One of the most compelling aspects of Tanner 88 is the way it mixes Robert Altman's sprawling cast with real-life figures on the campaign trail - and in some cases the truth was stranger than fiction...

• Real-life names that the fictional Tanner competed against in the Democratic primary included Al Gore, Jesse Jackson and Michael Dukakis, the eventual winner.

• The primaries were dogged by controversies. Gary Hart dropped out following revelations of an extra-marital affair and Joseph Biden left the campaign trail after it transpired he had plagiarised one of Neil Kinnock's speeches.

• The Democrats held their convention in Atlanta, where the then Arkansas governor Bill Clinton made the opening night speech. The press dismissed it as long and tedious.

• The Republican primary was more clear-cut, with Reagan's vice-president George H W Bush the immediate front-runner and eventual winner. It was during this campaign he made the infamous pledge: "Read my lips: No new taxes."