Was he in MA (for Romney)? If so, it sucks that I didn't see him in Boston! You're safe. At least in this case. He was in New Hampshire when he took in the Romney appearance.

I miss Hugh and would like to see some new pics of him turn up. Too bad I'm not a big LE fan cause I see new pics of her every other day. Seconding that. But if the strike drags on, and he's at home for awhile, it may be a long dry spell before we see any new pics. Except maybe the British tabloid kind where they have to make sure that we know he has a bald spot, because how dare he be human and all.

I didn't know whether this was best for the Hugh thread or the general season 4 House thread but it's pretty specific to Hugh I think so I'm just putting it here. Oh...and it's also pretty stupid but it's bugging me so I'm just letting it out here...feel free to ignore. A lot of people on all kinds of House boards aren't liking this season...which is totally fine obviously and this isn't about the season I swear or I'd put it in that other thread...but I think it sucks that Hugh is taking a good bit of the heat at places like TWOP for taking the drama out of things and being so funny. I just wanna say I think that's unfair cause he's not a writer or a producer or a director on the show and even though he probably has some influence on the set he kinda has to play things a certain way according to how it's written! I'm not saying everything in show land is perfect but I think it's a little cheap to blame Hugh and throw around comments about how he's showing off or trying to set up his next gig as a US sitcom star. He's funny...he's always been funny...I've heard he's even done it for a living BEFORE being House...and House has always been funny too. Even if people think Hugh is playing his current role too much for the laughs...which I don't think he is but that's beside the point...I still think it's unfair to put the "blame" on him for the direction of the show. And I know there are people in this thread who don't like the tone or direction of the show or the characters this year at all and I swear I'm not talking about you guys cause you haven't said the things I'm talking about here!! It's other places and I should probably take my bitter rants there but this is the only place where I'm not afraid to totally let it out. Ok...sorry. I'm annoyed...I let it out...it was painful for all of you I'm sure. Resume talking. Edit...I forgot to say I'm also annoyed at the complaints and little digs being made at Hugh cause he gets a lot of airtime...on a show about HIS character. That really is all. I promise. It's Thanksgiving Eve...I'm out! (and I might not be conscious again until tomorrow at noon. I'm sure I'll forget all about this by then) I'm up for new interview pics too...I really really really want Hugh to be on the cover of GQ. I don't know why...I've never even read GQ. But the pics on that magazine always look scrumptious and Hugh would definitely keep that trend going.

I wonder if the people that are complaining about the comedic side of House are the same people that complained that Season 3 was too dark? I suppose you can never win. My problem with Season 4 has nothing to do with the lighter and more fun side of House. I believe the pendalum will swing the other way at some point and we will also get our share of serious episodes, assuming the strike doesn't put everything on hold. And Hugh can do comedy so why not explore that side of his talent. He has the ability to make me really laugh. I do think Hugh has quite a bit of influence on the show though and RSL has confirmed that. At least based on what I have read, he has enough say where he can dictate if a line should be taken out or added, but he certainly doesn't dictate the origin of the script or where the plot is going to take us.

I wonder if the people that are complaining about the comedic side of House are the same people that complained that Season 3 was too dark? I did complain about the Tritter arc, I still do from time to time but I have no complaints for this season, it's been relaxing, last season was just so stressful to watch, there were parts of the Tritter arc that I liked, and yeah HL and RSL blew me away on more than one occasion but on the whole...I'd rather not think about it. Like I said, I love this season so there's no "blaming" Hugh for anything coming from me, since I would only praise those responsible for this season. Having said that, like this season or hate it, I don't think any blame can be put on HL. He's not a writer, he's not the creator, he's not a director, he's an actor and he continues to impress me week after week.

