I'll admit that the main I reason I first watched this show was to see Hugh Laurie in a drama series. Besides his role in the film "Peter's Friends", I mainly knew his work from his comedy roles in "Blackadder" and "Jeeves and Wooster". Now, having seen him in "House", I find that he's a fine dramatic actor, as well. From previous reviews, you'll have read that Laurie plays Dr. House, an ill-tempered, disabled yet brilliant physician who doesn't like patients, but is challenged by unusual ailments. Aided by a small team of younger doctors, he tries to figure out a correct diagnosis and treatment. In the meantime, he also must deal with patients that he is forced to see in the hospital's walk-in clinic. As noted, Laurie's performance is very good; the early talk about an Emmy nomination for him is quite justified. The rest of the cast is also good, though the scripts have yet to fully examine each character. (Viewers may remember Omar Epps from his earlier medical role as the ill-fated Gant on "ER".) The stories, while set up as brain-teasers, are also refreshingly complex about the doctors, the patients and the hospital; they don't resort to the done-to-death "HMO's are the source of all evil" plot line. These doctors are brilliant, but not perfect; mistakes are made. In the end, I hope that Fox will allow the show to continue. It's good to see an interesting medical show on TV, now that "ER" has degenerated into a "tragedy of the week" soap opera. And, as for Hugh Laurie's accent, I've heard better, but I've heard a lot worse. Give him time. (In a recent episode, he got to use his native English accent for a joke.) One important note: "House" is not for the squeamish. There are some pretty graphic and disturbing scenes in the series that some viewers may find upsetting. (For example, one episode featured critically ill infants and pulled very few punches.)
Review of House M.D.
