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The Games

TV·1998–2000·2 seasons, 26 episodes·ABC TV·Comedy·30m

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The Games was an Australian mockumentary television series about the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The series was originally broadcast on the ABC and had two seasons of 13 episodes each, the first in 1998 and the second in 2000. 'The Games' starred satirists John Clarke and Bryan Dawe along with Australian comedian Gina Riley and actor Nicholas Bell. It was written by John Clarke and Ross Stevenson. The series centred on the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and satirised corruption and cronyism in the Olympic movement, bureaucratic ineptness in the New South Wales public service, and unethical behaviour within politics and the media. An unusual feature of the show was that the characters shared the same name as the actors who played them, to enhance the illusion of a documentary on the Sydney Games.

Cast

Episodes by season

Season0113Episodes1998AiredSeason avg
  1. S01E01The Press ConferenceAugust 17, 1998Barrie Cassidy analyses John, Bryan and Gina's performance at their recent press conference.
  2. S01E02Athletics ScheduleAugust 24, 1998Just when the administration and logistics team have got things running smoothly, sport rears its ugly head. John, Bryan and Gina go through
  3. S01E03FundingAugust 31, 1998Funding for the games becomes a problem. John and Gina review a video designed to promote Sydney as an easy town to get around in, while Bry
  4. S01E04Robbo and the 100 MetresSeptember 7, 1998Jasmine presents some marketing ideas to clear out some ""dead wood"", Robbo holds a press conference on the environmental impact of the Gam
  5. S01E05Past Sports Stars and GenderSeptember 14, 1998The team wrestle with the Asian meltdown, the GST, an athlete who has had a sex-change and a troublesome seating plan. Gina is placed on spe
  6. S01E06Millennium BugSeptember 21, 1998Gina's voice recognition software is causing difficulties and John is having trouble with technology. The millennium bug looks like it might
  7. S01E07Dead ManSeptember 28, 1998The swimming schedule has been disastrously modified at the last minute. Meanwhile, Gina and John are asked to babysit an IOC member who has
  8. S01E08Rural and EnvironmentOctober 5, 1998John attempts to explain the swimming schedule to the camera before going on Lateline to face the Spanish Athletics Association coordinator'
  9. S01E09J'AccuseOctober 12, 1998Gina tries to explain the disastrous effect a 100% effective anti-doping system would have on athletic attendance at the Games, while Bryan
  10. S01E10A Management CourseOctober 19, 1998John, Bryan, and Gina are sent to a training exercise at the Grand Vistas Conference Centre in the Blue Mountains where they are asked to so
  11. S01E11A Conflict of InterestOctober 26, 1998John tries to keep a Sydney businessman from gaining a seat on SOCOG. Plans to sell Games venues to American interests trouble the crew. Gin
  12. S01E12Horse and Dream TeamNovember 2, 1998John plays hardball with the agent representing the American basketball team when the issue of special treatment is put forth. A "Civility A
  13. S01E13Transport!November 9, 1998John discovers that the aquatic center's diving pool has been built in the wrong place, while Gina does some digging into the new transport

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

Season0213Episodes2000AiredSeason avg
  1. S02E01In the Public InterestJune 19, 2000John becomes the target of a TV documentary. He becomes a prisoner in his own house, after accusations of corruption are made by a former co
  2. S02E02Talking to the TroopsJune 26, 2000The organisers address the troops to bolster morale. However the team find themselves facing a hostile and unhappy group of workers. As John
  3. S02E03ReconciliationJuly 3, 2000The team have to deal with a aboriginal land claim and a demand by a US senator for a formal apology by the P.M.
  4. S02E04IOC ManJuly 10, 2000The team look after an IOC man from the States. Many hundreds of thousands of internationals guests will be here with us as we celebrate the
  5. S02E05InquiryJuly 17, 2000Each member of the Games team must face an inquiry into their practices. The system of cheques and balances which operates in an organisatio
  6. S02E06Pommy VisitorJuly 24, 2000A visitor from the UK arrives from the London 2012 bid committee and highlights some airport shortcomings. Nicholas tries to sell all the fu
  7. S02E07ImmigrationJuly 31, 2000Any potential "Aussie Gold Rush" at these Olympics can be expected to profit, as gold rushes in Australia have done in earlier days, from im
  8. S02E08Job SearchAugust 7, 2000In the uncertain world of international logistics and sports management, prospects for the future must be considered carefully. Meanwhile, a
  9. S02E09StrikeAugust 14, 2000The Olympics offer Australia an opportunity not just to showcase our wonderful country and a range of endangered marsupials. The event will
  10. S02E10SolarAugust 21, 2000Head of Administration and Logistics, John Clarke, and his colleagues, Bryan Dawe, Head of Accounts, Budgeting and Finance, and Gina Riley,
  11. S02E11Sponsorship and Media DiscontentAugust 28, 2000Would the person who borrowed the synopsis for this episode, please return it to the office immediately. To have this sort of thing happenin
  12. S02E12Four CornersSeptember 4, 2000The ABC's Four Corners is planning an expos on the games. John and Bryan have been secretly recorded advocating that the rich pay more taxes
  13. S02E13The EndSeptember 11, 2000The games team cope with the hype as the opening ceremony draws near, but there is a problem with the closing ceremony.

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

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