The One Game

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...

I've seen this original TV movie around 1989 and even now I am wondering who can tell me where to buy this on DVD.

For some reason the story and its cast left a solid impression and whenever I see a similar story on another movie, I always compare it with this one. The score was well chosen, the plot was brilliant. Anyone who knows where to get this, let me know! (tro2@xs4all.nl) The American version (the Game) was good, but in my opinion it lacked being convincing.

Britsh film-making at its best, without special effects, but an exciting, thrilling story, highly recommended!

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'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. :-(

While it is astonishing that this was never repeated on TV (I wonder why?) it does add to the attraction of obtaining it, which took me until the DVD was finally released some 18 years after the one and only broadcast.

While 'The One Game' does have some serious plot holes (Especially regarding certain deaths which are never revisited) it is still an excellent mini-series and has not dated as much as I expected.

I suppose it can be compared to 'The Game (1997)' and while it is almost certain that the writers of that 'borrowed' some ideas, they are not entirely the same. If anything 'The One Game' is a much better written and paced story with a lot more depth.

If you can find the DVD get it - it only cost me £6.99 and is well worth it for a 4 hour mini series - and it includes a nice booklet with a history on the show, I guess they decided to include the booklet rather than have it as an extra on the DVD - i'm glad they did, it is much nicer to read a booklet than a screen full of text.

But oh god - those pre-episode recaps - we could have done without those, what were they thinking!