THIS MINISTER IN THE PRIME OF HIS MALEVOLENCE.

Byline: John J. O'Connor The New York Times

He's back! Francis Urquhart, the murderous British prime minister previously seen in the Masterpiece Theatre miniseries "House of Cards" and "To Play the King," is whipping up another political-thriller souffle of dastardly schemes and betrayals in "The Final Cut."

Once again, he is played with consummately elegant malevolence by Ian Richardson.

Now the old boy, turning 65 and feeling intimations of mortality, is determined to beat the Margaret Thatcher record for consecutive years in office (11) and, in a complex rip-off involving Cyprus, establish a handsome retirement annuity in a secret bank account.

Will Francis at last get his comeuppance in this final installment of the trilogy? Better yet, will his dreaded wife, Elizabeth (Diane Fletcher), also get hers? Perhaps - but remember, we can't have everything.

As usual, the British skewer their politicians with a verve that is almost completely absent from American television.

These members of Parliament, along with their secretaries and assistants, are a memorably rotten lot, their corrupt ambitions boundless.

And of course, sneering Francis, talking directly to the camera as he makes the audience his co-conspirators, is a master at playing off one scoundrel against the other. "I suppose I shouldn't have roughed him up," he says of one victim, "but I just can't resist."

There are few, in turn, who can resist Richardson's thoroughly wicked performance. The show is being broadcast in two parts, on Sunday and Monday.

THE FACTS

The show: "The Final Cut."

The stars: Ian Richardson, Diane Fletcher.

When: 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday, KCET (Channel 28).

Our rating: four stars.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Photo Fictional British Prime Minister Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson) and his wife, Elizabeth (Diane Fletcher), reprise their delicious dastardliness in "The Final Cut."