Old Harry's Game

Old Harry's Game
Old Harry's Game

The cover of the first volume collection of Old Harry's Game.
Genre Sitcom
Running time 29 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Languages English
Home station BBC Radio 4
Starring Andy Hamilton
James Grout (Series 1-Christmas Special 2002)
Jimmy Mulville
Steve O'Donnell (Series 1)
Robert Duncan (Series 2 onwards)
David Swift (Guest appearances)
Annette Crosbie (Series 6 onwards)
Philip Pope (Regular guest appearances)
Felicity Montagu (Regular guest appearances)
Michael Fenton Stevens (Regular guest appearances)
Nick Revell (Regular guest appearances)
Claire Skinner (Christmas Special 2002)
Geoffrey Whitehead (Series 5)
Timothy West (Series 7)
Creators Andy Hamilton
Writers Andy Hamilton
Producers Paul Mayhew-Archer
Air dates 27 November 1995 to 30 December 2010
No. of series 7 (as of 2010)
No. of episodes 44 (as of December 2010)
Opening theme Musical motif from Christopher Young's score for Hellraiser (1987) ('Resurrection'/ Main Theme)
Website At BBC Radio 4

Old Harry's Game is a UK radio comedy written and directed by Andy Hamilton, who also plays the cynical, world-weary (or rather, underworld-weary) Satan. "Old Harry" is one of many names for the devil. The show's title is a humorous play on the title of the 1982 TV series Harry's Game.

Beginning in 1995, four series, of six half-hour episodes each, were aired by 2001, and a two-part Christmas special followed in 2002. A fifth full series was frequently delayed because of a cast member's illness, but recording of the four episodes of series five took place in April 2005 (postponed from January). The first episode of that series was broadcast on 20 September 2005 on BBC Radio 4. James Grout (the Professor during the first four series) did not take part. Series 6 (comprising a further six episodes) began on BBC Radio 4 on 27 September 2007, and Series 7 aired on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.[1] Given that the show has rarely aired more frequently than bi-annually, the next series is not due until 2011, but a Christmas special was broadcast in two parts on 23rd and 30th December 2010.

An animated version is currently in development by the UK animation house Flickerpix. It will be using claymation.

Apart from series 3 and 4, the episodes were not given official titles.

One notable point regarding casting for the series. Andy Hamilton (Satan), Robert Duncan (Scumspawn), and David Swift (God) had all worked together previously, in the UK television comedy series Drop the Dead Donkey between 1990 and 1998, which had been co-written by Hamilton. Both of the latter were written into the 1998 series by Hamilton when the run of Donkey ended that year.

Contents

Plot

The series is mainly set in Hell and the plot usually centres on the relationships and conflicts between Satan, his various minions and the damned. It regularly features famous historical figures and celebrities, most of whom are portrayed as being less likable, or at least different, to the version recorded by history. This includes a foul-mouthed and extremely violent Jane Austen, a sexually predatory Florence Nightingale (who took advantage of wounded soldiers), and a vacuous Helen of Troy (accompanied by her plain-looking friend, Daphne).

This subversive approach was also applied to God (first name Nigel), who makes the occasional appearance, originally played by David Swift, then in series 7 by Timothy West. God is usually portrayed as being quick-tempered and vengeful; in the series he says he created the universe accidentally, when he was messing about with some matter and energy. He put it down to have a sip of his drink and then, kaboom, he had a universe on his hands. Life on Earth was created for a bet, as Earth was dull viewing. God, for a bit of fun, sprinkled some mutating bacteria into the oceans, and ran a book with the other Angels to see which one would evolve into a creature that would develop a language first. God seems rather annoyed that things 'got out of hand'. In later series, we learn that God also has a mobile phone (although only the Angel Gabriel is supposed to have the number), and that God sends e-mails, but refuses to read any that he receives as he once got taken in by a scam from Nigeria.

The Angels are also portrayed somewhat differently. The Angel who delivered the news that Mary was to give birth to the messiah was in fact named Graham, while Gabriel is a separate entity who was falsely credited with doing so due to a typo early in the making of the Bible. They are also presented as rather arrogant when dealing with Satan, but at the same time behaving as suck-ups around God. They are forbidden to indulge in physical pleasures, but are still tempted by them, which has been used against them.

