the fact that we’re doing that while he’s dying. And it’s just House again assessing, “What’s important here? And what do I need to do to achieve that?”

On whether he considered killing House:

Yes. Everything was on the table. But it was considered for that long, partly because I want the series to live on. The idea of people thinking that House is dead is a weird thing to leave people with. It ultimately felt better to have him out there with Wilson doing who knows what. I thought that was a really nice thing to leave people with and to let them put their imprint on that in their own mind.

On whether Stacy was filling the part that should have been played by Cuddy if Lisa edelstein had been available:

I don’t want to make it seem like it was one or the other, but had [Lisa Edelstein been available] she might’ve done something [similar]. But we knew before we even had written it who we had available.

On whether he considered reuniting Chase and Cameron:

TVLINE | I really liked how you made a point of showing that Cameron ends up happy and fulfilled in her personal life. Did you ever consider reuniting her with Chase in the end?
No, because there would’ve been too much backstory to fill in.

On choosing the songs for the finale:

TVLINE | Why did you choose “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)” for the final scene? Ever consider using “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” just to maintain the symmetry with the pilot?
We did consider that briefly. The Warren Zevon song that we used before it, I had wanted to use that; it just felt really nice. And then Hugh [Laurie] came to me one day while we were shooting [the episode] and said, “I have the perfect song for the final scene.” So I decided to stick two songs in there. We’re all about cutting against what people think we’re going to do. So going with this weird, uplifting song [about] dying had a really nice feeling to it.

Read more: http://www.tvguide.com/News/House-Series-Finale-David-Shore-1047878.aspx?rss=object

http://tvline.com/2012/05/22/house-series-finale-burning-questions-cuddy/

David Shore and Katie Jacobs Defending House M.D’s Controversial Arcs

On the staff change in Season 4:

David Shore (creator, executive producer): You want to be ahead of your audience. If you’re shaking things up after the audience has asked you to shake things up, it’s probably too late. [The original team] had been on three-year fellowships. We never imagined the show would go three years, but it felt dishonest to just keep them going in that position forever. And it also felt a little odd that people would keep working for somebody who was this difficult forever and ever.

Yeah, that excuse would make sense if House didn’t immediately hire Foreman ack, and Foreman ending up working for House for SEVEN seasons before suddenly promoted to Dean of Medicine as House’s boss. It’s okay for Foreman, but not Chase and Cameron? Jennifer Morrison is still not very happy with that storyline, and honestly, who can blame her?

Jennifer Morrison (Dr. Allison Cameron): [In Season 4] I just always had to take the stance of trusting the writers and trusting what they wanted to do with the show. It was frustrating because I just wanted to work more. The little bit that I did have, I would come in and be happy to have, but if you’re going to be on a television show and you’re going to be committed to it for all those years, you want to actually be working, not sitting around.

David Shore complaining that it was awkward and difficult to figure out how to use Chase and Cameron. Dude, you should have thought of that when you wrote Season 3 Finale. I don’t know what tg aiut with Foreman; Foreman rejoined House’s team in Season 4, so he’s in every episode as PART OF THE TEAM. Amnesia, much?

David Shore: That was a very tricky thing. I look back on that and I like what we did with [Cameron, Chase and Foreman]. I think they took on a different voice and a different feeling and a different maturity. They sort of grew up there. But they weren’t in a lot and it was difficult to find places to use them. It was awkward.

On the House crashing his car into Cuddy’s Hpuse plot:

David Shore: I know that was very controversial. Most of the firestorms I expect, to some extent. What surprised me was that people seemed to actually think that House was trying to kill Cuddy, which is just not true. He looks through that window beforehand. He knows nobody’s in that room. It was him putting his fist through a wall, basically. At the end, he’s smiling, which to me was saying to the audience, he accomplished what he wanted to accomplish, which was to simply do some damage. And then he pays a huge price.

Read more here: http://www.tvguide.com/News/House-Series-Finale-Oral-History-1047814.aspx

David Shore talks about House’s finale

Shore used the word “bittersweet” to descrie the ending. Well, hopefully it’s more sweet than bitter. But then again, he also said they don’t really do happy endings:

It’s definitely an ending,” Shore says about the series finale. “I don’t want to say more than that. We never do happy endings. But we also try not to simply do miserable endings. Bittersweet is the most you can hope for us.”

 

They had to wrap up Chase’s story a litlle earlier than expected because Jesse Spencer was doing the Chicago Fire pilot. His arc was always meant to end the way it did, with Chase moving on. Good for the show for giving Spencer the flexibility. Presumably he’s contracted to the show till the end of the season, and the producers could have said “no” and prevented Spencer from doing another show until House if done.

 

Even Jesse Spencer, whose character Dr. Chase just left, is set to pop back in for the last episode. “He was asked to go do a pilot. It happened right at a time where we were considering a storyline that happened in the last episode where he decides to move on. So it worked nicely,” Shore says about Spencer’s recent absence. “To a great extent, we were looking for ways to wrap up the stories—primarily the House-Wilson thing was the focus—but we were aware that the supporting characters needed some element of closure in the broadest sense. And we didn’t want to throw it all in the final episode. And Jesse’s been with us since the beginning so we decided to give him his own little ending story. I thought he was great.”

