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'House' Wraps Up Own Team Eliminations While Competing Against 'Dancing' Finale

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 27, 2007

While much of America is hanging on to see if Marie Osmond wins ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" tonight, another competition wraps up on Fox's "House."

Borrowing a concept or two from the reality genre, the offbeat medical drama has been holding its own fictional elimination contest this season.

At the beginning of the season, with his support team in disarray, Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) set about picking a new team in his own weird way.

He began with more than 30 doctors who were willing to be abused by his nitpicking and browbeating just to bask in his brilliance.

He has whittled the field down to four candidates.

On tonight's episode at 9, the cranky, bombastic House will finally make his decision about who will get to stay on his diagnostic team at Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital.

The candidates include:

•Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) - The character is a rehabilitative and sports medicine specialist. A radical thinker, he is the only one who thinks House's outrageous behavior isn't crazy enough. The actor may be best known as the pot-smoking Kumar from "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle."

•Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson) - A shallow, unpleasant plastic surgeon, he left a successful practice after having had an affair. The actor is a veteran of series television, usually playing obnoxious lawyers and middle-management types. On the big screen, he was last seen in "Transformers."

•Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) - House has never called her by her name, only referring to her unlucky number among the candidates. A competent doctor who doesn't reveal her feelings, she is just the kind of smart, attractive enigma that intrigues House. The actress is a former model whose mother is a producer for "60 Minutes." Her father, Andrew Cockburn, is a well-known journalist in Ireland, and her grandfather was a British novelist. She had a recurring role as a bisexual character, Alex, on "The O.C." and was in the short-lived "The Black Donnellys."

•Amber Volakis (Anne Dudek) - This interventional radiologist is a ruthless, unlikable competitor who will do anything to stay on the team. The actress has been on dozens of TV series and was a recurring character (Francine) on AMC's brilliant drama "Mad Men."

I don't want to spoil it for viewers, but the trade publications have already reported the names of three of these actors who have gotten contracts to continue on (whenever the writers strike ends).

Also under contract to continue are Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer and Omar Epps, who play House's former team members who left his department for various reasons last season.

HOLIDAY SPIRIT: If Charlie Brown had been allowed to grow up, he would be closing in on retirement and worrying about his 401(k) plan.

Can you just imagine his round face and balding head? Would he still be concerned about the commercialism of Christmas? Aren't we all?

The annual showing of the 1965 classic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" airs at 8 tonight on ABC. Included is a behind-the-scenes history of the animated treasure hosted by Whoopi Goldberg.

Meanwhile, a nutty mall Santa who changed his name to Kristopher Kringle is murdered on Fox's "Bones" at 8 tonight. That's not the best way to fight the commercialism of the holiday.

OH, BO DUKE: Looking for an image-changing role, John Schneider makes a guest appearance at 10 tonight on the FX drama "Nip/Tuck." He plays a former porn star with a naughty name.

The former "Dukes of Hazzard" star, who also played Clark Kent's dad for six years on "Smallville," says his wholesome image keeps getting him typecast.

His "Nip/Tuck" character is a porn star who has become a porn industry mogul. He'll be on for several episodes.

Schneider says he has struggled for years to get Hollywood to consider him an "actor."

He's taking on more diverse roles including a horror film, "Ogre," for the Sci-Fi Channel; a thriller, "Shark Swarm," with Daryl Hannah for Hallmark; and a sexy, splashy adult soap opera, "Twelve Miles of Bad Road," for HBO.

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