When “House” finally premieres on FOX this week, no one will be happier than Hugh Laurie.
The British actor, who plays the medical drama’s title character, Dr. Greg House, is simply eager to see a finished product beyond the series pilot.
“We’re now making our ninth show, and I haven’t seen anything,” Laurie says during a phone interview late last month. “I just don’t believe there’s any film in the camera; it’s so strange. … I think we’ve finished three or four shows now, and no one’s fired me. You know, that’s all I can do. I go on from day to day, expecting to be fired any second, but so far, so good.”
Of course, it’s rare that the title star of a show gets fired, and it’s even less likely in this case, as Laurie’s Dr. House is one of the more distinctive characters on network TV in some time. He’s a brilliant doctor, able to diagnose and treat patients who present baffling symptoms. He also gobbles painkillers to dull the pain in his useless right leg, keeps the doctors who work with him at arm’s length and would really enjoy medicine more if it weren’t for all the patients.
“He’s an intriguing proposition because he’s complicated, and complicated is good. I like the fact that he’s not easy to sum up,” says Laurie, who’s probably best known for the “Stuart Little” movies in this country but has an extensive list of credits in his home country, ranging from comedies like “Blackadder” to the spy thriller “Spooks” (seen here as “MI-5”).
Laurie was also attracted to House’s acerbic sense of humor, but what he really likes about the character is the fact that House really doesn’t care what others think of him.
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The three “American Idols” will appear together on a FOX holiday special later this month, the show’s most famous second-place finisher is striking out on his own.
Clay Aiken, who has outsold all of his “Idol” compatriots, will star in an NBC holiday special that also features musical forebear Barry Manilow and “Will & Grace” star Megan Mullally. “A Clay Aiken Christmas” is scheduled to air Wednesday, Dec. 8.
The hour-long special will feature Aiken singing Yuletide classics along with Manilow, gospel star Yolanda Adams and Mullally, who has starred in several Broadway musicals and released two CDs with the band Supreme Music Program.
The show follows on the heels of Aiken’s holiday album, “Merry Christmas with Love,” and an autobiography, “Learning to Sing,” both scheduled for release this week. Aiken is also hitting the road in support of the album, beginning Sunday (Nov. 21) in Pasadena, Calif.
Aiken famously lost a very closely contested final vote in season two of “American Idol” to Ruben Studdard. Since the show, however, he’s gone on to greater commercial success than any of the show’s winners. His debut album, “Measure of a Man,” has sold 2.6 million copies.
The three “Idol” winners — Kelly Clarkson, Studdard and Fantasia Barrino — will appear in a FOX special set for Wednesday, Nov. 24.
Long absent Emmy nominee Joe Piscopo comes up for air this Wednesday (Nov. 17) night in an episode of “Law & Order.” While not necessarily ripped from the headlines, the episode will finally answer the timeless question, “Is Joe Piscopo a true sweeps draw?”
In the episode, titled “Cry Wolf,” Piscopo plays a martial arts movie star, perhaps conjuring up memories of the actor’s villainous turn in 1992’s “Sidekicks.
“My character is a martial arts movie star that gets in with the wrong people,” Piscopo explains. “One bad thing leads to the next and he tries to get away with it, but you can’t do it with Dennis Farina and Jesse Martin around.”
Probably best known for his 1982-84 stint on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” this is Piscopo’s third different appearance on the long-running “Law & Order.” He played the character Robert Cahill in a 2001 and Jeff Stahl in a 1999 episode. Piscopo’s film credits include “Wise Guys” and “Johnny Dangerously,” while he won a Cable Ace award for the fittingly titled 1985 HBO special “The Joe Piscopo Special.”
In 1984, Piscopo was nominated for two Emmys, both as a part of the “SNL” writing staff and facing off with Eddie Murphy for outstanding individual performance in a variety or musical performance. Both Murphy and Piscopo lost to Cloris Leachman for the “Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration.”
Piscopo was last seen in the 2001 film “Bartleby,” though he made an appearance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” back in August.
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