Posted on 07/23/2014 2:29:52 PM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
After being told by 3 or 4 associates whom I respect that I must watch it - and after putting it off for months - I finally dug in and power watched both seasons in past couple weeks.
I was astounded, on so many fronts. This is must see TV for political junkies. I mean, anyone might like it, but the politically involved will find it fascinting, and teachable, illustrative…..
Anyone else
Worked on the edge of smaller politics and a lot rings true, especially the constant 24 hour being on all the time, with constant crisis management and lots of pillow talk.
So it is not about politicians stabbing each other in the back?
Not watching that show does not make one a “loser”
I don’t stream Netflix, just rent DVD’s. Is the series available for DVD rental?
True. Not a single lefty is likeable…or sympathetic, with the exception of some of the young lefty leaning reporters. But even they are digging dirt on lefties. The Republicans in the Senate are not portrayed that badly at all. The balance is amazing to me.
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.
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In laws have been urging me to watch WW. I cannot do leftist corn and smugness. Just cannot.
Spacey is amazing…only one criticism…his accent is pure low country SC….yet they have him from Gaffney, the upstate. Wrong accent, and no Dem would ever win from the upstate.
But if you don’t know SC, you wouldn’t know that……so I say that as only a teeny little quibble.
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 ...
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."
I think a SC Democrat could be a big player - the libs love to hide liberalism in a southern accent. Al Gore. John Edwards, Bill Clinton, etc. BUT BUT ….it would be a Charleston Democrat, or maybe a downtown Columbia Democrat - from one of the bohemian sections of those two cities..(and both have them, especially Charleston).
Underwood is no upstate SC candidate….
The Republicans in the Senate are not portrayed that badly at all. The balance is amazing to me.
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I really enjoyed it and did a couple of days of running it from noon to 8. Loved it. Recently got a tv for the first time in 30 years and it was one of the first things I found on Netflix.
It was damn good, and no way the US version could top the UK ending.
I’ve never heard of it.
That's art imitating life. That IS Washington. I mean, it really is. This city takes redemptive people and spits them out, or changes them. it's overwhelming. I think that's the strength of the series.
Love it, you are right, the evil is complex and there are no redeeming qualities. I cannot wait to see the next season on Netflix.
I enjoyed the first 6 or 7 episodes, but after that I felt the whole thing (particularly season 2) was just beyond absurd.
Lillihammer was a Hoot!
Actually, on second thought, you shouldn’t watch it. I think you are right. It really isn’t for you. You wouldn’t enjoy it.
Since we don't know what next season will bring, not sure if it will follow the exact same line as this one. I don't think anyone could beat Spaceys acting of the character though.
Dobbs, the writer of the original books, was actually a Conservative Party big wig before becoming an author. A lot of people he dealt with informed the character.
Remember since FU is a whip his power comes from secrets. Skin color and place of origin don’t really play into that, just ability to fix problems and hold them over people later. That’s really the essence of the story, the guy who is the most powerful secret person in the country wanting to become publicly powerful.
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