Series 1 to 4

The first four series centred on the philosophical arguments between Satan and the somewhat idealistic main human character known as 'the Professor' (played by James Grout). The Professor represents the undeserving damned, being a man of high moral virtue, having been consigned to Hell only on the technicality that he did not believe in God. The character was originally called Professor Richard Whittingham, although in series 2 he is referred to as Professor Richard Hope, when in episodes 5 & 6 he publishes his book: 'The Theory of Everything'. Generally, Satan seeks to prove to the Professor that mankind is inherently base or flawed, with the Professor taking the opposing position. Usually Satan travels to the living world to display the more contemptible sides of human nature, such as snipers shooting old ladies in Bosnia or prostitution in Thailand, to a generally horrified Professor. At other times he introduces the Professor to historical personages the Professor holds in high esteem but who are now languishing in Hell, such as Leonardo da Vinci, William Shakespeare and Jane Austen, showing him how petty and mendacious they really are. However, the Professor's idealism is usually shown to have some validity as well, and more often than not he wins the argument, although Satan always insists he has not.

The other main human character is Thomas Quentin Crimp (Jimmy Mulville), an execrable type with few (or no) morals, held out by Satan as an example of all that is detestable about humanity, and often described as the most corrupt human who ever lived. In the first episode it transpires that Thomas caused the car crash which landed him and the Professor in Hell. The latter, despite his moral idealism, is consigned to Hell because of his atheism (since, as Satan remarks caustically, God does not have a sense of humour). The fact of the afterlife - which the Professor optimistically views as a hallucination - does not change his views. Despite (or perhaps because of) their conflicting attitudes, the Professor and Thomas are often placed together by Satan.

Regular plot elements involve the Professor visiting, or being shown, his beloved wife Deborah, as she gets on with her life following his death. His widow's eventual marriage to a corrupt Irish jockey and her near-fatal coma were important plot strands in series 3 and 4. These plot strands ended when the Professor was accepted into Heaven a short time after the events of the 2002 Christmas special (an incident not covered in the series).

Other characters featured are Satan's minions. Satan's most venomous demon, Gary (Steve O'Donnell), was featured in the first series because Thomas was on his list of tormentees. Thomas later convinces Gary to rebel against Satan, with a distinct lack of success. Gary is mentioned only once in later series and his absence is never explained (although the implication is that he fell from favour due to his rebellion). Scumspawn (Robert Duncan), featured from the second series onwards, takes Gary's place, having applied to become Satan's personal assistant. Although Satan initially refuses, he later relents, and Scumspawn proves a surprisingly effective assistant. His subplots usually involve attempts to become a better demon (with help from Thomas). Much of the humour surrounding Scumspawn derives from his sensitive and caring personality, which is a constant irritant to Satan, who often complains that Scumspawn does not act very much like a demon.

According to Andy Hamilton in an interview broadcast on April 5, 2008, on BBC Radio 7's "I Did It My Way", one episode in series 3 was partially re-recorded due to a tragic confluence of events. In the episode, Satan disrupts Deborah's wedding to an Irish jockey by taking the form of BBC reporter Jill Dando. Later in the episode, Satan reveals that Jill Dando never existed at all, and was just a disguise that he used to stir up unrest in the realm of the living. After the episode was originally broadcast, the 37-year-old reporter was murdered outside her home. The episode was partially re-recorded for repeats, with Satan manifesting himself instead as a different BBC reporter, Gaby Roslin. You can tell the re-recorded lines quite easily as they were not done in front of an audience. There were actually two episodes that had to have some lines re-recorded to accommodate the Jill Dando-Gaby Roslin switch, as a later episode in the third series references it.

Christmas Special 2002

In a double-bill Special, broadcast on New Year's Eve 2002 (The Roll of the Dice) and New Year's Day 2003 (Knocking on Heaven's Door), Hope, an extraordinarily beautiful Salvation Army worker and tambourine player, is killed by mistake and sent to Hell by accident. This results in Satan trying to bring her back to life, by taking her to Death. But he only gets as far as meeting the Welsh Death (Dai-the-Death), and contacting the Head Death on his mobile. After Death refuses to bring her back to life, as a last resort Satan travels to Heaven (now protected with barbed wire, CCTV and Rottweilers). After talking to Saint Peter (who Satan implies had sex with call girls in Rome, as well as stealing the other 100 pieces of silver which had been contracted by Judas Iscariot but went missing), Satan blackmails St Peter into letting Hope into Heaven.

While all this is going on, the Professor has been changed into a buzzing bluebottle, and Thomas has been painted like a zebra and is awaiting the "attentions" of some special crocodiles (they have a sense of humour).

Series 5

Series Five retains some of the themes from earlier series, but most of the action does not revolve around Satan's relationships with his minions and the damned. Instead, the episodes focus on Satan's efforts to reduce overcrowding in Hell.

