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Thread: House of Cards

  1. #1
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    House of Cards

    Is there a thread about this show? I didn't see one.

    If you aren't watching it, you should. It's the dark and evil twin of "The West Wing." Being that Kevin Spacey's character is from Gaffney, I thought it was rather amusing to see the Giant Peach featured so prominently.

    Anyone? :-)

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by chaosmage View Post
    Is there a thread about this show? I didn't see one.

    If you aren't watching it, you should. It's the dark and evil twin of "The West Wing." Being that Kevin Spacey's character is from Gaffney, I thought it was rather amusing to see the Giant Peach featured so prominently.

    Anyone? :-)
    Couldn't agree more. Awesome show. Only watched 2 episodes of the new season this weekend. Can't wait to watch the rest. Spacey is amazing! I appreciate the way NetFlicks released the whole season all at once too.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by chaosmage View Post
    Is there a thread about this show? I didn't see one.

    If you aren't watching it, you should. It's the dark and evil twin of "The West Wing." Being that Kevin Spacey's character is from Gaffney, I thought it was rather amusing to see the Giant Peach featured so prominently.

    Anyone? :-)
    Count me in as well. The acting is really good...Spacey is doing some of his best work...the lady that plays Claire is just great and the supporting cast are all solid.

    The first season was great and I've only watched the first episode of season 2 but wow! My jaw hit the floor when...well you know
    "The future ain't what it used to be."

  4. #4
    Love the show ... but it lost me a bit at the end of the first season with the garage scene. Seemed a little too over the top. Same thing with a scene in the first episode of season 2 (that those who have watched will know what I am talking about). Granted, its fiction, but those two incidents, and the way they went down, put it into the realm of the absurd.
    My Quick Smells Like French Toast.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Channing View Post
    Love the show ... but it lost me a bit at the end of the first season with the garage scene. Seemed a little too over the top. Same thing with a scene in the first episode of season 2 (that those who have watched will know what I am talking about). Granted, its fiction, but those two incidents, and the way they went down, put it into the realm of the absurd.
    The only thing I find absurd about those scenes is that Francis did those jobs himself. Considering how intelligent and careful he is it seems unlikely he would be anywhere around during such events.

  6. #6
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    Lynchburg, VA
    SPOILER ALERT

    I've watched through episode 1 of season 2, and I'm on the fence. Right now the things I dislike about the show outweigh the positives.

    Things I like:

    - Kevin Spacey is great. I can't imagine a more convincing portrayal of a soulless politician.
    - Narrating the show directly through Frank Underwood is creative and provides some of the show's best dramatic and humorous moments.
    - The dialogue is very well-written. Chaosmage's description of HoC as West Wing's evil twin is dead on. Imagine what Josh Lyman might have said if he was ruthlessly ambitious rather than idealistic.

    Things I don't like:

    - There are plenty of legitimate reasons to be cynical about our current political leaders. *Spoiler*Do we really need to portray the congressional leadership as the kind of people who murder fellow members of congress and reporters? *Spoiler*
    - Watching the show is exhausting. It's 50 minutes of watching a bunch of horrible human beings do horrible things to each other. There's not a single sympathetic major character. It makes me wonder if there's underlying point to the story other than enjoying watching bad people destroy each other.
    - I'm with sleepy bear. No way no how does a character as intelligent as Frank Underwood put himself near crimes that could bring down everything he's worked to build.

    Anyway, I seem to be in the overwhelming minority but it's less than 50/50 that I watch another episode.

  7. #7
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    It is horrible. And I feel myself needing to shower after an episode. It's like eating a REALLY well-made, really sinful cheesecake. There is nothing whatsoever redeeming about it, but you can't help yourself. My wife and I looked at each other several times with looks of incredulity throughout both seasons that we were pulling for the bad guy.

    The other fascination that people have with this show is just watching it unfold, and wondering when and how his downfall will happen. We know he will, we're just waiting for it.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by chaosmage View Post
    Is there a thread about this show? I didn't see one.

    If you aren't watching it, you should. It's the dark and evil twin of "The West Wing."
    Dissent. It's a a somewhat unruly younger sibling of the original BBC adaptations of Michael Dobbs' books, in House of Cards (1990), To Play the King (1992), and The Final Cut (1995). These were remarkable for the bravura...is bravuro a word...amazing performance of Iain Richardson as PM Francis Urqhart. The new show transposes the location to the US, and hyperbolizes the Richard III-esque elements.

    Much of the visual language and story-telling is borrowed from the original series, especially all that fourth-wall-breaking Spacey is up to.

    I'd recommend everyone stop what they're doing, watch the original, and then come back to the Netflix one. I've seen it several times but not since about 2009 when Netflix put it on streaming for a while. It's about twelve episodes all together. The new one is heavily influenced by it, but is much sloppier.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by throatybeard View Post
    Dissent. It's a a somewhat unruly younger sibling of the original BBC adaptations of Michael Dobbs' books, in House of Cards (1990), To Play the King (1992), and The Final Cut (1995). These were remarkable for the bravura...is bravuro a word...amazing performance of Iain Richardson as PM Francis Urqhart. The new show transposes the location to the US, and hyperbolizes the Richard III-esque elements.

    Much of the visual language and story-telling is borrowed from the original series, especially all that fourth-wall-breaking Spacey is up to.

    I'd recommend everyone stop what they're doing, watch the original, and then come back to the Netflix one. I've seen it several times but not since about 2009 when Netflix put it on streaming for a while. It's about twelve episodes all together. The new one is heavily influenced by it, but is much sloppier.
    Throaty, I took your advice and started the British one and like it better already. In one episode alone it was able to accomplish story wise what it took the Spacey one 3-4 episodes.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by NashvilleDevil View Post
    Throaty, I took your advice and started the British one and like it better already. In one episode alone it was able to accomplish story wise what it took the Spacey one 3-4 episodes.
    I liked the original quite a bit, though I thought the first season was considerably better than the subsequent ones.
    Demented and sad, but social, right?

  11. #11
    I finally got around to getting a Samsung Smart TV blu-ray player that allows me to stream Netflix and Amazon Prime on my TV rather than just my computer

    I mainlined season 1 of House of Cards in January and am savoring season 2 at a more deliberate pace (after being jolted by the ending of episode 1 for season 2) - a lot of the plot points are preposterous but the performances of Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright as Frank and Claire Underwood are outstanding

    Politico has an interesting article on why Washington is no longer bashful about admitting it enjoys a series that is so unflattering to both elected officials and the news media

    Bad As We Want to Be
    The Washington of House of Cards is mean, murderous and manipulative. So why do we like it so much?

    http://www.politico.com/magazine/#.Uwavj86vhX8

    Even better, the article has this YouTube link to the video starring Frank Underwood that was played at the 2013 White House Correspondents Dinner - Frank makes his appearance starting around the 30 second mark
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7FVYJ6ONXk

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blue in the Face View Post
    I liked the original quite a bit, though I thought the first season was considerably better than the subsequent ones.
    Agree and disagree.

    I think the first two are close to equal, because the Sarah Harding character is tremendously compelling.

    The third wasn't as good, yes. The Cyprus business coming back as a threat to Urqhart after all those years seems a little improbable, and the invented contest to be in power longer than Thatcher seemed a little off.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

  13. #13
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    Feb 2007
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    MKE
    As a side note, recent Duke varsity athlete Billy Kennedy is a writer on the show and is credited with Episode 8.

    http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...&ATCLID=173902

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