Capital City

Thankfully both series 1 & 2 are available on DVD and I have them both. At the time it was first shown on TV it was riveting to watch, very gritty, but it had the sparkle and fizz of the 80's London yuppies. I remember the 80's yuppy traders and ironically worked close to where the Shane-Longman building was in the new Broadgate development in London. They used Lehman's offices. It was next door to Liverpool Street Station. I once saw Douglas Hodge at London Marylebone station helping a blind man to his train. He even wore a Declan style trenchcoat in real life.

When I watch the show now on DVD it looks a little dated, mostly because the production quality was sadly lacking but the acting was first class and it really gave you a glimpse into the World of the 80's yuppies.

It could have had a longer run, but as I understand it, not enough people watched it, which killed it off. My understanding is that they wanted to scrap it after the first series, but they made a second after being inundated with letters of support for a series 2. I don't think the writers were adventurous enough and that added to insufficient viewers for Series 2 sealed its fate.

Series set in a trading room of a bank (Shane-Longman) dealing with the financial goings-on, but, of course, the personal lives of the people involved.

I remember it as very good, and never knew why it only ran for 2 seasons.

I also saw this by chance on the CBC and loved it, but their run was too short and I'm sure I missed the last few episodes. Canada's "Traders" drama TV series reminded me of it and thankfully lasted for several years... maybe even better as it really had time to grow into its own. Capital City showed "The City" of London (the financial district) in the heady days after "big bang" (deregulation) and had some great plot lines, characters and typically English take on life there. The mix of Americans, Europeans, etc... only added to a great and colourful cast. Bring on the DVD!

There was a similar movie called "Dealers" with Rebecca DeMornay and Paul McGann that also showed life in "the City", complete with egomaniacs, slippery traders and the lifestyles of the traders, and so-called 'Masters of the Universe'. If you like the financial/Wall Street type of genre you will enjoy it as well.

An amazing series which showcases the early acting talents of Douglas Hodge, William Armstrong (1), Jason Isaacs and Trevyn McDowell to name a few of the stars. Unfortunately it only had a relatively short run but in the 12/13 episodes the audience quickly becomes captivated by the antics and lives of a group of bankers and traders in Shane Longman, a modern snazzy bank in London. If the re-runs ever come back on - it is a "must-see"!

As an ex pat Brit now living in Canada I was and indeed am a huge fan of Capital City. So much so in fact that I have both series one and series two of the show on VHS, taped back when it was first shown in the late 80's. To my Aussie friend who's comments are above I can only say..*you're in luck* because in fact there are 26 episodes of the show. Having said that of course how you are going to get to see the others I don't know. I can't understand why the producers don't release the entire series on DVD... there's a load of absolute old rubbish out there so why a great show like this hasn't been exploited I can't understand. Following the lives and exploits of a group of city bond traders, everything about the show was fantastic from the writing to the performances, and especially the production values. It was also the first TV appearance of many many now famous faces. Julia Ormond (First Knight and Sabrina), Clive Owen (Closer), Louise Lombard (Hidalgo and lately CSI)... and of course the utterly gorgeous Jason Issacs who is perhaps best known to American audiences as the hideously slimy Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series. Unfortunately in-spite of all this talent the show's popularity suffered as a result of a sudden downturn in the British economy. Since it's plot lines and characters were inextricably identified with the excesses of the *loads-a-money* 1980's, the advent of a new decade, (and public attitude to money) saw its demise. Which is a terrible shame. I highly recommend the show, and also its close compatriot Chancer, which shared a lot of the same themes and the same high production values. And which of course gave a first starring role the above mentioned and equally gorgeous Clive Owen. If ever the James Bond people had an easy decision to make... SURELY this is the one. How can they not have already handed the man the role he was born to play.!! Watch the two seasons of Chancer, (which I believe in the UK at least ARE available on DVD), and you'll see what I mean.