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House of Cards (US)
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Author:  Crutch [ Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:37 am ]
Post subject:  House of Cards (US)
Anyone else watching this? I'm halfway through and it's actually pretty good. Which should relieve Netflix. They paid top dollar. Kevin Spacey is in his comfort zone. Francis Underwood is a fun character to follow. The writing is good, which is a shock to me because I thought Idea of March was bland as hell. You can really see where they trimmed the fat, hower, in some of the laughible production design (see: news segment meltdown in episode 6).

Anyway, I'm hooked.
Author:  JxDx [ Mon Feb 04, 2013 5:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
just head a bit about this on NPR and thought I should give it a shot...once I get a weekend to waste.
Author:  Bullio [ Mon Feb 04, 2013 7:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
Meant to start it this weekend, but got sidetracked. Working through it now, and really liking it so far. I hungered for another good political show to work through after finishing The West Wing last year, but couldn't find anything that seemed worthwhile. This is filling that void nicely. Completely different tone, but plenty enjoyable. No heroes here, just a bunch of bastards and bitches.

I think I'm more excited for the future possibilities of original, high-budget web programs if this does well for Netflix. I'm hoping it helps destroy preconceived notions of what "developed for the web" means (amateur, low budget productions, almost all of which are complete crap) and demonstrates to creators that you can have success there. I want FX, AMC, and HBO quality programming that is completely independent of cable TV and all the bullshit trappings that ties it down. This ought to be pointed to as proof of concept that creation and delivery of such goods is possible. Now we wait to see if the returns make it worthwhile for the producers.
Author:  Crutch [ Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
Bullio wrote:
I think I'm more excited for the future possibilities of original, high-budget web programs if this does well for Netflix. I'm hoping it helps destroy preconceived notions of what "developed for the web" means (amateur, low budget productions, almost all of which are complete crap) and demonstrates to creators that you can have success there. I want FX, AMC, and HBO quality programming that is completely independent of cable TV and all the bullshit trappings that ties it down. This ought to be pointed to as proof of concept that creation and delivery of such goods is possible. Now we wait to see if the returns make it worthwhile for the producers.


I agree with you. It will be interesting to see how this plays out come Emmy time, considering it was never technically "broadcast" for television. No doubt, Netflix will still lobby hard for it's consideration. History shows that the academy is slow to change, but it does change eventually.

To build on what you are saying, I'm also happy that Netflix released it all at once. It's how they plan to release all of their original content (they've got two more I think along with Arrested Development) It completely destroys what even HBO can't get away from and that's scheduling. Television has been going this way a long time. Audiences are more sophisticated and patient with their content now more than ever. They want to watch what they want whenever they want. Now we a have a company brave (and rich) enough to try something new with the viewership to accomplish it. It may be the new way forward.

I don't know how this is going to pay off for Netflix, but I think ultimately it will.

And it is kind of an anti-West Wing. No bloviating benevolence. Just backstabbin'.
Author:  Bullio [ Wed Feb 06, 2013 3:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
I have 3 episodes left, but at this point I feel pretty comfortable in assuming that this gripe/wish won't be addressed this season...(spoilers below)

What I want most for a second season, assuming the show is setup for another season, is a foil for Francis. Someone who isn't in on his schemes or close to him that can see right through his bullshit and can go toe to toe with him. You see flashes of it in a few of the characters, especially in episode 9, but those are all people that are tied to him in various ways. Everyone else is so oblivious and gullible that it's almost painful, and frankly it's rather hard to believe that no one can sense that he's playing them like twits. Underwood is very "House-ish", for lack of a better term, but there's no rival force to balance him against. Some balancing force outside his web of influence would be great, as I find Spacey's character most enjoyable when he has opponents that pose immediate threats to his ambitions. Spinella sort of filled that role, but he was pretty clearly meant to be a disappointing whelp. And episode 9, when everyone started turning against him, was probably the best episode I've seen so far. A long player that lasts the season would be great, whether it's a rival within the party that he has no real control over (which doesn't seem all that likely at this point) or a member of the Republican Party (much more likely).
Author:  Crutch [ Sun Feb 10, 2013 2:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
After finishing the show, I do feel a bit let down. The scheme seemed a bit anti-climatic and I was waiting for everyone's story to tie in together to have some sort of gravity in the main plot. It's there, but I dunno, I wanted more.

Highlight was seeing George Hearst from Deadwood playing opposite of Spacey. That guys is a great antagonist.

4/5 if I had to give it a score.
Author:  vol.4 [ Sat Feb 16, 2013 8:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
Had to stop after ep. 7. The political and news stuff was nonsense. The best part is Frank and Claire's relationship.
Author:  Crutch [ Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
vol.4 wrote:
The political and news stuff was nonsense.


This is actually a fair complaint. The politics of House of Cards seems more like the politics of power (like in ye olde England) which isn't really possible or believable in modern times.

Still, I'm comfortable with the "realpolitik" aspect because, like you, I like Frank as a character.

If you're not into it by episode 7, the rest would likely bore you as well. Like I said earlier, I think it didn't help that story arc of the season was really three or four partitioned mini-arcs, which resulted in a deflated climax.
Author:  Adam [ Mon Feb 24, 2014 3:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
I really like this show. Just got through Season 2 this past weekend and would have gotten through season 3 if there was one.
Author:  flickzone [ Tue May 20, 2014 3:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
I watched both the seasons on the week I had off earlier this year. And then I regretted it cause now what am I to do with my life? :'( All kidding aside, what an amazing show. It always manages to keep me on edge and stay in my mind long after an episode is over.
Author:  Adam [ Sun Mar 08, 2015 9:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
Anyone watch the new season yet?

I just got through it and thought it sucked for the most part. Am I crazy?
Author:  Crutch [ Mon Mar 09, 2015 3:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
I think this season started better than where it ended. The whole Claire/UN Ambassadorship was laughable but the whole Frank versus guy who is definitely not Vladimir Putin was a nice arc.

I really just hated the way the season ended.
Author:  Adam [ Sat Mar 14, 2015 11:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: House of Cards (US)
I don't understand why they felt they developed interesting enough story lines that they could end the season with all storylines mid-stream like that. I feel like the writers got lost in the minutiae and lost sight of the big picture. The Not-Putin storyline was the most interesting, but ultimately still felt choppy. The only storyline that I thought had any depth to it this season was the relation between the Underwoods. Unfortunately, that was the one storyline I really didn't care about. So the one thing I thought they did best was wasted on me.
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