I've always wanted to say "FU!" to a meme

[captainsblog]

Day 17 - Favorite mini series

Absolutely nothing on US television. Haven’t even watched one since Roots that I can even remember.

Ah, but the Brits. They may not even call them this, but so many of what I consider to be such are from the Beeb/Thames/That Lot heritage.

But to choose?  Helen Mirren’s Prime Suspect was, maybe still is, among the best ever (did she, or it, ever officially get killed off?)  Poirot, certainly. Jeeves & Wooster for some old fashioned pre-House old-school kicking.  Rumpole, even, although it, and perhaps some of these others, probably maxed themselves beyond pure mini status over extended lifetimes of five and six-fit series.

So I’m going with the one that is clearly short enough, good enough, and definitely done enough: the Francis Urquhart trilogy of “House of Cards,” “To Play the King,” and “The Final Cut.” Like many of the other winning entries in this monthlong meme, it has all kinds of things going for it. An amazingly strong, yet vulnerable, lead; impeccable writing and delivery; a theme song that I will now once again be whistling for a week (and so will you if you click this);  and some serious cultural influence, at least in its home country, where  I’m told that “to urquhart” has become an accepted verb for passing on a non-denial denial to the detriment of an opponent. (The exact quote appears in the text of this entry’s icon.)

FU took on the crown, the loyal opposition, his own party, and even the sainted memory of the real-life Margaret Thatcher by putting her where so many of her fellow Britons wanted to see her: paws-up. That creative decision ended the involvement of the first story’s writer with the rest of the production, but it was certainly one of the crucial visual moments that drew me in.

Sadly, most of this country still remembers Ian Richardson the best for being the butler in the series of Grey Poupon commercials. These three interconnected stories make his well-earned royal hardware so much more appropriate.

Comments

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

Saw it in its first American airings, and own the set. Little bit of synchronicity: The reporter's name was Mattie Storin. At the time, the Boston Globe was published by Matthew Storin. Coincidence? You may very well think so, I couldn't possibly comment.

Ian Richardson was a brilliant actor. The last thing I heard him on was the voice of Death in the televised version of Pratchett's Hogfather.

[captainsblog.livejournal.com]

I vaguely remembered that the Hogfather teleplay allowed DEATH the chance to utter FU's most famous line- and it did, according to IMDB.