I think someone on another thread said it best when they said the pacing was different. Hugh is still Hugh and giving one great performance after another, but he's not the writer (of this show, anyway). In previous seasons the frantic pace of the show was mitigated by quiet contemplative moments or quiet, sad conversations--just the camera working on Hugh. And there's been much less of that this season, so I think it may give off a perception of too much "out there" House. House has always had his silly and drama queen moments and Hugh plays them immaculately. His comedic timing is always dead on. But I talso think that there needs to fine balance, tipped someowhat to the serious and contemplative (stuff that's not always writtern in the scripts, actually) that the frantic pacing of this season doesn't seem to allow for.

Found this on House is right: outtake from an Stephen Fry Intreview about V for Vendetta Q. Would you like Hugh Laurie to have been in this film and, if so, which character would he have been? And have you any plans to work with him again? A. Well I nearly was in an episode of House. But it didn’t come together unfortunately. I had to be over here. There’s nothing Hugh can’t do as we now know from House. He’s a superb actor and he decided to be good looking which I thought was a rather cheap and obvious thing to be. Actors make their own choices and he decided to be handsome. I think my decision was rather more interesting, but still… He could have played many of the parts in V I think because he is so extraordinarily adaptable. http://www.houseisright.com/2007/11/19/stephen-fry-interview-mentions-hugh-laurie/ full interview linkhttp://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/v-for-vendetta-stephen-fry-interview

I love Hugh's acting. As far as I am concerned he can do no wrong, but I may be just a little bias

There have been times this season when I've wondered where the heck they are going with House, but I keep on enjoying each episode, and laughing, so I really have no complaints. I do wonder if Shore and the other writers have some kind of market research showing that the majority of their audience loves the lighter side of things and they have decided to cater to that group. No matter what they do, somebody is going to complain and they will never please everybody. While I think the pendulum is definitely on the comic side these days I think they've done a pretty good job of keeping the serious medical stories in each episode. I wonder if things will get more serious after the Survivor arc is complete. Of course, we may never get to see that half of this season. As to the posters back at that other place, there has always been a small group of nitwits who don’t seem to like the show or House or Hugh. Why they hang around there complaining about a show they don’t seem to like I can’t imagine, but if they ever find their way over here I am going to be very disappointed.

I think it will always be easy to blame HL if people thing the show is too comedic, because of him being a comedian. Easy scapegoat.

Re: the duckwalking and such... Sometimes I think Hugh does something on the set just for the fun of it and he may not know which take they used. He may have done a lower key take. In fact, he may have thought it would be fun for a blooper reel, but the editor or director decided it was just too good to pass up. Of course, it may have been the only way he did it because everyone loved it. At any rate, HL might be surprised about which takes they use: he might not even know since he doesn't watch the show. Also, some talk has been made of the pacing in the show: it has indeed seemed jam-packed this season rather than paced with action/pauses and I wonder if they have a new editor or at least a consciously revised editorial direction...

Hughsblues, stay away from the Fox forums if you don't want to feel even worse. As for the Other Place, there are a few people who seem determined to point out every flaw, but when it gets down to it, in most cases they are disgruntled on behalf of another character. Usually Chase. I feel bad for JS and JM, and I'm sorry for the people who watched the show to see them. But the show has never been about the subordinate characters, and even without Survivor, I feel pretty sure there was never any intention to delve into their backstories or give them major arcs. Even in the so-called glory days now being recalled over there, these same posters were lamenting the lack of Chase/judging a episode by how many lines he had. I started thinking they were getting too jokey with House back around Humpty Dumpty, but then there were episodes where he was back on form. It's been back and forth ever since. I do think TPTB are a little too enamored of Hugh's comedy skills and dexterity, which sometimes distracts from the complex House we met in the beginning of the show. For sure, this season is a different mood. It must be a conscious decision by TPTB, since these same writers have come up with far more serious episodes in the past. I hope there's a reason beyond whatever ratings stats they've gathered, but we'll have to wait and see. With the strike still going, I'm grateful for any new eps at the moment. And as a longtime Hugh fan, it still thrills me to get to see him weekly on an hour-long series. So I'll go with the flow. I was watching some S1 the other day, and I was struck by the tone being much less somber and serious than I remembered. Funny how that goes.