<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Will we need TV channels in ten years time? Even though I watch most of my TV in advance of the schedules and use plenty of catch-up services, I find the idea of TV becoming one giant splodge in the internet-sphere slightly unnerving.  But I&amp;#039;m still recovering from the news that I probably won&amp;#039;t be able to buy CDs at HMV in the near future, so maybe I need to get &amp;#039;down with the kids&amp;#039; and &amp;#039;move with the times, granddad&amp;#039;. If Netflix has anything to do with it, the way we watch TV will change. We may have grown up in an age when TV shows are drip-fed to us week-by-week, teasing us with morsels and hooking us in, but in the shiny new Netflix world you can have the whole damn cake in one sitting if you like. The TV streaming service is expanding beyond showcasing classic shows and movies and into original programming. The revived cult US sitcom Arrested Development will be available exclusively on the site later this year, and right now you can view the entirety of David Fincher and Kevin Spacey&amp;#039;s remake of the classic BBC political thriller House of Cards. That&amp;#039;s right, not one episode, not two, but all 13 episodes can be consumed right now. Back to back, if you so wish. Some poor sod&amp;#039;s probably already done it to get the wiki-page filled out. Watch the House of Cards trailer:       For a TV generation raised with iTunes and purchases only a click away, the concept makes sense. It does take away the joy of watercooler TV moments and nervy weekly waits to find out the results of cliff-hangers, but maybe these are going the way of the dodo. But what about the content? Rather importantly, House of Cards is incredible. Well, at least the first two episodes are, I haven&amp;#039;t had the time to devour the full series quite yet sadly. But I will do. And soon. Taking on such an iconic BBC show was a dangerous project. Throwing money and star names at it could have ended in ugly fashion. However, fans of the original need not fret, because this is a deliciously wicked series that is faithful and respectful to its source material. Transported from Thatcher&amp;#039;s Britain to modern day America, Spacey takes on the iconic Francis Urquhart role, as the ruthless and utterly awful Frank Underwood. The rest of the cast are brilliant, the script is as sharp as a tack and engrossing, but it&amp;#039;s Spacey&amp;#039;s magnetic presence that makes this project so special. The show&amp;#039;s overflowing with corruption, power battles, themes of ambition and destruction and nobody embodies them better than Spacey. Underwood is part devious puppet-string tugger Malcolm Tucker, part suave Don Draper-esque anti-hero for the world of politics, topped off with a devilish Southern drawl that makes his little pieces to camera wonderfully moreish. Can Frank and his little pet project, Washington-based aspiring journo Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara), bring down the President and take revenge on him for a promotional snub? Is Frank&amp;#039;s wife (Robin Wright) even more frosty and villainous than her husband? The show already has me hooked with these tasty dilemmas and a whole lot more. If all &amp;#039;online TV&amp;#039; was this good, we&amp;#039;d already be throwing our TV sets out of the window. House of Cards is available to watch in full now on Netflix.  I very much doubt anyone has troubled themselves wondering what ever happened to pint-sized boyband trio 911 for longer than 30 seconds, but if the Steps Reunion taught us anything, it was that fuzzy nostalgia for a pre-X Factor era of pop music remains very strong. Hence, ITV2&amp;#039;s &amp;#039;90s/00s pop extravaganza The Big Reunion. A peek behind the curtain for a certain generation, this writer included, who grew up with Smash Hits tours and Saturday morning kids TV. Lurking behind the smiles, big choons and Kappa tracksuits were goings-on that would make a Soho stripper blush. Screaming matches, diet pill addictions, drugs, drink, sex, pissed up appearances at 10am on children&amp;#039;s TV, breakdowns, meltdowns, awful music videos. And that was just 5ive and Liberty X. It was incredible to see the lack of care, management or any shred of compassion that was shown behind-the-scenes. 