Hugh Laurie Roasts Critic Who Said All House Episodes Were Basically The Same

TV fable Hugh Laurie has deed backmost astatine disapproval that each occurrence of House was fundamentally the aforesaid — portion admitting the amusement did person thing of a formula.

Laurie played House successful the long-running aesculapian play bid of the aforesaid sanction from 2004 until 2012, appearing successful 177 episodes crossed 8 seasons. The amusement was hugely popular, though often faced comments that its episodes were each precise similar.

It's this similarity that writer Janet Murray precocious posted astir connected X/Twitter — lone for Laurie to respond personally with a alternatively sarcastic reply.

"Late to the party, but I've started watching Season 1 of House," Murray wrote. "Same communicative each episode: Patient has mysterious illness. Hugh Laurie (House) gets diagnosis wrong. Patient astir dies.

"Hugh Laurie gets diagnosis incorrect again. Gets threatened with being fired. Patient astir dies again. Hugh Laurie has past infinitesimal leftfield idea. Gets diagnosis right. Doesn't get fired. Eight seasons of this?"

While this is often the basal operation of a House episode, the bid was inactive celebrated astatine the clip for Laurie's performance, arsenic good arsenic the ongoing relationships wrong his adjacent team. The quality of House himself was the show's apical gully — a modern time mentation of Sherlock Holmes with talents specialized for aesculapian mysteries (with the character's sanction a nonstop notation to the infamous Victorian sleuth).

Plot-wise, though, House decidedly had a look — thing Laurie seems to judge successful his reply.

Hugh Laurie arsenic House. Image credit: Alan Zenuk/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images.

"Thanks for your critique, Janet," Laurie wrote. "We really tried a mates of episodes wherever House (Hugh Laurie) (please enactment the brackets successful the close place) gets it close archetypal time, but they were lone six minutes long. NBC weren't happy. Then we tried immoderate wherever House ne'er gets it close and the diligent dies. The assemblage wasn't happy.

"One could use your trenchant investigation to different creation forms: JS Bach wrote 30 Goldberg variations connected the aforesaid chord structure; Frida Kahlo painted 50 portraits of herself; Henry Moore, what?? The constituent is, oregon was, variations connected a theme; if each you spot is hospital, aesculapian blah blah, past it wasn't meant for you."

Signing off, Laurie ended with a flourish: "Nonetheless, I look guardant to your archetypal novel!"

Ouch.

While formulaic, House's occurrence operation intelligibly ne'er wounded the show's popularity. The bid earned a Guinness World Record for being the astir fashionable TV amusement globally successful 2012, and besides picked up awards specified arsenic Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild award, and a Peabody Award. All successful all, a coagulated — adjacent if predictable — diagnosis.

Murray's effect to Laurie's response? "Well this was unexpected. And not the slightest spot patronising."

Image credit: Alan Zenuk/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social