After an unsuccessful appeal to God for planning permission to enlarge Hell, in episode 1, the action divides between Hell and various locations on Earth. The basic plot of the subsequent episodes involves Satan taking on the guise of a leading world figure in order to meet influential people, such as Queen Elizabeth II, whom he tries to convince to lead more of mankind to Heaven by encouraging them to change their ways. However, these efforts are largely unsuccessful.

The subplot of each episode focuses on Scumspawn's ineffective attempts to run Hell in Satan's absence. This normally involves trying to cope with a strange new arrival in Hell, unionised demons, or overcrowding. He generally enlists Thomas's help in trying to find a solution, which usually fails. At the end of the episode Satan returns and sorts out whatever new problem Scumspawn has managed to create.

The final two episodes of the series feature a new arrival (Geoffrey Whitehead), who tries to organise a rebellion of the demons in Hell, with Thomas's help, with exactly the same degree of success that Gary and Thomas had in series 1. In the end, after dealing with the insurrection, Satan decides he need not worry, as humans will soon be extinct anyway. In order to hasten mankind's demise, he turns himself into Jeb Bush and plots to tell his brother George Bush to launch a nuclear strike on the polar icecaps.

Series 6

For Series Six, Andy Hamilton returned to the style of the original series, with most of the action taking place in Hell. He introduces a new member of the damned, called Edith (Annette Crosbie), an academic and historian who has recently arrived in Hell. Edith apparently committed suicide due to watching Midsomer Murders. She is also Thomas's former mother-in-law. As Edith and Thomas have a mutual hatred of each other, Satan decides they would be perfect room-mates.

Edith is not pleased with the situation, as Thomas had subjected her daughter to emotional abuse, to divorce, and tried to take custody of her breast implants. She agrees to write a definitive biography of Satan in return for new accommodation. She also insists that she did not commit suicide, and Satan grudgingly agrees to find out how she died.

The basic plot of an episode generally involved Satan trying to find out more about Edith's death, while Edith interviewed members of the damned about Satan's past. The latter closely followed the pattern of series 4, in which the Professor had interviewed famous historical personalities in attempting to win a bet with Satan (by showing that mankind was capable of redemption). There were also various sub-plots, including Scumspawn's attempts to uncover a 'decent' side to Thomas's personality, much in the same way as the Professor had tried to in earlier series. Thus were the various aspects of the Professor's character re-distributed between Edith and Scumspawn.

Eventually, Satan does discover the true circumstances of Edith's death (she had been murdered: but that revelation, and the discovery of the motive for her murder, still did not make her very happy). In the final episode, Thomas discovers a fact about his ancestry that makes him even more insufferable.

Series 7

A seventh series started on 19th February 2009, with recordings taking place at the BBC Radio Theatre in London. The cast was the same as in Series Six.

In the first episode, a dog arrives unexpectedly in Hell. Satan attempts to talk to God about both the new arrival and a possible plan to ease the general overcrowding in Hell (involving destroying 75% of the damned). But he cannot, because God is bored with Satan, and indeed with his whole Creation, and has left two rather insufferable angels in charge as "site managers" (who are more interested in admiring their laminated "site manager" badges than doing anything).

In the second episode, God goes away for some "me time", leaving the Archangel Gabriel in charge. Unfortunately, Heaven's new computer system is having software problems, causing a further unexpected arrival in Hell - a baby - and Satan's renewed attempts to get help from God bring him face to face with Gabriel. Meanwhile, Scumspawn decides the baby needs a name, and dubs it "Satan Junior". Taking care of the baby, and of the dog Scamp, begins to bring out the best in Thomas, while Satan's meeting with Gabriel brings some slight results.

In the fourth episode Timothy West guest-stars as God (previously played by David Swift). The fifth episode sees Satan trying to find adoptive parents for the baby (now called Patrick), while Edith has a major crisis of confidence concerning her completed biography of Satan. In the final episode, a very angry God returns to put Satan and Gabriel on trial for not following His instructions about what should be done with the baby.

Christmas Special 2010

In Christmas Spirit, broadcast on 23rd December 2010, the first of a two-part Christmas Special, Satan decides to ban Christmas. During a visitation to the world of Men he disguises himself as various religious figures, including the Pope, in order to more effectively denounce Christmas; and then impersonates the Editor of the Daily Mail newspaper so as to publish made-up headlines undermining Christmas, such as "Mince Pies cause AIDS." However, in Hell the Spirit of Christmas is alive and well, thanks to Scumspawn's efforts to cheer up Edith.

