The Deadbolt Interview - Diagnosing the End of House Season 5 with Lisa Edelstein

Diagnosing the End of House Season 5 with Lisa Edelstein
by Troy Rogers

Lisa Edelstein House Fox After winning over legions of loyal fans after four seasons, the cast of Fox's House has almost fully diagnosed the complete fifth season, as Hugh Laurie, Lisa Edelstein, and the other House doctors prepare for the season finale on May 11. Throughout the series, many romantic questions have been swirling around Laurie's House and Edelstein's Dr. Cuddy and on May 4 some long awaited sparks began to fly at the end of "Under My Skin". Will House and Dr. Cuddy create even more sparks and take things to the next level? That's a tough question to call since what works for House in its current form doesn't need too much medically romantic "fixing".

With the season five finale less than a week away, which sees Lisa Edelstein and Dr. Cuddy take an unconventional approach to force House to make up time with patient guest star Carl Reiner while another patient goes to war with his brain, we joined a conference call last week with Lisa Edelstein to get a finale diagnosis straight from Dr. Cuddy herself. Interestingly, to her surprise, Edelstein was just as surprised as were to hear the Kal Penn was leaving the show.

THE DEADBOLT: With the "Under My Skin" episode, what are some of the hallucinations that House is fearing?

LISA EDELSTEIN: Well, we've already established that Amber is a big part of what's happening. She, for some reason, has become the voice of his subconscious and she's not going away.

THE DEADBOLT: What was it like working with Carl Reiner for the season finale?

EDELSTEIN: It's Carl Reiner. I mean, that's incredibly cool. He's great. He's 87-years old and that guy is showing up to work and doing his thing. He's hilarious.

THE DEADBOLT: Tons of stories?

EDELSTEIN: Yes. I'd actually met him once before at a restaurant, sitting at a table with Mel Brooks. I had to go over and say hello, because I just love both of them. It was a really funny moment. It's hard to describe on the phone, but it was great to see him again, great to work with him, and actually have that kind of experience to talk about for the rest of my life.

THE DEADBOLT: How long do you think it will be before we see a swine flu related episode?

EDELSTEIN: Who knows? We're not shooting right now. We're finished. We have done pandemic episodes. We did an episode about meningitis where the whole hospital had to be quarantined. Remember that one?

THE DEADBOLT: Yes.

EDELSTEIN: It was like season three or something, so we've already done that. That's so '05 [laughs].

Other Conference Call Highlights:

Lisa Edelstein on how much she is like Cuddy and how much comes from the writers:

"I think initially it's - of course - just the writers and then eventually you sink into the character. Aspects of your personality that suit the character start to shine and the writers become inspired by the Cuddy that you portray. That takes over the Cuddy that they originally have in their minds, so it's really a marriage of the two."

Edelstein on whether Cuddy and House are just passing comforts to each other:

"I don't think it's a passing thing. I think it's been going on for a long time, whether or not they've acted out on it. I don't necessarily think it will ever be a satisfying relationship in terms of both of them kind of settling in and saying this is what we're doing. But she has a complicated relationship with men it seems. She likes the screwed up ones. I totally relate."

Lisa Edelstein on her reaction to Kal Penn leaving the show:

Lisa Edelstein House Fox "We were all taken by surprise. They really kept it under wraps until the actual episode came out. From then on in, for the rest of the season, they were top secret scripts. We were given one copy of the script, the daily sides that we got, you know? You have these sides that are just the scenes for the day that you're shooting. Usually they're kind of floating around the stage and you grab them and you lose them and you grab another pair and you lose them. But this time they all had our names on them. We had to return them at the end of the day. It was all very top secret, very hush-hush.

"But I'm happy for Kal. I think it's a really bold move. He has a passion for politics and certainly for the Obama administration. I think it's an incredible thing. It's very brave. It's hard enough being an actor let alone walking away from being a successful one. Although I have a feeling that if he wanted back in, his career would be waiting for him on the other side."

-- Troy Rogers