THE HOUSE THAT DAVE BUILT - University of Toronto Magazine

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his fascination with puzzles – “although he was kinder than
House,” says Shore. The writings of the late Berton Roueché,
The New Yorker staff writer who chronicled intriguing medical
cases in a gumshoe style, inspired the plots for some of
the show’s early episodes.
House writers consult regularly with physicians to ensure
accuracy, and Laurie, who hails from Britain, takes great
pains to deliver tongue-twisting terminology with an impeccable
American accent. (“He does a great job with it…but as
he says, he’s playing tennis with a salmon instead of a tennis
racquet,” says Shore. “He’s got to fake an accent and
act at the same time. And, it’s tough.”) But unplug the heart
monitors, wheel away the gurneys and yank out those IV
tubes, and Shore maintains you’ll still find a healthy storyline
with general appeal. “In many ways I don’t consider this
a medical show…. The things that interest me in the show
are the philosophical things. When House goes on, it’s rarely
about medicine, it’s about the nature of right and wrong.”
“There is a philosophical bent to the show, an opportunity
to speak about life and how to live life,” continues Shore, who
is married with three children. “I think good shows always
deal with ethical dilemmas and ethical questions. Good dramas
are usually about throwing your characters into situations
where, do you turn right or do you turn left? And
something bad will happen if you turn right and something
bad will happen if you turn left – which one’s worse? This
show has a lot of these moments, which is a great opportu-
nity, but it also has chances for my personal perspective on
the world.” He pauses. “God, that sounds terrible.”
Since debuting in November 2004, House has taken off
in the ratings and now holds steady in Nielsen’s top primetime
TV shows of the season. For the week of November 5,
House ranked number six. In 2005, Shore won an Emmy in
the “Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series” category and
a 2006 Humanitas Prize, both for his episode “Three
Stories,” in which House presents three narratives to a class
David Shore and Hugh Laurie
on the set of House
of medical students, ultimately revealing the story of his
own medical struggle.
Shore grew up in London, Ontario, the eldest of three
boys. (His younger twin brothers are now rabbis in
Israel.) An avid TV watcher, he loved comedies and
The Rockford Files detective series. But writing, for any
medium, wasn’t a career goal. After studying math for two years
at the University of Western Ontario in London, he entered
U of T’s Faculty of Law. “I wanted to be a lawyer from the time
I was 12 years old until the second week of law school,” says
Shore. “I didn’t like law school. I liked it socially; it just wasn’t
right for me. I made good friends there, but academically I just
kind of drifted through.”
What he did enjoy was working on the Faculty of Law’s
student newspaper, Hearsay, which he edited with Mark Gray
(LLB 1983) and David Hoselton (LLB 1982). (Shore succinctly
summed up his take on law school in one issue of
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