"Actor: Raad Rawi"

• The One Game - The Complete Series | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The 1988 Carlton mini-movie The One Game is the perfect definition of cult TV. Originally shown as four Saturday night instalments, it was a success with audiences and critics alike at the time and remains an extremely original piece of television. On the surface, the story is as simple: an ex-business partner exacts a very personal revenge. The game being played by Magnus (an almost unrecognisable Patrick Malahide) upon the arrogant Nick (Stephen Dillon) makes the tale far more interesting, however. If the premise sounds a little familiar, that's because the 1997 Michael Douglas movie The Game has striking similarities. The show captured society's interest in games at exactly the right time. First there's the Arthurian context, which visually struck a chord with a decade of Dungeons and Dragons fans. Then there's the constant reference to the new dawn of computer games, which everyone was excited about going into the 90s. But Nick is embroiled in a theory of Reality Gaming that turns everything on its head. He doesn't know who of his friends or colleagues may be in on the game, and since it begins with the sting of a £2 million theft, he's prepared to make sacrifices along the way. Changes in fashion and technology can't detract from what remains a cracking good yarn, well told and well played. On the DVD: The One Game arrives on disc superbly packaged. The attractive box contains an informative booklet relating the show's place in TV history. Unfortunately there's nothing at all in the way of extras on the disc itself--a disappointment, which, like the 4:3 ratio and stereo sound, is only to be expected for an all-but forgotten gem. --Paul Tonks