There's a grumpy doctor in House

By Robert Dex, ic.london.co.uk (Trinity PLC)

06/06/05

THE words 'sexual predator' and 'Hugh Laurie' don't often appear in the same sentence but here we go. Forget all your ideas about the very-English comedian who seemed set to spend the rest of his career playing bumbling posh boys. Cast away your memories of Fry and Laurie's hilarious and their take on Jeeves and Wooster and tune into House on Channel Five on Thursday.

The first episode was shown last night but don't worry if you missed it. Just curse your luck and vow to keep your Thursdays free for the next few weeks.

Laurie plays Dr Gregory House who leads a team of top docs battling against obscure medical problems.

I know it sounds awful, but one thing saves it and that unlikely saviour is your friend and mine Mr Laurie who is a revelation.

Dr House is grumpy, rude, and divides his time between skiving and leering at his female staff. He plays the part beautifully and you're left wondering why he never hit these heights before and how the slightly dippy comic has transformed himself into a manic, impeccably American-accented, doctor.

Laurie plays him like a man possessed - which he quite possibly is. The first few episodes don't ever fully explain his background and how he ended up walking with a limp and guzzling pain killers 10 to the dozen.

But even this early into the series you can feel a tragic background story coming in at any moment.

A black comic edge keeps the show from getting too serious or falling into the easy trap of sentimentality.

The rest of the cast fade into the background while the cameras are glued to the domineering personality of Dr House.

But there is an added treat just to make things even stranger for British television with the casting of Jesse Spencer as Dr Robert Chase. Look closely and soap fans will recognise the young Aussie as yet another ex- Neighbours star (he played Billy Kennedy for six years) making it in the States.

I've been scratching my head trying to find problems with the show and all I can come up with is a slightly cheesy American edge to some of it and a bit too much medical jargon. But on this showing I'll forgive them and I'll certainly be tuning in for the rest of the series.

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