Haven't read anything in this thread because I'm only three episodes in, but just such a well written show. I'm a Spacey fan anyhow, but I'm loving it so far. Netflix did well. [Reply]
We had crappy weather here Saturday, so I managed to get through the whole thing this weekend. I thought it was pretty solid as a whole. Some interesting stuff going on (Especially that one development at The Citadel...hopefully that will come back in a big way rather than just fading out. To me that was maybe the most interesting twist of the entire season.) that I'm interested to see what they'll do with in the future.
I agree with cookster's spoiler, and there were several other things that I was just like "come on, someone who's supposedly that savvy would NEVER do THAT," but hey, it's TV.
I was surprised that the narration thing didn't bug me after a while but overall I thought it was ok (I was afraid it was going to end up being a crutch for sloppy writing/plot development, but for the most part they avoided that.). The only time it started to annoy me was when the writers couldn't get out of their own way with beating you over the head about how bad Frank is. Sort of like the end of the pivotal scene with Russo at his house. It's strange, most of the time the show is pretty well written and subtle like they know their target audience is sharp and they give them credit. Then you get these odd instances where they wield the script like a blunt weapon. I'm sure they're trying to add that extra little punch of gravitas, but they end up being melodramatic eye-rollers for me.
I was pretty impressed with the production values, and it was miles ahead of Homeland regarding certain things being believably in/near the District. There were a few things script wise that were off, but they were fairly minor (though easily avoidable) and you'd probably have to know the city pretty well to catch them. They did a good enough job with depth of field and framing the shots that even the DC scenes that weren't DC were close enough visually.
Show is awesome. My one gripe is that the President seems very obtuse compared with the rest of the characters. You don't get to be President without being incredibly astute. I hope they fix that in the second season. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Silock:
Show is awesome. My one gripe is that the President seems very obtuse compared with the rest of the characters. You don't get to be President without being incredibly astute. I hope they fix that in the second season.
Heh. I guess you never heard of George W. Bush or Joe Biden. :-) [Reply]
Wow. Underwood is the coldest, most deviant prick I may have ever watched on a show. Delightful character. Netflix hit their target. There's no fucking way I'm cancelling my subscription with season two on the way.
This model kicks ass. I didn't necessarily plow through a ton of episodes until today since it was a snow day; but I could see myself watching a couple of episodes a night for a couple of nights a week and making it a three week process for season two. [Reply]
It really is a great show. The fact they had the cash to pull in an actor like Spacey, and just the production value in general... is really impressive.
Can't wait for the new Arrested Development. [Reply]
I really enjoyed the first season. I've recommended the show lots of people and am looking forward to the second season, but frankly,
Spoiler!
I was disappointed that they chose to have Underwood kill Peter Russo. First, I know Underwood is conniving and ruins people's lives, but that's different from him being a killer. If Russo had just gone on an epic bender and killed himself in a DUI accident, fine, but having Underwood do the deed just felt like it was going too far. And second, I liked Russo. I think he was a great character, and I think it would have been much more interesting to watch everyone deal the aftermath of Russo's drunken radio interview than to simply have Russo eliminated. That felt like a misstep to me in an otherwise excellent season.
Originally Posted by noa:
I really enjoyed the first season. I've recommended the show lots of people and am looking forward to the second season, but frankly,
Spoiler!
I was disappointed that they chose to have Underwood kill Peter Russo. First, I know Underwood is conniving and ruins people's lives, but that's different from him being a killer. If Russo had just gone on an epic bender and killed himself in a DUI accident, fine, but having Underwood do the deed just felt like it was going too far. And second, I liked Russo. I think he was a great character, and I think it would have been much more interesting to watch everyone deal the aftermath of Russo's drunken radio interview than to simply have Russo eliminated. That felt like a misstep to me in an otherwise excellent season.
Spoiler!
Russo's destruction was awful - I kept yelling at the screen DON'T GO IN THE ROOM! DON'T TAKE THE DRINK! GET OUT OF THERE! I actually had to leave the room when he botched the interview. However, I didn't have a problem with the way Underwood dealt with him - perfect chance to rid himself of an unstable timebomb that would have likely destroyed him dropped right in his lap. As Frank himself said in one of his Ferris Bueller moments, you don't let opportunities like that pass you by. But it was painful to watch.
It's really going to suck having to wait a year for the next season. I'm hooked. [Reply]
