House of Cards Trilogy: The Original UK Series

An adaptation of a popular 1989 novel of the same title by Michael Dobbs, the British drama serial HOUSE OF CARDS originally aired on the BBC in 1990 to universal acclaim. Set in the immediate aftermath of the Margaret Thatcher era, it follows the Machiavellian exploits of Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson), a Conservative whip in the UK parliament, who will stop at nothing - no matter how licentious, vile, underhanded, or greedy - to obtain the post of English Prime Minister. The follow-up, 1993's TO PLAY THE KING - based on Dobbs's 1992 sequel - explores the conflict between newly-named Prime Minister Urquhart and a king who is disenchanted with him (Michael Kitchen). The final miniseries, 1995's THE FINAL CUT, was based on Dobbs's third novel, published the same year, and dramatizes the end of Urquhart's reign and his ultimate downfall. All three miniseries appear in this sprawling box set.