"The Final Cut" (1995) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

4 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Francis Urquhart is too experienced a politician not to know that everything must end, even his long career as British prime minister...

Plot Keywords:

Prime Minister | Political | Psychopath | Politics | House Of Commons

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Ian Richardson	...	Francis Urquhart (4 episodes, 1995)
Diane Fletcher	...	Elizabeth Urquhart (4 episodes, 1995)
Paul Freeman	...	Tom Makepeace (4 episodes, 1995)
Isla Blair	...	Claire Carlsen (4 episodes, 1995)
Nickolas Grace	...	Geoffrey Booza Pitt (4 episodes, 1995)
Glyn Grain	...	Rayner (4 episodes, 1995)
Nick Brimble	...	Corder (4 episodes, 1995)
Dorothy Vernon	...	Speaker (4 episodes, 1995)
Andrew Seear	...	Wolfin (4 episodes, 1995)
Peter Symonds	...	Polecutt (4 episodes, 1995)
John Rowe	...	Sir Clive Watling (3 episodes, 1995)
Yolanda Vazquez	...	Maria Passolides (3 episodes, 1995)
Duggie Brown	...	Joe Badger (3 episodes, 1995)
Kevork Malikyan	...	Nures (2 episodes, 1995)
David Ryall	...	Sir Bruce Bullerby (2 episodes, 1995)
Joseph Long	...	President Nicolaou (2 episodes, 1995)
Cherith Mellor	...	Hilary Makepeace (2 episodes, 1995)
Erika Hoffman	...	Princess (2 episodes, 1995)
Leon Lissek	...	Evanghelos Passolides (2 episodes, 1995)
Tom Beasley	...	Young King (2 episodes, 1995)
Richard Bebb	...	Political Commentator (2 episodes, 1995)
Sue Edelson	...	Newsreader (2 episodes, 1995)
David Ashford	...	Newsreader / ... (2 episodes, 1995)

Series Directed by
Mike Vardy		(4 episodes, 1995)

Series Writing credits
Andrew Davies		(4 episodes, 1995)
Michael Dobbs		(4 episodes, 1995)

Series Produced by
Rebecca Eaton	....	executive producer: WGBH (4 episodes, 1995)
Tony Redston	....	associate producer (4 episodes, 1995)
Ken Riddington	....	producer (4 episodes, 1995)
Michael Wearing	....	executive producer (4 episodes, 1995)

Series Original Music by
Jim Parker		(4 episodes, 1995)

Series Cinematography by
Ian Punter		(4 episodes, 1995)

Series Film Editing by
Dave King		(4 episodes, 1995)

Series Production Design by
Ken Ledsham		(4 episodes, 1995)

Series Costume Design by
Les Lansdown		(unknown episodes)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chris Le Grys	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Tony Burke	....	assistant sound recordist (4 episodes, 1995)
Steve Hudson	....	dubbing mixer (4 episodes, 1995)
Ben Norrington	....	dubbing editor (4 episodes, 1995)
Bruce Wills	....	sound recordist (4 episodes, 1995)

Series Stunts
Denise Ryan	....	stunt arranger (2 episodes, 1995)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Hanning	....	focus puller (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Michael Fabricant	....	political consultant (4 episodes, 1995)
Karen Jones	....	script supervisor (4 episodes, 1995)
Rob Partridge	....	armourer (2 episodes, 1995)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• WGBH

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (1995) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• BBC Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

206 min (4 parts)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | Australia:M

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Michael Dobbs, the author of the original book, was angered at the opening scene depicting Margaret Thatcher's funeral. As a result he demanded his name be removed from the credits which just say "Based on the novel The Final Cut" without mentioning his name.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the security man at No. 10 enters the Urquharts' bedroom with his pistol drawn and at the ready, the gun actually has no live round in the chamber and is thus not ready to fire (we can tell this by the fact that the Glock's trigger is to the rear, which would not be the case if the action had been cycled to chamber a round).

Quotes:

[Prime Minister Urquhart is watching Makepeace being interviewed on television]
Tom Makepeace: To quote the prime minister, "You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment."
Francis Urquhart: You bastard!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Drama Connections: House of Cards (#1.5)" (2005)

See this series! It's really literate and funny!

I can't recommend this series highly enough! All the actors are first rate, the script literate and hilarious! BBC has done a first rate job and this is one of the best things I have seen in years! Ian Richardson is perfect in this role! He's probably sick of hearing about it by now, but he was really wonderful, as was everybody else. A first rate production in all ways!