Game On was devised by Bernadette Davis and Andrew Davies. Davies is mostly famous for his costume dramas, such as Pride and Prejudice) and as time has gone on, Game On is very much a historical sitcom as it rides the wave of the nineties.
The set-up is three friends living in a London flat. Landlord Matthew (Ben Chaplin, then Neil Stuke) is a neurotic agoraphobic who nevertheless thinks he's a hard man; his best friend sex-starved Martin (Matthew Cottle) is basically his lackey; and nympho Mandy (Samantha Janus), who will sleep with anyone except Martin and Matthew and despite her intelligence flits from temp job to temp job.
The first series is a little darker and a bit more subversive as Matthew's rampant sexism, perversions and occasional casual racism are on display. Chaplin is a better actor than Stuke and his charm and good looks make it more interesting, as on the surface you'd expect Matthew to be doing pretty well in life. A couple of the highlights of the series involve Matthew's cross-dressing and his brief venture playing in a band who lives in the flat upstairs.
The addition of Neil Stuke softened the darkness of the comedy. Stuke is more likable and relatable in the role- a more traditional sitcom choice- but had Chaplin had more time in the role, he would have made it iconic. He has that coolness that Stuke couldn't bring.
I really liked Samantha Janus in the role of Mandy; not simply eye candy for the boys, she is very funny as she handles her string of jobs and men.
Martin is the weakest character. It's not particularly the fault of actor Matthew Cottle but the writing for the character is very one-note. The introduction of his girlfriend Claire (Tracy Keating) makes him even more annoying.
By Series 3, the show ended up in a very different place from the first series with some emotional backstories for some of the characters (in addition to the death of Matthew's parents, which is mentioned throughout the show). This helped diffuse the sameyness that had crept in.
Similar to Men Behaving Badly in the way that it showed 90's laddishness and sexual permissiveness, Game On had some very funny moments and some subversively dark moments but was not consistently funny and ultimately did not lead up to its promise.
The set-up is three friends living in a London flat. Landlord Matthew (Ben Chaplin, then Neil Stuke) is a neurotic agoraphobic who nevertheless thinks he's a hard man; his best friend sex-starved Martin (Matthew Cottle) is basically his lackey; and nympho Mandy (Samantha Janus), who will sleep with anyone except Martin and Matthew and despite her intelligence flits from temp job to temp job.
The first series is a little darker and a bit more subversive as Matthew's rampant sexism, perversions and occasional casual racism are on display. Chaplin is a better actor than Stuke and his charm and good looks make it more interesting, as on the surface you'd expect Matthew to be doing pretty well in life. A couple of the highlights of the series involve Matthew's cross-dressing and his brief venture playing in a band who lives in the flat upstairs.
The addition of Neil Stuke softened the darkness of the comedy. Stuke is more likable and relatable in the role- a more traditional sitcom choice- but had Chaplin had more time in the role, he would have made it iconic. He has that coolness that Stuke couldn't bring.
I really liked Samantha Janus in the role of Mandy; not simply eye candy for the boys, she is very funny as she handles her string of jobs and men.
Martin is the weakest character. It's not particularly the fault of actor Matthew Cottle but the writing for the character is very one-note. The introduction of his girlfriend Claire (Tracy Keating) makes him even more annoying.
By Series 3, the show ended up in a very different place from the first series with some emotional backstories for some of the characters (in addition to the death of Matthew's parents, which is mentioned throughout the show). This helped diffuse the sameyness that had crept in.
Similar to Men Behaving Badly in the way that it showed 90's laddishness and sexual permissiveness, Game On had some very funny moments and some subversively dark moments but was not consistently funny and ultimately did not lead up to its promise.