# "House of Cards" -- spoilers for first ep ONLY **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-cards-spoilers-for-first-ep-only/666122 "2013-08-13T12:05:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-cards-spoilers-for-first-ep-only/666122/21 "2013-08-23T17:30:52Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Regarding the British one… I feel like a lot of the references would be lost on a Yankee? Does it have a lot of “oh don’t mind her, she’s from Bletchley”. > > BTW if you like it, you may get a chuckle out of this… [http://www.cracked.com/video\_18546\_if-everyday-life-was-more-like-house-cards.html](http://www.cracked.com/video_18546_if-everyday-life-was-more-like-house-cards.html) (relatively spoiler-free) Haha, can’t say really, as the references obviously wouldn’t jar with me. I don’t think it’s hard to follow - clearly the political structures and therefore game plays are different but if I can pick up your politics, I’m sure you can follow our 😉 The big difference, and played to dramatic effect, is that the Prime Minister isn’t as ivory towered as a President is (as they aren’t directly elected by the people) which makes some of the behind the scenes jostling more dramatic. In the US version, the President seems an untouchable figure, with Underwood trying to play around him and manipulate where he can, but ultimately the POTUS is the boss. The original was set (and made) just after Margaret Thatcher has been toppled by her own party, as a reference to the tensions of the times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-of-cards-spoilers-for-first-ep-only/666122.md?page=1)