The Name of the Game
Today I was reminded of the TV series "The Name of the Game", which ran from 1968 to 1971. A bit unconventional for its time, the show was smart, cool, different. It aspired to be more like a movie, pre-HBO, than a regular TV series. Did I really have a man-crush on Tony Franciosa as Jeff Dillon and a more conventional crush on Susan St. James as Peggy Maxwell?
"The Name of the Game" had three different main characters who were featured in rotation -- Franciosa, Robert Stack and Gene Barry. The show was about a large magazine company, which published People magazine way before People existed. Imagine publishing being the subject of a ninety-minute drama. Somehow, "The Name of the Game" could have sparked the idea that publishing was an exciting way of life. (It's a good life, actually.)
I found this clip on YouTube but I wish I could find a whole episode to watch and see if it matches up to memory. I do like the music in this opening sequence.
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I bought the series on DVD here. I also had a crush on Susan St. James (as well as Suzanne Pleshette, and Bill Bixby, so apparently I had a kink for raspy voices as a kid. And I'm gay, so go figure.) I remembered the series as being sophisticated and fast-paced. I was also nine years old.
I will happily send you my copies; it doesn't really hold up. The transfer quality doesn't help, but the tone is generally really pompous and self-righteous. Except for Susan.
I'd be interested to see a full episode or two, but I have a feeling it'll pale in comparison to the Rockford Files.
You may have noticed Claudine Longet in the credits! Claudine was not only married to pop star Andy Williams, but was found guilty in the shooting death of her lover, the Olympic skier Spider Sabich. She eventually settled out of court with the proviso that she could never tell her story. Claudine starred in one of my favorite films of all time, The Party, with Peter Sellers, where she plays a cute chanteuse. Claudine had a very successful music career also, with nine albums under her belt. She never performed again after the murder trial.
Yeah, I've always loved 60's theme songs too. They just sound better somehow. I think it might be the congas.
My fave theme is the Avengers Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0YOlU3SMgs
and I also like It Takes a Thief Season one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjtTC_7w3Jw
I'll definitely be adding that Name of the Game clip to the Acid Jazz Channel.
Jesum Crow!
3 minutes of credits? (This is an hour show, too.)
Compare that to our current fashion of starting the
show immediately, and placing the credits, if any,
during or after the initial splash of action.
There's an episode at a torrent site whose name starts with "d" and ends with "noid".
As I recall, the original title of the pilot movie-of-the-week was titled, "FAME IS The Name Of The Game" but i could be wrong...?
I have often thought about this old TV series and wondered where I could see some episodes.
It may have originally been "Fame is ... etc" but I always think of Corruption as the name of the game. Seems the protagonists were always uncovering some slimy underhanded goings-on amongst politicos and corporados.
If my memory is correct, there was an episode that takes place in a near post-nuclear-war future where survivors are hunkered down in bunkers trying to communicate with each other(?)
This program sort of introduced me to cynicism about the government and other institutions and prepared me for a lot of later disillusionment.
#3 Redcell -- Yes, I noticed Claudine Longet, married to too-sweet Andy Williams. I can't help remember the Andy Williams Christmas Special. One year for Xmas, my grandmother bought me what she called an "Andy Williams" sweater. I wore it proudly but I probably looked like a goof.
#2 HalfCaptain -- I think you're right about the pomposity, and Franciosa probably represented both. A bit staged. I forgot about that.
The series "Name of the Game" did develop from a TV movie. Also, the episodes were ninety minutes, more like a movie. That's why they had such a long opening sequence.
#3 You want conga's Dan? We got congas, bongos....and wah wah's too:
The Persuaders
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bgLEdvRKAYI
The Professionals
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GH7VFJjDhVU
The Troubleshooters
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9uRausCd2qc
I remember this as being a totally awesome show, which means I would probably be seriously disappointed to see it now (see "WKRP," "Banacek." too many others). There was one "time-travel" episode, I think with Franciosa, that was novelized (in ultra-cheapo paperback form, undoubtedly long gone to compost) that I remember poring over compulsively, that probably fed my SF obsession to this day. Thanks to Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, I've learned that, in terms of old TV shows, you really can't go home again, not without being disappointed and/or embarrassed.
I lived for this show- Susan St. James was a young babe- she was 20 when she started in this role, and America loved her. Gene Barry and Tony Franciosa were the defintion of cool. Robert Stack was a part of this too. Take a look at the folks who had roles in this show- it was great
That time travel episode was called LA 2017, and it was directed by Stephen Spielberg.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._2017
Preview for this episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUbUhy-5z6c
I was more into The Persuaders, but was also in pre-pre-teen love with Susan St. James. Robert Stack is icing on this delicious cake of a show.
I don't remember The Persuaders but I was a fan of Name of the Game as a kid. I was also struck by the appearance of Longet.
Yeah, for those of us of that era, I think those TV theme songs have a special magic. That reminded me of a short-lived show (also with Franciosa) called Search (with Hugh O'Brien, Burgess Meredith, Doug McClure). I love the that opening theme. You can find it on YouTube searching for "search hugh o'brien". The extended version of the theme can be heard by looking for the movie pilot "Probe".
How about the theme song to the 1967 Casino Royale?
Dale Dougherty, Steely Dan and Ghost Dance, you are all noticing the great quality of the theme music for that period. The Name of the Game theme is by David Grusin, who was associated with GRP recordings. It is in 5/4, not unlike Take 5, or another great theme, Mission Impossible, by Lalo Schifrin. A number of other great themes of the period, such as Ironsides or the Mod Squad are by Quincy Jones. It seemed that great jazz composers/musicians were tapped for themes and scores at that time, and the elegant and sophisticated music added a touch of class and glamour to rather pedestrian entertainments. These pieces are striking and unique and they cannot in any way be called bland. A throwback to that era was in the late 80s series Moonlighting in which the theme was performed by Al Jarreau. Stylish!
When I was a young teenager we lived in an area where we could pick up two TV regions, Midlands and Wales & The West. I recall being able to watch The Name Of The Game twice a week, Saturday and Monday. I still cite it as one of my all-time favourite shows and, as several have already said, would love to see it again. I was another Franciosa/Saint James fan. I remember an episode about an original copy of a Shakespeare play, one about a female rock star and one about a would be actress who phones a radio talk show to say she is going to kill herself because no one will take her acting seriously. Jeff Dillon (Franciosa) takes over the radio show to try to talk her out of it. After she tells him she has taken an overdose she drifts away, only to suddenly laugh outloud and say, "I told you I was a good actress!" The humiliated Dillon leaves the radio studio only to be met by another woman who tells him he has saved her life - she had been contemplating suicide but he'd talked her out of it. I even remember that they played the song Follow The Bouncing Ball - can't remember who recorded it.