House of Cards, English Style

House of Cards, English Style

I found Kevin Spacey's "House of Cards," to be the best thing I've watched on television since "Mad Men," and now, while I anxiously await the next season, which is currently in production, I thought I would check out the source material, a BBC miniseries of the same name. It is also streaming on Netflix.

Staring Ian Richardson as Conservative Party Whip Francis Urquhart in a post-Thatcher, 90's era Great Britain, the plot follows the same lines. Urquhart is passed over for an important position in the Cabinet, and decides to take his revenge on those he feels didn't keep their promises. With his wife's encouragement, he decides to become Prime Minister, and in so doing has to pull some strings, making it seem like he's helping some powerful people in trouble, while using their weaknesses against them. Richardson, like Spacey, often speaks directly to the camera, which means we can see his motivation, but it also means that the character doesn't know everything the viewer knows.

The BBC version has three distinct volumes, in which "House of Cards"is the first. Unlike the American version, at the end of the three episode "House of Cards," Urquhart achieves his goal of becoming Prime Minister, whereas Underwood is still angling to become Vice-President. There are two more volumes, "To Play the King," (which I just started) and "The Final Cut."


Like Spacey's Francis (Frank) Underwood, Urquhart needs to seduce a young reporter, which he does with the implicit blessing of his wife. Now this part could be just me, or some sort of English thing, but where I could see Spacey seducing a young reporter (and in that maybe I see myself, being that Spacey, at 53, is just a bit older than I am), I had a hard time dealing with Richardson seducing a young reporter (though he was just 56 when this was made, he seems much older), and the character's desire to call him "Daddy" creeps me out a bit.

A distinct difference between the two is the strength of the wives. Where Underwood's wife has her own powerful life beyond Underwood, Urquhart's wife is strictly about supporting her husband, to the point of assisting in a murder. Whether it is a comment about American women, the times, or the need to flesh out Underwood's wife's character to help fill the 13 episodes, it certainly makes it more interesting to watch-and that the character is played by Robin Wright certainly helps.

My favorite line gets repeated often in both series's, said often by both Francis's to their reporter/mistresses, "You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment."

So as I wait for the new season of "Mad Men," (April 6!), watching the BBC "House of Cards," isn't so bad. I have to get used to the accents, of course, and the lighting and production isn't all that great. Then there's the bad English 80's hairstyles, but I do like getting wrapped up in a good drama.