The West Wing or House of Cards: which show has the Trump Administration ruined more?

[XaviConcept]

For the sake of the discussion lets leave out the cast members that turned out to be horrible people.

I could see West Wing being given a pass since its a bit older, but I have a real hard time looking at either show and taking them with any degree of seriousness or credibility after the last 4 years of the Trump administration making it nlatantly clear those "checks and balances" we held with any regard where, at its core, just there for marketing. Its not that House of Cards was going for realistic, mind you, but the shit Frank Underwood does in that show was meant to be what "taking it too far" looked like and it seems tame in comparison.

In contrast, West Wing looks like Sesame Street grade naïveté, I know the show was optimistic by nature but wow, it lands very differently now.

Im sure other shows and movies do not compare favorably either, but for some reason these two stick out to me. [edit: like VEEP, which I havent seen yet]

 

[jml]

West Wing. I think everyone realizing what a real-life slimeball Spacey is ruined House of Cards more than Trump did.

 

[beelzebozo]

i always saw the west wing as aspirational, not reality. i love that about it.

 

[Finaj]

West Wing. I think House of Cards kinda ruined itself.

 

[KingSnake]

For me it was VEEP. I couldn't watch any of it when it became so close to reality.

 

[echoshifting]

I'm gonna say House of Cards wrecked itself and West Wing has risen into the ranks of Important Television since this disaster began

For me it was VEEP. I couldn't watch any of it when it became so close to reality.

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That's actually a good pick for this. I agree

 

[El Bombastico]

West Wing. I think House of Cards kinda ruined itself.

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.

 

[Bobson Dugnutt]

west wing is fine, it was supposed to be an idealised vision of things in a positive way. veep's the true answer.

 

[BlueTsunami]

i always saw the west wing as aspirational, not reality. i love that about it.

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Yep, not everything needs to be grim dark.

 

[Deleted member 4461]

For the sake of the discussion lets leave out the cast members that turned out to be horrible people.

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Keeping this in my mind, House of Cards does seem pretty tame in comparison. A show like that post-Trump would have to be REALLY insane.

 

[rickyson33]

House of Cards ruined itself

shame since the first season was pretty good but it kept going downhill from there to the point where I couldn't even bring myself to watch the last season Spacey was in before all that stuff went down

i always saw the west wing as aspirational, not reality. i love that about it.

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sure but at a certain point it's just kinda too much for suspension of disbelief

 

[Deleted member 4346]

The West Wing was just terminally masturbatory shit when it came out and the Trump administration has made it even more of a joke. House of Cards fell on itself. So I don't know, maybe the past 4 years made the kind of cartoonish PotUS series like Scandal look pretty grounded by comparison?

 

[Pilgrimzero]

I recall an old black and white film about a normal guy who becomes a senator and is aghast at all the BS that goes on. He ends up giving an empathic speech and the hard core corrupt rich political rival says something like "I don't belong here I don't belong here!" And like quits and walks off because he saw the error of his ways. Politics should be pure and about helping the little guy etc.


Laughed my fucking ass off.

 

[sphagnum]

The West Wing ruined itself by being dumb.

 

[Thorn]

West Wing was NEVER realistic.

 

[XaviConcept]

House of Cards ruined itself

shame since the first season was pretty good but it kept going downhill from there to the point where I couldn't even bring myself to watch the last season Spacey was in before all that stuff went down

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Even if the show went downhill after a while (West Wing did get worse as well, imo) I think s1 of Cards is pretty well regarded and the stuff that goes down in that season feels like something I heard in week 36 of the Trump Presidency.

For West Wing, like I said earlier I know its aspirational but as a point of comparison to the political spectrum at the time.If you compare it to todays climate, it look more like farce than optimism

 

[Sibersk Esto]

I recall an old black and white film about a normal guy who becomes a senator and is aghast at all the BS that goes on. He ends up giving an empathic speech and the hard core corrupt rich political rival says something like "I don't belong here I don't belong here!" And like quits and walks off because he saw the error of his ways. Politics should be pure and about helping the little guy etc.


