[Bruce Wang]

The pop culture "It" university makes a small cameo in Chapter Nine of House of Cards.  Based on a BBC production of the same name, House of Cards is the Netflix original program produced by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey.  This is the 3rd time Stanford gets mentioned in a David Fincher production that I'm aware of.  The others are The Game and the Social Network.  Once is happenstance.  Twice is coincidence.  Thrice is enemy (ally?) action.

Netflix outbid HBO for this show by committing to 2 seasons and releasing an entire season at once, so it's potentially a watershed moment for something near and dear to many of your hearts: a la carte programming.  I like the show enough to watch it.  Not enough to evangelize.  It's like West Wing (my favorite show of all time), but more Machiavellian and amoral.  I would love HouseofCards if Kevin Spacey's character didn't break the 4th wall. That worked in Ferris Bueller, but not here.  That's one of the problems with this Netflix experiment. You can't fix the easy things.

[Bruce Wang]

The pop culture "It" university makes a small cameo in Chapter Nine of House of Cards.  Based on a BBC production of the same name, House of Cards is the Netflix original program produced by David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey.  This is the 3rd time Stanford gets mentioned in a David Fincher production that I'm aware of.  The others are The Game and the Social Network.  Once is happenstance.  Twice is coincidence.  Thrice is enemy (ally?) action.

Netflix outbid HBO for this show by committing to 2 seasons and releasing an entire season at once, so it's potentially a watershed moment for something near and dear to many of your hearts: a la carte programming.  I like the show enough to watch it.  Not enough to evangelize.  It's like West Wing (my favorite show of all time), but more Machiavellian and amoral.  I would love HouseofCards if Kevin Spacey's character didn't break the 4th wall. That worked in Ferris Bueller, but not here.  That's one of the problems with this Netflix experiment. You can't fix the easy things.

[81alum]

I'll try to keep an open mind, but it is very hard to imagine an American production that will hold a candle to Ian Richardson's Francis Urquehart.  Are they setting the new version in the U.S.? 

Not having seen the new version, I can however imagine the need for a reference to an elite university, since part of the backdrop to the original was Urquehart's elite background.  I don't remember whether they mentioned whether he was Oxford or Cambridge.

[81alum]

I'll try to keep an open mind, but it is very hard to imagine an American production that will hold a candle to Ian Richardson's Francis Urquehart.  Are they setting the new version in the U.S.? 

Not having seen the new version, I can however imagine the need for a reference to an elite university, since part of the backdrop to the original was Urquehart's elite background.  I don't remember whether they mentioned whether he was Oxford or Cambridge.

[Bruce Wang]

The new version is set in the US.  I've never seen the original.  The consensus opinion is that the original version is vastly superior.

Stanford's cameo is very small.  Stanford has become the fiction short hand for smart person that is not d-bag.

[Bruce Wang]

The new version is set in the US.  I've never seen the original.  The consensus opinion is that the original version is vastly superior.

Stanford's cameo is very small.  Stanford has become the fiction short hand for smart person that is not d-bag.

[g1313]

The original BBC series is also on Netflix, so you can compare and contrast. (All seasons of The West Wing was also added somewhat recently).

Kevin Spacey's character, Francis "Frank" Underwood, went to a fictional military academy in South Carolina called "The Sentinel".

[g1313]

The original BBC series is also on Netflix, so you can compare and contrast. (All seasons of The West Wing was also added somewhat recently).

Kevin Spacey's character, Francis "Frank" Underwood, went to a fictional military academy in South Carolina called "The Sentinel".

[Oasis]

Fincher's daughter is a friend of my son's.  One of his frequent conversation topics is Stanford sports.

[Oasis]

Fincher's daughter is a friend of my son's.  One of his frequent conversation topics is Stanford sports.

[Bruce Wang]

OK the Stanford cameo gets larger and plays a role in the plot.

[Bruce Wang]

OK the Stanford cameo gets larger and plays a role in the plot.

[fullmetal]

I just finished the third? ep.  What a cliffhanger.

[fullmetal]

I just finished the third? ep.  What a cliffhanger.