REVIEW: House of Cards Season 1

With all the undue Emmy love this show has just received, I'm feeling a bit more dour on it than it probably deserves. But the truth is, there was just something about it that left me cold.

It certainly has the right pedigree, with David Fincher involved in directing the early episodes, and big movie actors Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in the lead roles, and the production values on this thing can rival the best of HBO. And it's another show about a cynical male antihero (that I'm getting sick of), who's navigating through the dark, ultra cynical world of DC politics- this whole thing was a recipe for Emmy success that I'm now embarrassed I didn't see coming. But despite the fancy set dressing, in the end it all felt a bit hollow, and the pretension it wants to project is all surface and no substance.

That may be a little harsh, because it's not as if there's nothing of value in the show. The dialogue from head writer Beau Willimon is theatrical at times but usually smart and steeped in realistic sounding political jargon (although I'll admit that once again I prefer Aaron Sorkin's West Wing any day). And the lead performance from Kevin Spacey as Congressman Frank Underwood is always entertaining, but you know what? He's done this part before. The snarky, backstabbing, sarcastic used-car salesman act- he's done it so many times that it seems old hat for him. Robin Wright as his equally cynical and manipulative wife chose to play the part with a cold, steely reserve, and be unemotional throughout the season- it draws you in at first, thinking that she's a woman who may be hiding secrets, but by the end it feels like a fairly empty character who's made up of nothing but hollowed ambition. That was my problem with the two characters here- to me it felt like there was no real internal drama lurking below the surface after a while, just cold, cynical people being cold and cynical with not much else going on.

That goes for much of the supporting cast as well. Kata Mara plays the ambitious young reporter whose goals in life are solely to get ahead, seemingly making her a perfect match for Spacey's antihero, and yet she turns out to have nothing going on upstairs in the end either (not to mention that performance just doesn't work at all for me, and seems less like an acting choice to be unemotional and more like a January Jones-esque, can't-change-the-expression-on-my-face rigidity). The more that I look back on this show, the more I think what really saved the season was the performance of Corey Stoll, and his tortured, helpless Congressman Peter Russo, who became the victim of the Washington monsters who used him shamelessly. Stoll infused this character with a complex humanity and a vivid inner turmoil. He was the only person in the cast who felt alive at times and I often wished he could have been the focus of the series. Especially now that, SPOILER ALERT, he can't be on the show next season, I really wonder how it's going to fare without him.

And yes, there were some insanely complicated and unlikely plot twists involving Frank's machinations and ultimate goals throughout the season- you're going to have to suspend disbelief on a similar level as Homeland, which is asking quite a lot, considering that this show takes itself even more seriously than that one does. Still, I was willing to go along with all that by taking into account the fact that this show was being adapted from the early 90's British version starring Ian Richardson, and was more or less faithful in translating all the same events to US politics and spreading it out over 13 episodes (the original was 4). That takes some doing and Willimon was pretty impressive in accomplishing it.

So, ultimately, I'm going to keep watching because I am interested in seeing where it goes, but this is the one new show of the year that gave me serious reservations, and to see it showered with all this Emmy love over some far superior shows has me thinking they all fell for the pedigree more than anything else. So be careful with that when you watch this, because it almost fooled me too- it's only in the last few episodes when things are wrapping up that you begin to see all the false plot twists and unlikelihoods and the ultimate shallowness of these characters reveals itself more plainly. Shallowness on its own isn't a negative, but if the show doesn't realize they're shallow and thinks it's been treading in substance this entire time...then there's a bit of a problem.

Grade: B-

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Thoughts on the Emmy noms

Well, that was a depressing morning. The total lack of love for Arrested Development, plus the the acclaim for the overrated House of Cards, and the continuing inexplicable Downton Abbey support. All the movie/miniseries nominations for Top of the Lake was my only saving grace this morning. Let's go through it, piece by piece. 

