![]() When it comes to this series, I am more in the latter camp.Īll discussion of distribution models and binge watching vs. These shows were practically built to be binge-watched the difference here is Netflix is providing the viewer with that model of consumption from the get-go.Īnd depending on your impressions of the series, writer and executive producer Beau Willimon and his staff either did a fantastic job of spreading the story of Majority Whip Frank Underwood's (Kevin Spacey) quest for power over a 13-hour span, or they crafted a story that managed to shine only in parts, while some sections felt more like information drops, or throat-clearing than elements of a larger story. This isn't a drastic change in storytelling HBO has been doing this for years, mainly with 'The Wire,' 'Boardwalk Empire' and especially 'Game of Thrones' (which seems to aggressively reject the concept of an episode). The arc is the season – and possibly the entire series when all is said and done – so the goal becomes to watch as many episodes as you can in order to get more of a sense of story. This is a big part of how 'House of Cards' is laid out: episodes don't necessarily feel episodic they bleed into one another rather than aiming to have a distinct beginning, middle and end. This may seem like an innocuous aspect to notice when you're mainlining all five seasons of 'Friday Night Lights' (telling yourself you don’t have a problem and you can stop when you want), but when it comes to programs created specifically for this distribution model, the goal is for each episode to branch into the next as seamlessly as possible. The trick is, however, you have to tell it to stop, or the service will keep right on feeding your brain with the program of your choice until your head explodes, or your electricity is shut off from all the work you've been missing – whatever happens first. In a way, and for the specific purposes of their prestige drama – which is based on the 1990 BBC mini-series of the same name (itself an adaptation of the 1989 novel by Michael Dobbs) – knowing that the entire first season would be available all at once, Netflix has further spurned the idea of television dramas as a collection of contained hour-long arcs contributing to a larger storyline.įor starters, those who have a Netflix subscription and have watched television series via the streaming application know that as soon as an episode ends the next one is loaded for your enjoyment. The Netflix model of distribution isn't just notable because of how it alters the manner in which a television series is watched, but the model also played an enormous role in how the narrative of 'House of Cards' was presented. ![]() ![]() And in changing the question from "Is this series any good?" to "How will this series alter the way I consume television?" Netflix effectively kept the discussion precisely where the company wanted it: on their mode of operation, and how it appeals to the consumers' desire to binge watch major chunks of or the entirety of a television season in one sitting. It's possible that the majority of early interest surrounding Netflix's original series, 'House of Cards,' had as much if not more to do with the rental-house-cum-streaming-giant's decision to drop the entire 13-episode season at once, and seemingly obliterate the weekly, episodic format television viewers have come to know since the medium's inception, than the Hollywood names who were attached to direct and star.
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