House of Cards: The Complete First Season (2013)

Francis Underwood is Majority Whip. He has his hands on every secret in politics - and is willing to betray them all to become President. Kevin Spacey stars in this Netflix original Drama series.
Price: $55.99

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"West Wing" gave viewers a taste of a White House populated by government folk who fought the good fight and had its citizenry foremost in their concerns. No such luck here. In this outing, the people of the United States barely exist in the minds of government. They are fodder for those seeking to gain, or seeking to stay in, power.

Here's the scoop. Kevin Spacey plays congressman Frank Underwood, a very bright, savvy individual who knows his way around Capitol Hill. He knows how to get things done because he knows what's in people's souls and how to play them to his advantage. His wife, Claire (Robin Wright) heads up a a more socially conscious organization in the private sector but is no less addicted to power than her husband. They have a peculiar relationship to say the least. This is almost a diary of the various 'projects' in which they are involved and how they play them, even when unforeseen things happen.

This is some ugly, scary stuff. In my heart of hearts I don't want to believe this view of our government, but I fear it is probably a closer take on reality than is "The West Wing." The manipulation of people, the press and other politicians will make you puke in your shorts. The relationship between Frank and Claire alone can only make me wonder what world they must have lived in as children that allowed them to grow up in a way that would make them think behavior like this was Okay.

David Fincher (one of my favorite directors) helmed the first 2 episodes and well establishes the color and tone for the rest of the series. There is a greenish pallor to it which gives it a sickly feel. All the acting is top shelf and a fleet of veterans are on hand to insure that. The directing is good. The writing is exceptional. This is as good as any series I've seen on TV. My hat is off to Netflix in that they didn't feed it to their audience one episode at a time. They released the entire series in one fell swoop allowing their viewers to watch it when they please.

This is a remarkable effort and I hope the ratings are such that Netflix keeps it going.