Dying Changes Everything: A Look at the New Season of House

The new season of television's highest rated show (CNET Networks, Inc., 2008) is here. The season premier of House, "Dying Changes Everything", was much anticipated at my household and it gave us some insight as to what we can look for in the upcoming fifth season.

The number one question on viewer's minds, both before and after the premier, is whether or not we will continue to see House's best friend, Dr. James Wilson. As my personal favorite character, and a popular one for many, Wilson is an important counterpart to the main character and drives much of the best banter the series has to offer. It appears that while Wilson has not been removed from the scripts or that the actor has been removed from the series, that there will be, at the very least, a temporary reduction in his screen time. No one really seems to know the final outcome of the difficult relationship, which means that either everyone is really keeping quiet about a departure of Robert Sean Leonard, the actor who portrays Wilson, or that everything is still an option in the upcoming season.

In the season opener, we were introduced to a new character, one who will apparently pick up a bit of the slack from the elusive Dr. Wilson. Lucas, played by actor Michael Weston, is a private detective with the same quick wit as Dr. House. House has hired Lucas to do some digging into the background of his lying patients and into Wilson's behavior. It fits so perfectly that when House's only friend leaves, he merely buys one. How much of a role this new "friend" will play as the season develops will become an interesting element. I personally liked the character and the banter that developed between House and Lucas and look forward to their future dialogue.