It’s been more than a decade since “House” went off the air, but Hugh Laurie is still coming to the defense of his hit Fox medical drama… and with great flair, we might add.
When a viewer complained on social media that “House” has the “same narrative every episode,” Laurie — who starred as Dr. Gregory House on the long-running series — logged on to offer a sarcastic retort: “Thanks for your critique, Janet. We actually tried a couple of episodes where House (Hugh Laurie) (please put the brackets in the right place) gets it right first time, but they were only 6 minutes long. NBC weren’t happy. Then we tried some where House never gets it right and the patient dies. The audience wasn’t happy.” (Note: While “House” aired on Fox, it was produced by NBC production arm Universal Television.)
Laurie went on to point out that many great works of art follow a repetitive structure: “One could apply your trenchant analysis to other art forms: JS Bach wrote 30 Goldberg variations on the same chord structure; Frida Kahlo painted 50 portraits of herself; Henry Moore, what?? The point is, or was, variations on a theme; if all you see is hospital, medical blah blah, then it wasn’t meant for you. Nonetheless, I look forward to your first novel!”
Hugh Laurie’s House ran for eight seasons on Fox
Despite the viewer’s complaint, “House” enjoyed a healthy eight-season run on Fox, debuting in 2004 and wrapping up in 2012. Hugh Laurie starred as Dr. Gregory House, a prickly genius who leads a team of doctors tasked with diagnosing difficult medical cases. Lisa Edelstein co-starred as Dr. Lisa Cuddy, with Robert Sean Leonard as Dr. James Wilson, Omar Epps as Dr. Eric Foreman, Jesse Spencer as Dr. Robert Chase, and Jennifer Morrison as Dr. Allison Cameron.
The cast saw some turnover across eight seasons: Morrison left after Season 6, with Kal Penn, Olivia Wilde, and Amber Tamblyn joining the cast in later seasons. But Laurie remained as the star for all eight seasons, taking home two Golden Globes for best actor in a drama series, along with six Emmy nominations. Since the show ended, Laurie has gone on to appear in “Veep,” “The Night Manager,” and the HBO sci-fi comedy “Avenue 5,” but his leading role on “House” is clearly still very special to him.
When another fan replied to his post asking why he felt the need to respond to the viewer’s complaint, Laurie replied: “I put no more effort into my message than you have into yours. It just happens to be closer to my heart.”
