I'm loving the re-run of House of Cards on BBC Four as pat of their "Why Democracy?" season, eventhough I do not normally go for political drama.

1990 seems like a long time ago now, probably because it is,  but this series has aged remarkably well.  I doubt if many drama series from 17 years ago are still as watchable now.  The writing has a lot to do with that, and so does the direction, but the main reason it is so compelling even now is the performance of the late Ian Richardson as Francis Urquhart: a performance which is an extended demonstration of the meaning of the word "arch".

The conceit of having FU speaking directly to the camera in asides still works and still feels fresh and innovative now and in those little knowing glances to camera lies the appeal of the whole thing.

Other old programmes are still enjoyable. I caught an old episode of Minder the other day,  but half the fun of that was looking out for familiar faces and trying to remember what else they had cropped up in, looking at the period details in fashion, seeing all the old cars and empty streets, and being amazed by the differences in how London looked then.  At times the mind wanders and you find yourself realising that although most of the cars look like museum pieces now (all the old Allegros, MkII Cortinas, Marinas and so on) Arfur's Jag looks out of place because it looks modern – then you realise that the reason is that Jaguar hardly changed the look of their saloons for the next 20 years.

But none of those distractions applied to House of Cards. I have been so mesmerised by Richardson's acting that I have hardly noticed the incidental details.