HOUSE OF CARDS Breaks The Rules Of TV... And It's Awesome.
This weekend I had a lot of errands to run, plans with friends, and tasks to complete. That all went out the window Friday night after watching the first episode of House Of Cards. I sat there jaw agape as the credits rolled, I was beyond impressed. So impressed that I jumped to see if I could find a trailer for the next episode to give me a glimpse of what House Minority Whip Francis Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey) would be up to next. My jaw dropped further.
High profile lead actors, award winning directors, and an entire season put up all at once? What kind of brave new world is this?! To sum up my basic thoughts, this show would've soared on a premium channel like HBO or Showtime, and five episodes in I dare say it surpasses most of their current offerings.
Spacey aside, each character is as intriguing and enticing as the next, whether it's the drug using, trouble making congressman John Russo (Corey Stoll); or Claire (Robin Wright), the enigmatic wife of Underwood, the characters all seem well developed and able to carry a separate story line all on their own.
If there was one complaint I could make about this show, it's the all too often, cliche representation of print journalism. Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) plays the struggling young female journalist in a dying industry who gets her big break and flies through the ranks to stardom. To be honest, her character is not a far cry from the one played by Alison Pill on The Newsroom, and the constant remarks about print journalism dying get a bit droll (especially considering the size of this "small" paper's staff and the fact they are flying a journalist to transfer to a Midwest bureau...). That being said it's a small nit picky thing I say because I honestly don't have any other gripes I can bring against this show.
Final verdict? House of Cards sets the bar and offers a very attractive alternative for the future television viewing audience. A bar I hope many shows will follow suit with soon. A must see.