There is already evidence of that evolution, from the often downright depressed character in early season one episodes who had to be enticed to take every case, to the gleefully bitter House who often seeks out patients now. A large part of the tension of the series is the battle between House struggling to maintain his seemingly miserable status quo and those around him trying to force the evolution.
So is Wilson right, that House enjoys being miserable? Jacobs doesn't think that's the whole answer. "Being miserable is familiar and what he knows, so it's hard for him to get out of that hole and find his way out."
"But I think that is one of the many things that Hugh Laurie brings to the character. If you didn't see behind his eyes and behind his rough exterior into the wounded quality, you'd never love him and root for him and wish for him to find something other than the miserable existence that he lives."
His world view has been shaken in episodes like the season two finale "No Reason," which had House questioning his devotion to rationality over humanity, and the Tritter storyline, which further explored his relationship with drugs.
"I do think he's smart and he has learned. Whether he is capable of having all of that experience change his actions is quite another thing," Jacobs pointed out. "He is so deep in that hole and committed to that because that's the way he survives. I think slowly but surely he takes it all in, but I don't know that it affects the way he lives his life quite yet."
She describes a moment in an upcoming episode where House tries to decide on a vacation destination. "The very notion that that's even a topic for him is huge for House. So we're having a lot of fun with how much he'll change and how fast he'll change and how well he'll change, all of those contradictions."
"It's a wish fulfillment thing."
Jacobs, who conveys a very un-House-like warmth, has some theories about what people are responding to in the character — the irreverence, the vicarious thrill of watching someone with no censor, and of course the combination of brilliant mind and wounded heart — but she still seems slightly astonished and hugely grateful that the show has struck such a chord in the audience.
Article comments
1 - amysusanne
congrats on the great interview. excellent news in the casting of jane adams. that's awesome. i miss seeing her on my television.
2 - Grace
I hope when they are busy developing a new show for FOX, that HOUSE won't suffer because of it.
3 - Methuselah
Once in a while TV produces a good adult program, and that's what "House" has been for me since I first encountered it during the first season. Reminds me a bit of the old 50s series "Ben Casey" about another megalomaniac doctor focused on solving problems.
But the ongoing success of an episodic TV dramatic series depends more on the quality of the guest characters and their situations than on the core characters and their relationships. Thus the great success of series like "The Fugitive", "Route 66", "Dragnet", etc., where the guest bit actors were always vastly better than the hacks in the principle roles and their stories much more interesting.
Unfortunately, modern junk TV like CSI and the offshoots of L&O soon become obsessed with the private lives of the principles and quickly exhaust those possibilities and degenerate into repetition.
4 - Lisa McKay
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States.
5 - Methuselah
I watched "Half-wit" with great hope, but sadly concluded that "House" is getting too self-involved to be sustaining. Using Dave Mathews added nothing.
I fear that this will be the last season for this program.
6 - Diane Kristine
It might be the last season you'll be watching, but it's far from the last season for the show. It's been getting series high ratings and it's already been announced that it's renewed for a fourth season.
7 - Mahwash
Any latest updates on the writer's strike or on how the plot will develop further? The interview here was great, btw.