You know that old saying, a couple who watches television
together stays together? Well, I hope that
television is not the only predictor of marital harmony. Just last year, I had to break it to Nels
that, after watching the first two episodes of Game of Thrones, the violence against women was more than I could
stand. He would have to watch the rest
on his own. To his credit, he wasn’t
surprised by my reaction. I almost quit
watching The Sopranos after the scene
where Dr. Melfi gets raped in the stairwell of the parking garage, so he knew I
probably wouldn’t last with Thrones, where
the carelessness regarding human and animal well-being is at an all-time low.
However, Nels was surprised when I declined to keep
watching House of Cards after three
episodes. His parents recommended it and
the critics raved about it, so it seemed an obvious series to obtain from Netflix
(to his parents’ credit, they loved The
Sopranos and even enjoyed seeing Book
of Mormon. Who knew?). But after the first disc, I was done. The writing and acting are excellent, and
there is very little physical violence, although Kevin Spacey, in his role as
Francis Underwood, Congressman from South Carolina, kills a dog in the first episode. Ostensibly, it is to stop the dog’s suffering
from being hit by a car, or so Francis informs us in a voiceover. An animal as the first victim of a series—and
I’m a cat person, not a dog person—is not a good harbinger. I get that the scene was symbolic, and
perhaps we were to be sympathetic to Francis, but I did not buy it. Turns out, my misgivings were correct.
It is not as if this is a violent show; at least not in
physical terms. This time, the women,
including Francis’ wife, Claire, played by Robin Wright, are as bad as the men,
and the violence is of the underhanded, conniving sort. After three episodes, I could find very little
humanity or empathy in any of the characters.
It was another cynical view of what happens in our nation’s capital,
like Veep, only without the wink-wink
humor (so, actually it’s now three shows that Nels has to watch on his own. I lasted most of a season on that, but the
humor was just too mean-spirited).
Don’t get me wrong.
I am not completely naïve about the wheelings and dealings that take
place in DC. And two of my current
favorite shows, Homeland and The Americans, question the ethics and
issues of power among the different agencies and the representatives we
elect. (We started watching Scandal, another DC insider tale, too, and I'm still not sure I will stick with it). It is not so much the story
content, but the complexity of the characters that attracts me. In Homeland
and The Americans, we get some
backstory. We understand where the
characters come from, and how they came to be.
They are imperfect, make huge mistakes that impact not only themselves,
but their families and the country. But
they are written as well-rounded human beings.
I just don’t see the same thing in Veep,
in which Julia Louis-Dreyfus acts as if she’s Larry David in drag, and in House of Cards, where there is not one
sympathetic character.
My friend Julie K called me on this when I told her I wasn’t
going to watch House of Cards any
longer because I found it mean-spirited and cynical. She said, ”But you love Breaking Bad. Isn’t Walter
White cynical too?” A fair point. I am no fan of Walter White. However, we watched how he evolved into
Heisenberg. We saw how he convinced
himself this is what he had to do, even as other options were open to him. I certainly don’t root for Walter White,
although a tiny bit of me cringed when his brother-in-law found the Leaves of Grass book with the telltale
inscription. Walter White is more like
Tony Soprano than Francis Underwood.
Flawed, certainly, and ruthless.
Yet, the writers exposed us to their vulnerabilities from the very first
episode. I did not see this with
Francis. I don’t give a crap what
happens to Francis, his wife, or anyone else in the show. I am however, riveted to seeing what happens
with Walter.
Usually, I am seduced by good writing. But right now, I’ll take the lousy writing
and overacting in Under the Dome (note
to Stephen King: surely you could have
proofed the scripts for terrible dialogue!) over the nastiness of House of Cards. I know I am in the minority, but there
are many well-written shows with empathetic characters that call for my
attention. House of Cards and Game of
Thrones can survive without me.
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