In response to a fan’s question about House’s mysterious past, Jacobs replied that in Season Five, “there will be a road trip with House and [fellow doctor] Wilson that will reach into House’s past.”

Regarding the hinted-at relationship between House and Cuddy, a hospital administrator, Jacobs said that fans can expect new developments. “You have to wait a little bit,” Jacobs told the audience. “But what would happen if they did end up in bed together one night? That’s kinda interesting,” she added.

“I found my home here," says House MD writer Len Dick, sitting at his desk in his office on the L.A. Fox lot where the TV series is shot. "I love it." It’s less than a week after the writers’ strike officially ended and the 12 House writers are back at work, figuring out how to make people sick. Dick, a 44-year-old Canadian writer, husband and father of three, has spent 17 years in Hollywood, but he wasn’t always able to show up to work wearing a brown sweatshirt and jeans like he is today. Dick started his illustrious career at Harvard Business School and worked on Wall Street before jumping coasts for Hollywood. After gigs on shows including Mad TV, Hack and Lost, he joined House in its third season, brought on by the show’s creator, David Shore. Though he spends long hours in his office, researching, writing and re-writing, Dick is excited to be back at work. After all, he may not be a doctor, but he gets to write for one on TV.

Q: What's the status of the 2007-2008 season of House?

A: We're working hard to get four episodes out, after which we'll just keep rolling into the next season. Production should start up in a couple of weeks.

Early yesterday morning Rustic Kitchen, Jim Cafarelli's Park Square restaurant, was already bustling with plates of food being sent out to happy diners. But the several dozen people gathered weren't just any patrons - they had already been through the makeshift hair and makeup department and were ready to begin filming a pilot episode of a TV cooking show "In the Kitchen With Alissa Bigelow." The eatery's in-house studio has been used for special demonstration dinners and to film a previous version of the show -with Bigelow as host - that ran on the Internet. Cafarelli got nibbles from national outlets, but that required a slicker and bigger show. (And that meant hiring a full crew to film three shows over the weekend.) Bigelow, a former actress who worked for NESN for two years, called upon her friend "House, MD" director Deran Sarafian to work as a consultant and co-producer for the pilot. "Alissa's a natural. She's the kind of presence in the kitchen people can relate to," said Sarafian, who signed on before the writers' strike was settled.

There were times during the past three months when we never thought we'd say it, but... the WGA strike is officially over. According to the WGA websites, members voted by 92.5 percent to lift the strike order that was enacted Nov. 5.

“We would need time to ramp up, write the episodes, get the episodes ready to go and then shoot them,” Russ Friend, a writer for FOX's hit medical drama House, told TV Guide on Saturday from the Shrine Auditorium, where the WGA's tentative deal with AMPTP was formally announced. “A typical episode takes about nine days, so basically almost two weeks. And then you have to post[-produce] it, which takes another few weeks....”

The writers strike is essentially over, but as it comes to an end, television will not immediately change, nor has it significantly changed TV.

Because new episodes of scripted dramas can take more than a month to produce, the end of the strike doesn't mean that new episodes of series will suddenly appear. Most industry observers are predicting that only about four to six new episodes of suspended dramas such as "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI," and "Desperate Housewives" will air in May.

Half-hour sitcoms may return earlier, as they take far less time to write and shoot, especially those few that use the traditional three-camera format. Most late-night shows returned during the strike, which means the first series to make its post-strike debut may actually be "Saturday Night Live."

“House” garnered 29 million viewers last night, topping the 26.2 million viewers who stuck around for the CBS drama “Criminal Minds” after the Super Bowl last year. But it was bested by 38 million who watched the ABC show “Grey’s Anatomy” after the game in 2006.

HOUSE TREATS A NEWLY-CONVERTED HASIDIC JEWISH WOMAN
AFTER SHE COLLAPSES AT HER OWN WEDDING
ON "HOUSE" TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, ON FOX

House and the team encounter a woman admitted to Princeton-Plainsboro after she collapsed at her wedding. Her test results come up negative for a variety of common diseases, which leads the team to suspect foul play. When they discover the woman had been a music producer living in the fast lane until she converted to Hasidic Judaism, House insists that people do not change so easily, and that her seemingly rash decision may have something to do with an underlying condition. The woman’s husband insists that House treat his wife for her illness, rather than for her past, but she continues to fall dangerously ill. The team must run through all possible diagnoses without disturbing her newly found religious beliefs before it is too late. Meanwhile, House is preoccupied by Wilson’s newly-outed relationship with a woman whose personality is remarkably similar to House’s in the “Don’t Ever Change” episode of HOUSE airing Tuesday, Feb. 5 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/ PT) on FOX. (HOU-412) (TV-14 L)

A DOCTOR AT THE SOUTH POLE FALLS GRAVELY ILL
AND MUST BECOME HER OWN PATIENT AS HOUSE AND HIS TEAM
RESORT TO A VERY UNCONVENTIONAL METHOD OF DIAGNOSIS
ON "HOUSE" SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, ON FOX

Academy Award Winner Mira Sorvino Guest Stars in Episode Immediately Following the Super Bowl

When Dr. Cate Milton (guest star Mira Sorvino), a psychiatrist trapped at the South Pole and the research station's only doctor, becomes ill in the middle of her assignment, she and Dr. House are thrust into a long-distance relationship of sorts. Unable to get Cate out or any additional medical supplies to the South Pole station, House and his team must resort to treating her via webcam. House and his team walk the doctor through a series of makeshift and painful diagnostic tests she must perform on herself. Cate pushes back at House's every recommendation, and is unwilling to risk valuable station medical supplies until he can provide valid proof for his diagnoses each step of the way. While House and his team helplessly watch her condition worsen, House's usually icy demeanor surprisingly softens as he searches for ways to save her life. Meanwhile, House does some detective work of his own and is surprised to learn who Wilson has been dating in the “Frozen” episode of HOUSE airing Sunday, Feb. 3 (10:15-11:15 PM ET/7:15-8:15 PM PT) on FOX. (HOU-411) (TV-14 D, L)