Laughed my fucking ass off.

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Mr Smith goes to Washington?

 

[XaviConcept]

Oh also, I havent seen VEEP yet. I mean to just havent gotten to it

 

[SilkySm00th]

In contrast, West Wing looks like Sesame Street grade naïveté, I know the show was optimistic by nature but wow, it lands very differently now.

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Hah.. it was hilariously optimistic when it came out. Pretty sure even high school me was too cynical to think it was even close to "realistic"

But yah now it just looks cartoonish by comparison.

 

[Deleted member 9932]

What west wing we're talking? The sorkin or post-sorkin? 'Cause they are pretty much two different shows.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Mr Smith goes to Washington?

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That's it

 

[nampad]

House of Cards ruined itself

shame since the first season was pretty good but it kept going downhill from there to the point where I couldn't even bring myself to watch the last season Spacey was in before all that stuff went down



sure but at a certain point it's just kinda too much for suspension of disbelief

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It ran out of storylines of the original UK show and you notice it.

 

[meowdi gras]

The show that leaned into that jingoistic, flag-waving, American exceptionalism bullshit; a.k.a., The West Wing.

 

[LewieP]

Veep was robbed by the OP.

 

[Wrexis]

West Wing, because you've now realized politics will never be like that in real life.

 

[Sonicfan1373]

West Wing was always overly idealistic (and we need that at times) but the Trump administration showed us that what was being depicted in that show was not reality and that the system is very much broken.

House of Cards is unwatchable because of a creep named Kevin Spacey. However, as far as the plot goes it is not too off the mark regarding some of the horrible things happening right now or could be happening in Washington, Trump very much showed us a lot of that can happen and bad people can do a lot of damage in this broken system.

 

[Timbuktu]

I am in a rewatch of West Wing at the moment and It is still very enjoyable, it's no more realistic than The American President, which is still a fun rom com. Darker thrillers like The Ide of March now feels tame though, and The Contender feels aspirational.

 

[Squid Bunny]

I think they both ruined themselves.

 

[colorblindmode]

Even if the show went downhill after a while (West Wing did get worse as well, imo) I think s1 of Cards is pretty well regarded and the stuff that goes down in that season feels like something I heard in week 36 of the Trump Presidency

For West Wing, like I said earlier I know its aspirational but as a point of comparison to the political spectrum at the time.If you compare it to todays climate, it look more like farce than optimism

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West Wing is like that because that's how Aaron Sorkin writes. Sorkin is known for his "AND THEN EVERYONE CLAPPED" moments, and their (usually) overly optimistic outlook. It's an intentional choice, not something that should be taken as a farce

 

[Vic_Viper]

There actually was an arc in House of Cards where the Senate had to elect President Underwood, after Frank basically stole the election. It felt so far fetched at the time lol.

But House of Cards is more about what its like for someone who actually has some smarts and can execute his grand plans. Trump is just an idiot who cant do anything without the world knowing, usually before he even does it lol. That being said, Kevin Spacey ruined that show 100% all on his own. So much so that the entire last season should have just been cancelled.

 

[timedesk]

West Wing looks like a fairy tale these days, it's dated but I think people can still like it for what it was.

House of Cards was always ridiculous and turned to garbage by season 2. It was always a worse version of its source material.

The real answer is Amazon's Alpha House. The idea of a show about Republican Senators where they are treated as even slightly sympathetic and having issues with how racist and extreme the party has become feels insultingly fake.

 

[SteveWinwood]

I recall an old black and white film about a normal guy who becomes a senator and is aghast at all the BS that goes on. He ends up giving an empathic speech and the hard core corrupt rich political rival says something like "I don't belong here I don't belong here!" And like quits and walks off because he saw the error of his ways. Politics should be pure and about helping the little guy etc.


Laughed my fucking ass off.

