[C. Edmund Wright]

You guys gandered at this yet?

[GeronL]

I remember the original, it was awesome, I have no interest in the remake.

[Spunky]

I really got hooked and it is driving me crazy waiting until next year, I think it is before the next series comes out. Really does seem true to life.

I also go hooked on "Breaking Bad" after I said I would never watch it. Now I am watching "Lilly Hammer"

[bigdaddy45]

I could do without the gay stuff (seems like Hollywood crams it in whenever they can, no pun intended) but otherwise its very well done.

[KC Burke]

Do I understand that it is only available on Netflix downloads and runs on no cable channels?

[Vendome]

Awesome series

[The Sons of Liberty]

Not to hijack your thread, but does anyone but me think the ads on SeeBS for their Fall Series “Madam Secretary” look like a blatant continuing propaganda show for Hildabeast Klinton, with a slightly better looking (Tea Leoni) subject?

[edpc]

It got some criticism in the first season for weak writing. Made me laugh, since The West Wing received so many accolades for being well written when it was stock, corny, and painfully didactic.

There's probably not a person on the show I'd agree with politically, but they're well cast and entertaining.

[Fledermaus]

I don’t stream Netflix, just rent DVD’s. Is the series available for DVD rental?

[x]

The original series was British and starred Ian Richardson. It was scathing about British politics and especially the Conservative Party. That's to be expected of the BBC, but the interesting thing is that the author of the books the series was based on was a Tory politician and a close associate of Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

I thought the Kevin Spacey series was pretty good, though dated. You wouldn't expect a White South Carolinian to have much influence in today's Democratic Party, though that was certainly true of the Democrats in earlier decades. One thing about the series is that we kind of feel like we know Washington goings-on, so really outrageous plot lines might be hard to believe (or maybe not, considering what it is that we actually do know about Washington).

Boss with Kelsey Grammar was also over-the-top in some of its intrigues, but it's easier to believe that a mayor of Chicago would get away with some really outrageous acts than that a congressman could. Plus, sometimes you can get tired of Spacey's archness and irony and want to go for something more straightforward. I miss Boss. If you like House of Cards, you might give it a try.

Then there's Borgen from Denmark, about a woman prime minister ...

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

I'm also surprised by the lack of chat here. My wife and I have almost finished the series, so no spoilers please.

As far as sheer film-making goes, it's positively Shakespearean. My only quibble is that the characters are overwhelmingly evil. The characters exhibit almost no redeeming qualities. I suppose it could be compared to MacBeth, in that sense. It's probably the greatest portrayal of the seductiveness of evil that I can remember.

On top of that, the plot is absolutely brilliant. It's incredibly complex but not contrived.

Overall, this is the best series I've seen since, "Brideshead Revisited."

[mware]

I watched the Brit version of House of Cards.

It was damn good, and no way the US version could top the UK ending.

[trisham]

I’ve never heard of it.

[Blaine Fabin]

I enjoyed the first 6 or 7 episodes, but after that I felt the whole thing (particularly season 2) was just beyond absurd.

[Revelation Concepts]

Watched the first 2 seasons and it’s excellent. It portrays politicians as the scumbags that they are. Democrats worse than Republicans. Even the politicians that try and do things the right way don’t have a chance when going up against the establishment. It’s scary on how believable it is.

[RitaOK]

Good grief, Wright, I am already addicted to internet news and FR, while recording Baire, GRETA and Kelly nightly! Wha’da’ya’ think I’m made of- wires and wattage? LOL! %%:/

Actually, I don’t use Netflix and I take it that House of Cards is not available on cable? I like Spacey. Isn’t he conservative, btw? Thx, very much for the ping.

Maybe SAM’s has it in a DVD set. I’ll look for it.
Rita

[TomGuy]

I found it interesting and aggravating.

To think that that is probably how things actually do function in Washington.

You scratch my back; I’ll scratch yours. You stab me and I will stab you. You get in my way to the next level of power and I will do everything I can to destroy you. Drinks at 5:00?

[ckilmer]

I watched it for a couple of episodes because my brotherl likes it, but found myself that I didn’t like any of the characters. They all just killed each other off in a kind of amoral soup.

It it is keeping faith and trust among kin and friends that holds a story together. The Viking series is every bit as brutal as the game of thrones but the main characters hold together in faith and trust. And that keeps that story in the land of the living.

[Waryone]

Son watches it. Way too gay for me.

[Ted Grant]

I sampled it and didn’t care for it.

My problem was that almost everybody wanders into Spacey’s traps with wide eyes and a smile. He finds it easy to successfully manipulate almost all of his targets. Things go his way, and when they don’t, they wind up going his way.

Narrative-wise, it’s amateur hour. You can’t have a couple of smart characters manipulate all the other characters in the show with an almost 100% accuracy. It just falls flat.