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.
26 episodes total
Status
Ended
First Aired
1998
Rating
7.0/10
2 votes • HD
People
Episodes
Episode 1 • Aug 17, 1998
Barrie Cassidy analyses John, Bryan and Gina's performance at their recent press conference.
Episode 2 • Aug 24, 1998
Just when the administration and logistics team have got things running smoothly, sport rears its ugly head. John, Bryan and Gina go through the steps of trying to organise athletics for the games.
Episode 3 • Aug 31, 1998
Funding 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 Bryan meets with a mysterious potential corporate sponsor.
Episode 4 • Sep 07, 1998
Jasmine presents some marketing ideas to clear out some ""dead wood"", Robbo holds a press conference on the environmental impact of the Games, and John and Bryan confront the contractor who built a 100 Metre track that doesn't quite measure up.
Episode 5 • Sep 14, 1998
The 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 special phone duties.
Episode 6 • Sep 21, 1998
Gina's voice recognition software is causing difficulties and John is having trouble with technology. The millennium bug looks like it might threaten the games. A live webchat doesn't quite go to plan.
Episode 1 • Jun 19, 2000
John becomes the target of a TV documentary. He becomes a prisoner in his own house, after accusations of corruption are made by a former college.
Episode 2 • Jun 26, 2000
The organisers address the troops to bolster morale. However the team find themselves facing a hostile and unhappy group of workers. As John, Bryan and Gina try to duck and weave the curve balls thrown their way, John reveals his ten-point plan that will ensure a smooth Olympic Games for everyone.
Episode 3 • Jul 03, 2000
The team have to deal with a aboriginal land claim and a demand by a US senator for a formal apology by the P.M.
Episode 4 • Jul 10, 2000
The 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 games of the (whatever) Olympiad of the Modern Era. This is the story of just one of them, and perhaps one or two others.
Episode 5 • Jul 17, 2000
Each member of the Games team must face an inquiry into their practices. The system of cheques and balances which operates in an organisation of this kind ensures that the public gets the very best service, open access to decision making and full recourse to the best legal system available anywhere in the world.
Episode 6 • Jul 24, 2000
A visitor from the UK arrives from the London 2012 bid committee and highlights some airport shortcomings. Nicholas tries to sell all the furniture.
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