"Watching Season 2 of “House of Cards.” Not to be a scold or humorless, but do Washington politicians understand how they make themselves look when they embrace the show and become part of its promotion by spouting its famous lines? Congressmen only work three days a week. Each shot must have taken two hours or so—the setup, the crew, the rehearsal, the learning the line. How do they have time for that? Why do they think it’s good for them?
“House of Cards” very famously does nothing to enhance Washington’s reputation. It reinforces the idea that the capital has no room for clean people. The earnest, the diligent, the idealistic, they have no place there. Why would powerful members of Congress align themselves with this message? Why do they become part of it? I guess they think they’re showing they’re in on the joke and hip to the culture. I guess they think they’re impressing people with their surprising groovelocity.
Or maybe they’re just stupid."
WSJ via RCP
Anyone watch House of Cards? I limit my viewing to one major show at a time, and I've decided on True Detective. Regardless, I have zero interest in HoC. It strikes me as more realistic than the horrifyingly sincere West Wing, but still, no.
Update: Coincidentally, Blogginghead's Scher and Lewis (46 seconds) touched briefly on House of Cards yesterday. I guess it is extremely watchable, but I try to limit how much TV drama I become addicted to.
33 comments:
I like entertaining TV and movies but a show that rejoices over big govt and Machiavellian govt poobahs is not entertaining to me.
And Peggy Noonan must have been asleep for the last six year and is finally awake?
I limit my viewing to one major show at a time, and I've decided on True Detective.
LOL, I imagine you watching two shows at a time on two different TVs.
My wife records and watches HoC. I don't. We watch Downton Abbey and Justified and Netflix movies.
Caught the first season of the BBC production and loved it. Early reviews weren't that good of the Kevin Spacey copy, so I haven't bothered. I could be convinced to catch it. What say you all?
I swear Justified has the best dialog on TV, maybe ever.
I watched it.
FU is now president, had a three way with his male body guard and wife and killed the reporter who knew too much, and got the president to resign.
That was the second season.
I have watched the first season and the first episode of season two so far. I still can't believe that they are portraying Democrats. When I first started watching the show, I wasn't giving it my full attention and was annoyed that it was yet another Hollywood show basking Republicans. But then there was a scene where they were identified as Democrats and I exclaimed out loud, "Holy shit! They're Democrats!?" I now like the show much, much more and give credit to the show's creative team for breaking with the conventional Bash the Republicans schtick.
I skipped over this show because I thought it was a home improvement show starring Ozzie Smith and Vince Coleman.
And I watch a lot of freaking TV.
"LOL, I imagine you watching two shows at a time on two different TVs."
omg LOL
These are the shows we watch: Once Upon A Time, The Good Wife, The Mentalist, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, How I Met Your Mother, Two Broke Girls, Mom, Mike and Molly, Justified, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Person of Interest, Downton Abbey, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Mob Wives, The Crazy Ones, Modern Family, New Girl, Brooklyn 99, The Taste, American Idol, Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, Suburbtory, Barefoot Contessa, Iron Chef, Top Chef, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five O, Episodes, Black Sails and the Knicks, Giants and Yankees.
That's just what we watch every week as far as new shows go. We also enjoy our old favorites on MeTV. We multitask of course. Watching the shows and blogging or going on Facebook or whatever.
I love TV. I hate movies. Just sayn'
Hate movies!! So does Annie.
TV is far superior to most movies. "Game of Thrones" "Deadwood" "The Wire" and "Justified" beat the hell out of 99% of the crappy movies that come out every year.
Almost every Hollywood copy of every British TV show is worse than the original.
I'll watch HoC BBC version.
How about a TV mini-series on Stalin's Politburo in the 1930s? Now that would be high drama.
I watch Movies on TV. Don't know if Trooper approves though.
Oh I think that is great rc. I hate going to the movie house. I mean half the time the screens are not as nice as my HD TV. Plus I don't have to listen to Crack's family screaming at the screen.
If Billie Thomas was alive he would say that is racist.
