Absolute Power

See Absolute Power (book) for the 1996 book by David Baldacci and the Clint Eastwood film.

Radio version

The series was devised and written by Mark Tavener, and logically follows the series In the Red, In the Balance, In the Chair, and In the End which he wrote with Peter Baynham. In some of these, Prentiss and McCabe (again played by Bird and Fry) are elevated members of the BBC, before getting kicked out. The idea is that after this they created Prentiss McCabe, which is the subject of Absolute Power. The tone and style of Absolute Power is so different from the In the... series that it can be regarded as a totally different programme. It was produced by Dawn Ellis.

Related Topics:
Mark Tavener - Peter Baynham - BBC - Dawn Ellis

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Prentiss is a man without morals, whose only objectives are money and power. He is portrayed as being the brains, while McCabe, though an excellent speech-writer, lacks his motivation and insight. McCabe's ambitions include retiring and drinking claret, and he spends his life in a state of cynicism, lack of energy and boredom. Stephen Fry said of Charles Prentiss, "He's a brute of a man, out to win, with no morals, he's completely shameless. There's not much to say that's nice about him, except that there is some pleasure in watching a natural born killer at work and knowing whatever happens he will win."

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They often find themselves working on behalf of two rival clients, one of whom is often the shadier side of the Labour Government. This is usually something of an inconvenience as Prentiss is met by Archie Hilditch (Tony Gardner, Alex Lowe), a faceless member of the Government, in a deserted location (such as Frank Dobson's campaign headquarters), and told he needs to ruin the popularity of the organisation that he has spent half the programme building. For example, in one episode they're employed by the government to increase the popularity of the European Union, while also being employed by the Eurosceptic newspaper The Sun to increase sales. It is probably a good thing in the end, as the firm relies on these payments since neither Prentiss nor McCabe seem to want to do any real work.

Related Topics:
Labour - Government - Tony Gardner - Alex Lowe - Frank Dobson - European Union - Eurosceptic - The Sun

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The third member of the company is Sandy (Siobhan Hayes), who is there as the office trainee, getting work experience for her NVQ level 2. She usually does all the work that the partners in the firm cannot be bothered to do, such as filling out thousands of public opinion polls in different handwritings, though she will only agree to do something if it can be twisted into one of the 'nine levels of competence' of her NVQ. Another member of the office is the useless Clive (Tom George) or as Martin calls him, 'thing', who often turns publicity stunts into bloodbaths.

Related Topics:
Siobhan Hayes - NVQ - Tom George

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Another regular character is the waiter, Maurice, who brings McCabe his claret. Each time he corrects the English pronunciation of Maurice to the French, and each time Prentiss puts him down with a verse like "One man by circumstance is in splendor set; whilst another irons pants in a laundrette. Go iron my pants, Maurice."

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Hutton Report

The first episode of series 4 was controversially edited because of references to the Hutton Report. The word "lying" was cut from Prentiss's line: "There's nothing Prentiss McCabe can teach this Prime Minister about deception, manipulation and lying, Except how to do it properly." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3453603.stmhttp://www.writewords.org.uk/news/381.asp

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