Game On was a BBC2 sitcom created by Andrew Davies and Bernadette Davis that ran for 3 seasons in the '90s, about three mismatched flatmates living together in Battersea. It starred Ben Chaplin as Matthew (an agoraphobic self-obsessive), Samantha Janus as Mandy (an ambitious career girl who falls into bed with most men) and Matthew Cottle as Martin (an introvert with low self-esteem). Chaplin was replaced by Neil Stuke (above, right) after the first season.
Game On surfed the '90s wave of "laddish" entertainment, fuelled by the popularity of Men Behaving Badly and an explosion of interest in youth culture thanks to magazines like FHM and Loaded. Indeed, Samantha Janus often appeared semi-naked in lad's mags to help promote the show.
I remember enjoying this sitcom at the time, particularly the chemistry between the three leads. Handsome Ben Chaplin was an interesting choice for an oddball; a man whose phobia of the outside world confined him to his flat and forced him to create his own entertainment. His replacement, Neil Stuke, was less photogenic, so the comic disparity in looks and personality didn't work as well -- although Stuke did get the funniest continuing joke on the show: Matthew's refusal to accept he has a "man-crush" on a gay psychologist assigned to cure him of his agoraphobia.
The most likeable character was undoubtedly "tangerine-haired" Martin, a milquetoast banker with an unhappy love-life, who was constantly ridiculed by Matthew and forced to make him cups of tea. By season 2, Martin got a girlfriend in the shape of Irish nurse Clare (Tracy Keating), which was actually rather sweet, if ultimately quite sickly.
Samantha Janus had the weakest character, as Mandy was primarily a fantasy-figure for men watching at home. Her main source of comedy was how her sex-kitten looks interfered with her career aspirations, as every man who crossed her path was only ever interested in one thing: sex. To make matters worse, Mandy had a streak of nymphomania in her, so usually obliged her admirers.
In retrospect, Game On wasn't particularly insightful about being a British twentysomething or even very believable. This was likely because the writers were much older than the characters they were writing for. Co-writer Andrew Davies was 59 when the first episode aired, and went on to become a celebrated writer of costume dramas like Pride & Prejudice, Moll Flanders, Dr. Zhivago, Bleak House and Sense & Sensibility! As you can tell, Game On is something of a frivolous anomaly in his oeuvre!
While lacking in realism and often resembling an old man's guesswork about what the youth of today get up to, I still enjoyed the performances and some of the comic situations as a teenager. Yes, even with its appropriated yoof-speak that nobody outside of the show ever uttered: "game on" (Wayne's World inspired?) and "double-hard bastard" (huh?)
Anyway, a year after Game On was cancelled in '98, Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson rolled into town with Spaced -- a Channel 4 sitcom made by twentysomethings for twentysomethings. The difference in tone and style was obvious from the start, with Spaced's chutzpah putting Game On's cosy kidult sitcom to shame.
Where are they now?
Ben Chaplin left the show after one season to concentrate on a Hollywood career, starring alongside Uma Thurman in The Truth About Cats & Dogs in '96. A small role in The Thin Red Line followed in '98, he starred with Nicole Kidman in Brit-flick Birthday Girl in '01, but has otherwise concentrated on stage work.
Neil Stuke almost won the role that went to Chaplin, so he was the writers' first choice when they had to recast. Stuke continued to work steadily in TV shows like Drop The Dead Donkey, Office Gossip, Trust, Bedtime and The Bill. He's currently starring in Boeing Boeing in the West End.
Samantha Janus used Game On as a springboard for other roles, like The Grimleys, Brit-flick Up & Under and the drama Liverpool 1. Her starring role in ITV sitcom disaster Babes In The Wood stalled her progress in 2000, although she continued to work steadily enough. A career renaissance occurred in '07, when Janus landed the role of Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders.
Matthew Cottle has had small roles in TV shows like EastEnders, Holby City, Doctors and The Bill since Game On finished, but nothing significant. He also appears in quite a few commercials, most notably for Specsavers.
Game On is currently being repeated on Dave, Wednesdays @ 11pm
