House's patients are the ones no one else can figure out, so he tackles them like a logic puzzle to be solved. Modelled after Sherlock Holmes (Holmes/Homes/House, Watson/Wilson – get it?), the show follows the medical mystery from initial puzzlement, to wrong diagnoses making the patient worse but providing important clues, to the eventual bizarre, correct diagnosis. Sprinkled in the mix are the clinic patients House is forced to treat as part of his duties with the hospital. They often offer comic relief – such as the elderly lady with syphilis who lusts after the amused House – or tie in to the main patient story somehow, giving House the clue he needs to solve the case. The formula starts to get tired early in the season, but the writers eventually shake it up enough to add interest without losing the focus of this procedural show that owes as much to CSI as ER, and as much to comedy as drama.
The seeds of Laurie's sublimely perfect take on the bitterly sarcastic but vulnerable Dr. House can be found in some of his previous performances - for example the irascible Mr. Palmer in Sense and Sensibility, or the grieving Roger in Peter's Friends - but that's only obvious in hindsight. The man best known (if he was known at all) in North America as Stuart Little's dad, or as part of the British comedy firmament through his participation in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder, and Jeeves and Wooster, has defied perceptions with this seemingly out-of-nowhere, Emmy-nominated performance for best actor in a drama. As intense and heartbreaking as his Dr. House is, Laurie's comedy background also makes House palatable and compulsively likeable.
Laurie has become an unexpected sex symbol, winning TV Guide's sexiest TV doctor poll, among others, and appearing in smoldering poses in a myriad of magazines. Reconciling this gruffly handsome Dr. House image with his sweetly stupid Bertie Wooster or Prince George is enough to cause brain explosions in those who adored him previously, but would have scoffed at words stronger than “cute” and “endearing.” Sexy? God no. But sexy? Hell yes. It's not just the stubble and the piercing blue eyes, though that helps; it's the attitude. Despite House's emotional deficiencies – which in fiction are far less a hindrance than in real life - a man who can spout lines like: "There is not a thin line between love and hate; there is, in fact, a Great Wall of China with armed sentries posted every 20 feet between love and hate” presents a near-ideal for many, a witty, intelligent, suffer-no-fools ideal we don't see often presented as a protagonist. Sela Ward's guest character, House's ex-love, sums up the attraction best in the season finale: House is “brilliant, funny, surprising, sexy.”
Article comments
1 - Doreen
This is a most brilliantly written review.
I am absolutely mesmerized by this show and the phenominal acting of Hugh Laurie.
In my House, Tuesday is HOUSE.
This is a not to be missed show, and your review perfectly captured the essence, and brilliance of this remarkable show.
I am practically in grief counseling until it comes back on 11/1.
2 - deekay
Thank you! Yes, October is a cruel month, but I'm grateful Fox didn't make us wait until November for the season premiere.
3 - Rosemary Rimmer-Clay
I think Hugh Laurie would have made a wonderfully interesting Bond...
In 'House' he is everyman struggling with the cruel lessons of life, with only music and his intelligence and barbed wit to deflect the slings and arrows! If only Hugh Laurie could understand how magnetic and compelling his performance as House is.No other actor could reveal the flawed humanity in all of us, in the way he has.
I hate the way the press are hounding him in his private life, so that he can't even go for a quiet stroll with his wife and dog!
He is a very fine actor, and I am very grateful to him for his dedication to his craft, as a sensitive and thoughtful actor he has made a lot of people feel genuinely happy, as they engage with the character of House. Well done Hugh!