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Game On History A 1990's
flat-share sitcom which, in its tales of the sexual
adventures and misadventures of three
twenty-somethings living under the same roof,
featured more than a dash of crudity. Ben Chaplin
(in the first series) played Matthew, a wealthy,
workshy landlord who, because of a strange phobia,
never leaves the flat. Matthew Cottle was cast as
the hapless, sexually innocent Martin, and Samantha
Janus played the ambitious but confused and deeply
insecure Mandy. Martin and
Matthew have been friends since schooldays and
Mandy's connection is by way of her best friend
Claudia, Martin's sister. Mandy is a bright young
woman who wants to better herself and is tired of
being treated as a sex object, yet she still tends
to find herself jumping quickly into bed with
numerous inappropriate men. Both Matthew and Martin
are obsessed with sex but neither is conspicuously
successful in the field. For the second
series, Ben Chaplin (who had struck gold in
Hollywood with a starring role in Michael Lehmann's
1996 comedy The Truth About Cats And Dogs) was
replaced by Neil Stuke, who had lost out to Chaplin
in the original round of casting. And extra fizz
was added with the introduction of Clare, a
girlfriend for Martin. In the third series Mandy
had a permanent beau, Archie, her rich but
wishy-washy boss, and the final episode revolved
around preparations for their wedding. Martin,
meanwhile, had a traumatic time when he bumped into
old flame Clare, who, it transpired, has given
birth to his baby, a daughter named Rosie. Hopes of
a reconciliation were dashed when Clare emigrated
to Australia. Matthew's life meanwhile continued
much the same. Deliberately and
provocatively un-PC, some of the language in Game
On was racy and the situations risqué.
However, its 'in your face' style certainly
appealed to certain viewers, and such was its
impact that an American adaptation was mooted by
the Fox network. Eventually, though, Fox opted
instead to work with another UK show, Holding The
Baby. Unfairly deemed
(at the time) a poor comparison to Men
Behaving Badly, Game On was eventually cancelled
and it is only some years later that Game On can be
seen as a unique product which more than holds its
own. Definitely a
sitcom which had potential to run for
longer.
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