'House' writers' room: The Huddy breakup and all that jazz

The “Bombshells” episode of “House” this past Monday shocked (and dismayed Huddy shippers) a lot of viewers. It was written by Liz Friedman and Sara Hess. They’ve taken a little time out of their busy schedule to answer a few questions about  this critical and unusual episode.

“Bombshells” had two major, major plot points: The breakup of Huddy and the re-addiction of House. What was the rationale behind tackling both of these game-changers in 44 minutes?

Sara: Well, for us the two things went hand-in-hand.  A major theme on the show is that people don't change.  House has been clean for a year and a half now, but addiction isn't something that just goes away.  When Cuddy started dating him, she told him she could accept him just the way he was ... but remember, he was sober at the time.  And while she's a doctor and knows the reality of his situation, I think she was able to convince herself for a long time that things would turn out OK.  But when someone with House's drug history starts using again, it's a seismic event.
That said, Cuddy doesn't break up with him because he took one pill.  We used House's addiction as a symbol of his inability to deal with pain. He's spent so much time and energy trying to insulate himself, but being in a relationship basically means making yourself twice as vulnerable.  And he can't accept that.  He won't let himself really experience what Cuddy's going through; selfishly, he uses the drug to protect himself, and that leaves her--in any real emotional sense -- alone.  Maybe Cuddy thinks she doesn't need him to change, but she does at the very least need him to be present.  And in the end he can't do it.

Whose decision was it to incorporate the dreams/nightmares as a plot device?

Liz: That idea came out of the writers' room at House.  The staff collectively hatched the notion of Cuddy contemplating various futures with House, each of those futures being a different genre, and those visions ultimately leading to the end of their relationship. In the original pitch, each act was a different genre ... but as we got into it, we realized that the break-up really needed to be grounded in reality, so we re-approached the dreams as a way to show what our characters were really thinking/worrying about.

How did you feel about the results of the fantasies? I still can’t get over the timing of the “Two and a Half Men” sendup, on the day Charlie Sheen is fired. Winning, duh!

Liz: We couldn't be more thrilled about the fantasy sequences.  As a long-time horror film fan, I had the best time writing House vs. zombies, using all the tricks I absorbed from endless viewings of "Evil Dead," as well as working for Sam Raimi. And the musical sequence was incredible.  It's a rare occurrence for writers when you get to pick a song and write a half-page description and then have more than a hundred truly talented people including the brilliant choreographer Mia Michaels work their butts off to turn that into a completely mind-blowing, unforgettable sequence. It was awesome.
Sara: The Charlie Sheen thing was just a major coincidence; we wrote this long before the meltdown of the last few weeks. It actually wasn't conceived as a direct send-up of that particular show, but in the execution it definitely ended up coming pretty close. 

Did this episode take especially long to film, considering the parodies of the specific shows?

Liz: We had one extra day, which is really nothing considering that each of the five dream sequences was a totally different world and look.  Production-wise that's the equivalent of doing five teasers.  Most directors couldn't accomplish that, let alone have each sequence be better than the last.  Our hats are off to Greg Yaitanes, our super-talented and resourceful exec producer director and our stellar crew for that.
Sara:The sitcom and the "Butch Cassidy" sequence were actually shot the same day.

Were you on the set as the fantasy sequences were filmed? Are the writers, as a rule, generally present on set, and if so, are there a lot of last-minute adjustments?

Liz: On "House," writers are on set the whole time their episodes are filming, so we were there for the fantasy sequences. I spent most of the time gawking at the set, the costumes, the actors, completely thrilled and dazzled at what the departments had done to make this crazy idea work. As for script adjustments, those get dealt with ahead of time, not on set.  

On a collaborative teleplay like “Bombshells,” do you all sit in the same room and scream at each other until you get the 44 pages?

Liz: We generally divide up the acts, each taking half of the script.  Then we swap halves and do a pass on each others material. Then we get in a room together and start screaming. 
Sara: Well, there's also some screaming in the early phases, when we're putting together the outline for the script.  This was the sixth script Liz and I have written together, so we've developed a pretty good system wherein we try to kill each other for a few hours, then clock out like the sheep and the wolf in that old Warner Brothers cartoon and go get Chinese food.
Liz: Funny thing is, I hate Chinese food.

Do you solicit or accept any input from the cast?

Sara: As an executive producer and our lead actor, Hugh certainly has the ability to weigh in and make suggestions.  Which he actually does surprisingly little of. He's a writer, and his respect for the script and the room sets the tone for everybody else. If an actor has a strong opinion about something, we will definitely consider that. But it doesn't happen very often.

Finally, how much, if ever, do you follow the fan feedback on the Internet, and if so, does it affect the direction of the series?

Liz: Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me and I take a peek to see how people are reacting to what we're doing.  But I personally don't believe in letting fan reaction dictate creative decisions; not out of disrespect for the fans, but because as a TV writer you have to stay true to the core vision of your show, whether it's coming from you or your showrunner. You let go of that, before long you won't know what you're writing and no one will be happy.

Sara: We certainly appreciate and are grateful to our fans, but scripted shows aren't -- and can't be -- about audience participation.  That's what "American Idol" is for. If we bent to every opinion out there -- and there are a lot of them -- we wouldn't be writing "House," we'd be writing a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure-type thing.  Which, come to think of it, isn't a bad idea. I'm going to call my agent.

