Game On
Encyclopedia
Game On is a British television sitcom about the lives of three 20-somethings from Herne Bay
sharing a flat in Battersea
in South-West London. The title refers to the commonly-used cultural phrase which expresses delight at the possibility of imminent sexual intercourse, as exemplified by the 90s lad culture
in which the three characters exist. It was directed by John Stroud, produced by Sioned William and the BBC Television Head of Comedy Geoffrey Perkins
, and executive produced by Denise O'Donohue
on behalf of Hat Trick Productions
for the BBC
. The first two series of Game On were written by Andrew Davies
and Bernadette Davis. Davis wrote the final series alone.
The show's theme tune is "Where I Find My Heaven" by the Gigolo Aunts
. The single reached number 29 in the UK singles chart
in May 1995.
Big Wednesday is the first proper episode, but shortly before it was due to air, in real-life the boxing match between Nigel Benn
and Gerald McClellan
ended with Gerald McClellan in a coma, and the BBC felt that due to content, the episode, which involves a boxing match, was unsuitable to show as a result, and changed the episode (to Matthew, A Suitable Case for Treatment). Big Wednesday was shown later in the first series, explaining a continuity error where in Matthew, A Suitable Case for Treatment, Matthew's surfboard can be seen in the background with an iron burn while in 'Big Wednesday' (which is a reference to the surfing movie of the same name) he is seen using it without a burn, but at the end of the episode, Mandy reveals to Matthew that morning she had mistook his surfboard for the ironing board and melted an iron-shape into it. McClellan later emerged from the coma and has made a partial recovery.
Despite the official titles appearing onscreen at the start of each episode, advance artwork for the VHS releases showed alternative titles on the cover. Notably, the provisional artwork also showed the actual video release names the wrong way round, with the last three episodes titled "Second Match - Round 1" and the first three as "Second Match - Round 2".
In the first episode of series two, the substitution of Neil Stuke for Ben Chaplin was acknowledged. The trio are watching Roseanne
which referenced the change in actresses playing Becky by having the cast watch TV and comment on actors changing and no one noticing, then looking at Becky. In Game On, Martin asks "I wonder who's playing Becky this week?!" to which Mandy remarks: "Don't you just hate that, when they keep the same character and change the actor?" Both Mandy and Martin then look subtly yet strangely accusingly at Matt, sitting between them on the sofa, who looks worried.
Herne Bay, Kent
Herne Bay is a seaside town in Kent, South East England, with a population of 35,188. On the south coast of the Thames Estuary, it is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district...
sharing a flat in Battersea
Battersea
Battersea is an area of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is an inner-city district of South London, situated on the south side of the River Thames, 2.9 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Battersea spans from Fairfield in the west to Queenstown in the east...
in South-West London. The title refers to the commonly-used cultural phrase which expresses delight at the possibility of imminent sexual intercourse, as exemplified by the 90s lad culture
Lad culture
Lad culture is a subculture commonly associated with Britpop music of the 1990s."The image of the 'lad' or 'new lad' arose in the early 1990s as a generally middle-class figure espousing attitudes conventionally attributed to the working classes"...
in which the three characters exist. It was directed by John Stroud, produced by Sioned William and the BBC Television Head of Comedy Geoffrey Perkins
Geoffrey Perkins
Geoffrey Howard Perkins was a comedy producer, writer and performer, and an important figure in British comedy broadcasting. This was recognised in December 2008 when he was awarded with an Outstanding Contribution to Comedy Award...
, and executive produced by Denise O'Donohue
Denise O'Donohue
Denise O'Donoghue OBE is a British television production company executive. She graduated in 1979 with a BA in Politics from University of York....
on behalf of Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions is a British independent production company that produces television programmes, mainly specialising in comedy.-History:...
for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. The first two series of Game On were written by Andrew Davies
Andrew Davies (writer)
Andrew Wynford Davies is a British author and screenwriter. He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 2002.-Education and early career:...
and Bernadette Davis. Davis wrote the final series alone.
The show's theme tune is "Where I Find My Heaven" by the Gigolo Aunts
Gigolo Aunts
-Early history:The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, Phil Hurley and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, originally known as Sniper...
. The single reached number 29 in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in May 1995.
