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HOUSE OF CARDS
Paul Seed, BBC TV, 1990
Ep 4: Wednesday 30 November 2005 10pm-11pm
To Play the King: The sequel series to House of Cards begins Wednesday 7 December 10.05pm-11pm
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No-one captures elegant evil like Ian Richardson, and with House of Cards he distills the phenomena to create Francis Urquhart, the arch-manipulator at the heart of this political thriller. Naturally, he defines menace and cold cunning with his portrayal of the statesman who will stop at nothing and no-one in order to achieve the office of Prime Minister, but Richardson's brilliance lies in his ability to make Urquhart simultaneously loathsome and likeable. The audience may be repelled by his ruthlessness, but his wit, coolness, preening intelligence and conspiratorial asides to camera combine to make this minister a strangely charismatic monster.
Richardson based his character on Richard III and won the Best Actor Bafta for his depiction. He is assisted by an Emmy-winning screenplay by Andrew Davies, based on the novel of the same name by Michael Dobbs. The latter's career provided more than enough experience to create Urquhart's world with icy accuracy as he worked as a political reporter in the US during the Watergate scandal before rising to become Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party under John Major. Asked if the ministers and minions inhabiting his fictitious universe were based on actual figures, he once replied with one of Urquhart's own aphorisms that, "You might well think that; I couldn't possibly comment". It's Dobbs's mixing of melodrama and plausibility which gives his drama such a compelling edge.
Other strengths include the critically acclaimed score by Jim Parker, and an excellent supporting cast. Susannah Harker, for instance, is perfect as the innocent journalist trapped in Urquhart's political labyrinth. But ultimately House of Cards is chez Richardson, with his wit, acerbity and slyness making this an ideal political thriller, even for those left cold by politics.
Gavin Collinson
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Director Paul Seed was originally an actor, well known to Doctor Who fans for his portrayal of the Graff Vinda-K in the Tom Baker story, The Ribos Operation.
