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American English

Easy Listening

Profile: Dr. House

Language level: basic

Chuck Rolando (Standard American)

Insensível, bruto, nada convencional. Qual é o segredo do

sucesso global de Hugh Laurie/Dr. House? Uma alma de

humorista, nascido em Oxford e crescido sob as asas do

Monty Python.

by John Rigg

Dr House has a dry(01), cynical smile and no time to waste(02)

on his patients’ feelings. He is a very unconventional doctor

who tells his patients they are dying. Is this simply cruel, or

necessary to save their lives?

ARROGANCE

Hugh Laurie stars as Dr Gregory House in the successful US series House. Each episode

focuses on a patient who is dying from a rare disease(03); Dr House and his team of 

experts must discover the cause and find a solution. He’s arrogant and cruel. He’s a

grumpy(04), middle-aged man, who is crippled(05) and walks with the aid of a walking

stick(06). This is not the recipe(07) for a successful American TV show: so why is House a

worldwide success? It’s the eccentricity and genius of Dr House, a man who is ready to

risk his career for his patients. He refuses to accept the obvious, ignores orders to stop

investigations, and eventually reveals the truth.

Executive producer Paul Attanasio, inspired by the New York Times’ Diagnosis Column,

wanted to create a medical version of the American hit series CSI. The show’s principal

writer David Shore decided, however, to focus on the characters of the medical team.

House, an infectious disease specialist(08), bullies and argues(09) with his group of young

colleagues, especially Dr Eric Foreman (who regularly questions(10) House’s ability).

House also ignores hospital administrator Dr Lisa Cuddy’s frequent reprimands. He has

 just one friend who he confides in, Dr James Wilson.

ELEMENTARY...

The creator of the series, David Shore, modelled the doctor’s character on Sherlock

Holmes (even the name “House” is a synonym of Ho(l)mes). Both men have supreme

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deductive powers, are addicted to drugs(11), and play musical instruments. Arthur Conan

Doyle in fact based the character of Holmes on the famous medical diagnostician Joseph

Bell. Hugh Laurie won the starring role in the hit series when producer Bryan Singer saw

his audition: “This is what the show needs,” he declared, “a real American actor!” Hugh

Laurie, an Englishman who does an excellent American accent, isn’t embarrassed, but

he feels guilty

(12)

because he now earns

(13)

far more than his father, a real doctor.

Who is hugh Laurie?

Laurie says he’s best known as a pair of ankles(14) 

in the Stuart Little movies (pictured right): he was

the adopted mouse’s father. The truth is that

Laurie has been a successful comedian in Britain

for over 20 years: he starred(15) with Stephen Fry in

the British comedy shows A Bit of Fry and Laurie

and Jeeves and Wooster. He also appeared inRowan Atkinson’s BBC series Blackadder.

The Boat Race

Laurie was born in Oxford on June 11th 1959. He went to the exclusive public school(16)

Eton and studied Archaeology and Anthropology at Cambridge. He was a successful

rower(17) at school and university; his crew narrowly lost(18) the 1980 Oxford and

Cambridge Boat Race.

The Footlights

Glandular fever forced him to give up(19) rowing, so he joined

the university’s Footlights Revue – an annual show which has

produced many stars such as Monty Python’s John Cleese and

the actress Emma Thompson. In fact, Laurie and Emma

Thompson produced the 1980 Footlight revue called The Cellar

Tapes with Stephen Fry. Laurie has also written a novel, The

Gun Seller, a light-hearted thriller(20).

Listen to it

 

Matéria publicada na revista Speak Up edição 243 - Agosto/2007