House of Cards - Season 03

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major season three giveaways+++ Season three of House of Cards starts with Frank having successfully maneuvered his way into the Presidency after either killing or framing and/or sabotaging anyone who could stand in his way or take him down. Doug is recovering from the blow to the head he took when Rachel knocked him out and ran off at the end of season two, and there is friction between Frank and Claire that boils over by the season's end. The big political theme this season is Frank's America Works (or "AmWorks") program, which he initiates in an effort to show that his administration is making progress in helping the American people, and Claire becomes UN ambassador trying to amass power of her own. We also see some of the potential candidates to run against Frank, whom he of course tries to undermine in one way or the other. For those who get the blu-ray set, the show looks and sounds great in HD as it always has. The packaging is still awful, using the tight pockets to store the discs in that make them extremely hard to remove. For extras, there are two behind-the-scenes features, one that is generally about the season, and the second is about Doug's particular storyline. Overall, the season is great and the series continues to be wonderful. While the acting is great all around, the standouts this season are really Michael Kelly (playing Doug Stamper) and Rachel Brosnahan (playing Rachel Posner). Their storyline is dark and crazy and they both do a great job. Robin Wright also knocks it out of the park with her ever-expanding role in the series. Of course, Spacy is a catch-22 these days. His portrayal of Frank is awesome, but it is hard to separate the allegations against him personally from his work on the show. But, if you can put that aside, his portrayal of this character is probably his best acting work ever. The series continues to be one that you hope is entirely fictional in its portrayal of the Washington political scene, but fear that more of it is true than it should be. I think it is still one of the best dramas ever, and definitely worth the time to watch.

We bought the entire season as a gift for a relative. We are hooked on this show. The writing, acting, and cinematography are excellent. Even if you don't care about politics, this is one of the best shows available. Beau Willimon is the writer and producer. He has worked for many notable politicians. This series is very much a drama but it twists and turns in ways you can't believe. Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are made for each other in this series. Most of the set is an exact replica of the white house and all of the outdoor shots are real places. This is just the beginning of the seamless continuity of the series. Of course it is a work of fiction, but so entertaining!

Oh, the treachery of government! It's like we're watching predictive programming!!!! Great show!

This is a GREAT SERIES! If you like political intrigue, this is the vehicle for you. Seasons One and Two were outta sight and this series was just as good....EXCEPT for the very last chapter as they call them. The last chapter seemed to have been written by someone else...maybe cats on a typewriter?! It was awful. No specifics because I don't want to spoil the series for anyone but the rest of this season is great...some episodes stronger than others but all leading to what I understand is a fourth season. I love it when Frances speaks directly to the viewer, breaking the fourth wall. You feel as though you know so much more than the other characters in the show. If it were not for that last episode I would have given this series a full five stars. Even at four stars this is a must see series...but you should probably see the first two seasons as well in order to really understand what is going on. So get the snacks ready cause you won't want to leave your screen until each episode is over!

I've only watched 4 episodes so far but season 3 is just as intriguing and interesting as the first two seasons. The series keeps moving; it's not a rehash of the same situations played and replayed but instead we now see Francis and Claire Underwood placed in new situations as a result of their conniving in the first two seasons. All of it is tied together by sleazy politics, of course, but each episode is fresh and holds my interest from the opening scene. That Frank could literally get away with murder and yet become president seems on one hand to be hard to believe yet just take a look at what he have in office with our present administration and while there is perhaps no one who has literally murdered anyone, it still is pretty unbelievable what us poor citizens have to put up with as far as who governs us. While House of Cards has some pretty wild situations, it is probably no worse than reality. Its just that in watching the series we can laugh with incredulity at the behavior instead of crying at the reality in our own country. House of Cards season 3 is well-written and well-acted. The episodes have excellent pacing and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of them.

Excellent series with Spacey and Wright at their best. My problem is the packaging provided by Sony. The four disc package is constructed with cheap materials, especially the glue. The first and second disc were fine, but I had to clean glue from the packaging off of disc three and four. This is a major quality issue that I wouldn't have expected from Sony. In fact I haven't had this problem before with any DVD's that I have purchased. I shouldn't have to spend a half hour cleaning disc 3 and another half and hour cleaning disc 4 and wonder if my blue ray player will be able to read the discs. Luckily everything worked fine in the end. Sony should get off their butt and at least improve their packaging methods.

The first two season were pretty good but in my opinion it went down hill by the third

Ah, yes, the evil Underwoods are back, doing their dirty best. I still enjoyed the programs, although I think the first season was the best so far. Kevin Spacy and Robin Wright are both excellent, and so are the supporting actors. I have had to stop comparing the story lines to anything found in the British House of Cards, though. They are two very different offerings. Yes, the Underwoods are distinctly American. I LOVED the British series, and think maybe it is better than this one, but I give this one a "excellent" (despite some of the Soap Opera shenanigans they keep pulling).