Gentlemen and Players (TV series)
| Gentlemen and Players | |
|---|---|
 Series 1 title screen | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Dram Associates |
| Written by |
Chris Roose Dennis Abey Guy Meredith David Wilks Edmund Ward |
| Starring |
Brian Protheroe Nicholas Clay Claire Oberman Edita Brychta Faith Brook |
| Ending theme | "Life's A Game" performed by Petula Clark |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Raymond Menmuir Graham Benson (exec) |
| Running time | 1 hour (including ads) |
| Production company(s) | TVS |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Original release | 10 April 1988 – 9 June 1989 |
Gentlemen and Players is a British television series produced by TVS Television for the ITV network. An aspirational late 1980s drama series, Gentlemen and Players dealt with the struggles and intrigues involving two business rivals, Bo Beaufort and Mike Savage, set against a backdrop of high finance, opulent country homes and cricket.
Two series were made between 1988 and 1989, comprising 13 episodes in total.[1]
Premise
Miles "Bo" Beaufort (Brian Protheroe) is a rich "blue blood" financier who comes from a wealthy upper-class family. Mike Savage (Nicholas Clay) is a self-made businessman from a more modest family background, who likes adventure. The two are old enemies, and when Savage returns from a stay in Africa (fleeing from a coup with a fortune in bonds), he chooses to settle with his wife and daughters in the affluent Hampshire village of Hunton Magna, in a Georgian mansion that is next door to Beaufort's home. Unhappy about his new neighbour, especially when he joins his local cricket club, Beaufort schemes and uses the old boy network to hamper Savage's plans whenever possible. Rivalry between the two escalates as "old money" clashes with "new money".
Cast
- Bo Beaufort - Brian Protheroe
- Mike Savage - Nicholas Clay
- Sandy Savage - Claire Oberman
- Jane Somerville - Edita Brychta
- Eleanor Beaufort - Faith Brook
Production
The press release for the series by TVS Television described Gentlemen and Players as "A story of money, class and rivalry set in the world of finance and gracious country homes.", with The Guardian newspaper describing it as "a kind of Dallas in Hampshire".[2]
Theme song
The theme song played over the end credits, "Life's A Game", was written by David Lindup and performed by Petula Clark. Produced by Tony Britten, who also composed the incidental music for the series, the song was released as a single in 1988 by Fly Records.
Broadcast
The first series, comprising seven episodes, was screened on ITV on Sunday nights at 7.45pm from 10 April - 22 May 1988.
The second series, comprising six episodes, moved to Friday nights at 9pm, and ran from 28 April - 9 June 1989.
Reception
Writing in The Guardian in 1989 (at the end of the second series), critic Nancy Banks-Smith mocked the "yards and yards and yards" of blue and white striped shirt material (a typical garment for 1980s banking and business culture) that many of the characters wear. "Everybody in Gentlemen and Players wore blue striped shirts to show they are something substantial in the city. It is as if the noble blood in their veins were showing through the clear white caucasion of their skins." Commenting on the casting of the series' array of unscrupulous businessmen, she noted "...Every untrustworthy face in Equity was on parade. Some of whom had eyes that operated independently. One [character] had a deeply unreliable moustache."[3]
Home media
Gentlemen and Players has never been released on home video or DVD. As with various other TVS productions, issues over rights ownership have hindered releases.
External links
- ↑ Mediagems (Gentlemen and Players)
- ↑ Sandy Smithies (9 April 1988). "Watching Brief". The Guardian.
- ↑ Nancy Banks-Smith (10 June 1989). "Red Blood and Blue Stripes: Television". The Guardian.