"To Play the King" (1993) TV series

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

8 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Francis Urquhart, unscrupulous but cunning Conservative politician, managed to become the British prime minister and crush all significant opposition...

Plot Keywords:

House Of Commons | English Politics | Prostitute | Corruption | Psychopath

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ian Richardson	...	Francis Urquhart (4 episodes, 1993)
Michael Kitchen	...	The King (4 episodes, 1993)
Kitty Aldridge	...	Sarah Harding (4 episodes, 1993)
Colin Jeavons	...	Tim Stamper (4 episodes, 1993)
Diane Fletcher	...	Elizabeth Urquhart (4 episodes, 1993)
Nicholas Farrell	...	David Mycroft (4 episodes, 1993)
Rowena King	...	Chloe Carmichael (4 episodes, 1993)
Leonard Preston	...	John Stroud (4 episodes, 1993)
Erika Hoffman	...	The Lady (4 episodes, 1993)
Jack Fortune	...	Ken Charterhouse (4 episodes, 1993)
Nick Brimble	...	Corder (4 episodes, 1993)
Bernice Stegers	...	Princess Charlotte (3 episodes, 1993)
David Ryall	...	Sir Bruce Bullerby (3 episodes, 1993)
Pip Torrens	...	Andrew Harding (3 episodes, 1993)
Frederick Treves	...	Lord Quillington (3 episodes, 1993)
Tom Beasley	...	Young Prince / ... (3 episodes, 1993)
Don Warrington	...	Graham Gaunt (3 episodes, 1993)
Paula Tilbrook	...	Speaker (3 episodes, 1993)
John Bird	...	Bryan Brynford-Jones (2 episodes, 1993)
Kate Ricketts	...	Current Affairs Lady (2 episodes, 1993)
Merelina Kendall	...	Hilda Cordwainer (2 episodes, 1993)
Anthony Smee	...	John Staines (2 episodes, 1993)
John Paul Connolly	...	Sturdy Beggar (2 episodes, 1993)
Soo Drouet	...	Big Woman (2 episodes, 1993)

Series Directed by
Paul Seed		(4 episodes, 1993)

Series Writing credits
Andrew Davies		(4 episodes, 1993)
Michael Dobbs		(4 episodes, 1993)

Series Produced by
Rebecca Eaton	....	executive producer: WGBH (4 episodes, 1993)
Ken Riddington	....	producer (4 episodes, 1993)
Nigel Taylor	....	associate producer (4 episodes, 1993)
Michael Wearing	....	executive producer (4 episodes, 1993)

Series Original Music by
Jim Parker		(4 episodes, 1993)

Series Cinematography by
Ian Punter		(4 episodes, 1993)
Keith Thomas		(2 episodes, 1993)

Series Film Editing by
Dave King		(4 episodes, 1993)

Series Production Design by
Ken Ledsham		(4 episodes, 1993)

Series Costume Design by
Rosalind Ebbutt		(unknown episodes)
Les Lansdown		(unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kas Braganza	....	third assistant director (unknown episodes)
Chris Le Grys	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Barrie Tharby	....	sound recordist (4 episodes, 1993)
Keith Marriner	....	dubbing mixer (2 episodes, 1993)
Jonathan Rowdon	....	dubbing editor (2 episodes, 1993)
Keith Silva	....	sound recordist (2 episodes, 1993)
Gareth Hall	....	sound post-production (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Terry Forestal	....	stunt arranger (2 episodes, 1993)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Adam Dale	....	aerial camera operator (unknown episodes)
Paul Hanning	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Karen Jones	....	script supervisor (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• WGBH (in association with)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1993) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• BBC Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Masterpiece Theatre
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (????) (USA) (TV) (original US airing)

Runtime:

55 min (4 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:12

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

On the DVD commentary, Ian Richardson says he felt that Nicholas Farrell (David Mycroft) had one of the hardest roles in the trilogy, due to Mycroft's bisexuality.

Quotes:

Francis Urquhart: God save the King.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Drama Connections: House of Cards (#1.5)" (2005)

Rent this! See it on Masterpiece Theatre! It's wonderful!

This entire BBC series is well worth watching. The screenplay is literate and hilarious. All the actors are wonderful, the script is great, and they've spared no expense with locations! This is an exciting series and I can't recommend it highly enough. Too bad in the United States we don't have actors talented enough to pull of a series such as this one. Diane Fletcher and Ian Richardson are perfect! All the actors in this were first rate and I certainly hope to see more of all of them in the future.