In the second part, entitled Ring in the New (broadcast on 30th December 2010), Satan decides he needs a holiday. On Edith's advice he heads off to the English Lake District for some New Year solitude, leaving Scumspawn in charge of Hell. But Scumspawn isn't sure his leadership skills are up to the task, and a management seminar with Genghis Khan, Winston Churchill, Gandhi, Queen Elizabeth I and football manager Brian Clough proves no help. (Note: This is probably the only episode that ends relatively happily for Thomas)

Episodes

Series 1[2]

1.1 Premier Episode (Broadcast: 23 November 1995)
1.2 What A Coincidence (Broadcast: 30 November 1995)
1.3 A Trip Up Top (Broadcast: 7 December 1995)
1.4 Tick Tock (Broadcast: 14 December 1995)
1.5 Rebellion (Broadcast: 21 December 1995)
1.6 A Cold Day In Hell (Broadcast: 28 December 1995)

Series 2

2.1 Help Wanted (Broadcast: 7 April 1998)
2.2 Help Still Wanted (Broadcast: 14 April 1998)
2.3 Not Quite Frank Capra (Broadcast: 21 April 1998)
2.4 Good Help Is Hard To Find (Broadcast: 28 April 1998)
2.5 Plagiarism 101 (Broadcast: 5 May 1998)
2.6 An Impossible Act (Broadcast: 12 May 1998)

Series 3

3.1 This Thing Called Love (Broadcast: 24 March 1999)
3.2 Another Country (Broadcast: 31 March 1999)
3.3 A Four-Letter Word (Broadcast: 7 April 1999)
3.4 The Reasonably Fantastic Journey (Broadcast: 14 April 1999)
3.5 The Beautiful Game (Broadcast: 21 April 1999)
3.6 The Final Reckoning (Broadcast: 28 April 1999)

Series 4

4.1 Knowledge & Ignorance (Broadcast: 29 March 2001)
4.2 Beautiful England (Broadcast: 5 April 2001)
4.3 Health & Safety (Broadcast: 12 April 2001)
4.4 Poets Corner (Broadcast: 19 April 2001)
4.5 Sleep (Broadcast: 26 April 2001)
4.6 Beauty (Broadcast: 3 May 2001)

Christmas Special 2002

x.1 The Roll of the Dice (Broadcast: 31 December 2002)
x.2 Knocking on Heaven's Door (Broadcast: 1 January 2003)

Series 5

5.1 (Broadcast: 20 September 2005)
5.2 (Broadcast: 27 September 2005)
5.3 (Broadcast: 4 October 2005)
5.4 (Broadcast: 11 October 2005)

Series 6

6.1 (Broadcast: 27 September 2007)
6.2 (Broadcast 4 October 2007)
6.3 (Broadcast 11 October 2007)
6.4 (Broadcast 18 October 2007)
6.5 (Broadcast 25 October 2007)
6.6 (Broadcast 1 November 2007)

Series 7

7.1 (Broadcast 19 February 2009)
7.2 (Broadcast 26 February 2009)
7.3 (Broadcast 5 March 2009)
7.4 (Broadcast 12 March 2009)
7.5 (Broadcast 19 March 2009)
7.6 (Broadcast 26 March 2009)

Christmas Special 2010

x.1 Christmas Spirit (Broadcast: 23 December 2010)
x.2 Ring in the New (Broadcast: 30 December 2010)

Audiobooks

Originally, two volumes of CDs, "Volume One" and "Volume Two" were released in 1999 and 2003, collecting selected episodes from series 1-4. From the 2002 Christmas Special onwards, the series were released on CD shortly after the broadcasts. In 2008 and 2009, the BBC finally went back and released series 1-4 in their entirety. This makes Old Harry's Game one of the few hit radio comedies to have all its episodes officially available.

  • Volume One - Series 1: Episodes 1, 5 and 6. Series 2: Episodes 1, 2 and 4.
  • Volume Two - Series 3: Episodes 1, 2 and 3. Series 4: Episodes 2, 3 and 4.
  • Christmas Special - Both 2002 Christmas Special Episodes, released August 2003.
  • Radio Series Five - The Complete Fifth Series, released November 2005.
  • Radio Series Six - The Complete Sixth Series, released November 2007.
  • Radio Series One And Two - The Complete First And Second Series (two separate box sets, but released together as a single entity), released in September 2008.
  • Radio Series Seven - The Complete Seventh Series, released March 2009.
  • Radio Series Three And Four - The Complete Third And Fourth Series (two separate box sets, but released together as a single entity), released in September 2009.
  • Christmas Special - Both 2010 Christmas Special Episodes, released in October 2011.

References

External links


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