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its based off a real guy

and its his politician kind of friend who was never really in 100% who attempts suicide right there

not the actual corrupt rich guy who successfully turns the entire state against the main character because they believe the news that comes out of his owned media

it a pretty accurate depcition on how fragile our democracy really is imo

 

[Shard Shinjuku]

West Wing aired during the Bush years, AKA that time an administration manufactured a war and justified torture in our name, so it never had credibility to begin with.

 

[Betelgeuse]

West Wing, no contest. The show literally has no bearing on reality. Even then back during its run it was laughably idealistic.

 

[TalkingToast]

To be fair, in regards to all the "Trump makes HoC look tame" Frank was literally killing people left and right with his own 2 hands :P

 

[Random Painted Highway]

Designated survivor. Do not want to see "accidental president" shows/movies. No thanks.

 

[BeeksElectric]

I recently started rewatching Season 1 of House of Cards, and if you can turn the part of your brain screaming "SPACEY IS A PIECE OF SHIT" down to a low simmer, it's still very good, although the political shenanigans Underwood pulls are nothing compared to the bullshit the Trump Administration pulls.

I think it will be years before a "White House gone wrong" series can really come together after this mess and I imagine they would either have to have a far higher bodycount than Frank Underwood or just cartoonishly absurd corruption and incompetence to even hold a candle to the shitshow we've been going through the past four years.

 

[NCR Ranger]

West Wing. The show is ridiculously naive in it's trust the process bullshit, but also seems quaint in how they portray shit as well. At least House of Cards cut through the bullshit in its over the top way.

Sure some argue it's supposed to be more idealistic, but eh even that falls flat for me. Mostly because I found Bartlet's cronies to be the exactly the kind of pretentious fuckbags who would gladly beat you over the head for hours about how "Black Lives Matter", "Defund the Police", etc don't focus group well, while offering no real help.

 

[Trafalgar Law]

the correct answer is veep, the writers admitted to it

 

[SnakeXs]

Veep. HoC was just a show that came about when Spacey's career was ruined. West Wing ruined a generation's expectations of politics. Veep was fantastic and simply couldn't compete with the trash-fire of reality.

 

[Dr. Lucien Sanchez]

For me it was VEEP. I couldn't watch any of it when it became so close to reality.

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Basically why Iannucci left (and why Veep became pretty awful afterwards also).

 

[Chikor]

Learning the Rob Lowe's character was based on George Stephanopoulos ruined The West Wing.

 

[cakely]

West Wing by default because House of Cards was thoroughly ruined already even without 45.

 

[whytemyke]

West Wing is political fantasy. Saying Trump ruined West Wing is like saying George Martin ruined the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I don't see why people connect the two, to be honest.

Like, sure, they involve the same topics, but they're not in any way remotely dependent on the other for your own personal enjoyment.

I say this as someone who both hates Trump and adores The West Wing.

 

[MechaX]

I'm going for the secret third option of Designated Survivor

the Trump Administration made that show's events infinitely more preferable than reality and I do not think that was the intent at all

 

[danm999]

Learning the Rob Lowe's character was based on George Stephanopoulos ruined The West Wing.

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Honestly Josh Lyman as Rahm Emmanuel is a harder one to deal with for me.

 

[trashbandit]

Honestly West Wing was ruined long before Trump; the whole idea of there being dignity and standards to the political process was something I was really into as a teen, but even during the West Wing's airing that was a complete fantasy. Spacey sank House of Cards.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

House of Cards was legitimately great but between Kevin Spacey totally ruining any interest anyone had in the show and Donald Trump proving to be a really stupid version of Frank Underwood, I think the show was doomed no matter what. 🤣

 

[Chikor]

Honestly Josh Lyman as Rahm Emmanuel is a harder one to deal with for me.

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I was just now years old when I learned about it.
It seem weird that I somehow missed it since I consumed quite a bit of west wing hater content over the years, but maybe my brain just shut down and reboot every time I am exposed to this information.

 

[BossAttack]

West Wing, no contest. The show literally has no bearing on reality. Even then back during its run it was laughably idealistic.

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I love TWW, but this is the answer. It's so inspirational and idealistic that when you see the reality you just become depressed and can't continue to watch its fantasy.