  • I cannot believe Will Arnett and Jessica Walter were snubbed. I promised to throw a hissy fit if that happened, and I did when I did not see Arnett's name. They should have been locks to WIN, much less be nominated. I'm happy for Jason Bateman, but considering that AD was totally shut out elsewhere, it makes me think they just circled his name out of recognition. SO lame. The biggest disappointment of the day. I mean, how the hell did Jane Lynch make a comeback in Supporting Actress over Jessica Walter?

  • Why on earth do the Emmys love Downton Abbey so much? It's a period soap opera and once again they have showered nods on some very undeserving people. Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter and Michelle Dockery again? Really? They just stood there this last season, people. Come on. 

  • Amazingly, several of my wildcard wishlist nominations came through- Adam Driver, Tony Hale, and Anna Chlumsky in the comedy supporting categories. Like I said, Driver does stand out on that show, and the Veep cast strengthened its group dynamic this year, so that was a welcome sight.  And Emilia Clarke actually made it in for Game of Thrones (which led the nominations this year with 16!)

  • No Tatiana Maslany, like I figured. Sigh. Hopefully she's going to keep pushing as the show goes on, and maybe she'll get some attention from the Golden Globes to make her case next time. Julianna Margulies being knocked out of Lead Actress in a Drama was surprising though, as I thought she and Claire Danes were the only locks here. Kerry Washington getting in is the first nomination for an African-American woman in this category since Cicely Tyson in 1995, so that's good news, but I think the nods here make it pretty easy for Danes to walk away with it again.

  • Breaking Bad got writing nominations for the first time ever, knocking out Mad Men completely, and collecting directing, and supporting acting nods for Anna Gunn and Jonathan Banks. Even though Game of Thrones and Homeland remain strong contenders, I was right about it being BB's time. The Series win is theirs to lose.

  • It looks like Modern Family will pick up its fourth straight win, with no real competition except for maybe 30 Rock, which had something of a resurgence in nominations for the final season. Despite all the support that Louie has, I still think it'll be hard for that show to win, and Veep looks stronger but still didn't land any writing or directing nods. Girls and The Big Bang Theory remained flat in support with no writing noms, so it looks to me like the alternative for someone who doesn't want Modern Family to win again is probably 30 Rock. 

I'll be making my final winner's predictions in the weeks before the Emmys are handed out on Sep 22nd, so stay tuned.

2013 Emmy Nominations

DRAMA 

Drama Series: 

  • Breaking Bad
  • Downton Abbey 
  • Game of Thrones 
  • Homeland 
  • House of Cards 
  • Mad Men 

 Drama Lead Actor:

  • Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) 
  • Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) 
  • Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) 
  • Jon Hamm (Mad Men) 
  • Damien Lewis (Homeland) 
  • Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) 

Drama Lead Actress:

  • Connie Britton (Nashville) 
  • Claire Danes (Homeland) 
  • Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey) 
  • Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel) 
  • Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) 
  • Kerry Washington (Scandal) 
  • Robin Wright (House of Cards) 

Drama Supporting Actor: 

  • Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad) 
  • Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire) 
  • Jim Carter (Downton Abbey) 
  • Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) 
  • Mandy Patinkin (Homeland) 
  • Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) 

Drama Supporting Actress: 

  • Morena Baccarin (Homeland)
  • Christine Baranski (The Good Wife) 
  • Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) 
  • Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad) 
  • Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) 
  • Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) 

COMEDY 

Comedy Series: 

  • 30 Rock
  • The Big Bang Theory 
  • Girls 
  • Louie
  • Modern Family 
  • Veep 

Comedy Lead Actor: 

  • Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) 
  • Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) 
  • Don Cheadle (House of Lies) 
  • Louis C.K. (Louie) 
  • Matt LeBlanc (Episodes) 
  • Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) 

Comedy Lead Actress: 

  • Laura Dern (Enlightened) 
  • Lena Dunham (Girls) 
  • Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) 
  • Tina Fey (30 Rock) 
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) 
  • Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) 

Comedy Supporting Actor: 

  • Ty Burrell (Modern Family) 
  • Adam Driver (Girls) 
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) 
  • Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live) 
  • Tony Hale (Veep) 
  • Ed O'Neil (Modern Family) 

Comedy Supporting Actress: 

  • Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory) 
  • Julie Bowen (Modern Family) 
  • Anna Chlumsky (Veep) 
  • Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) 
  • Jane Lynch (Glee) 
  • Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) 
  • Merritt Weaver (Nurse Jackie) 

TV MOVIE/MINISERIES 

TV Movie/Miniseries: 

  • American Horror Story: Asylum
  • Behind the Candelabra 
  • The Bible 
  • Phil Spector 
  • Political Animals 
  • Top of the Lake 

TV Movie/Mini Lead Actor: 

  • Benedict Cumberbatch (Parade's End) 
  • Matt Damon (Behind the Candelabra) 
  • Michael Douglas (Behind the Candelabra) 
  • Toby Jones (The Girl) 
  • Al Pacino (Phil Spector) 

 TV Movie/Mini Lead Actress:

  • Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Asylum) 
  • Laura Linney (The Big C: Hereafter) 
  • Helen Mirren (Phil Spector)
  • Elisabeth Moss (Top of the Lake) 
  • Sigourney Weaver (Political Animals) 

TV Movie/Mini Supporting Actor: 

  • Scott Bakula (Behind the Candelabra) 
  • James Cromwell (American Horror Story: Asylum) 
  • John Benjamin Hickey (The Big C: Hereafter) 
  • Peter Mullan (Top of the Lake) 
  • Zachary Quinto (American Horror Story: Asylum) 

TV Movie/Mini Supporting Actress: 

  • Ellen Burstyn (Political Animals) 
  • Sarah Paulsen (American Horror Story: Asylum) 
  • Charlotte Rampling (Restless) 
  • Imelda Staunton (The Girl) 
  • Alfre Woodard (Steel Magnolias) 

VARIETY 

Variety Series: 

  • The Colbert Report
  • The Daily Show 
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live 
  • Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 
  • Real Time With Bill Maher 
  • Saturday Night Live 

RECAP: The Newsroom 2x01 "First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All the Lawyers"

So, tonight marks the return of Aaron Sorkin's much criticized The Newsroom, as many wondered if he would respond to all the complaints and critiques the show received in its first season. Well, I would say based on the first episode, the answer is...maybe. Somewhat, even. But it's more or less the same show.

To me, that's not such a bad thing- I always thought that while some of the criticism was accurate, a lot of it was overblown. Watching an Aaron Sorkin show, you're always going to be subjected to a certain amount of preachiness, smugness, and speechifying that is clearly Sorkin using characters as mouthpieces for the thoughts that he wants projected onto the world, and that's no different from any writer with a very strong and unique voice, like Quentin Tarantino or even Billy Wilder (not to go back too far). And Sorkin is so talented and holds such an ear for snappy, intellectual dialogue that a lot of times I could just listen to it for hours (I'm such a Sorkin-ite I even watched all of Studio 60). On top of that, I'm also a political junkie with a lot of the same opinions as him, so complaints that this show was like a fictional MSNBC station, kinda didn't bother me at all, although I can understand others thinking it was too much. I mostly found it amusing- and I think the real reason for all the annoyance was the decision to base the storylines on actual political events from the recent past, rather than setting it in a fictional universe, ala The West Wing.

The only things that did bother me about the first season, Sorkin seems to have made some attempt to correct, at least in the premiere. Last season there was a tendency to make most of the female characters into bumbling idiots who were bad at their jobs and needed the men to correct them in their foolish ways- and tonight we get to see News Night producer Mackenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer) in an extended sequence where she fixes an audio and sound problem on the show at the last minute, and pretty much all on her own too, so good for her! We'll get to see in future episodes how poor Maggie fares on the "stupid" front, seeing how she wasn't spotlighted much tonight and was probably the worst victim of that offense all last year. And the romantic triangle between Don, Jim and Maggie last season was handled very clumsily and dragged on for way too long with nothing much happening at all as far as developing it, and so thank god- tonight it looks like it's finally over, as Don swiftly and efficiently breaks up with Maggie at the end of the episode and they agree to move on.