Characters
- Matthew Malone (Ben ChaplinBen ChaplinBen Chaplin , is an English actor.-Early life:Chaplin, the youngest of four children, was born in London, the son of Cynthia , a drama teacher, and Peter Greenwood, an engineer. He took his stage name after his mother's maiden name. He was raised in Windsor, Berkshire, England and attended Hurtwood...
for the first series, subsequently Neil StukeNeil StukeNeil Stuke , is an English actor notable for playing Matthew in the second and third series of Game On after taking over the role from Ben Chaplin,and for his role as Billy Lamb, Head Clerk in the 2011 BBC television series "Silk"...
) – acutely agoraphobic and slightly insane. It is implied that shortly before the start of the series, Matthew's parents died in a car accident, meaning that he fears the outside world and has inherited his flat and enough money to need never work. Even passing his front door causes a panic attack but he always thought of himself as a cool guy; he had a surfboard despite his condition. Loves to use the word "tosserTosserTosser may refer to:* wanker, UK slang for masturbater* an echomail processing program in FidoNet...
" and the phrase "double hard bastard" and in an ongoing gag throughout the entire series would mock his flatmate Martin for being ginger. Despite describing himself as a "double hard bastard," he secretly enjoys things that could be characterised as "effeminate," such as 1940s "love story" movies and Emmerdale Farm. - Martin Henson (Matthew CottleMatthew CottleMatthew Cottle is a British film and television actor, best known for his part in the sitcom Game On, in which he played the ginger-haired, low self-esteemed, single banker Martin Henson...
) – a banker without attitude, Matthew's slave and source of entertainment. His sister is Claudia, and by extension, is a few years younger than Mandy, and has known Mandy since they were kids. - Mandy Wilkins (Samantha Womack) – ambitious career girl who finds herself going nowhere except to bed with an endless stream of men (northern by preference). Many of the men she sleeps with, she is not particularly attracted to, and there are hints throughout the series that she is simply addicted to sex (she tries during the second series to abstain from sex entirely). In early episodes there were running gags involving Mandy's history of childhood bedwetting (which did not cease until she was 13). Despite earning a degree at university, she is stuck in temporary secretarial jobs, and envies her best friend Claudia, who did the same things Mandy did but is going places.
- Clare Monahan (Tracy Keating) – Martin's IrishIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
girlfriend in the second series and then his ex. She meets Martin and initially makes a deal with him to lose her virginity, not knowing that he was also a virgin. They start dating and eventually break up due to Martin's inability to trust her around other men, and irreconcilable life paths (Clare wanted to travel the world while Martin did not). She appears in five episodes of series two, and four episodes of series three. Actress Tracy Keating also makes a further appearance in the final episode as a different character, a woman who Martin pursues because she looks like Clare. Keating plays this part with an English accent. - Archie Glenister (Crispin Bonham-CarterCrispin Bonham-CarterCrispin Bonham-Carter is an English actor and theatre director.Bonham-Carter is a distant cousin of Helena Bonham Carter. He is the son of Peter Bonham-Carter and Clodagh Greenwood. Educated at Glenalmond College, he graduated from the University of St Andrews, Scotland with a degree in classics...
) – Mandy's boss, lover and groom to be in the third series. Dies unexpectedly on his wedding day to Mandy. - Jason (Mark PowleyMark PowleyMark Powley Mark Powley Mark Powley (Born 4 October 1963 Chelmsford, Essex United Kingdom is a British actor.Powley is best known for his work on television, most notably for appearing in 88 episodes of police drama The Bill as P.C Melvin (1987–1990) and as builder Tom in BBC sitcom Next of Kin for...
) – Mandy's friend from college (the one she never had sex with). A psychotherapist who poses as Mandy's cousin to try and help Matt overcome his agrophobia. Appears in three consecutive episodes of series two. - Marco – Mandy's Italian tutor who she struggles to resist in her short-lived dabble with celibacy. Appears in two consecutive episodes of series two.
- Stoat (Eddie MarsanEddie MarsanEdward Maurice C. "Eddie" Marsan is an English actor.-Early life:Marsan was born in Stepney, London to a working class family; his father was a lorry driver and his mother a school dinner lady and teacher's assistant...
