That reason is sometimes hard to detect with the naked eye, but the dichotomy of nice and evil in the same character is one of the most rewarding aspects of the show. Frustrated with preachiness, Shore tries to inject respect for differences of opinion – even in the character of the arrogant Dr. House, who often refrains from eviscerating those who reasonably disagree with him and whose own moral code is both upheld and challenged within the show.
"That's where you get interesting stuff. That's when you make people think, that's when it'll stay with them. You're not going to change people's minds during the 45 minutes they're watching, but maybe six months later, when they've seen six other things, or maybe six years later, it will occur to people to think."
"The one thing I've found is that the people who disagree with you are not just straw men. They are usually equally good people, though they might be slightly misguided," Shore said. "They've thought about that issue and come to a different conclusion than you have. And so often in writing, I don't see that."
Earlier, he had pointed to an example of a black-hatted villain on his own show. In season one, FOX insisted on the introduction of a nemesis for Dr. House, board chairman Edward Vogler (Chi McBride).
"Chi McBride was great, but I didn't think it was a great idea. But that was when we weren't doing that well, and the network had that power over us and were able to force us to do some stuff we didn't want to do,” Shore recalled. "They wanted that to be the series — House versus Vogler, House versus the archenemy. That's not subtle. That's not clever."
"We can't say somebody got laid. We can say somebody got action. Things like that are weird."
For the most part, Shore said the network has always understood the show and the character, and not tried to tamper with his vision. He seemed almost surprised at the lack of interference from FOX, after experiencing worse with other shows. "The better the ratings get, the more we get away with," he laughed, pointing to a scene in "Who's Your Daddy" where House gives Cuddy an injection. "They actually said, 'you get a 24 share, you're allowed to show a little more ass.'"
Shore isn't a fan of writing to the whims of either the network or the audience. "Ultimately you have to write what you like. If you're writing to your audience, you're screwed. It's very basic: you won't do it as well. So I write what I find entertaining. It's an interesting character and I've been lucky enough that people have responded to what I like."
Article comments
1 - Carol
Thank you for this detailed and sensitive essay on David Shore's approach to creating House. I hope that sometime soon you get to do a one-on-one with Shore, as that would be a most enlightening interview. The insights you offer here are wonderful for those of us who love this show and the creative process itself.
And as for "House and Cuddy, there seems to be a sexuality to them no matter what I write." Amen to that, Mr. Shore! I have such a good feeling about the direction of Season Three now that I have heard this from David Shore's lips. I hope he sticks with his instinctive reluctance to play out the cliche of Cameron's crush.
Carol
2 - Ann
Great article on David Shore!! I would LOVE to see Stacy come back. Those episodes were FANTASTIC!!!!
Ann
3 - gena
I love Shore! Great article, but House/Cameron doesn't do it for me. I'd say House/Cuddy has a lot more snap than House and Cameron, Cuddy is a firecracker and Cameron isn't. However Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard have the best chemistry of all of the actors. Maybe Fox could take us someplace no other TV show has gone this year??
4 - Baronius
Interesting article, and nicely presented. I don't like the show, but that maybe made the article more interesting. You know, the way that a director's commentary of Showgirls would be more enlightening than Goodfellas.
5 - Sophia
Love the interview, but I also love House and Cameron! Even if the relationship doesn't eventuate I would like some closure, especially for her.
6 - SJ
What an interesting discussion with Shore. Cliche or not, Cameron and House did have "chemistry", and perhaps this would take on new dimensions even more now that the characters have been developed a bit. And since that is part of what hooked me in Season One, it would be an interesting story to develop.
7 - denise
i just love hugh he is brilliant as house, but sad to say if house is with cameron i have to stop watching she is no match for him and ditto i would love to see stacy come back or house with ccuddy they have a interesting and excitint relationship cuddy can handle house,i just dislike cameron more each episode!
8 - Jan
Great show, and the chemistry (or lack thereoff) only adds to the tension between the characters. But just imagine what these writers could do if they make House and Cuddy have children. Just thinking about the intriguing discussions about education and illnesses and morality when Cuddy tries to convince House (or vice versa) already makes me smile.
Besides that, is it wrong to think that the robot arm scene in Season 2's last episode (you all know what I'm talking about) was one of the sexiest scenes on TV ever? :-)
9 - Huddy Lover
House and Cuddy have such chemistry on the show. Every interaction has so must UST, it's beautiful to watch. I'm hoping that he gives up on the Cameron and House relationship. I adored the scene this season (3) when she helped that doctor die - the relationship felt much more mentor/duckling and it just fit.
10 - margoorite
i don't feel as though house/cameron is as cliche as everyone thinks it is. i'm not sure. i started watching the show so i could watch their interactions and watch their relationship blossom. i want to see something work between the two. she may be bland at times but she has a lot of charisma, a lot of heart and she cares very, very deeply for house. he knows that. so if it doesn't work, i feel she needs closure. i need closure!! hehe.
11 - alessandro
On Fox's "House," Bioethics Meets Television
Life Academy Member Offers Critique of Series
ROME, SEPT. 13, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Fox Broadcasting Company's series titled "House" reflects the existence of good and evil and the need to choose between the two, says a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
Dr. Carlo Valerio Bellieni is director of the Department of Newborn Intensive Therapy of the University Polyclinic Le Scotte in Siena, Italy. He told ZENIT that the series "shows something interesting."
He explained: "The show seems to be an apology for separation and absence: It tells the story of a misanthrope and harsh doctor, Gregory House, who doesn't want any contact with patients.
"This separation, however, caused by his existential and physical suffering, is only apparent. While remaining surly and anti-social, each time he insistently tries to understand the depths of the person he is caring for.
"He is able to recognize suffering in others because of his own suffering and it is because of this that he can see things that may escape others.
