View source for Game, Set and Match

{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}

{{Infobox television
| image                = GameSetMatchSoundtrack.jpg
| image_size           =
| image_alt            = 
| caption              = Soundtrack cover
| genre                = [[Drama]]
| creator              = 
| based_on             = {{based on|''[[Berlin Game]]'', ''[[Mexico Set]]'' and ''[[London Match]]''|[[Len Deighton]]}}
| writer               = [[John Howlett]]
| screenplay           = 
| story                = 
| director             = [[Ken Grieve]], Patrick Lau
| starring             = [[Ian Holm]]<br/>[[Michael Culver]]<br/>[[Michael Degen]]<br/>[[Mel Martin]]<br/>[[Gottfried John]]<br/>[[Anthony Bate]]
| narrated             = 
| theme_music_composer = [[Richard Harvey (composer)|Richard Harvey]]
| country              = United Kingdom
| language             = English, German
| num_series           = 1
| num_episodes         = 13
| producer             = Brian Armstrong
| executive_producer   = 
| editor               = 
| cinematography       = 
| runtime              = 60 minutes
| network              = [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]
| budget               = 
| company              = [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1988|10|3|df=yes}}
| last_aired           = {{end date|1988|12|19|df=yes}} 
}}

'''''Game, Set and Match''''' is a 1988 [[television serial]] directed by [[Ken Grieve]] and Patrick Lau and written by [[John Howlett]]. It is based on the books ''[[Berlin Game]]'' (1983), ''[[Mexico Set]]'' (1984), and ''[[London Match]]'' (1985) by [[Len Deighton]]. The two directors worked separately on different episodes.<ref name="NYT" /> Filmed on location in Berlin and Mexico, the project included a large international cast with 3,000 extras and a budget of $8 million. While critically acclaimed, the ratings for the series were a disaster.<ref name=britton>{{cite book | last = Britton | first = Wesley | title = Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | year = 2005 | isbn = 0-275-98556-3| page = 134}}</ref> [[Ian Holm]] was nominated for a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|BAFTA award]] for his portrayal of Bernard Samson.

It was aired in 1989 in the United States as part of the PBS show ''[[Mystery!]]''<ref name="LAT">{{cite news |author= Nancy Mills |title=Deighton Spy Lead Fits Ian Holm Like Black Glove |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-04-16-tv-2161-story.html|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=April 16, 1989 |access-date=January 23, 2017 }}</ref>

==Plot synopsis==
The series focuses on Bernard Samson (Ian Holm), beginning with his search for the "mole" that threatens the Brahms Network in East Germany. Samson is sent to Berlin to bring out a Brahms agent. He is then sent to Mexico to try to persuade a KGB major (Gottfried John) to defect, using his childhood friend Werner Volkmann's wife Zena as bait. After it appears another traitor is working at London Central, Samson himself becomes one of the prime suspects.

==Cast==
*[[Ian Holm]] as Bernard Samson
*[[Mel Martin]] as Fiona Samson
*[[Michael Culver]] as Dicky Cruyer
*[[Michael Degen]] as Werner Volkmann
*[[Gottfried John]] as Eric Stinnes
*[[Anthony Bate]] as Bret Renssalaer
*[[Frederick Treves (actor)|Frederick Treves]] as Frank Harrington
*[[Amanda Donohoe]] as Gloria Kent
*[[Hugh Fraser (actor)|Hugh Fraser]] as Giles Trent
*Gail Harrison as Tessa Kozinski
*[[Gary Whelan]] as George Kozinski 
*Brigitte Karner as Zena Volkmann
*[[Alan MacNaughtan]] as Sir Henry Clevemore DG
*[[Michael Aldridge]] as Silas Gaunt
*[[Peter Vaughan]] as David Kimber-Hutchinson
*Eva Ebner as Frau Lisl Hennig
*[[Jeremy Child]] as Henry Tiptree

