Robin and I have been a fan of Hugh Laurie since we discovered him years ago in the TV series “Jeeves and Wooster”. We have also watched just about every episode of “House” over the years. While we mostly enjoyed it, especially the early years, it was getting a bit long in the tooth. Still, it was a cut above most shows, even on a bad night.
This past week we watched the final episode which was terrific and had a perfect ending. It was preceded by a hour long retrospective of the series’ eight seasons. The retrospective covered just about every aspect of the show and it’s creation. It interviewed and paid homage to the writers, producers, directors, grips, set builders down to the caterer. There was one glaring exception. Not one mention of the music! WTF! No mention of the theme music “Teardrop” by the trip-hop group Massive Attack. No mention of any composers or music used throughout the last eight years? Laurie is fairly talented musician himself and at times playing piano and guitar on the show. So I wonder what the real story is about that glaring omission. As I said, WTF!
Hugh Laurie has been a star over here for years, check out “Blackadder”. He was in a comedy duo with Stephen Fry for ages. I always find it really weird to hear him speak in an American accent after knowing his work for so many years. Not giving a nod to Teardrop is a strange one alright.
Have seen those other shows but they didn’t get me. Laurie and Stephen Fry in “Jeeves And Wooster” is classic, at least for my taste.
The retrospective was strange as Laurie was speaking in his English accent. After years of an American accent that was strange. He’s a great actor though.
+1
My wife and I have enjoyed House for most of its run. We haven’t watched this year, but tuned in for the last episode.
There’s always a bit more going on than the obvious. For example: House saying to Taub, “didn’t you see Dead Poets Society?…Carpe Diem.” Robert Sean Leonard (Wilson) played Neil Perry the boy who commits suicide. There’s a bit of irony there.
I’ve also enjoyed the many parallels to Sherlock Holmes. Too many to mention, except that if you know the Holmes stories, there was no question the House would turn up.
As far as the music goes, the two highlighted tracks were by Warren Zevon and Louie Prima. The choice of Zevon’s track was especially poignant. It is the final cut on his last album, which was written while he, like Wilson, was dying from cancer.
I also thought that I heard a bit of Tom Jones in the mix, which is very possible. He was on Hugh Laurie’s recent Blues Album. BTW… Hugh has chops. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMSxFcmiNGc
No doubt House and Wilson will live on in syndication for years to come.
Cheers,
Michael
Wow, missed some of those inside references. Yes, loved the Louie Prima track. I can even remember when that song was a hit (Guy Lombardo). I’m really showing my age here!
BTW, Robin and I are also a big fan of Holmes and the Jeremy Brett versions are our favorite. Shame that he died too early.
The modern version, currently on PBS, is pretty cool. Love the tech stuff and FX.