The Mayfair Set

The Mayfair Set

Title screen
Written by Adam Curtis
Directed by Adam Curtis
Annabel Hobley
Theme music composer John Barry (theme from Vendetta, BBC 1966–68)
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 4
Production
Executive producer(s) Stephen Lambert
Producer(s) Adam Curtis
Annabel Hobley
Cinematography David Barker
Michael Eley
Running time 240 mins (in four parts)
Production company(s) BBC
Release
Original network BBC Two
Original release 18 July (1999-07-18) – 8 August 1999 (1999-08-08)
Chronology
Preceded by The Living Dead (1995)
Followed by The Century of the Self (2002)

The Mayfair Set, subtitled Four Stories about the Rise of Business and the Decline of Political Power, is a BBC television documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis. It looks at Britain's decline as a world power, the invention of asset stripping in the 1970s, and how buccaneer capitalists shaped the climate of the Thatcher years, focusing on the rise of Colonel David Stirling, Jim Slater, Sir James Goldsmith and Tiny Rowland—members of London's elite Clermont Club in the 1960s. It won a BAFTA Award for Best Factual Series or Strand in 2000.[1]

Episodes

Part 1. 'Who Pays Wins'

The opening episode focuses on Colonel David Stirling and the birth of the global arms trade in the 1960s.

Originally broadcast on 18 July 1999.[2]

Contributors

Part 2. 'Entrepreneur Spelt S.P.I.V.'

The rise of accountant, game theorist and asset stripper Jim Slater, who became famous for writing an investment column in The Sunday Telegraph under the nom de plume of The Capitalist.

Originally broadcast on 25 July 1999.[3]

Contributors

Part 3. 'Destroy the Technostructure'

This episode tells the story of how Sir James Goldsmith, through a series of corporate raids, became one of the world's richest men, and a victim of his own success.

Originally broadcast on 1 August 1999.[4]

Contributors

Part 4. 'Twilight of the Dogs'

By the late 1980s, the day of the buccaneering tycoon was over. Tiny Rowland, Sir James Goldsmith and Mohamed Al-Fayed were the only ones left.

Originally broadcast on 8 August 1999.[5]

Contributors

References

  1. ↑ "BAFTA Winners 2000". BAFTA. Archived from the original on 19 October 2004.
  2. ↑ "The Mayfair Set - BBC Two England - 18 July 1999". BBC Genome. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Mayfair Set - BBC Two England - 25 July 1999". BBC Genome.
  4. ↑ "The Mayfair Set - BBC Two England - 1 August 1999". BBC Genome.
  5. ↑ "The Mayfair Set - BBC Two England - 8 August 1999". BBC Genome.
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