Season 25 - The Final Cut (1995-1996)
The House of Cards Trilogy was a defining moment in television history. When The Best of Masterpiece Theatre was chosen for its thirty-fifth anniversary it easily made the top twelve with every celebrity interviewed reciting Francis Urquhart's famous line; "You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment." Until now I had only watched the first arc, House of Cards, and one can't deny Ian Richardson's talent. This role was made for him. The way he insouciantly address us, the audience, as his confidants and collaborators, and his breaking of the fourth wall is iconic. This was the insight into the backstabbing world of politics and the monarchy we had been longing for adapted by Andrew Davies from a book written by a Thatcher insider. The problem I had when I first watched House of Cards is that Francis Urquhart is, in my mind, asexual. What turns him on is power, not other people, unless it's his control over them. He only begins an affair with the young journalist Mattie Storin, played by Susannah Harker, because he realizes that that is what she wants and that is how he'll exert control. This is his leverage. Making her feel special. But her desire to call him "daddy" was just too creepy. There's just such an ick factor to it that Mattie and her relationship with Francis is actually creepier than the fact that Kevin Spacey played the role when it was adapted for American audiences by Netflix. Years later going back to watch this I was still just revolted by the whole "daddy" of it all. But I was determined. This was the time for me to not just watch the first arc but to finish the whole series by watching To Play the King and then The Final Cut. First off, watching this when I was already suffering form political fatigue was probably not the best of ideas, but that's on me. The problem I have with the final two arcs is, taken as a whole, they don't feel like a logical progression of the character. Once Francis becomes Prime Minister he proceeds to make all the mistakes that his predecessor did which led to Francis ousting him. What's more he begins another affair which makes even less sense because this is supposedly purely sexual in nature, and, as I've said, he is not a sexual being. What's more he somehow succeeds in toppling the monarchy. To an extent. To Play the King is about him clashing with the new king played by Michael Kitchen and they portray the man who is in all but name Charles III as a very nature loving, exercise obsessed, goody. The exact opposite of Francis and he just bows down to Francis for no reason I can see. It literally makes no sense, nor does how they portray the Royal family by noticeably not referring to the real people and their problems but doing it with a nudge and a wink. But this show keeps unraveling more and more. It literally collapses like a house of cards with Francis somehow catching remorse. This is not a man who has remorse and becoming a secondary character before his ignoble assassination in The Final Cut is absurd. He's Shakespearean, he's Machiavellian, he's not, in any way, human. Yes, you could say he went the way of Macbeth, on which this is heavily based, but no. It doesn't work. In the final analysis did I end up hating the whole series? You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment.
For about six years in the late eighties and early nineties everyone seemed to fall under the mass delusion that Patsy Kensit could act. She was everywhere. I don't know if it's because of her music career with Eighth Wonder or the, to me, completely baffling successful of Absolute Beginners, but she was the "it girl" of the moment. As an aside, if a movie stars David Bowie and I buy it for a dollar at Half Price Books yet am never able to bring myself to finish watching it, that is the definition of a bad movie. In fact Robert Altman takes the piss out of it in the first few minutes of The Player. Now that is a movie worth watching. As for Adam Bede, the only reason I have this on DVD is because it was included in The George Eliot Collection and it was cheaper to buy the whole set than to buy Middlemarch separately, and I needed my Rufus Sewell. I know you know what I'm talking about. When I got the set ironically the first adaptation I watched was Adam Bede because I was in the mood for some Iain Glen. This was long before Game of Thrones and therefore the reason I was mildly obsessed with him was because of Wives and Daughters. You know I really think Mr. Preston and Cynthia could have made a go of it. But that wasn't to be. And ironically Adam Bede is just another Iain Glen doesn't get the girl story. And yes, it's a recurring theme. The only lasting impression I have of that first viewing is thinking how depressing it was. I also remember that I had some disappointment that Patsy Kensit survived. I mean, if she's going to darken my door the least she could do is slump over and expire on the stoop. What annoys me most about her casting is this is peak early nineties casting, Iain Glenn, James Wilby, Susannah Harker, and Alan Cox! Think how good this could have been without her? Especially when the supporting roles are played by Jean Marsh, Julia McKenzie, Freddie Jones, Patsy Byrne, and George Innes. Oh, and George Innes, he is fabulous. Most known for his roles in The Italian Job and Upstairs, Downstairs, he has only one scene where he's in the witness box and he describes the dead child Patsy Kensit's character has left under a bush, and it's just heartbreaking. Even if she wasn't guilty as sin, for being Patsy Kensit AND for abandoning the child James Wilby got her with, I would have convicted her just due to the testimony against her. To have one actor outshine everyone made you realize how pedestrian this adaptation is. It's nothing more than a girl being seduced by the lord of the manor and getting with child, thus destroying the good village boy who truly loved her. AKA Iain Glenn not getting the girl. Again. So therefore I maybe shouldn't lay all the blame on Patsy Kensit? I mean, her casting technically just adds to the peak early nineties vibe... And it's not like this rather pedestrian story could have been improved. At the end of the day her character was transported to Australia and the much nicer girl played by Susannah Harker got the boy. So, win win in the end? Or maybe it was a Pyrrhic victory?
