Actor Hugh Laurie is known for many characters, but none more so than Dr Gregory House in the long-running series House. The series and Laurie's performance in it are widely appreciated, with both earning Emmy award nominations. Interestingly, however, a recent criticism of the show from a journalist provoked Laurie enough to engage with her.
On June 06, journalist Janet Murray took to X and wrote, "Late to the party, but I've started watching Season 1 of House. Same narrative every episode: Patient has mysterious illness. Hugh Laurie (House) gets diagnosis wrong. Patient nearly dies. Hugh Laurie gets diagnosis wrong again. Gets threatened with being fired. Patient nearly dies again. Hugh Laurie has last minute leftfield idea. Gets diagnosis right. Doesn't get fired. Eight seasons of this?"
In response, Laurie explained that the makers of House attempted different narratives for the show, but to no avail. "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," the actor shared.
Then, Laurie went on to defend the allegedly repetitive nature of the narrative, arguing that it is common in art in general. The actor added, "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!"
Then, the journalist revealed that she faced abuse on the internet for her criticism of House. "It turns out House fans are even more abusive than trans activists (and that’s saying something)," the journalist wrote.
In response, the actor apologised to her. "I’m sorry if people have been having a go at you because of my tweet. Not at all the plan. I was very slightly drunk and already upset about something that had nothing to do with you. If it’s any comfort, I got it in the neck too. I’m a thin-skinned twat, apparently, even though it wasn’t my skin. I was sticking up for the writers who I adored. Obviously I shouldn’t have cited Bach/Kahlo/Moore - asking for trouble - and would have done better to go for the 10,000 blues songs written around the same 12 bar chord structure. I’ve listened to most of them and will keep doing so. Because we love what we love," the actor wrote.
The journalist responded to him, saying that she liked the show and his performance in it and that she is expecting the actor to return for another season of Tehran.