As for what else went on tonight...well, it looks like we're set in August 2011 at the moment, with the fall of Gaddafi in Libya and the beginnings of the Occupy Wall Street movement the current hot topics being approached for news coverage. Jim starts the episode spurned by Maggie and tells Mackenzie he wants to go cover the Romney campaign in New Hampshire, but the Romney peeps are not happy to see him and won't even let him on the bus when he gets there, due to the uproar that has ensued since the finale of last season when our hero Will McAvoy called the Tea Party the "American Taliban" on the air. This has sparked a major backlash from Republicans in Congress, which has Leona Lansing (Jane Fonda, who IS a kickass woman on the show, but come on, how are you going to have her on and make her weak?) and her son Reese upset and blocked from access to congressional lobbying. So Charlie decides he has to ban Will from the 9/11 anniversary coverage, which a chastened Will agrees to, and then proceeds to make himself look tough on terror by taking the pro-drone strikes position in an on-air debate over the controversial foreign policy, upsetting both Mac and Sloan.

Speaking of Sloan, Olivia Munn was the sole woman in the newsroom last season who was allowed to be savvy and smart at work, so it's a little disconcerting that she now seems to be pining and quivering over Don while in the office, but I'll give it some time before attacking that new aspect of her character. Neal (Dev Patel) is already on the bandwagon with Occupy Wall Street, which Mac doubts is even news yet and sends him to a meeting to find out. This gives Aaron Sorkin a chance to make fun of the Occupiers for their hand signs and lack of leaders, as Neal lectures one of them over everything that's wrong with their movement, conveniently before it ever even starts- the one instance in this episode of the "benefit of hindsight" complaint launched at the show last year for characters knowing all kinds of things about news events the second they happened and sometimes even before, which is obviously impossible, and yet for me it was another thing that was kind of just amusing to watch, knowing how ridiculous it was.

The episode starts and ends with what looks to be the framing device of the season- a deposition all of the News Night employees are involved in, where lawyer Marcia Gay Harden is questioning everyone about their coverage of "Operation Genoa," which we don't know much about yet, but is apparently a black ops scandal that has them in trouble with the Department of Defense. And here is where the show would REALLY benefit from being set in a fictional universe. Whatever this scandal is, obviously it's made up- but the show revolves around news stories that actually did take place, so it's going to keep hitting that disconnect, no matter how interesting or intriguing this story may turn out. In fact, a fictional universe with parallel topical plots would fix an awful lot of the criticisms, but that ship has sailed, which is why The Newsroom remains more or less, the same show as last season. But for me, Aaron Sorkin dialogue combined with good actors and politics talk of any kind hits my sweet spot, so even if it's a bit of a guilty pleasure (it's no West Wing) I'm with this thing all the way. Until next week, everyone!

EMMY WATCH: Drama Wishlist- Series

Dream Nominees- Drama Series

  • The Americans
  • Boardwalk Empire
  • Breaking Bad
  • Game of Thrones
  • Justified
  • Mad Men

There are so many quality dramas out there right now, that it's really hard to pick just six. Of my choices, Justified and Boardwalk Empire will probably be snubbed in the actual nominations, but I really thought they had outstanding seasons and deserve to be there. Especially Boardwalk, which is a show that in contrast to its decreasing hype every year, has only gotten better as the seasons have progressed. I know that some feel Mad Men had an off season, but to me that show is still better than almost anything out there, so I wouldn't kick that out either. I did toss last year's winner Homeland out of the mix, and that show will definitely be nominated again. There were some big plausibility issues with the second season, and while I'm never really that hard on spy thrillers in terms of plot stuff (I'm willing to suspend more disbelief than most), there were some really glaring, over the top and wacky moments this year that were just plain ridiculous, and the ever growing screentime of the teenager from hell (fans know who I mean) is like a weight around that show's neck that is just dragging it down into the abyss whenever she shows up, to the point where I started dreading her every moment even before the episodes aired.

