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House Of Cards (British TV Series)
''House of Cards'' is a 1990 British political thriller television serial in four episodes, set after the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was televised by the BBC from 18 November to 9 December 1990, to critical and popular acclaim. The story tells the manipulative and sudden rise to power of the machiavellian Chief Whip of the Conservative Party, Francis Urquhart. Urquhart, on the party's classical extreme right, is frustrated over his lack of promotion in the wake of Thatcher's resignation and the moderate government that succeeds it. Thus, he plots an extremely calculated and meticulous plan to bring down the Prime Minister and replace him, in vein of Shakespeare's ''Richard III'' (which he often quotes). During this drawn-out, ruthless coup, his life is complicated by his relationship with young female reporter Mattie Storin, whom he uses to leak sensitive information in confidence. The question of whether the serial's ending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Cards (novel)
''House of Cards'' is a political thriller novel by British author Michael Dobbs. Published in 1989, it tells the story of Francis Urquhart, a fictional Chief Whip of the Conservative Party, and his amoral and manipulative scheme to become leader of the governing party and, thus, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A television adaptation, written by Andrew Davies and produced by the BBC was aired in 1990. A six-part radio adaptation of the first novel, written by Neville Teller aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1996. In 2013, the serial and the Dobbs novel were the basis for a US television adaptation set in Washington, D.C., commissioned and released by Netflix. The novel was followed by two sequels: ''To Play the King'' and '' The Final Cut''. Both were adapted for television by the BBC and aired in 1993 and 1995 respectively. Background Michael Dobbs began working for the Conservative Party in 1977, and from 1986 to 1987, served as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Chief of Staf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ken Riddington
Ken Riddington (8 May 1922 – 26 December 2014)Simon Farquha ''The Independent'', 12 March 2015. Some sources give his year of births as 1920. was an English television producer, who worked predominantly in BBC television drama from the 1970s onwards. Riddington was born in Leicester. Originally a stage actor, "truly dreadful" according to Riddington himself, he moved to a back stage role managing the Adelphi Theatre from 1950 and then directing the musical ''Rendezvous'' at the Comedy Theatre in 1952. Later, he managed the London Palladium and Palace Theatres in London's West End."House of Cards producer Ken Riddington dies" ''Ariel'', 8 January 2015 After a period as a BBC television floor manager in the early 1970s, he became a producer. His first project as a producer to gain recognition was the 10 part seri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the " Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. He remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Premiership Of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher's term as the prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 4 May 1979 when she accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, and ended on 28 November 1990 upon her resignation. She was elected to the position in 1979 United Kingdom general election, 1979, having led the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party since 1975, and won landslide re-elections in 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 and 1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987. She gained intense media attention as Britain's first female prime minister, and was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. Her premiership ended when she withdrew from the 1990 Conservative Party leadership election, 1990 Conservative leadership election. In domestic policy, Thatcher implemented sweeping reforms concerning the Economy of the United Kingdom#1979 to 1997, affairs of the economy, eventually including the #Privatisation, privatisation of most nationalised i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Urquhart
Francis Ewan Urquhart is a fictional character created by British politician and author Michael Dobbs. Urquhart is the main character in Dobbs's ''House of Cards'' trilogy of novels and television series: ''House of Cards'' (1990), ''To Play the King'' (1993) and '' The Final Cut'' (1995). He was portrayed in the BBC TV adaptations by Ian Richardson, who won a BAFTA award for his performance. ''House of Cards'' follows Urquhart, a Conservative and the government Chief Whip with roots in the Scottish aristocracy, as he manoeuvres himself through blackmail, manipulation and murder to the post of Prime Minister. ''To Play the King'' sees Prime Minister Urquhart clash with the newly crowned King of the United Kingdom over disagreements regarding social justice. By the time of ''The Final Cut'', Urquhart has been in power for 11 years, and refuses to relinquish his position until he has beaten Margaret Thatcher's record as longest serving post-war Prime Minister. Thought to be b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chief Whip Of The Conservative Party
