Alpha House

I love this show. I happened upon it accidentally. Amazon--what is up with that? You really need to promote this. The writing is fresh and witty and the characters are complicated, flawed, funny and oh so human. Actually, I am a partisan liberal and can actually smile sometimes now at the ugliness in DC See what a work of humorous fiction can do to make the world a better place?

I have to say that I have always loved John Goodman and I find he is a wonderful character to humanize his house-mates. More than any of his fellow senators he seems accidental in his service--and probably the most honest.

The production values are wonderful in Alpha House and the tone is sweet underneath. Everyone is just trying to get through the day with their own craziness. Wives, lovers, dogs,subcommittees, social media, sex, power and meme are hysterically dealt with. Bravo, Amazon.

The comedy was a bit broad for me at the beginning but as far as political comedy goes this is really funny. And it's one of those shows that builds as it goes, it gets more funny with each episode. While the political angle doesn't favor republicans, the characters are actually very likable and the timing is always on point. It's a very different sort of comedy with no dull moment. John Goodman does a good job as the old school politician with major issues, Clark Johnson also pulls some amazing comic chops really effortlessly, Mark Consuelos is also really good but I think next to john Goodman, Matt Malloy has to be the other star here. His character is really complex ranging from outright craziness and socially ineptitude of his character to the Likability and empathy he brings to the characters personal struggles. If you are looking for a political statement this is not the show for that, it is just pure fun with an older age group in mind.

This amusing, well acted political satire by Gary Trudeau isn't quite up to the level of the often brilliant "Tanner 88" he created with Robert Altman. It lacks that earlier series' sharp edges and dark moments that made that now legendary show far more powerful and even painful between the chuckles.

None-the-less, this tale of 4 likable if goofy Republican senators sharing a house in DC has a good number of laughs, and a larger number of slightly rueful smiles. (Along with a trove of enjoyable supporting characters). And while Trudeau's gently left leaning sympathies are clear, you can be sure he shows his Republican protagonists' likable, human sides, and isn't afraid to make Democrats look as opportunistic and small minded.

This is a superb bit of television. Witty, funny, sharp, well acted (especially John Goodman), well produced and directed, everything. It is about four senators in their "house on the hill" away from their wives, for when they are in DC and their political and non-political shenanigans. It's an irreverent look at American politics but I would hazard a guess that it's not too far from the truth albeit with a smattering of hyperbole.

Laugh out loud funny, yet with plenty of truisms and real soul, the Alpha House walks the fine line between adult-style frat house/coming of age and political "walk and talk" fly on the wall and doesn't mince it's words addressing matters of drugs, sex, racism, bigotry, religious intolerance and also putting new social media front and centre; Twitter is HUGE in this show as is Skype-type face-time, showcasing new problems that politicians face and ways they can address their constituents. It intersperses fiction with clips of real clips of Obama and committees on the Hill, and it pokes a bit of fun at far-right Republicans.

Love this show, highly recommend it. Can't believe it's not had enough publicity!

It's not easy to hear the voice of 'Doonesbury' cartoonist Garry Trudeau in the mouths of John Goodman and the other solid actors of Alpha House. The satire here is more subtle, and surprisingly affectionate. We tend to like these characters, even though they're ambitious, incompetent, self-serving and immoral. The show rarely goes for obvious one-liners. Instead, it gives Washington culture more of a slow-roasting.

Alpha House may be a deliberate attempt to create a US counterpart to such behind-the-scenes British political satires as Yes Minister and The Thick of It. Like those classics, Alpha House depicts politicians not as evil, or Machiavellian, but rather as very human products of a certain unique culture. These are people who wield great power, yet they're just as slow-witted as the rest of us, and just as unaware of their own blinkered viewpoint. Their priorities are shaped by the relentless pursuit of re-election; the needs of the populace hardly enter into it.

By letting us get to know these characters, and even to like them, Alpha House gives us a very different understanding of their world than we'd get from serious political commentary. It's a show you can't help thinking politicians themselves would enjoy, just as Maggie Thatcher was reputed to enjoy Yes Minister.

I hope the Daily Show/Colbert/Realtime audience discovers Alpha House, and gives its approach a chance. This is political humor that's a bit more subtle, but just as worthwhile.