House will be airing its 100th episode next month, and has obviously been a very successful series for FOX. However, as the panel for the show began at the Television Critics Association today, the cast and creators were asked if they struggle to work within the formula of the show. Said creator David Shore, “We try to break up the formula here and there, but fundamentally we’re comfortable with it. I don’t think people watch it wondering, oh, I wonder if [the patient will] get better, but rather ‘I wonder what House will do.”

Gregory House himself, Hugh Laurie, said he felt fine with it as an actor, noting, “There is something unavoidable about delivering what you set out to deliver” and that straying too far from that formula, “Risks disappointing more than satisfying.” As for whether the show will run out of bizarre medical afflictions, Shore remarked, “Luckily for us and unluckily for humanity, there’s a shocking amount of ways that things can present themselves,” referring to all the strange symptoms patients exhibit on the show.

Olivia Wilde’s character Thirteen has had some very notable storylines this season, as we’ve learned about her own illness. Said Wilde, “What we’ve seen from Thirteen is her descent into her downward spiral of destruction has pulled partially back by her friendship with Foreman,” saying Foreman has “helped her live with her disease.” That being said, as they approach episode 100, Wilde says, “There’s going to be complications. Luckily, I’m surrounded by brilliant doctors who will try to come to my rescue. It’s appropriately Houseian that it goes as bad as it does initially for Thirteen and Foreman.”

Some fans have lamented how much screen time Thirteen gets these days, but when asked about it, Shore said he didn’t realize she had an especially large amount versus other cast members, adding, “We like all these characters. We like Thirteen.” He said that her disease certainly gave her a notable storyline, but that when it comes to servicing all the characters, “Hopefully we’ll be creating a nice balance.”

Asked about what seems to be their reduced roles, Jesse Spencer (“Dr. Robert Chase”) and Jennifer Morrison (“Dr. Allison Cameron”) said they both actually preferred their current situation on the series. Spencer said he enjoyed being, “The guy on the side who comes in and performs surgery. I feel like the scenes I do now are more pertinent to the episodes in general.” Said Morrison, “The different roles in the hospital immediately reinvigorated our roles on the show. As Jesse says, it is more relevant.” She added that when she appeared on the show now, she felt, “There’s a real weight to the scene. As an actor, that gets you excited. And I get more one on one time with Hugh, which I’d never complain about.”

This season has been finally be exploring the possibility of a romantic relationship between House and Lisa Edelstein’s Cuddy, and Edelstein said, “I love it,” saying that when it came to their big scene when they kissed, “I love that they found each other through pain,” noting the personal issues both were dealing with. Laurie agreed, praising that, “it wasn’t conventionally romantic. It’s a twisty thing. Something about the loneliness of these characters is very poignant. They need each other. That moment came upon them so suddenly that neither of them saw it coming.”

The friendship between House and Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) also has always resonated with fans. Said Laurie of that relationship, “The companionship came easy. It’s something that seemed to come very naturally. I could believe that these characters, though incredibly different in many ways, there’d be a kinship between them. I think it’s an incredibly important part of the whole set up.” Leonard said, “I think it’s a rare relationship, and I haven’t seen it before,” before deadpanning, “And I credit myself, entirely.”

Another growing friendship is the one between Peter Jacobson’s Dr. Chris Taub and Kal Penn’s Dr. Lawrence Kutner, which Penn referred to as “a bromance.” Jacobsen recalled when he, Penn and Wilde joined the show, not knowing if they would actually remain on, as part of the storyline where House was choosing his new team. Said Jacobsen, “We didn’t know where it would end up, but for me personally, I cannot imagine having jumped onboard a more exquisitely talented and welcoming train.” Said Wilde, “it’s like we got adopted by Brad and Angelina.”

Jacobson and Penn said they both enjoyed working together, with Penn remarking, “There’s a lot of banter that goes on. I certainly enjoy playing all those moments with Peter and the neurosis that is Taub.”

Omar Epps was asked about Foreman’s recent relationship with Thirteen, and pondered, “I wonder if part of his attraction to Thirteen is his mother has Alzheimer’s, and there’s nothing he can do about that,” musing that perhaps Thirteen also having an incurable medical condition struck a chord in him. However, he also couldn’t resist mentioning that he enjoyed, “Being in those scenes with Olivia, because she’s so hot.”

House returns with new episodes on Monday, January 19th on FOX.

source: tv.ign.com