El juego único

Back when, I saw this on Channel 21 in New York. I didn't see the whole thing. I've been waiting for it to come out on DVD in the States. Some extremely kind person has posted it on YouTube and I was able to see it again; I loved it! Yes, perhaps technically it might have been better but not without foreknowledge of where computers were going! Yes, maybe there were a few too many beatings and 'here come the thugs again' but still, the concept and the things left to the imagination made for a memorable, nay unforgettable experience. And the music. I was already familiar with Nigel Hess' talent from the music he wrote for the Campion series at about the same time, and there are similarities. Gorgeous music. (Incidentally, Nigel Hess has a website and you can hear snippets from his scores.) This is my favorite of the Patrick Malahide performances I've seen although to tell the truth, those might be just this and Inspector Alleyn.

Has no-one else noticed that the later, big-budget feature film The Game (1997), starring Michael Douglas, owes a great deal indeed to this British TV film? The main character is similar, the basic situation is nearly identical, and the raison d'etre for the Game is also similar. There is no mention of the earlier work in the credits of the latter.

I would love to see this film again. It was fascinating and unique, but the involved story needed more than one viewing. The music, Sayon Dola impressed me and I bought the single. Now it has been recorded by Russell Watson on his CD The Voice.

I've seen several commentaries in various places stating flatly that this series was never aired in the US, so the creators of the Michael Douglas movie couldn't possibly have seen it. That's not true, though. The whole mini-series of "The One Game" was aired on a San Francisco public television channel, in approximately 1990 or 1991. I know this because I watched 3 of the 4 episodes myself. It was quite a good show, but unfortunately I was abruptly called into work the evening the fourth episode aired, and my VCR being broken at the time, I was never able to watch the final episode. Ever since seeing "The Game" a few years ago, I recalled "The One Game" being very similar and have been trying to obtain the DVD, but I can't find any USA-region-encoded version for sale on line. But in any event, if the argument for the originality of the Michael Douglas version rests on the notion that the writers couldn't have seen the original "One Game" in the USA, that argument simply fails. I'd bet money that at least one of the writers watched the series when I did, in Ess Eff, and ripped it off on the gamble that the US broadcast was so obscure it would be forever forgotten. It'll never be proved, of course. And I for one will never forget the broadcast because I never got to see the ending. :-(

I saw this series when it first came out in 1988. For whatever reason, it seems never to have been repeated. It is highly enjoyable, despite many things happening that are implausible. The story involves a managing director of a successful games company being forced into playing a series of deadly games by someone from his past.'The Game' starring Michael Douglas is clearly copied from The One Game, though the makers of The Game never appear to have admitted it. The story and title are very similar: even the main character's name is similar! The One Game is darker takes itself a little more seriously than The Game. The One Game is very much of its time, and that has added to its attraction over the years, set during a period when computer games are beginning to eclipse traditional games. But as we see in the drama, there is still room for games don't play on a computer screen...