House of Cards

[DiscoBiscuit]

Nothing I've watched even comes close to capturing what it feels like to be on the ground working in Politics in our Nation's Capital.

This show is incredible.

My new favorite.

 

[KDude]

it's cool. Although I've heard there isn't as much power playing going on like this atm (I guess the last closest thing would be tom delay). Both parties lack leadership like this (umm, if you want to call it leadership).

edit: Btw, there's an older British series it's based on. It's just as good.

 

[Nicodemus]

I like it.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I like it.

I thought (knew) you would.

I feel like we would get on pretty well IRL.

 

[Winds of Thor]

Nothing I've watched even comes close to capturing what it feels like to be on the ground working in Politics in our Nation's Capital.

This show is incredible.

My new favorite.

I like it too. And especially since cable is sort of monopolized in this area, it's nice a regular show with real talent is on Netflix.

 

[Chaotic Harmony]

My husband was really into it. I was bored during the first episode. I'm going to try and watch a few episodes and see if I can get into it. I like the concept of the show, just couldn't get into the first episode.

 

[Nicodemus]

I thought (knew) you would.

I feel like we would get on pretty well IRL.

Sparing certain topics, we probably would.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Sparing certain topics, we probably would.

I'm much more conciliatory in person.

EDIT - conversely, (depending on how I'm treated by the opposing party) I can also be much more brutal.

 

[sleuthiness]

Seems too serious for its own good. Then again, shit like this has market potential because there's an established market for drama.

Problem lies in the fact that it's probably a well-executed, highly-complex drama with 'what isn't on the line, smith' blackmail, conspiracies, wiretaps, mindgames that'll change the way you think about politics forever; must be if it's captured the nation's attention on netflix.

How do you feel about FiOS and the inevitable fact that Verizon will eat up every remaining provider over the next few decades because fiberoptics are the future, Disco. I actually imagine we'll be watching shows in our head before long, but we'll keep it relevant because you submitted this thread.

 

[KDude]

Seems too serious for its own good.

No, it's not. He breaks the fourth wall every 20 minutes, tongue in cheek, like Ferris Bueller (the original BBC series followed the same formula as well). It's a mix of drama and dark comedy.

Reality is much more sleazy. Watch some Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff documentaries.

 

[Totenkindly]

I'm halfway through Episode #1 but it's getting interesting. (Spacey's accent sounds a little forced, though. It jars me out of the moment when he misses an inflection.)

And because it's NetFlix, they're releasing a whole season at a time. This should keep me busy for the next week.

 

[sleuthiness]

No, it's not. He breaks the fourth wall every 20 minutes, tongue in cheek, like Ferris Bueller (the original BBC series followed the same formula as well). It's a mix of drama and dark comedy.

Reality is much more sleazy. Watch some Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff documentaries.

Doesn't that go without saying? I generally stay away from material that gives me any standing ground, the concept of permanence ingrained in my bones.

Lines can be memorized, recited, and quoted, and like I've said elsewhere, as the human being is currently constructed, there's a ceiling to how many stimuli responses we're capable of. Take five dozen adults trained to reproduce material since their eighth grade drama program on eeking life from lemons and I've just wasted two precious hours. Where's the discovery, the risk?

I am the center of the universe, after all; you don't exist. Begone. With its mingling of fiction and reality without direction, however, Tanner '88 looks interesting enough to buy. How many bowel movements have you incurred today, KDude?

 

[KDude]

Doesn't that go without saying? I generally stay away from material that gives me any standing ground, the concept of permanence ingrained in my bones.

Lines can be memorized, recited, and quoted, and like I've said elsewhere, as the human being is currently constructed, there's a ceiling to how many stimuli responses we're capable of. Take five dozen adults trained to reproduce material since their eighth grade drama program on eeking life from lemons and I've just wasted two precious hours. Where's the discovery, the risk?

I am the center of the universe, after all; you don't exist. Begone. With its mingling of fiction and reality without direction, however, Tanner '88 looks interesting enough to buy. How many bowel movements have you incurred today, KDude?

Honestly, I don't understand a single sentence here. No offense.. I just don't.

 

[Totenkindly]

Gaaa. Move typing discussions to the type forum.

 

[napo_leon]

Gaaa. Move typing discussions to the type forum.

Agreed.

 

[Coriolis]

The type discussion has been moved to:

http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67635

 

[Totenkindly]

Watched four episodes of the new season so far.

If you plan to watch this series, it's probably better to watch the second season sooner rather than later, especially with all the spoilers. It's best to not get spoiled, so that the plotline will blow you away... and it doesn't waste any time with that.

I feel like the season is even more hardcore than last one, only four episodes in.

Also, Francis and Claire are made for each other. Francis is perhaps more overtly Machiavellian, but Claire's balls are as big as his -- they're definitely quite the pair. We got to see this somewhat in Season #1 (even when Claire briefly turns on her hubby), but this one, well, they both just play hardball and they play it well.

Episode #4, it's actually nice to see someone in Congress who isn't as easily manipulated by Frank as many seem to be. I also have major (and probably obvious) suspicions who orchestrated one of the plot elements there, I had them as soon as it occurred. But also, the entire deal with Claire's interview ... oh wow. I didn't see it going there, but as soon as it did, I knew where it was going to go after that. I hope the writing continues to build like that throughout the rest of the season.

If I had one large gripe, it's that the actual President (Walker) is just... blah. How many presidents have we seen who just have no real sense of how politics works? The guy just seems to be as dumb as a rock and thus not a worthy adversary / counterpart to Frank. he's merely a plot point -- an obstacle to subsume and overcome as Frank works to achieve his ultimate goal of holding the presidency himself.

