The only thing dated about this 1970s tv mini-series are the phones and the fashions. The rest of it is as cynical and corrupt as anything modern politics can produce. It was made in the aftermath of the 1972-4 Watergate scandal and was based on a book by John Ehrlichman - who went to jail for his role in the misdeeds of the Nixon White House. As such, a lot of the characters are based on real people (President Curry = JFK; President Esker Anderson is really LBJ; Richard Monckton is....go on, take a wild guess....and Frank Flaherty is Bob Haldeman, Nixon's hatchet man). Anderson, Monckton and Flaherty are, in their own individual ways, the barracudas of the Washington political scene ('President Anderson' has an endearing southern drawl and a nice sense of humour, however, which makes him more sympathetic than Monckton or Flaherty..who have no redeeming personal qualities WHATSOEVER). The whole thing is nicely put together as you watch the power-mad, press-hating Monckton grab for power, move into the presidency with his brutal cronies and then light the fuse for their own downfall through intimidation, burglary, wiretapping and other forms of illegal (and rather fun) skullduggery. Robert Vaughn as Flaherty and Jason Robards as the sour and stormy President Monckton are just wonderful and thoroughly unpleasant throughout. It almost makes you nostalgic for the days of Nixon....well....almost? Buy this - you won't regret it.
