Original title
Capital City
Released
9/26/1989
Origin country
GB
Genre
Drama
Production companies
Euston Films
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
2
Number of episodes
23
Capital City is a British television drama programme produced by Euston Films for ITV, broadcast from 26 September 1989 to 20 December 1990 over two series, totalling 23 episodes. Created by Andrew Maclear, the plot focuses on the lives of London investment bankers living and working on the corporate trading floor of international bank Shane-Longman.
It's Monday morning on the trading floor of Shane-Longman, a London-based international bank. The market has been erratic, nobody is getting it right and with the US trade figure due, the dealers are under pressure to improve on last month's performance. Several members of the board are critical of the 'maverick' image of the trading floor. Heads may roll. Meanwhile, Hudson's mentally unwell wife abandons him and their infant son, and Chas Ewell befriends teenage runaway Louise.
A serious problem looms at Shane -Longman. Leonard Ansen, the Senior Director of Banking Activities, and Wendy's closest ally on the top floor, is in trouble with the DTI. He is suspected of insider trading and is forced to inform the board of his situation. Lee Wolf, the Director of Corporate Finance, and Ralph Goldring, the Director of Finance, demand Leonard's resignation; however, when CEO James Farrell and major shareholder Peter Longman put their support behind Leonard, it is Ralph Goldring who is forced out.
It's Friday evening. The market is winding down. Sirkka is flying to Copenhagen for the weekend to see her boyfriend, Sven, and is about to leave when she hears that Aristotle has dropped out of an important deal she has set up. She must find another player fast as the deal has to be in place by Monday morning. Sirkka confronts Aristotle in a nearby bar and ends up with a black eye.
Declan is having a dinner party for Max, Michelle and Sophie – an art dealer who likes Max and whom Max, for his part, seems to like as well until he discovers she used to use drugs and, he feels, might start using again. Max, though, seems far more interested in a potential deal, making a killing in some bonds by selling now while the price is high and buying back once the price has fallen. Jimmy and Chas fall out after Jimmy sexually assaults Louise, a 17-year-old runaway, following a night of partying.
Leonard has spent a year wooing back a major client, the Municipal Pension Fund, and he assigns the job of advising them to Declan, the bank's senior dealer. Unforeseen problems threaten the deal that Declan is setting up for the bank thanks to Jimmy, a junior dealer.
Jimmy Destry meets journalist Sarah Douglas at a private party, Not realising her profession, he divulges potentially damaging information about his colleagues and the departure of Ralph Goldring, Shane Longman's former Finance Director. The article is later published in the London Evening Post and includes unfavourable references to team members including a "Scandinavian cow", which Sirkka believes is her. It is later revealed that Max and Sarah were once lovers.
Hudson Talbot, Shane Longman's capital markets originator, is woken in the middle of the night by his colleague, Max Lubin, the Bank's Director of Swaps. Hudson is persuaded, reluctantly, to discuss what sounds like another of Max's unorthodox but possibly brilliant schemes.
A dawn raid has occurred and Friedmans, a rival bank, has acquired 15 per cent of Shane Longman's shares. A takeover is threatened and the dealers' jobs are suddenly at stake. Chief Executive James Farrell tries to contact Peter Longman, the bank's major shareholder, only to discover that he is fishing somewhere off the north-west coast of Tahiti and cannot be reached. But a young accountant doing an audit at Shane lets slip to Chas and Declan that things at the rival bank are not what they seem.
Peter Longman is in ebullient spirits. As Shane Longman's major shareholder, he has secured a deal with Tokyo-based Ikeda Bank to set up a joint venture. The signing of the agreement between the two banks is to be widely covered by the City press. Leonard Ansen is not so enthusiastic and believes Longman has rushed into the deal too quickly without considering the long-term implications of the tie-up. Ikeda executives give some indication of their desire to eventually take over Shane Longman but walk away from the deal after being less than impressed by what they perceived as a lack of discipline in the dealing room.
Max and Hudson have completed a deal with the Pan Mediterranean Fund, an EEC entity which offers finance to the poorer areas of Europe. Jerome Heron is a difficult character but his deputy, Monique Danvier, is far more likeable.
Eyebrows are raised when Max employs astrology to predict major deals. Thrill-seeking Sirkka enters dangerous territory when she becomes a high-class prostitute and discovers that risk isn't confined to the dealing room floor.
Whilst finalising an awkward deal in Warsaw, Max becomes very taken by Maxine, who works in an art gallery. Meanwhile, Sirkka hits rock bottom when she collapses with alcoholic poisoning and is rushed to hospital.
Wendy is promoted to become the new Head of Derivatives and is replaced as Chief Trader on the floor by the hard-boiled Sylvia Roux Teng. Sirkka gets a wake-up call and decides to join Alcoholics Anonymous. Jimmy Destry is sacked for malpractice after Declan discovers his off-market trades.
Sirkka investigates a corporate client's background and her passionate reaction brings her into serious conflict with her colleagues and the Bank's executives.
Michelle and her new assistant, Hilary, are puzzled by a client who balks at making a profit, and Max is surprised to find that Sylvia – the new Head Trader – believes that his job is not essential to the Bank.
The beautiful Claudine – an old friend of Declan's – persuades him into a deal he soon regrets. Michelle is unsympathetic as he gets into more and more difficulty, but the Bank softball match gives her the chance to help him out.
Lee Wolf travels to Prague to complete a multi-million dollar deal but his acquiescence in a colleague's questionable arrangements gets him into difficulty
Hilary's job is threatened when Sylvia tries to convince the Bank's executives that they need staff cuts. The deal which might save her looks like it's going wrong. Sirkka faces a personal trauma on her own.
Declan and Michelle are having a difficult time. Declan wonders whether things would be better if they did not work together. As it happens, he is approached by another bank but he is unsure why.
Hudson unwillingly introduces his friend, Danny, to the trading floor. Danny is an expert in chaos theory, and starts giving good advice. Sylvia is impressed and thinks Danny should be part of the team. Michelle and Hilary get involved with a deal for an attractive tycoon. For Michelle, it's just business, but Hilary hopes it might be more.
Hudson is embroiled in a difficult issue. The childminder has left and Hudson's mother – visiting from the United States – is standing in and looking after his son. Inevitably there's friction. Sirkka finds that she has to look closely at her relationship with her friend, Yolande.
Contrary to the image he projects at the Bank, Lee Wolf is a gambler and an unlucky one. His debts put his job and his personal life in jeopardy. He has to pull off something big to survive. While things get worse for Wolf, however, they get better for Declan and Michelle, who have a big decision to make.
Sylvia saddles Hilary and Chas with an unsaleable issue and won't accept that the problem has been caused by her. Hilary's attempts to sort things out are complicated by the fact that everyone at the Bank is off to the wedding of the year.
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