Thirteen (House)
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| "Thirteen" | |
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| First appearance | "The Right Stuff" |
| Portrayed by | Olivia Wilde |
| Episode count | 15 |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Physician: Diagnostic medicine fellow (Season 4) |
"Thirteen" is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. She is portrayed by Olivia Wilde. She is part of the new diagnostic team compiled by Gregory House after the en-masse departure of his previous team in the third season finale "Human Error". Her character is portrayed as secretive, so much so that few of her fellow doctors know her name, electing to call her "Thirteen" instead, her number during the fellowship competition that House ran between "The Right Stuff" and "Games".
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[edit] Characterization
In her first appearance, she and all other fellowship applicants were identified by numbers. So far, she has elected to be called by her designated number instead of her real name; she has only been referred otherwise once: Cuddy calls her "Dr. Hadley" in "House's Head", to which House replies that "[Cuddy] doesn't even know [Thirteen's] name."
"Thirteen" has been reluctant to reveal any other information about herself within the show. Early on, House tried to guess her secret, such as asking if she was the "daughter of an alcoholic father". Thirteen responds with "wrong again." In "Mirror Mirror", a patient who mirrors the most dominant personality present describes himself as "scared" when alone with her.
In the eighth episode of the fourth season, "You Don't Want to Know", "Thirteen" tells House that her mother died from Huntington's chorea, but she does not wish to know if she carries the gene, because not knowing allows her to summon the bravery to do things she thinks she can't do. In the season 4 finale, it is revealed that she does indeed carry the gene for Huntington's.
Thirteen's sexuality is also ambiguous; Foreman and House have suggested that she is bisexual, and Thirteen herself has made comments implying that she is bisexual, although she might have been joking.
[edit] Biography
In "97 Seconds", "Thirteen" correctly diagnoses a collapsing and disabled patient with Strongyloides, and treats him with ivermectin, but the patient fails to take the pills because his English Shepherd mobility assistance dog eats them, causing the death of not only the patient but the dog as well. House chastises her about not supervising the patient taking the medicine, but does not fire her because he feels she will not make the same mistake again. At the end of the fellowship competition, hospital administrator Lisa Cuddy tells House that, since he already has Eric Foreman on his team, he may only hire two additional people. So, House fires Thirteen, claiming that fellow applicants Chris Taub and Lawrence Kutner outperformed her, but secretly knowing that Cuddy would want at least one female doctor on the team and would demand that he hire Thirteen. This is exactly what happens, putting Thirteen on House's team of four, which is what he had wanted.[1]
[edit] Concept and creation
Along with fellow actors Peter Jacobson, Kal Penn, and Anne Dudek, Wilde did not know which character would be cut until the actors were given the scripts, which she thought improved the acting during the "Games" story arc. However, the story arc inspired a spirit of camaraderie between the actors instead of competition, due to the high-profile roles. While Thirteen's name was originally intended to be revealed during the story arc, the production team decided against doing so. "Thirteen"'s actual name was on all documents, including the call sheets, with the word "Thirteen" to further the in-joke in the show's narrative between House and "Thirteen" that he could simply check her file to find out her name. Wilde describes "Thirteen" as a "big bowl of secrets", one such being the possibility of the character having Huntington's disease, in stark comparison to her own openness.[2]
"Thirteen" has often been compared, sometimes negatively, with Allison Cameron, the previous female diagnostician, [3][4][5] even by the actress Jennifer Morrison who portrays Cameron.[6] Wilde described "Thirteen" as "almost the opposite" to Cameron, who is "compassionate and emotional", and explained the comparisons to the similarity in the tasks that House delegates to both characters, and that "with two girls on a show, people are always going to compare them."[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Games". Writer: Eli Attie; Director: Deran Sarafian. House. FOX. No. 9, season 4.
- ^ a b Radish, Christina (2008-02-05). Olivia Wilde joins House's team. MediaBlvd. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ Doyle, Chelsea (2008-02-08). 'House': The Slightly Suggestive Friendship Between House & Wilson Is Explored. StarPulse. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ Smith, Nina (2008-01-29). House is back! Olivia Wilde, aka "Thirteen," has the scoop. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ Greengrass, Mara (2008-01-30). Review: House MD: "It's a Wonderful Lie". Firefox news. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
- ^ De Leon, Kris (2008-01-15). Jennifer Morrison gives her diagnosis on her House character. BuddyTV. Retrieved on 2008-02-10.
[edit] External links
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