I must have missed it somehow, kit. I’m not quite so attentive here that a thread or two doesn’t slip by me once in a while.
[sub](Now it’ll be really embarassing if we find that thread and it turns out I posted in it.)[/sub]
Anyone know how they came to cast Hugh Laurie in this show? I mean, if I was looking for someone to star in a TV drama about an American doctor, my first thought would not be “let’s get that funny English guy.”
[sub](The answer to that is probably in kittenblue’s thread, too.)[/sub]
YES! A Medical Bit of Fry and Laurie. That would be awesome. Of course, I just finished rewatching the entire run of the original Bit of Fry and Laurie, so I’m biased.
I go two ways on this. Yes, I think it would be a hoot to see them together again.
But…I’ve got to think if it happened Hugh Laurie would be muttering under his breath, “Geez, can’t I do anything on my own without that old poof showing up and hogging the spotlight!”
The very reason I haven’t watched it is because Hugh Laurie is one of my favorite actors. He’s possibly the greatest comedic actor working today (Jeeves and Wooster, Black Adder, Fry and Laurie).
I really don’t feel like seeing him put on a grim face and acting grumpy, because that’s not where his talents lie. And most of all, I can’t stand that FAKE AMERICAN ACCENT! Yegh.
I saw this show for the first time tonight and was pleasantly surprised. I adored Hugh Laurie–a great performance, a memorable character. I had no idea he’s English. (New TV crush? Hmmmm…) Now that I’m working in a hospital, I’m suddenly getting attached to medical-themed shows. I could definitely watch again.
Don’t judge the show on last night’s episode. I found it to be the most disappointing episode yet due to the writing lacking consistency and some easily checked facts.
[ul]
[li]The child was not “morbidly obese.” (50-100% above ideal weight, or a MBI >39). A doctor wouldn’t incorrectly throw around that term so loosely.[/li][li]Two parents with brown eyes CAN have children with green eyes — all it takes is parents with recessive genes for green eyes. The “He’s not the Daddy” scenario would work only if both Mom and Dad had green eyes, and the kids had brown eyes.[/li][li]They immediately confirm their diagnosis blaming the child’s symptoms on taking OTC diet pills when she admits she had taken pills, but never bother to ask what kind of pills she had taken? She could have taken something totally innocuous.[/li][li]Chase instantly became a dick in this episode. I don’t remember him being an ass before.[/li][li]Cameron became pretty stupid, too. “You’re just doing this because you really like me and you’re afraid to admit it, aren’t you?”[/li][li]I totally don’t understand the Chi McBride character’s motivation. “Make a decision between these three … Nope, you can’t choose that one.”[/li][li]We have the followup visit with the girl (which, based on her weight, had to have been a good six months down the line) with all three doctors present. But according to the timeline of the show, one of them was supposed to be down the tubes within a week. (And I know House said “I’m a little late with my decision,” but you know they wouldn’t have let him slide that long when the deadline was a week.)[/li][/ul]
I hope they fix the inconsistencies. I love Hugh Laurie in this role. He has done a wonderful job in dropping his British accent — I had never seen him in any of his comedic roles, and had no idea he was British until someone mentioned his earlier roles.) I loved listening to him on Jay Leno last week.
Yeah, it wasn’t a great episode, though there were a few of House’s condecending gems.that I loved.
However, just to nitpick.
Um, hate to say it but she definately is morbidly obese based on the definition you quoted. She was well over 50%, closer to 100% (maybe even more) heavier than her ideal weight. Did you see her at the end scene? She was probably down to 75 pounds…from what looked close to 200.
Also,
I don’t remember the lines verbatim, but I’m pretty sure there were 2 kids with blue eyes and one with green eyes. He said one was “indeterminate” when suggesting they were not theirs. Perhaps this explains the apparent inconsistency. My genetic biology isn’t up to snuff so I have no idea what the possibilty of them having blue eyed kids are.
Off topic, I don’t know that I enjoy the direction the show is going. I loved the first few shows I watched (I got a late start due to the less than inspiring promos back in the Fall.) when the team had a fairly good repoire with the occasional-to-frequent good natured teasing and torment, both between House and between the team members. Now with the addition of McBride causing all kinds of seemingly needless professional strife, I fear the comedic qualities of the show which I most enjoyed are going to be reduced to the occasional witty remark and mean bedside manner. There was enough drama just with the medical cases and the banter, the addition of the cutthroat politicking risks ruining the fun of the show to me.
I think fans are going to fall into two camps. Those who compare it to ER and are expecting and missing all the conflict and drama that came from the struggles between management and doctors, in addition to all the personal problems they had. And those who see it as wholly divergent from ER (like me), and appreciate the frequent good natured approach to the writing with more focus on the actual medicine involved, and not just the chaos of the profession. The addition of the McBride character lends me to think the producers feel they need to create more conflict ala ER…which is sad.
The Chairman of the Board’s (Chi McBride) motivation is to just tell House that he’s the boss, he sets the rules, he calls the shots and he’s in charge.
Seems not too out of line for a successful self-made businessman. He donated his money to the hospital so he could run it. So he’s going to do it.
I feel the same way. It is equal tops for me of the few shows that I like. But I wonder if I’ll care in a year. There are certainly lots of better ways to create conflict. I admit the show already got a bit formulaic, but did we really need a bully character?