) – Mandy's ex-boyfriend from school. Only appears in one episode, but is later revealed to have fathered the daughter she gave away as a teenager. - Claudia Henson (Rebecca LaceyRebecca LaceyRebecca Lacey is a British actress, born in Watford, United Kingdom. She is the daughter of actor Ronald Lacey and actress Mela White. She is not the sister of actress Ingrid Lacey as is often reported....
) – Martin's older sister, and Mandy's best friend. Although frequently referred to throughout all three series, she actually only appears in one episode of the first series when her and Mandy go clubbing, and never shares any scenes with Martin!
Series 1 (1995)
| # | Title | Original airdate |
|---|
Big Wednesday is the first proper episode, but shortly before it was due to air, in real-life the boxing match between Nigel Benn
Nigel Benn
Nigel Benn , known as "The Dark Destroyer", is a British former boxer who held world titles in the middleweight and super middleweight divisions....
and Gerald McClellan
Gerald McClellan
Gerald McClellan is a former boxer from the United States of America, who was the WBO and WBC middleweight champion. McClellan's record as a professional boxer was 31 wins and 3 losses with 29 wins by knockout...
ended with Gerald McClellan in a coma, and the BBC felt that due to content, the episode, which involves a boxing match, was unsuitable to show as a result, and changed the episode (to Matthew, A Suitable Case for Treatment). Big Wednesday was shown later in the first series, explaining a continuity error where in Matthew, A Suitable Case for Treatment, Matthew's surfboard can be seen in the background with an iron burn while in 'Big Wednesday' (which is a reference to the surfing movie of the same name) he is seen using it without a burn, but at the end of the episode, Mandy reveals to Matthew that morning she had mistook his surfboard for the ironing board and melted an iron-shape into it. McClellan later emerged from the coma and has made a partial recovery.
Series 2 (1996)
| # | Title | Original airdate |
|---|
Despite the official titles appearing onscreen at the start of each episode, advance artwork for the VHS releases showed alternative titles on the cover. Notably, the provisional artwork also showed the actual video release names the wrong way round, with the last three episodes titled "Second Match - Round 1" and the first three as "Second Match - Round 2".
In the first episode of series two, the substitution of Neil Stuke for Ben Chaplin was acknowledged. The trio are watching Roseanne
Roseanne (TV series)
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
which referenced the change in actresses playing Becky by having the cast watch TV and comment on actors changing and no one noticing, then looking at Becky. In Game On, Martin asks "I wonder who's playing Becky this week?!" to which Mandy remarks: "Don't you just hate that, when they keep the same character and change the actor?" Both Mandy and Martin then look subtly yet strangely accusingly at Matt, sitting between them on the sofa, who looks worried.
Series 3 (1998)
There are no official titles for the series 3 episodes.| # | Title | Original airdate |
|---|
DVD releases
All three series of the show are available on DVD.| DVD Title | Disc # | Year | Episode # | DVD release dates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
|||||
| Complete Series 1 | 1 | 1995 1995 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1995.-Events:*3 February – An edition of the live morning ITV discussion programme The Time, The Place is abruptly ended ten minutes early... |
6 | 17 September 2001 | |
| Complete Series 2 | 1 | 1996 1996 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1996.-Events:*15 January-11 March – Our Friends in the North, a nine-part serial spanning the 1960s to the 1990s in the lives of four friends, is shown on BBC2.... |
6 | 23 August 2004 | |
| Complete Series 3 | 1 | 1998 1998 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1998.-Events:*February – CNBC Europe merges with European Business News, upon which the channel is known officially as "CNBC Europe - A Service of NBC and Dow Jones".... |
6 | 23 August 2004 | |
| Complete Series 1–3 | 3 | 1995 1995 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1995.-Events:*3 February – An edition of the live morning ITV discussion programme The Time, The Place is abruptly ended ten minutes early... –1998 1998 in British television This is a list of British television related events from 1998.-Events:*February – CNBC Europe merges with European Business News, upon which the channel is known officially as "CNBC Europe - A Service of NBC and Dow Jones".... |
18 | 23 August 2004 | |
External links
- Game On at Hat Trick ProductionsHat Trick ProductionsHat Trick Productions is a British independent production company that produces television programmes, mainly specialising in comedy.-History:...
Website - Game On group on Facebook Website