The Americans had a really strong debut season and took a different approach to the spy thing than Homeland, eschewing overdramatic plot twists and revelations for a lot of subtlety and internal character drama that I was very surprised by (and the Homeland writers could certainly benefit from watching this show on how to deal with  teenage kid characters- please, I BEG of them to take note). Game of Thrones had its best season yet, although I doubt that show will ever win, because of the fantasy genre it's stuck in, and although Justified's best season remains the second, the fourth was an ambitious mystery arc that introduced more great new characters (something this show excels at) while keeping up with the best dialogue on TV, a quality for which it's highly underrated (it's never even been nominated in writing).

Breaking Bad's half-season last year remained astonishingly suspenseful and well-acted, even if it felt unfinished (how could it not?). I choose that to finally win Series this year because I think it's time, and happily, I think it actually will win too, because the Academy is going to realize that it's now or never for that show. The final 8 episodes are airing in August, it's going to be at the top of everyone's radar, and I truly believe with Homeland's dip in quality last season, there's no more appealing alternative for the voters to go with. Other contenders in Series are House of Cards, Downton Abbey (which will probably still be nominated, but I think it's lightweight compared to these other shows) and The Good Wife. But it's Breaking Bad's for the taking this year, and I think they're going to pull it off.

EMMY WATCH: Drama Wishlist- Lead Actor & Actress

Dream Nominees- Lead Actor

  • Bryan Cranston- Breaking Bad
  • Hugh Dancy- Hannibal
  • Jeff Daniels- The Newsroom
  • Jon Hamm- Mad Men
  • Damian Lewis- Homeland
  • Matthew Rhys- The Americans

This particular wishlist of mine isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. Of the six, I think only Dancy and Rhys are the longshots, but both were outstanding in the debut seasons of their shows. Hugh Dancy in particular had to play a man whose mental state was deteriorating all season long, and he was entirely believable and never once over the top in his portrayal. I think it was an even more impressive "crazy" performance than his wife, Claire Danes, in her similar situation over on Homeland. And Matthew Rhys played a low key, serious yet sensitive spy husband on The Americans, and he was likeable and effective from the first episode. The rest of the guys are probably all locks to make it in, and they're all terrific and have been for years, so I see no reason to toss them out. Jeff Daniels might not make the cut, but despite the fact that he plays kind of a pompous windbag on The Newsroom, he's really good at it and deserves a nod hopefully on merit and not just name recognition. Kevin Spacey is very likely going to replace one of these guys, probably Dancy or Rhys, and that is based on name/Oscar winning status, etc. He's good on House of Cards, but he's done that kind of performance before. A lot. As for the winner, any one of these guys could win and deserve it, so I just picked Jon Hamm because he's WAY overdue and it would really be a shame for him to never win an Emmy for Don Draper.

Dream Nominees- Lead Actress

  • Claire Danes- Homeland
  • Julianna Margulies- The Good Wife
  • Tatiana Maslany- Orphan Black
  • Elisabeth Moss- Mad Men
  • Keri Russell- The Americans
  • Glenn Close- Damages

I've said this before, but if Tatiana Maslany can possibly get in, she could win because the voters would be forced to watch her play all these clones and she shows off a ton of range that the others don't have. She plays broad comedy, action, drama, and with different accents to boot. But she's still a major, major longshot for a nomination. Glenn Close has always been fantastic and I think she's deserving of another nomination, but nobody remembers Damages and if she makes it in, it's only because she's Glenn Close and her name was on the ballot. Sad, but true. Last year's winner Claire Danes will be back and I'm a little bit iffy on Margulies and Moss being here, but I couldn't think who to replace them with. Elisabeth Moss in particular got a lot less to do than usual on Mad Men this season, but someone like past nominee Michelle Dockery of Downton Abbey is certainly no better than her or Margulies. I would love to see Keri Russell get in, as she was surprisingly good at playing such a cold-hearted spy on The Americans, and is the much less sympathetic figure next to Matthew Rhys, but she pulled it off with nuance and subtlety (despite the outlandish wig situation going on with that show, the performances keep everything grounded in reality). Other contenders include Kerry Washington of Scandal and Robin Wright of House of Cards, but I wasn't too impressed with either of them. It's Tatiana all the way for me, but the likely winner is probably Claire Danes again.