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Filmed several times since its publication in 1897 (most memorably by producer David O. Selznick in 1937), Anthony Hope's quintessential swashbuckler The Prisoner of Zenda also served as the basis for a lively, six-part British TV series. Diligently faithful to its source material, the series detailed the adventures of British tourist Rudolph Rassendyl (Malcolm Sinclair) after he was pressed into service as a substitute for his lookalike cousin, King Rudolph of Ruritania. Determined to gain the throne for himself, the King's brother Michael (Jonathan Morris), in concert with that lovable but lethal scoundrel Rupert of Hentzau (Jonathan Harris), plotted to dispose of both the monarch and his impostor. Meanwhile, Rudolph fell genuinely in love with his cousin's consort Princess Flavia (Victoria Wicks). "Sometimes destiny makes the wrong man king." This version of The Prisoner of Zenda debuted in the U.K. on November 15, 1984.