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The Games Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 1998 - 1998
Episode 1
The Press Conference
26 mins
A documentary film crew introduces the three-person Sydney Olympics Logistics and Liaison team to the wider television audience. This premiere episode showcases John, Gina, and Bryan's first, disastrous press conference. At the behest of the Minister of the Olympics, they are critiqued on their performance by a media consultant.
Episode 2
Athletics Schedule
25 mins
A talk show host fields a phone call from a woman complaining about the Olympics swimming schedule. At the same time, John is told by the minister's secretary to respond to the accusations and issues being raised. Each time he calls the show, he shuts off his cell phone at a moment to cause heightened embarrassment forcing Nicholas to call in. Juggling three phone calls, John is approached by Bryan to discuss contingency funding, the opening ceremonies and the possible disappearance of some money. Getting advice from Mr. Clinton on one phone, John is soon confronted by Gina, upset about the new athletics schedule which features the 1500 metres race on at 4am, Sydney Time. Running leads into an explanation of the plot of Chariots of Fire for Bryan, who has never seen the movie. The reminiscing is interrupted by the arrival of Juan Antonio Samarach who plans to visit the incomplete swimming venue.
Episode 3
Funding
25 mins
The Games was an Australian satire based on the premise of a documentary film crew being given carte blanche access to film the fictional Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) as they go about their days planning and producing the Games themselves, dealing with one crisis after another: a 100 Metre track that isn't actually 100 metres long, a lacrosse facility the head of the IOC is set to tour in a week which has not yet been built, and so on. The series ran for two seasons, ending just one week before the Games themselves opened.
Episode 4
100 Metre Track
26 mins
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
Past Sports Stars and Gender
26 mins
Gina monitors construction of the Olympic stadium while answering calls on a special Olympic Hotline set up for international callers - a task complicated by it only operating during Australian business hours. John and Bryan argue as to whether modern day athletes are superior to those of the past. Bryan meets with the Secretary to the Minister to discuss seating arrangements for a Regional Delegates meeting. The eligibility of a competitor who has had a sex change is argued.
Episode 6
Millennium Bug
26 mins
Gina is very excited about her new Voice Recognition word processing software, John and Bryan attempt to fax an important budget document they don't actually have a copy of anymore, and John discovers (much to his surprise) that he had volunteered several months ago to prepare a report on the Games' Y2K compliance for presentation to the IOC's Director of Technology in about an hour. Finally, the trio attempt to hold a live online press conference.
Episode 7
Dead Man
26 mins
The swimming schedule has been disastrously modified at the last minute. Meanwhile, Gina and John are asked to babysit an IOC member who has turned up dead the day before a major Dinner, while Bryan and Jasmine go to meet President Mandela and Princess Margaret at the airport.
Episode 8
Rural and Environment
26 mins
John attempts to explain the swimming schedule to the camera before going on Lateline to face the Spanish Athletics Association coordinator's concerns about the ozone hole over Australia. Meanwhile, Gina and Bryan meet with the Federation of Rural Progress delegation's proposal for an Opening Ceremony program which has already been awarded to the Germans.
Episode 9
J'Accuse
27 mins
Gina tries to explain the disastrous effect a 100% effective anti-doping system would have on athletic attendance at the Games, while Bryan discovers that the Lacrosse facility which Juan Antonio Samaranch is set to tour next week has not, in fact, been built. Meanwhile, John attempts to quell a particularly negative (and uncomfortably accurate) anti-Olympics reporter.
Episode 10
A Management Course
27 mins
John, Bryan, and Gina are sent to a training exercise at the Grand Vistas Conference Centre in the Blue Mountains where they are asked to solve hypothetical problems they might encounter during the Games. John utilises the "Athens Option" to deal with a petition asking that the gold medals be made of gold. The time has come to deal with the fact that no venue has been organised for fencing.
Episode 11
A Conflict of Interest
27 mins
John tries to keep a Sydney businessman from gaining a seat on SOCOG. Plans to sell Games venues to American interests trouble the crew. Gina suffers the aftereffects of conducting yet another tour for visiting dignitaries. The documentary film crew visits John at home on a Sunday morning.
Episode 12
Horse and Dream Team
27 mins
John plays hardball with the agent representing the American basketball team when the issue of special treatment is put forth. A "Civility Awareness" programme is proposed for the city's service industry to help make visiting Americans feel more at home. Bryan and John encounter a likable, animal hating TV Vet when the eligibility of an equestrian team's genetically engineered horse is raised.
Episode 13
Transport!
27 mins
John discovers that the aquatic center's diving pool has been built in the wrong place, while Gina does some digging into the new transport agency Nicholas and the Minister are pushing for and Bryan helps develop a brilliant new invention. With Sam Neill as Citytrans CEO, Nicholas Bell as Nicholas, Dave Graney as Dave.