Show Tracker thanks these busy writers for talking about their craft, and a fun episode of their highly ranked show.

-- Linda Whitmore

Photo: In the big musical finale, House (Hugh Laurie) dips Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein). Credit: Adam Taylor / Fox

 

Comments

[House Fan From Portugal]

"They tried something revolutionary" - hein?!?!

Now were back to pill House. I thought last few seasons were about that!
In my humble opinion, this turn out of events only have to do with one thing:
"we are out of ideas for the cuddy-House relationship so lets get back to the pills and stuff it up a little more".
Again, in my humble opinion, this will divide lots of House fans and the end result will be fewer people watching the series!

About the reasons to do so : "people dont change": Its wrong, you have lots of examples within the show:
- Cuddy being a mother
- Foreman and his past
- Taub, although breaking up with his wife, we have no reports of his relationships (again out of ideas?)
- and others, but you get the point.

You could try to say, "House dont change": well thats another approach that could work without Cuddy breaking up.

On my final words, to the idea that was to been taken (pill house and cuddy breaking up) it was really well directed, congrats on that. Just loved the "candy" association.

Regards

[Steth]

If I wanted to watch a person on the operating table contemplate their potential last moments in a hallucination, I would watch All That Jazz again. After all, the "Blockbuster" number at the end was a tribute or rip-off (choose which side) of the last number of that great Fosse film, except to not nearly as rousing a soundtrack, choreography, camerawork or vocals. Funny that the author of the article makes hint of it in the title, because the motivation for the big song-and-dance number was never mentioned by the writers. That whole scene was nothing but a big miss. I actually watched the real movie right after the episode so I could get the bad taste out of my mouth.

[Jen]

"A major theme on the show is that people don't change." OMG you hypocritical writers! These two characters DID change!!! So you are contradicting yourselves.

House had always been selfish, never caring for anyone else until he got together with Cuddy. Now he would crawl to the ends of the earth for her. Look at all he did for her, prioritizing her mother, trying to get Rachel into preschool, going to a career day. This would have been so unlike him before he was with her. So he did change. And Cuddy, she has always tolerated him. She is the only person that could ever put up with him. She gave up millions of dollars so he could keep his job, forged a prescription log for his sake, focused on his safety when many people were being held hostage. It has always been obvious that she cared for him. Now suddenly, she can't accept him?? So apparently you made her change as well.

It is unrealistic to think that people can't change. People change all the time. Life is about change. Besides, dynamic characters are what make a story interesting. Characters grow and change in all good stories. These last six seasons have all been very dynamic and the buildup of tension between House and Cuddy was intense and it was satisfying to see them FINALLY act on their attraction for each other. It just felt so unbelievable that they would break up just like that. Cuddy's excuses are just not credible. She knew he was screwed up but admitted he was the most incredible man she will ever know. She was totally in love with him, and his love for her was so deep. It felt like the tables just turned. Now he is the one who would do anything for her and she is the selfish one.

Maybe this breakup was a way to make the show intense but because of the lack of credibility, I don't think it was the right way to go. The Cameron and Chase breakup was believable because of Cameron's mental instability and her constant flip-flopping of her emotions for Chase. The Cuddy and House relationship, complicated is expected, but sudden breakup after six seasons of buildup? Not believable whatsoever.

[sabrina]

i've always liked the tension between house and cuddy. while it feels right for them to be together at some point of time (like in all dramas where bickering couples will eventually end up together), but it is also expected that this relationship won't last, cos they are 2 very strong-minded people. honestly i would rather see how the both of them make each other's life miserable than seeing them live in "peace and harmony". but for their relationship to end under such circumstances is... i dunno... it may sound reasonable but it jus doesn't feels right. i personally find it hard to accept.

[Dee]

I am very disappointed in the breakup of House and Cuddy. I was glad to finally see them together and House semi-happy! I am not happy with the show anymore and I am going to stop watching. I have been waiting years for the two of them to be together and it finally happens and now you rip them apart! BOO to YOU! Please bring them back together!

[LS]

This episode completes the emasculation of the House character which started with his jump-the-shark surreal trip to rehab. Now we find that House is an emotional coward rather than the windmill tilting rebel he started out as, popping pills rather than deal with the emotional pain of a break up. The new House now has no moral authority behind his stance against political correctness; its now just his cowardly addiction talking. The character, stripped of his gonads by hostile female writers, is now made pathetic. It is painful watching a once-proud House turned into a pill-whipped wimp. Perhaps enough people will stop watching this travesty and the show will be mercifully canceled before the writers turn him into a complete impotent clown. feh.

[Wowie]

I agree with most of the comments...everything became boring and redundant and the main plot which is showcasing House's intelligence and passion (addiction) for unusual medical mystery have been missing for the last 2 seasons... A lot of shows have the personal background of doctors already as the highlight of the show. Please make sure the next season won't be like this anymore.

You may have respect for the plot or the show's core vision but remember..YOU MAKE THE SHOW FOR THE AUDIENCE..NOT FOR YOURSELF. You just have to question the integrity of the show and the plot when the ratings are going down...