Trooper stopped going to "movie houses"[Why not the fucking Bijou!] when John Wayne died. And, his understanding of the quality of movies is based on watching The Duke in The Green Berets decades ago. That's his last flick. He is sounding more and more like Annie. He's going to start walking his neighbor's rats soon.
Exactly: Mr. Smith goes to Washington it most certainly is not.
I watched the first season, but I don't have netflix so I guess the second when it comes out on DVD? The first season was a little like Scandal except less sincere and without the demented view of Republicans. Or I don't know, maybe Washington establishment Republicans really *are* as scaldingly hostile to GOP principles and contemptuous of base voters as those portrayed on Scandal...
You put Spinelli in a perfect climate and look what happens. He starts busting the balls of his friends.
We watch it. It is fabulous and horrifying in a slow motion car crash type of horror. I'm sadly sure that the amoral characters are true representatives of our political class. And YES...they are portraying Democrats. Be afraid.
The acting is very good. I especially like the cinematography. It really sets the tone. Lots of greys and muted colors. Rarely do you see people wearing bright colors or see bright colors in the settings. But when they do present themselves the colors have meaning. Very subtle messaging.
We watch Downton Abbey as well. Unfortunately, it is devolving into a soap opera. One other thing that is really bothering me is that while TIME is marching on rather rapidly from the Edwardian Era, through WWI, into the flapper era, and no into the run up to the Crash and WWII preamble.....the characters are not getting any older. I mean. Come on. I can suspend disbelief a bit, but don't stretch it.
For those of you with Netflix....I HIGHLY recommend Foyle's War. A series set in WWII England featuring Foyle a pragmatic detective. I was so sad to reach the end of the series. I wanted MORE!!!
And Peggy Noonan must have been asleep for the last six year and is finally awake?
Last six years? Where were you the previous 75 or so years?
Not to mention, it's funny as Hell to see Noonan pretend she isn't part of the nation's elite class as though she were some random soccer mom from the mid-west.
chick, Busting your friends balls is the best ball busting.
Noonan is usually worth reading whether I agree with her or not, for her word crafting skills alone. YMMV
DBQ, you're really tempting me :)
I've seen several episodes of Foyle's War. It's very well done. Now a suggestion for you, as you like Foyle. If you've not yet seen it, try Inspector Lewis. He and dishy Detective Hathaway investigate murders in and around Oxford University. And glory hallelujah, I see now that a seventh and final season has been released, but not yet available in American DVD format.
@ Deb
Yes. We have seen a few of the Inspector Lewis episodes. I like them even though they can be slow slogging sometimes. My husband has a problem often in trying to cut through the regional English accents, especially Yorkshire and Liverpool. The characters talk fast and use slang. Half the time he is: "WTF are they saying!!!" I don't have much problem there since I spent quite some time with Brits, Irish and Scottish, some of which only spoke broken English....very hard to understand until you get the hang of it. When it becomes work to just try to translate in your mind, it isn't that much fun for my husband.
It is like watching the Game of Thrones. Unless you have read the books: the story moves really fast in the beginning and I had to spend half the time on pause explaining who these characters are, what they mean to each other and pointing out incidents that are briefly on the screen but will be important later. Too much work.
Get the fuck outta Brooklyn and you will have a civil movie experience. And Captain America??
Last Movie I watched: Inside Llewyn Davis by the Coen Brothers. Verdict: I liked it.
TV: I was thinking about watching "Downtown Abbey" but I'm afraid it will just be a 2nd rate, jazzed up "Upstairs Downstairs".
Some movies need to be seen on the "Big Screen" but most are just as good on a 42 inch HD TV.
And the food and company are better at home.
" I was thinking about watching "Downtown Abbey" but I'm afraid it will just be a 2nd rate, jazzed up "Upstairs Downstairs"."
You are correct, sir. I stopped at the end of season 2. But no one can deliver a line like Dame Maggie Smith.
DBQ, I'm the opposite. While I thought Foyle was a little hottie, I didn't need to watch every single episode.
"Unless you have read the books..."
This was how Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was. If you hadn't read the book, you couldn't really appreciate the plot, or how they'd changed some of it. And I think they got Prideaux all wrong; did not do justice to the character. But if you just sat back and enjoyed the feel of the era, it was good.
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