10 Spectacularly Bad TV Ideas That Turned Out To Be Awesome

3. House

Now, there's nothing wrong with the central concept of House. A genius but maverick Doctor with a drug problem and sociopathic tendencies solving impossible medical mysteries. Sign me up. The casting however was a different matter. It would have called for a hard American actor used to playing rugged aggressive parts. Who was cast? A posh British bloke whose main track record was in playing comedic slightly eccentric, slightly stupid (but always, always posh) characters. The main case for the prosecution on this is one of his last parts he played before House which was as Mr Little in Stuart Little. He played someone who adopted a mouse. Seriously. Compare the two parts: the difference is astounding and that makes the decision even more baffling. The fact that Hugh Laurie made a massive success €“ a double Golden Globe-winning success no less €“ of the role is no surprise. He's a fantastic performer and actor, and his work on Blackadder alone earns him that accolade. But still... Dr House. Brave move guys, brave move. However, we do need to bring one fact out into the light here. Despite their excellent casting work on Hugh Laurie and in fact the entire rest of the cast as there are no weak links on show, there's one more thing to discuss. House was not supposed to be called House. The original plan was for the show to be called Chasing zebras, circling the drain. Chasing zebras, circling the drain. A title so bad it needs saying twice. Some bad ideas should always be avoided.