TV Review: To Play the King (1993)

To Play the King (1993) written by Andrew Davies from the novel by Michael Dobbs and directed by Paul Seed

Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson) has had less joy lately as Prime Minister of England (see him scheming his way into office in the first series). He has no worthy political rivals and he is haunted by the death of Mattie Storin (Susannah Haker). A new king (Michael Kitchen) comes to the throne. He wants to help the homeless and fix problems with the environment. The king does not want to be just a mouthpiece; he wants to see real action on the issues. Urquhart does not want to work on those issues. They come into conflict with the king proving to be the worthy rival Urquhart wants. Urquhart thinks he can handle the situation (i.e. put the king in his place) but the king is quite forceful and insistent while not stepping over the line of royal authority in a constitutional monarchy. The king is the rival that Urquhart deserves. Urquhart hatches various schemes, including the announcement of a General Election, while the king uses his position as a bully pulpit to appeal to the more compassionate nature of the general population. 

The plot has a lot of similarities to the first series--various blackmail schemes, political intrigues, and a young professional woman (Kitty Aldridge played by Sarah Harding) who assists and becomes enamored of Urquhart. Kitty is a pollster who is very intelligent. She becomes a media advisor to Urquhart, helping him maneuver around the king and the opposition party. She also becomes his lover, leading her to find out more about Mattie which naturally creates more tension. The ending was a little too formulaic and unbelievable for me. Even so, the acting and the rest of the writing are top notch and I will be watching the final series, The Final Cut. 

Mildly recommended.

This is available streaming on Hoopla, a service available from my local library (and maybe yours too?).