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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 Premiership of Margaret Thatcher, tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was televised by the BBC from 18 November to 9 December 1990. Released to critical and popular acclaim for its writing, direction, and performances, it is considered one of the greatest British television shows ever made. The story is centred on the sudden and manipulative rise to power of the Chief Whip of the Conservative Party, chief whip of the Conservative Party, Francis Urquhart, a ruthless and wikt:Machiavellian, Machiavellian politician. Urquhart, on the party's right wing, is frustrated over his lack of promotion in the wake of Premiership of Margaret Thatcher#1990 leadership challenge and resignation, Margaret Thatcher's resignation and the moderate government which succeeds it. He conceives a calculated and meticulous plan to bring down the new prime min ... [...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. (The title, "House of Cards", is a play on words. British Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. "Cards" and "Commons" share the "C" as the first letter while "Cards" and "Lords" share the "rds" as the last three letters. Therefore, "House of Cards" essentially combines the names of both houses of Parliament.) 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 an American television adaptation set in Washington, D.C., commissione ... [...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 s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard III (play)
''The Tragedy of Richard the Third'', often shortened to ''Richard III'', is a play by William Shakespeare, which depicts the Niccolò_Machiavelli, Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England. It was probably written . It is labelled a Shakespearean history, history in the First Folio, and is usually considered one, but it is sometimes called a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy, as in the quarto edition. ''Richard III'' concludes Shakespeare's first tetralogy which also contains ''Henry VI, Part 1'', ''Henry VI, Part 2'', and ''Henry VI, Part 3''. It is the second longest play in the Shakespeare's plays, Shakespearean canon and is the longest of the First Folio, whose version of ''Hamlet'', otherwise the longest, is shorter than its quarto counterpart. The play is often abridged for brevity, and peripheral characters removed. In such cases, extra lines are often invented or added from elsewhere to establish the nature of the characters' rel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 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 River Avon, Warwickshire, Avon" or simply "the Bard". His extant works, including William Shakespeare's collaborations, collaborations, consist of some Shakespeare's plays, 39 plays, Shakespeare's sonnets, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays List of translations of works by William Shakespeare, have been translated into every major modern language, living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Urquhart
Francis Ewan Urquhart is a fictional character who is the villain protagonist of the British political thriller television serial '' House of Cards'' (1990) and its sequel serials, '' To Play the King'' (1993) and '' The Final Cut'' (1995). He is portrayed by Ian Richardson. The series was co-written by Michael Dobbs and adapted from his eponymous novel. Produced by the BBC, the 4 episodes of ''House of Cards'' were broadcast in the days preceding and following Margaret Thatcher’s resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1990. Urquhart is a member of the Conservative Party, and is known to be a ruthless, Machiavellian politician who rises from Chief Whip of the Conservative Party to the office of prime minister through much treachery, deception, and murder. His wife, Elizabeth Urquhart, often persuades him to exploit a given situation to his advantage. Urquhart's family has roots in the Scottish aristocracy. He served in the British Army in Cyprus for t ... [...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. House of Commons House of Lords In popular culture Francis Urquhart is a fictional Conservative Chief Whip, created by Michael Dobbs, formerly Chief of Staff for British Conservative Prime Min ... [...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 Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom, royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet, and selects its Minister of the Crown, ministers. Modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, so they are invariably Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of Parliament. The office of prime minister is not established by any statute or constitutional document, but exists only by long-established Constitutional conventions of the United Kingdom, convention, whereby the monarch appoints as prime minister the person most likely to Confidence motions in the United Kingdom, command the confidence of the House of Commons. In practice, thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Premiership Of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom began on 4 May 1979 when she accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding James Callaghan of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, 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 for the Conservatives 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. As prime minister, Thatcher also served simultaneously as First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Leader ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as 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 List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure, longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented policies that came to be 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 Barristers in England and Wales, barrister. She was List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election, elected Member of Parliament for Finchley (UK Parliament constituency), Finc ... [...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 are 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 Some early examples 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''. '' Gilles'' (1936) contains an early example of the political thriller: in one of the book's subplots the protagonist ''Gilles G ... [...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 1994 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; she was also accorded a "ceremonial funeral" instead of a state funeral, honouring both her wishes and that of her family. He publicly praises Thatcher as his mentor, but privately begrudges her record as the longest-serving prime minister in recent history,The serial refers t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