The Chief Whip of the Conservative Party oversees the whipping system in the party, which is responsible for ensuring that Conservative MPs or members of the House of Lords attend and vote in parliament in the desired way of the party leadership. Chief Whips, of which two are appointed in the party, a member of the House of Commons and a member of the House of Lords, also help to organise their party's contribution to parliamentary business. The party leadership may allow members to have a free vote based on their own conscience rather than party policy, which means the chief whip is not required to influence the way members vote. This is a list of people who have served as Chief Whip of the Conservative Party, previously the Tory Party, in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Simon Hart MP, appointed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on 25 October 2022. House of Commons House of Lords In popular culture Francis Urquhart is a fictiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise ''The Prince'' (''Il Principe''), written in about 1513 but not published until 1532. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. For many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is also important to historians and scholars of Italian correspondence. He worked as secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power. After his death Machiavelli's name came to evoke unscrupulous acts of the sort he advised most famously in his work, ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister Of The United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as members of Parliament. The office of prime minister is not established by any statute or constitutional document, but exists only by long-established convention, whereby the reigning monarch appoints as prime minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber. The prime minister is '' ex officio'' also First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and the minister responsible for national security. Indeed, certain privileges, such as List ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime minister and the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. As prime minister, she implemented economic policies that became known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked briefly as a research chemist, before becoming a barrister. She was List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election, elected Member of Parliament for Finchley (UK Parliament constituency), Finchley in 1959 United Kingdom general election, 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Political Thriller
A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The stakes in these stories are immense, and the fate of a country is often in the hands of one individual. Political corruption, organized crime, terrorism, and warfare are common themes. Political thrillers can be based on facts such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the Watergate Scandal. There is a strong overlap with the conspiracy thriller. Literature Before 1950, there were spy novels with political elements. Some earlier examples, however, can be found in the historical novels of Alexandre Dumas (particularly his ''Three Musketeers'' novels, which often involve political conspiracies), as well as such literary works as Joseph Conrad's novel ''The Secret Agent''. The actual political thriller came to life in the early day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Parker (composer)
James Michael "Jim" Parker (born 16 December 1934) is a BAFTA-winning British composer. Career After graduating as a silver medallist at the Guildhall School of Music, Parker played with leading London orchestras and chamber groups as well as being a key part of The Barrow Poets for whom he provided both original instrumental music and music to accompany the performance of a wide range of poetry spoken or sung by the rest of the band. This music was played on a variety of instruments including the bass cacacofiddle, a home made sort of double bass with knobs on, played by William Bealby-Wright, while Parker mostly played oboe and cor anglais.. Parker subsequently concentrated on composing and conducting. He had early success with a series of recordings in which he set the poems of the British Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman to music; ''Banana Blush'', ''Late Flowering Love'' (both 1974), ''Sir John Betjeman's Britain'' (1977) and ''Varsity Rag'' (1981). The albums, in which th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Final Cut (TV Serial)
''The Final Cut'' is a 1995 BBC television serial, the third part of the ''House of Cards'' trilogy. Directed by Mike Vardy, the serial, based on Michael Dobbs's 1995 novel of the same name, was adapted for television by Andrew Davies. It details the conclusion of Francis Urquhart's reign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Plot The serial opens with Prime Minister Francis Urquhart shooting his gun dog, now too old to perform her duties – a scene which establishes the theme of the ending of a career. Shortly afterwards, Urquhart attends the fictional state funeral of Margaret Thatcher.Margaret Thatcher's death, in the real world, did not happen until 2013, about 18 years after the series aired. He publicly praises Thatcher as his mentor, but privately begrudges her record as the longest-serving prime minister in recent history,The serial refers to Thatcher as Britain's longest-serving Prime Minister, when she was actually the seventh-longest serving. The novel does not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
