‘House’ Makes a Home for Cuddy By Art Byrd edited by Michele Ristich Gatts

On popular TV series, the main character is usually the only one the viewers get a chance to glimpse in their world away from the job. But with TV series that have very strong ensemble casts, it’s nice to see such storylines extended to supporting actors. 

The Fox series “House” has an amazing supporting cast. If you haven’t seen the show, it’s about a mean doctor (played by award-winning actor Hugh Laurie), who has unorthodox methods with medicine and manners, constantly annoying his fellow doctors and the hospital staff -- especially administrator Lisa Cuddy -- played by Lisa Edelstein.

The episode starts off with the alarm going off, Cuddy waking up alone, then doing yoga. Then her baby, Rachel, wakes and is not feeling well. There is a cute scene where Cuddy is taking a shower and Rachel is in there with her.

At the hospital, Cuddy has an important meeting regarding the hospital insurance company, Atlantic Net, which wants to give the hospital a lousy deal. Cuddy feels the hospital deserves more and tells the company unless the deal is better, the contract with them is terminated.

Edelstein plays Cuddy with a sharpness and vulnerability that makes her interesting enough to keep watching to see how she will handle situations.

Cuddy must deal with the board of directors who deliver an ultimatum -- deal with insurance situation or she may be fired. Then she can’t get a hold of the nanny to find about Rachel.

In a great scene, the pharmacy tech tells her she has been stealing since she started seven years ago, and if she goes down, she will bring Cuddy with her. How Cuddy dealt with the situation was very cool.

The episode was fast-paced. It did slow down when Cuddy would have to compose herself in a stairwell and in her car. Somehow House would find her and give some encouragement.

I would like you to see the episode because you get a chance to see a full-fledged example of what a strong female character really is. Television rarely shows strong women who are tackling real situations where they can succeed or fail on their own accord. Kudos to the producers of “House.”

The episode is called “5 to 9” and available on Hulu.com