5ive in particular, who still look and sound as if they&amp;#039;re dealing with their demons, morphed into feral bad boys (or to use their words, &amp;quot;arseholes&amp;quot;) when allowed to do their own thing on world tours with freebies, drink and girls on tap.  Their manager - some bloke called Simon Cowell - revelled in the tabloid headlines when things were going right. When things turned ugly, they only had each other to lean on. And when you&amp;#039;re relying on Abz from 5ive for comfort, you know you&amp;#039;re screwed.  This wasn&amp;#039;t just pure voyeurism (although the bedraggled state of 5ive was quite a sight), it was a warning about the unpredictable and cruel nature of celebrity. Big Brother and Simon Cowell Inc have made a generation of kids believe that fame means happiness and that it is the end of &amp;#039;the journey&amp;#039;. The Big Reunion proved that no amount of Brit Awards, No.1 hit records and photoshoots can secure you a place in the history books. Popstars are only ever passing through.  One day you&amp;#039;re Abz from 5ive, you&amp;#039;re on the cover of a magazine and you&amp;#039;re performing with Brian May from Queen. The next you&amp;#039;re just Abz, the bloke who used to be in 5ive, who wouldn&amp;#039;t get recognised in his local ASDA, clinging on to achievements and glories that nobody cares about anymore. The whole show would have been rather bleak if it wasn&amp;#039;t for the redeeming factor that the acts all appeared to have discovered some sort of true happiness and contentment away from the spotlight.  Perhaps it&amp;#039;s proof that fame really isn&amp;#039;t what it&amp;#039;s cracked up to be. The Big Reunion continues on Thursdays at 9pm on ITV2.  I blame Pudsey. Ever since the cuddly pooch pawed his way to victory on Britain&amp;#039;s Got Talent, ITV have gone canine crazy in the schedules. The Martin Clunes-voiced dog-umentary (see what I did there), The Secret Life of Dogs, is the latest in a long line of pooch-inspired programming. That Dog Can Dance, that horrendous dog model show with Stacey Solomon, the Paul O&amp;#039;Grady &amp;amp; Lots Of Abandoned Dogs Please Cry thing that won the National TV Award. A doggy sitcom, a new litter of puppies in Coronation Street and a guest dog judge on X Factor must only be around the corner. Secret Life was one of the most ludicrous hours of TV I&amp;#039;ve ever watched. 60 minutes of cute close-ups, cuddly hounds, lingering slow motion on fluffy pups, Clunes coo-ing over rescue dogs saving lost pensioners, super smart mutts sniffing out their owner&amp;#039;s cancer. It was all so obscenely nice and cosy it felt like I was being smothered by a super-sized fluffy towel, squeezing a toasty hot water bottle, laying on freshly clean sheets and simultaneously being hugged by a Labrador. I fully expect before the year is out for ITV to have a full hour of nothing but a fixed camera on a basket of baby pugs. And I&amp;#039;ll probably bloody well enjoy it. The Secret Life of Dogs is available on ITV Player. Missed It? Don&amp;#039;t Miss Out!  Dallas - The Southfork gang are back with even better hair, stupider twists and awful acting that is surprisingly gripping. It also features the best quote of the year so far from panto villain John Ross. &amp;quot;Love is for p*ssies!&amp;quot; Quite. - Still available on Channel 5 Player Charlie Brooker&amp;#039;s Weekly Wipe - TV&amp;#039;s Mr Angry has a new series on the BBC and he took on the Lance Armstrong saga, Splash! and Prince Harry in episode one in his own profanity-heavy fashion. The only show this week funnier than the desperation of Abz from 5ive - Still available on BBC iPlayer Derek - Ricky Gervais&amp;#039;s latest project has had plenty of critics scratching their heads and writing lengthy chin-stroking pieces, but really the only way to judge it is by giving it a go yourself. Despite what you may have heard, there&amp;#039;s a few decent gags in there - Still available on 4OD "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/house-of-cards/news/a455679/big-reunion-house-of-cards-life-of-dogs-this-weeks-tv-review/>