LOS ANGELES: TV medical drama House ends on a bittersweet note this month in a series finale titled Everybody Dies that sees cantankerous but brilliant Dr. Gregory House examining his future and personal demons, show creator David Shore said on Thursday.
But Shore refused to give details of the final episode, or how returning characters including doctors Alison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley (Olivia Wilde) or the dead Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) will make their mark as House ends its run after eight years.
"It is definitely an ending. I don't want to say more than that. We never do happy endings but we also try not to simply do miserable endings. Bittersweet is the most you can hope for," Shore told reporters ahead of the two-hour series finale on May 21.
"It's about House assessing his future," Shore said. "We developed the idea for the final episode months and months ago ... It allowed us to explore the nature of House's character and it also allowed us to naturally bring back other people."
The title of the series finale also is a nod to 2004's first episode of the Emmy award-winning show called Everybody Lies - a phrase that became the mantra for British actor Hugh Laurie's misanthropic, rule-breaking diagnostician in his bid to solve medical puzzles.
House was named the most popular current TV show in the world in the 2012 edition of the Guinness World Records. It has an estimated audience of 81.8 million people in 66 countries.
Shore said he envisioned no endgame in mind when he created the series eight years ago, calling the idea of a mapped-out finale at that stage "incredibly pompous" in the fickle world of television.
And he said he had few regrets about key cast changes over the years and storylines that have seen House in prison, in rehab, and even in love, most controversially with his boss, hospital administrator Dr. Lisa Cuddy, played by Lisa Edelstein.
Edelstein, who left the show last year as her love affair with House turned sour, won't be returning for the last episode.
But Shore on Thursday defended the storyline that finally brought the two characters together.
"I know a lot of people thought we should have done it better, a lot of people thought we shouldn't have done it, a lot of people thought we should have kept them together. It's been a bit of a lightning rod. I'm not saying we did everything perfect ... But fundamentally we had to (put them together). You can't have sexual tension go on and on and on," he said.
He also declined to elaborate on how the character of Kutner - who was found shot to death three years ago - and those of Cameron, Thirteen and Masters (Amber Tamblyn) would re-appear in the final episode.
As to who will die? Stay tuned for the May 21 finale on Fox television and a one-hour retrospective of clips and interviews with the show's stars and producers.
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Love House
In the series finale it all comes down to House. It's obvious he came from an abusive background and a father who never loved him. He never found his real father. His failed romances. Most recently his fake marriage. House, as brilliant doctor as he is, is a severely troubled man physically, mentally and emotionally.
I could go over in my head the hundreds of scenarios of how it will end and who will die. I think Wilson will, and Thirteen we all know has an incurable disease. As a known drug addict, I'm surprised he hasn't gone long before now. A fine line between genius and insanity has House written all over it.
I don't want to see House die, but look at all the people that have disappointed him all through his life, not that some of that wasn't due by House himself, but I think for the most part, it all started with House as a kid. Who can endure those things happening without totally losing it, which he's done, Gone ballistic, which he's done. He's afraid of intimacy and obvious abandonment issues. When he does try to give his heart, he's left alone and reacts accordingly.
Maybe the death of Wilson (hope not) will be the last straw. House may realize that Wilson was there all along, through thick and thin. Wilson was House's anchor. The voice of reason. Maybe it's all House needs to finally put an end to all his pain.
My favorite show coming to an end!! Bittersweet........