"It is even more strange, and interesting, that the 'non-politically correct' actions and judgments, with some exceptions, come from a character who is in constant struggle with the world."
A doctor's role
The series debuted in November 2004 and stars British actor Hugh Laurie.
House "doesn't follow the crowd when it comes to ethical relativism in medicine -- the autonomy of the patient, the doctor as a 'provider of a service' that has lost the ability to give moral judgments on the practice of medicine," Bellieni continued.
The pontifical academy member explained: "He speaks harshly with his patients to persuade them to accept a cure, not to give in to their wishes. He knows that there exists a good medical practice and a mistaken one and he wants his patients to choose the good one. But also because in the patient's answer he is trying to find an answer for himself."
Bellieni said this "is much better than those who leave the patient alone in the face of a diagnosis of words and numbers, only 'free' to choose to live or die."
He explained: "To put it another way, the writers of the series paradoxically seem to tell us that often words, and certain sweet and pious expressions that are fashionable, serve to cover up distance between persons.
"This is wonderfully underlined by the soundtrack, full of music with a religious tone or that shows the dissatisfaction of a life without meaning, like 'Desire' by Ryan Adams or 'Hallelujah' by Jeff Buckley."
"We observe two clear points by the creators of the series," continued Bellieni. "First, that the doctor is not a 'provider of a service' to whom every request is equal, but he knows how to recognize a good answer from an evil answer and how to find the strength to not give them the latter.
"Second, the doctor-patient relationship is never a one-way street: There is not only the one who gives, the doctor, and one who receives, the patient, but the doctor either finds himself in the position to learn strength from the patient, his way of communicating and his hidden signals … or he gives an ineffective treatment."
"House," Bellieni explained, "goes to the depressed manager who is waiting to be placed on the heart transplant list and screams at him saying 'Do you want to live? Tell me, because I don't know if I do!' and he doesn't do this so he will write a 'living will,' but to reawaken in him, and in himself, a love for life.
"House is certainly not a saint and he sometimes makes bad moral choices. But if he were a saint, would it be so surprising to hear him cry out, as sometimes happens, against drugs or incestuous sex or in vitro fertilization?"
Finding humanity
The fourth season of the series is set to begin in the United States on Sept. 25. Laurie was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series in 2005 and this year.
Bellieni said: "House knows how to astonish: He makes mistakes, grinds his teeth, but he knows how to recognize what is human when he sees it."
"This is the important point, often overlooked in medical practice: amazement at the mysterious humanity of the patient."
"House," Bellieni remarked, "lets the little girl with a tumor hug him, whose life he prolonged by one year, and impressed with the moral strength of the little girl he begins to change his way of life."
"In the same way," he continued, "he is amazed by the little hand of the fetus as it comes out of the womb during surgery and grasps his finger. For the rest of the day he continued to look at his finger, asking himself who is that life that no one considers human, maybe not even himself, but that touched him.
"His amazement is the foundation of his curative ability."
"House never seems to be there for his patients," concluded Bellieni. "He is not a good doctor, he is full of pain; but he is rich with a meaningful question, which does not lead him to despair.
"For this reason he is impressive, in an age in which nothing seems to have value except one's own whims, especially in medicine."
12 - Ms. Jackson
For some reason the beginning of the 4th season of House is confusing and hard to follow. This was a dynamic, riveting series for the first 3 seasons - what has happened to this concept? I spend half of my time trying to figure out "what is going on". Not to mention that half the good cast is now gone - I say, bring them back. This show was not broken, so why try to fix it. Please put House back the way it was so we can all love it again. Thank you.
13 - Michael In New Jersey
Dear David Shore, I had an idea of my own for a show that I thought you might be interested in. The show is called "Foreman" which is a Spin-off of House. What happens is, Foreman returns to New York Mercy (see the series finale of House called "Moving Forward" for more info) after House, Taub, and Kutner and Thirteen move on. But as Foreman continues to pursue getting the job their he runs into some problems. Here are my first 8 episodes to start the show.
1. "Tough Luck"-it's not a pretty picture when Doctor Schaeffer encounters Foreman, but she still refuses to rehire him. Will he be able to convince her that he really does deserve a "Second Chance" while treating his first patient of the day???
2. "Keep The Kettle Boiling"-Foreman treats a patient who survived a nasty stove-burn, but it appears that her symptoms did not cause the burns on her wrists. Meanwhile, Foreman has a hard time trying to impress Doctor Schaeffer whose not easy to impress.
3. "I Will Not Survive" A Patient has "MS-like symptoms" but Foreman is struggling to figure out what she has. When he finally realizes that it's not MS, he must convince Doctor Schaeffer not to fire him again when he explains to her that It took awhile to figure out a young man's MS Symptoms but he did not decide to treat it too late, like he did last time.
4. "Chicago Dope" Things become personal when patients whose disease did not go completely quiet with HiCy therapy collapse, Foreman decides to tackle cultural competency, and spend fourteen hours trying to figure out why the patient's are ill. In the end, he realizes that it was a deadly case of the Meningitis Outbreak that spread all over the country.
5. "To kill a knocking bird" Foreman must close down half of the departments in the hospital when there is a bad case of The bird flu. But will it cost him his job?
6. "The Day The Man Jumped Through The Window (on his own)" Foreman may lose his job when a psychotic patient jumps out the hospital window but Foreman didn't think to grab the patient before he jumped to his death.
7. "Like A Twisted Woman In A Hospital" After giving a patient medicine for LaryngoSpasm, Foreman loses the most valuable thing to him-his job. Doctor Schaeffer suspends him for 3 days without pay.
8. "Last Call" A Bartender comes in vomiting, bleeding, and coughing. Foreman must risk his job to save him.