See Also: To Play The King, The Final Cut
1990 British 4-part TV mini-series surrounding the rise of (fictional) Conservative Party Chief Whip Francis Urquhart from a back-bencher to the seat of Prime Minister through his continual scheming and underhand dealings; through his varied connections he manufactures a crisis which forces the resignation of the prime-minister; his one failure comes when he kills a reporter (possibly) by accident.
It is hard to imagine that this series would have worked without Ian Richardson (as Urquhart) - a brilliant and formidable talent in shakespearean acting, he takes a script which otherwise would have left us with quite a cheesy and improbable Urquhart, and gives us one of the all-time best TV villains - his wry, smug asides to camera are a little distracting at first but become central to his attraction as a villain - he appears so far above those around him in intelligence and sense of humour that we have no choice but to hope he gets his way.
For students of Thatcher-era politics this show is a must-see.