TV Series: HOMELAND SEASON 4 (2014) AAA

The ongoing seasons of HOMELAND and THE AMERICANS continue to break new ground in adult entertainment.   HOUSE OF CARDS and IN TREATMENT . . . plus the SOPRANO'S . . . and some of the KILLING were breakthroughs as well. 

As an aside, it is apparent that most of these series provide insightful psychology and/or violent action (or both), which is the obvious direction of the modern ADULT edutainment . . . that sells.  They are not like THE BELLS OF SAINT MARY, THE BOOK OF MORMON,  MAMA MIA, and THE SOUND OF MUSIC which are basically produced for adults who are looking for feel-good children movies . . . which also have their place in the spectrum of the entertainment world (and earn the producers big bucks). 

I am a believer that these various forms of entertainment vehicles should never be compared to each other in an award competition.  It's like comparing a baseball game to a football game. Or Harvard to George Washington High School in upper Manhatten.  It makes no sense whatsoever. 

I honestly can't remember all of the drama and action during of the 12 episodes of HOMELAND, Season 4, but some of the intricate and creative plots combined with super acting takes this series beyond regular Hollywood awards.  These newer TV Series have brought Cable TV to a new level of entertainment and edge-of-your-seat thrills and excitement.  These dramas have also been immeasurably enhanced by the new High Definition 60 inch screens. 

TV Series Review: MADAM SECRETARY: SEASON 1 (2014) C

Very weak and predicable political drama about a women ex-CIA analyst-turned-college- professor who (out of the blue) gets the job as Secretary of State. Apparently not respected by the President or his obnoxious Chief-Of-Staff.  

Includes the usual stuff about her having to balance her demanding job with being a loving house-frau and doting mother. Gets a little nauseating.

First two episodes deal with (as expected) a Benghazi type situation. Not nearly up to the standards of HOUSE OF CARDS or THE WEST WING.

HOUSE OF CARDS; Second Season (2014) A-

I just finished the last of the 13 episodes of the second season of the TV series HOUSE OF CARDS produced by NETFLIX.

In the first season Congressman Francis Underwood embarks on a ruthless path to gain political power by manipulating a young reporter and other assorted colleagues. His wife Claire, (particularly unattractive from a personality standpoint), is a willing accomplice. 

In this second season, the Underwoods continue their ruthless rise to power. New alliances form while old ones fall by the wayside due to the Underwoods' acts of deception and underhandedness. In this season Francis and Claire battle new threats to avoid losing everything. 

The episodes of the second season were somewhat repetitive but watchable.  The ruthlessness gets a little tedious at times (and I was going to rate it B) but the last episode of the season ended on a high note . . . depending on your viewpoint, and I gave it an A-

I expect there will be more episodes in the future because some of Underwoods dirty dealings have yet to be resolved and the ratings were probably very good.

SHAMELESS (2011 - ) F

I watched some moments of the first episode of Shameless last night. The introduction showed (if I remember) a bunch of ultra rowdy teens creating mayhem.

When the episode opens . . . after some family stuff in a kitchen of a medium to lower socioeconomic group, we see a teen age girl, who is supposed to studying together with a teen guy, go under the kitchen table . . . the mother close by in the kitchen . . . and I assume perform oral sex on the guy. Absolute gratuitous oral sex with no connection to the plot (if one exists) or part of a male/female lovemaking scene.

Oral sex was recently used in a tasteful manner in both the movie Sessions and the series House Of Cards, but in this setting it was the next step from what may go on in the back of school buses. As the trailer from Nextflix says "Inspired by an award-winning British series of the same name, this Showtime dramedy (their words) centers on a brood of dysfunctional Chicago siblings who struggle to make ends meet in between their alcoholic father's frequent blackouts." After about 7 minutes of watching this "crap", I felt that this was not the type of gang that  I was interested in bringing into my home. I would love to know the demographics of the people who watch this series. Showtime spent a lot of money making it . . . so it plays to a large group of people

HOUSE OF CARDS TRILOGY (Original BBC version) (1990 to 1995) A-

After watching the recent American version of this series, and being disappointed that I was left hanging without resolution to the conflicts and issues created by the screenwriters after 13 episodes, I decided to watch the original British version of House Of Cards than ran years ago on the BBC.

This series significantly different that the American version . . . but extremely watchable. In this production the British politician Francis Urquhart vows to exact revenge on the system that's holding him back. Through charm and persuasion, Urquhart gains the trust of his colleagues while simultaneously undermining them the he's passed up for a promotion. But in this series Urquhart reverts to somewhat more violet action to achieve his goal. 

As in the American version, he has an affair with a young reporter, but in the British series it appears more forced. In fact the series production appears more "stiff" than the American House of Cards. Lot of fun watching the action in Parliament. If you've never seen the real verbal combat that goes on when the house is in session, i would strongly suggest you visit Commons the next time you are in London.

HOUSE OF CARDS (2013) A+

Only available on Netflix.  I increased my rating from B+ to A+ after seeing all 13 episodes. 

A VERY well written fictional story of what goes on behind closed doors in Washington. Kevin Spacey plays the part of an extremely personable but ruthless Congressman, Francis Underwood, who spends his time manipulating the media, his constituents in South Carolina, lobbyists, the President, and other congressmen for control and power. 

 Story line jumps rapidly from one scene to another as he and his ambitious wife Claire, will stop at nothing to conquer everything. 

This 13 episode series covers and back halls of greed, sex, love and corruption in modern D.C. Well acted and directed. Fast moving. Requires that you are somewhat aware of the political operation in our nations capital. I am now praying for the the series to be renewed because we ended in the middle of an extremely exciting political and criminal situation.