 

[Totenkindly]

Finished Season #2. Found it even more interesting than Season #1, as well as inundated by its own share of spoilers and shocker moments. Characters come, characters go (some forever).

Yes, the season ends how I intuited it would, but they say that getting there is half the fun and there were some real nailbiters along the way. It's also more complicated by the reality that Underwood's an anti-hero who you end up rooting for while despising. And again, Claire is really a good match for him, just with a softer woman's touch. They deserve each other, this professional and mutual partnership that operates as love and ambition rolled into one.

It'll be interesting to see the relationship between Frank and Raymond in Season #3, considering how things went down in Season #2.

I wish I felt more sympathy for Lucas. He kind of got the shaft from everyone this season and is now rotting in jail. Yet he just played his hand stupidly, idealistically in a pit of vipers, and of course got burned for it. There was no other outcome for someone who was not crafty enough. Zoe was craftier, of course; but her one fatal flaw was that she just never expected Frank to off her, she thought she'd always have a little room to maneuver.

Is Doug dead? It seems probable. But he was a walking bomb too, with his Rachel addiction. What did he think would happen if he kept destroying her life under the guise of saving it? He really was bad news for her; anything good that she received, he loused it up. He'll be lucky if he escapes what looks might have been his swan song.

I have to say, I thought Walker was pretty stupid much of the series. And when he finally catches on to Frank with two episodes to go, it seems more like a lucky hit -- he's just become so freaking paranoid that he decides to read every one of Frank's actions cynically and just happens to hit the bullseye. But the old viper isn't dead yet, and despite some nervous moments (mostly created by sticking his head in the lion's mouth), Frank manages to pull a save out of a near loss. Sometimes you just have to go for broke, and his letter to Walker did that for him -- just threw him off enough to leave Frank in play, and when you are dealing with a man like Frank, that's all he needs.

The resolution to China was inspired and inevitable.

I really like Jackie. I like her for the same reason Remy does -- yes, she's pragmatically ruthless and will never crack, but underneath she still carries the guilt of it, and in the end she serves herself and refuses to sell out to Frank or Remy or whoever else might try to dominate her, even if it means she'll go down. This commitment to herself and her own values means she can be trusted and that she's a straight shooter, something Remy tried to break her of and failed.

Remy too is interesting, the hired gun who could perform admirably regardless of his own affections... but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to turn on Jackie. And it was all about that moment when she said she wouldn't sell Frank out -- not for Frank, but because she simply refused to be beholden to ANYONE even if they had a gun to her head. Ironically, that same willingness to risk one's political life is what saved Frank.

I think I felt worst about Adam. Claire really gutted him. He was an artist who had no business playing cutthroats in Washington politics, and the faster he can run out of their and stay in his own world, the better. A close second was Freddie, who had messed up and had spent years to redeem himself, only to have himself kicked back in the mud because of his connection to Frank. But even now, that man was not a quitter; good for him.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Season two was boss.

Might have to re-watch it though to get some of the smaller points made.

The last scene of season 2 gave me chills (doesn't happen very frequently).

What did you think of that [MENTION=7]Jennifer[/MENTION]?

EDIT - can't believe some of the shit that went down this season.

Still my favorite show on TV without question.

Ready to discuss plot stuff once enough time has elapsed for the spoilers folks.

 

[Totenkindly]

Season two was boss.

Might have to re-watch it though to get some of the smaller points made.

The last scene of season 2 gave me chills (doesn't happen very frequently).

What did you think of that Jennifer?

EDIT - can't believe some of the shit that went down this season.

Still my favorite show on TV without question.

Ready to discuss plot stuff once enough time has elapsed for the spoilers folks.

I started watching on VDay, I think, and just finished last night... i.e., not a crazy pace, but a decent one. I'm usually more into "fantasy" stuff with my TV viewing, but this show was an exception. I also think it's some of the best work I've ever seen by Spacey and Wright, even counting movies.

I think Breaking Bad was better, marginally, but regardless HoC is in my Top Ten Shows ever. I thought the season was even better than the first one, and a bit darker. The Underwoods had less room to screw up here, the stakes were far higher and they were under far more scrutiny as the Veeps.

I love that very last scene that they took their time with, and it was almost all silent -- with Claire and Frank quietly walking and talking, then Frank going on alone. The last second was jarring but perfect (his trademark move), now that Claire had replaced something he had lost earlier in the season.

Some people say the asides are gimmicky but I don't think so, I think they're relevant -- they're the only brief moments throughout the season when we know Frank is telling us the truth. Otherwise we don't really know what he's up to or how he's reacting, because he is such a consumate liar.

I'll be posting a spoiler post tonight on FaceBook (marked as such) of the Top Ten Shockers of Season 2 for me.

.....


Oh, yeah, and I want to talk about how it was mostly shot in Baltimore, and I know where some of the places are. (Joppa for example is up I95 a bit toward Philly, and I've gone hiking off Old Joppa Road before.)

I know where Freddie's BBQ is (it's slightly to the east of I83S running into Inner Harbor), and it looks the same. That whole street that Freddie walks down with the row houses is the street that tees into it. Just kinda cool to know where to find this stuff.

in DC, I don't think that Cathedral Heights metro is a real stop, though; there's a Capitol Heights stop and a Columbia Heights stop, but I think the sign distinctly said Cathedral Heights (I'll have to look again). There is a Cathedral Heights neighborhood in Wash DC though.