From the Friday Vault: Fortysomething with Hugh Laurie
A pre-House Hugh Laurie confirms he’s British!
For those in the States that think Hugh Laurie is as American as his Dr. Gregory House character, not so fast. Back in pre-House 2003, who knew that Laurie was honing his soon-to-be sought after anxiety-ridden doctor skills in 6-part series, Fortysomething? While it’s enough just to see Hugh Laurie is the series, the ensemble cast is equally as amazing. The series also stars Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Suburban Shootout, Spooks), Peter Capaldi (The Thick of It, Torchwood: Children of Earth) and a very young, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Parade’s End, The Hobbit). If that’s not enough to get you to hunt this down for a bit of a marathon viewing, Stephen Fry appears as a fishmonger. How can you possibly resist with that knowledge?
Directed by Hugh Laurie, this one-season gem of a series written by Nigel Williams, stars Laurie as Paul Slippery, a British doctor in the deep throws of a mid-life crisis. His wife Estelle (Anna Chancellor) is starting a new career as a headhunter. His three sons, Rory (Benedict Cumberbatch), a student at the University of Reigate, Daniel (Neil Henry) and Edwin (Joe Van Moyland), are sex-obsessed. Unfortunately, Paul, while in denial of his mid-life crisis, appears to now hear the inner thoughts of others. He can’t really remember where Estelle works, or if she even works at all, and has severe angst daily over the fact that it’s quite possible that his children have a more active sex life that he does. Children that do nothing but torment him with this fact without mercy.
All-in-all, a great series on all fronts and one that is well-worth checking out for no other reason than to prove Hugh Laurie is actually British, see a young Benedict Cumberbatch and witness a bit of Anna Chancellor greatness.
