bob the moo The third in the three mini-series sees FU holding firm to achieve his goal of serving in office longer than 'she' did. A historic peace deal brokered between Turkey and Cyprus is to be his public triumph (and private windfall), although past events (recent and long since past) hold a constant threat of being revealed, while he finds himself surrounded by possible leadership challenges.This final run of episodes manages to keep the core strength of the previous episodes, and for many (myself included) this will be enough to make it work and be worth watching; however this is not to be blind to some of the issues with it. The first for me was that the entire history of FU in Cyprus seems dropped in completely inorganically. Okay I understand we join after he has always worked through the deal so perhaps these triggered the memory – but for the viewer we come to this subplot through the memories first. These are quickly followed up by the family seeking the truth (about the very thing FU is now having nightmares about) and as a result it seems like the series is rushing to introduce a plot and get it moving. Once the series gets into its stride, this works better as a backdrop while leadership challenges and political maneuvering is in the fore – which is the aspect I found more engaging.The character of FU and the to-camera addresses remain effective and engaging, but in this case too many of the supporting characters and plots are not so well done. The family seeking justice is one example, but cabinet members are not as strong and too long is spent on affairs (with a lot of nudity and humping added for what I can only presume is the satirical effect of putting the image of real politicians at it into the minds of the public). These scattered examples of things not working so well do rather limit the series as a whole, but mostly it works. The start does lack sharpness, but I was a bit surprised by some of the lack of edge at the end too – it works but some aspects of it could have been better.Despite the misgivings, and despite it not being at the level of the previous series, it is still an enjoyable end to the story.

wiccan333 I have loved all of the episodes of The House of Cards Trilogies from the very first to The Final Cut. I absolutely abhor the American version of the show. I wish Hollywood would stop taking BBC ideas, paint them thickly with a stupidity brush to then show on our television screens and start making original ideas of their own.I am curious if any other fans of this original series has or know where one can get sound bites from the third series? In particular, there are two I am most interested in and I believe they are in the same scene. When Jeffrey Boozer-Pitt tells FU about his behavior with a woman who was married, FU makes the following statement, "Jeffrey, Jeffrey." The second sound bite is just a moment later when Jeffrey talks about his improper share dealing with same woman, FU says, You really are utterly contemptible, aren't you" he goes on, "No background, no bottom, absolutely no informing principal but the will to survive. Just a plump little bag of squirming appetites." Harsh,perhaps, but appropriate. If anyone knows where I can get those sound bites, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Spondonman The final part of the House Of Cards mini-series trilogy isn't as good as the previous two, but still fairly entertaining and worth a watch. The production was as sharp as its BBC budget would allow, the acting was believable even if the darker plot wasn't entirely.UK Prime Minister Francis Urquhart is clinging on to power by any means but he has various cracks (no pun intended with all the nudity on display in here) appearing amongst his colleagues and friends, and also his violent past in war torn Cyprus 50 years previously is gradually catching up with him. It's more improbable than what has gone before but slimy Ian Richardson as the biggest swinger in town carries all before him, I think he talks to us more than to the other characters! Judging by the amount of sex, swearing and violence in these episodes rather less discipline is on display but it's not too distracting. Why do people seem to think it's more realistic if the characters are coarse and swearing all the time while they're watching a procession of 2D images on a flat screen on the other side of the room? My favourite bit from any of the 12 episodes was in the last one, where FU deliciously tells Booza Pitt he didn't have to resign… The predictable ending had him managing to hang on in office longer than Margaret Thatcher, was sudden and was a slight let down, but the steam had all escaped by then anyway.Overall as a whole it's an excellent time-passer, with many engrossing sections, not too many dull stretches and although it tails off a bit I would still recommend all three series.

welshNick The Final Cut is the last of the House of Cards trilogy and certainly not the best. The problem it had was how excellent its two predecessors were and it is always difficult to put 'three in a row' together. You only have to look at how awful The Godfather III was to see that. So where did it go wrong ?? The first part showed hoe FU became prime minister (excellent) and the second part showed how he crushed all opposition as PM including the Monarch (Almost as good). It was always going to be difficult to follow this up and if there was a dark secret in FU's past, surely one of his opponents would have found it when he ran for PM in the first part, particularly Pat Woolton who was foreign secretary. Well acted, quite a predictable ending, how evil is that wife of his ??? On a more comical note the fact that FU's wife is having an affair with the head of security is verging on the absurd. In its own right, not bad, but it had to much to live up to - well worth watching though but make sure you see them in the right order.