House of Cards

This is a "Masterpiece Theatre" of unexpected thrills, biting humor and pointed satire. [29 Mar 1991]

It's just super, a triumph of programme-making that even Alistair Cooke himself with his famous British overstatement can't exaggerate. [28 Mar 1991]

A thoroughly captivating production. ... You'll want to have a couple of blank videotapes ready for this one. [31 Mar 1991]

It is not necessary ... to be a student of British politics to appreciate the script, acting and direction of this intricate and addictive series. [30 Mar 1991]

Brilliantly performed. [29 Mar 1991]

This is at once a chucklingly good satire of political infighters and dishonest press barons... and a grim thriller whose scheming protagonist makes Richard Nixon look like a guileless wimp. ... Its flaws are not in the acting or in Paul Seed's directing, but in the writing ... Otherwise, "House of Cards" is no less than evil at its grandest, bolstered by one sterling performance after another as it moves smoothly toward its jolting conclusion.

"House of Cards" is a bit of a rough go at first -- the characters, their roles and the British political culture aren't all that clear to Americans. They sort themselves out soon enough, though, and the reward for the persistent is one whopping tale of intrigue. [30 Mar 1991]

The plot of "House of Cards" requires more than just a couple suspensions of disbelief. Seemingly perceptive characters turn inexplicably naive. The obvious is overlooked just a bit too frequently. But, directed by Paul Seed, the production moves ahead briskly, and as the story turns more and more vicious, the timely potboiler becomes surprisingly compelling. Much of the credit belongs to Ian Richardson's scarily perfect performance as Francis Urquhart.

"House of Cards" is not without its flaws -- the occasionally heavy dribblings of symbolism, for instance, as exemplified by the regular appearance of gnawing rats. We could have figured out, without the rats, that this is black comedy. The last episode, further, is so written as to produce an Urquhart of considerably flattened character. By this time, however, it has been a superb ride for so long that no one will care. [25 Mar 1991]