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Old Harry's Game

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" was one of many names for the devil. The 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 (six episodes) began on BBC Radio 4 on 27 September 2007

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 which are portrayed as being less likeable or different from the version recorded by history. This includes a foul-mouthed Jane Austen, sexual predator Florence Nightingale (who took advantage of wounded soldiers) and a vacuous Helen of Troy (and her plain looking friend "Daphne").

This subversive approach also applies to God (first name Nigel), who makes the occasional appearance and is played by David Swift. God is usually portrayed as being quick-tempered and vengeful; in the series God says that he accidentally created the universe, when he was messing about with some matter and energy, he put it down to have a sip of his drink and then ka-boom, 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 sends emails, but refuses to read any he receives as he once got taken in by a scam from Nigeria.

Series 1-4

The first four series centred on the philosophical arguments between Satan and the somewhat idealistic main human character, Professor Richard Whittingham (James Grout), although the character was referred to as "Professor Richard Hope" in series 2, episode 5/6 where he publishes the Theory of Everything. Generally, Satan wishes to prove to the Professor that mankind is inherently base or flawed, with the Professor taking an opposing position. Usually Satan will travel to the human 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. Other times, he introduces the Professor to historical personages now languishing in Hell that the Professor holds in high esteem, such as Leonardo da Vinci or William Shakespeare, 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 the Professor wins the argument, although Satan always insists he hasn't.

The other main human in the series is Thomas Quentin Crimp (Jimmy Mulville), an execrable character with few (or no) morals, held up by Satan as an example of all that is detestable about humanity. In the first episode, it is demonstrated that Thomas caused the car crash which landed him and the professor in Hell. The Professor, despite his moral idealism, was sent to Hell because of his atheism. The fact of the afterlife has not changed his views. Despite (or perhaps because of) this, the Professor and Thomas are often placed together by Satan.

Regular plot elements involved the Professor visiting, or being shown, his beloved wife, Deborah, as she got on with her life after his death. His widow's eventual marriage to an 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 Christmas special. (The incident itself is 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, as Thomas was on his list of tormentees. Thomas later convinced 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. Scumspawn (Robert Duncan), featured from the second onwards, appears to have a job similar to Gary's and applies to become Satan's personal assistant. Though Satan initially refuses, he later relents, and Scumspawn proves to be 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, 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 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 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 as another BBC reporter, Gaby Roslin instead of Dando.

Christmas Special

In a double-bill special broadcast on New Year's Eve 2002 and New Year's Day 2003, Hope, an extraordinarily beautiful Salvation Army worker and tambourine player, was killed and sent to Hell by accident. This resulted in Satan's trying to bring her back to life by bringing her to Death, although he only got as far as meeting the Welsh Death, and contacting the Head Death on his mobile. After Death refuses to bring her back, Satan travels to Heaven, now protected with barbed wire, CCTV and Rottweilers. After talking to Saint Peter (who Satan implies actually had sex with call girls in Rome, as well as stealing the other 100 pieces of silver that had been contracted by Judas but went missing), Hope gets into Heaven.

Series 5

Series 5 kept many of the themes of the earlier series; however, most of the action did not revolve around Satan's relationships with his minions and the damned. Instead, the episodes focused on Satan's efforts to reduce overcrowding in hell.

Much of the action was split between Hell and various locations on Earth. The basic plot of an episode involved Satan taking on the guise of a leading figure (and thus meeting and trying to convince people like Queen Elizabeth II and Condoleezza Rice) in order to lead more of mankind to heaven by encouraging them change their way of life. However, he was usually unsuccessful in his attempts.

The rest of the episodes focused on Scumspawn's ineffective attempts to run hell in Satan's absence. This normally involved him trying to find ways to cope with a strange new arrival in hell, unionised demons and overcrowding. He would often enlist Thomas' help in trying to find a solution, which usually failed. At the end of the episode, Satan would return and sort out whatever new problem Scumspawn had managed to create.

The last two episodes of the series also featured a new arrival (Geoffrey Whitehead), who tried to organise a rebellion of demons in Hell with exactly as much success as Gary and Thomas had in series 1. In the end, Satan decided that he need not worry, because humans would soon be extinct anyway. In order to hasten mankind's extinction, he turned into Jeb Bush and plotted to tell his brother George Bush to launch a nuclear strike on the polar icecaps.

Series 6

For series 6, the writers returned to the style of the original series, with most of the action taking place in hell. They also introduced a new member of the damned, Edith (Annette Crosbie), an academic and historian who recently died and was sent to hell. She is also Thomas' former mother-in-law and Edith and Thomas have a mutual hatred of each other, so Satan decides they should be perfect room mates. Edith apparently died of suicide while watching Midsomer Murders.

Edith is not pleased with this situation (Thomas subjected her daughter to emotional abuses, divorce and then 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 help her find out how she died.

The basic plot of an episode generally involves Satan trying to find out more about Edith's death, while Edith interviews members of the damned about Satan's past.

The series also features various sub-plots, including Scumspawn's attempts to find a 'decent' side to Thomas' personality (much in the same way as the Professor did in the earlier series).

Episodes

Series 1

1.1 Introduction (aka "Welcome to Hell") (Broadcast: 23 November 1995)

1.2 Corruption (Broadcast: 30 November 1995)

1.3 Hero worship (Broadcast: 7 December 1995)

1.4 Appearances (Broadcast: 14 December 1995)

1.5 Rebellion (Broadcast: 21 December 1995)

1.6 Redemption (Broadcast: 28 December 1995)

Series 2

2.1 Assistant (Broadcast: 7 April 1998)

2.2 Chuckles (Broadcast: 14 April 1998)

2.3 Nero (Broadcast: 21 April 1998)

2.4 Computers (Broadcast: 28 April 1998)

2.5 G.U.T. (Broadcast: 5 May 1998)

2.6 Too Far (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 April 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 Moral Leadership (Broadcast: 20 September 2005)

5.2 The Crusade (Broadcast: 27 September 2005)

5.3 Power Politics (Broadcast: 4 October 2005)

5.4 I Blame The Media (Broadcast: 11 October 2005)

Series 6

6.1 Edith (Broadcast: 27 September 2007)

6.2 Discoveries (Broadcast 4 October 2007)

6.3 Murderers (Broadcast 11 October 2007)

6.4 Psychiatry (Broadcast 18 October 2007)

6.5 Investigation (Broadcast 25 October 2007)

6.6 Ginger (Broadcast 1 November 2007)

Audiobooks

There are various audiobooks made of the series available, featuring selected episodes from certain series. The BBC have finally started releasing the earlier series in their entirity, although if and when series 3-4 will be released is not currently known.

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 Christmas Special Episodes.
Radio Series Five - The Complete Fifth Series.
Radio Series Six - The Complete Sixth Series.
Radio Series One And Two - The Complete First And Second Series (two separate box sets, actually released together).