This eleven-part series is a political drama set in present-day Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The title refers to the initially central character of the plot (although her presence fades as the story progresses), a 'fixer' who deals with problems caused and faced by political candidates and business leaders.
There is little about the story that makes it different or novel, apart from the fact that the majority of the leading characters are female, rather than male, which is unusual in a country in which only 10% of political candidates are female, placing it 108th in the world for female representation (note that North Korea is 114th).
In the western world, we are familiar with the likes of Hilary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel in seats of power, so the notion of female politicians is far from a novelty.
I will not go into details of the plot here, apart from to say that it builds up to the election of the Mayor of Seoul, which is clearly much more significant than mayoral positions in the UK. The heroes (and heroines) and villains are largely two-dimensional, teenage cartoon caricatures, whilst the quality of the acting and script (even taking into account that I watched the 'dubbed into English' version) reminded me of that of a junior school play.
There is the usual amount of treachery, back-stabbing, lying and corruption associated with most political dramas, combined with sibling rivalry, adultery, blackmail and murder, but 'House of Cards' this most definitely is not.
Once the roles of the leading individuals had been clearly defined in the first couple of episodes, the various twists and turns and the eventual outcome, were obvious and predictable. The story was enjoyable without ever being either challenging or riveting.
3 out of 10.
There is little about the story that makes it different or novel, apart from the fact that the majority of the leading characters are female, rather than male, which is unusual in a country in which only 10% of political candidates are female, placing it 108th in the world for female representation (note that North Korea is 114th).
In the western world, we are familiar with the likes of Hilary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel in seats of power, so the notion of female politicians is far from a novelty.
I will not go into details of the plot here, apart from to say that it builds up to the election of the Mayor of Seoul, which is clearly much more significant than mayoral positions in the UK. The heroes (and heroines) and villains are largely two-dimensional, teenage cartoon caricatures, whilst the quality of the acting and script (even taking into account that I watched the 'dubbed into English' version) reminded me of that of a junior school play.
There is the usual amount of treachery, back-stabbing, lying and corruption associated with most political dramas, combined with sibling rivalry, adultery, blackmail and murder, but 'House of Cards' this most definitely is not.
Once the roles of the leading individuals had been clearly defined in the first couple of episodes, the various twists and turns and the eventual outcome, were obvious and predictable. The story was enjoyable without ever being either challenging or riveting.
3 out of 10.