 

I don’t really understand why so many people bashes the House-Cuddy relationsgip. I thought the way it ended with House crashing the car into Cuddy’s house is ridiculous, but I don’t have a problem with the relationship itself. But I’ve read so many stuff about how Huddy destroyed the show etc etc. You know, given any of the other possible romantic entanglements House could have had on the show (House-Cameron, House-Thirteen, House-Dominika, etc etc), at least House-Cuddy didn’t make me want to go – oh please, this is just indulging the fantasy of middle-aged male writers! Anyway, Shore was asked if he has any regrets about House-Cuddy:

 

 “I’m not big on regrets. That’s not to say it was perfect,” he says. “I do fundamentally believe that we had to do it. I know a lot of people think we could’ve done it better, a lot of people think we shouldn’t have done it, a lot of people think once we did do it we should have kept them together. I think it was going to be a lightning rod no matter what we did. You can’t have sexual tension go on and on and on and on. It was there from the beginning and I enjoyed working with it from the beginning, but at a certain point we had to put them together.”

 

Link: http://www.eonline.com/news/watch_with_kristin/house_boss_drops_ominous_finale_scoop/314274

TVGuide House M.D Spoiler – Is Chase gone for good?

Apparently not, he’ll be back for the series finale (Everybody Dies). I’m guessing probably just a cameo.

Is Chase really gone for good on House? — Christine
ADAM: Not exactly. While he has definitely resigned, executive producer David Shore confirms that Chase is scheduled to appear in the series finale. But more surprisingly, one of his colleagues might follow him out the door. In Monday’s penultimate episode, another doctor is readying a career life raft in case House implodes under the strain of Wilson’s increasingly grim diagnosis.

The doctor “readying a career life raft” is probably either Taub, Park or Adams. Heck, all three of them should be looking for new jobs right now.

Link: http://www.tvguide.com/News/Mega-Buzz-House-Vampire-Diaries-Spoilers-1047202.aspx

House M.D Series Finale (Everybody Dies) Interview with the Casts

Wow, I hadn’t thought of that C-word (commitment). But seriously, if the show ends with House committing to Dominika, I’m going to throw stuff. Good for Michael Ausiello for recognizing how pissed off a lot of fans will be if the finale is made to be about Thirteen. Love Hugh Laurie’s British accent.

Oh come on! According to David Shore, Thirteen comes back “to give House a little advice”. Sure, of all the people on the show, she’s the only one who really understands House, not Wilson the best friend, not Chase or Foreman who’s been around him for 8 years, but Thirteen the magical lovable doctor. Sighh, I’m hating this more and more. And I really, really wanted to be positive about the finale. I bet the one-hour retrospective special will also be full of Thirteen! Yay!!

Photos from House M.D Series Wrap Party

The main cast with series creator David Shore.

Odette Annable and Charlyne Yi.

Hugh Laurie and Omar Epps.

Hugh Laurie and Jesse Spencer performing.

Jesse Spencer playing the violin.

More picture here: http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2012/04/21/house-series-wrap-party-photos/?pid=2466

 

House “Nobody’s Fault” – What Type of Injury?

After that promo video with Greg Yaitanes where he said – “Somebody got hurt, and somebody got hurt in a way that is going to affect them for the rest of their life” – I’m getting obsessed trying to figure out what kind if injury he’s talking about here. Something involving permanent disability? Chase in a wheelchair? Chase with a cane? Please god, no, I don’t want the show to turn Chase into House Jr! House’s darkness is bearable because he’s surrounded by at least some people who are sunshine and puppies at least some of the time, and not as dark and cloudy as him. I don’t think I can stand it if everyone in the show is angry and misanthropic. Some screencaps from the 30-second preview, focusing on the House’s-team-member-getting-hurt-part:

The hospital room after the incident? Too messy to just be the work of the violent patient. The mess in the cabinet is probably Adams and the rest of the doctors looking for medical supplies in a hurry.

…ocaine. Probably lidocaine (local anesthetic). Could be for the original patient, or for the injured doctor.

A bloody scalpel falling to the floor. Most probably the weapon used by the violent patient. How much damage can you do with a scalpel? Throat slashing, maybe a lot with just one slash. Chest or abdomen stabbing, probably would need multiple stabbing to cause life-threatening injury, unless the patient is a trained assassin who knows exactly where to struck.

Taub running into the room as Adams and Chase struggle with the patient. So even three people can’t handle the patient. Was his behavior caused by the wrong medicine given as a result of a wrong diagnosis by House and his team?

I see Taub and Park on either side of the gurney, and Adams on top, which leaves Chase as the injured doctor.

There’s another possibility for the “getting hurt in a way that would change his life forever” part – no wheelchair, no cane, no permanent disability. Think ER and the episode where Carter and Lucy were stabbed by a patient (with a big, giant knife, though, not a teeny tiny scalpel), Lucy died, Carter survived but became addicted to painkillers. No, no, no, David Shore, I beg you, please, please, please don’t!! 1) If you’re copying the plot from old episodes of ER, your show deserves to be cancelled, and 2) like I said before, please don’t turn Chase into House Jr. If this were any other show, I might believe that they would turn crippled!Chase or addicted-to-painkillers!Chase into a different and interesting storyline, but I don’t really trust David Shore and his writers to not fall into the temptation of validating House’s dark and misanthropic worldview. Of course this show will make that Chase as miserable and depressed as House himself. Look, I love watching dark, miserable, depressed House, but I don’t want everyone on the show to be just like him! And certainly not Chase, whose worldview was never like House’s to begin with. This would make more sense if it’s Foreman, for example.