==Episodes==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="margin:auto; background:#FFFFFF;"
|-
! style="background-color: #dbe9f4; color:#000; text-align: center;"|Film #
! style="background-color: #dbe9f4; color:#000; text-align: center;"|Title
! style="background-color: #dbe9f4; color:#000; text-align: center;"|Original release date
! style="background-color: #dbe9f4; color:#000; text-align: center;"|Length
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 1
 |Title = Berlin Game: Part 1
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|10|3|df=y}}
 |Aux4= 
 |ShortSummary = Bernard Samson, once a field agent for British MI6 based in West Berlin, is now working at a desk. A flashback relates how Samson attempted to run an aging Polish agent in [[Gdańsk]]. The agent's son is an officer in the Polish army and Samson is to make contact and try to "turn" him. The attempt proves to be a set-up and fails. 
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 2
 |Title = Berlin Game: Part 2
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|10|3|df=y}}
 |Aux4= 
 |ShortSummary =  A leak from within London Central has been discovered in the German arm of the British [[Secret Intelligence Service|SIS]]. The leak causes concern among the higher levels of the SIS in regard to their East German "Brahms Network", especially their most valuable agent, "Brahms Four".
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 3
 |Title =  Berlin Game: Part 3
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|10|10|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = Samson has been sent back to Berlin. He meets with station chief Frank Harrington, then tracks down his childhood friend and former agent Werner Volkmann's wife Zena, who has become Harrington's mistress. Werner is suspected of being the leak, while Samson has suspicions it is Giles Trent of the Foreign Office. He also suspects his wife, Fiona—who is security chief at London Central—is having an affair with his superior Bret Rensselaer.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 4
 |Title = Berlin Game: Part 4
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|10|17|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = Giles Trent has attempted suicide after being confronted as a Russian spy. After agreeing to become a double agent, Trent is murdered by a member of the Brahms Network who believes Trent to be the leak. Samson does not believe Trent was responsible for the leak and was planted by the Russians to divert attention from the real mole. Samson is sent back over the Berlin Wall to contact Brahms Four who wishes to be extracted from East Germany.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 5
 |Title = Berlin Game: Part 5
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|10|24|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = Bernard and Werner successfully extract Brahms Four from the East. Samson discovers the identity of the mole.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 6
 |Title = Mexico Set: Part 1
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|10|31|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = Werner and Zena notify Bernard they have spotted Erich Stinnes, a KGB major who was responsible for Bernard's capture in East Berlin, in Mexico City. Bernard and Dickie Cruyer travel to Mexico to attempt Stinnes' defection to the West.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 7
 |Title = Mexico Set: Part 2
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|11|7|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = Using Zena as bait, Bernard has contacted Stinnes and continues attempting to convince him to defect. Samson is suspicious that Stinnes is playing a double game.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 8
 |Title = Mexico Set: Part 3
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|11|14|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = The attempt to turn Stinnes continues with Zena attempting to run the operation for her own gain. Bernard is frustrated with the double dealing of Zena as well as his superiors.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 9
 |Title = Mexico Set: Part 4
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|11|21|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = Still tracking Stinnes, Bernard himself comes under suspicion that he is a double agent.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 10
 |Title = Mexico Set: Part 5
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|11|28|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = The defection of Stinnes is completed, although with disastrous consequences. Stinnes is taken to England to be debriefed.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 11
 |Title = London Match: Part 1
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|12|5|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = Based on information gained from Stinnes, Bernard locates a British woman working as a Russian courier. Her interrogation leads to suspicions that there is an additional mole in London Central.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 12
 |Title = London Match: Part 2
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|12|12|df=y}}
 |Aux4= 
 |ShortSummary = Stinnes continues to be debriefed and information points to Bret Rensselaer.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
{{Episode list
 |EpisodeNumber = 13
 |Title = London Match: Part 3
 |OriginalAirDate= {{Start date|1988|12|19|df=y}}
 |Aux4=
 |ShortSummary = Rensselaer is further incriminated and turns to Bernard to help clear him. Werner is captured in East Germany and an arrangement is made to make a prisoner exchange for him.
 |LineColor = dbe9f4
}}
|}

==Reception==
Clifford Terry, writing for the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', called the series "a crackling cloak-and-dagger thriller". He noted that "the sharp direction by Kenneth Grieve and Patrick Lau and the provocative script by Howlett... comes up a winner through an assemblage of superb performances."<ref name="CT">{{cite news |author= Clifford Terry |title=There's No Mystery To The Appeal Of 'Game, Set & Match' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/03/23/theres-no-mystery-to-the-appeal-of-game-set-match/ |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=March 23, 1989 |access-date=January 23, 2017 }}</ref> In ''TV Week'', a supplement to ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'', Lee Winfrey praised the production, calling it a "mind-bender", and singling out [[Gottfried John]] as a "mesmerizing menace", and cited Holm as "[holding] things together."<ref>{{cite news |author= Lee Winfrey |title=Mini-series takes mysterious turn |work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=March 19, 1989 }}</ref> Conversely, in his review for ''[[The New York Times]]'', John O'Connor wrote "Costly and ambitious, the 13-hour production of ''Game, Set and Match''... is a mess." He cited Ian Holm as being miscast.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |author= John O'Connor |title=13 Hours' Worth of British Spying on the 'Mystery' Series |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/23/arts/review-television-13-hours-worth-of-british-spying-on-the-mystery-series.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 23, 1989 |accessdate=January 23, 2017 }}</ref>

==Soundtrack==
{{Infobox album
| name       = Game, Set and Match
| type       = [[Soundtrack album]]
| artist     = [[Richard Harvey (composer)|Richard Harvey]]
| cover      =
| caption    =
| alt        =
| released   = 1988
| recorded   =
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Film score|Television score]]
| length     =
| label      = [[Chrysalis records|Chrysalis]]
| producer   = [[Richard Harvey (composer)|Richard Harvey]]
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title =
| next_year  =
}}

The soundtrack by [[Richard Harvey (composer)|Richard Harvey]] for ''Game, Set and Match'' was released on LP in 1988. Some of the music ("Game, Set and Match", "Goodbye Codes" and "The Cloisters of San Jacinto") was reissued in 2016 on ''Shroud for a Nightingale: The Television Drama Music of Richard Harvey''. "The Bridge" and "The End Game" are available on ''Shroud for a Nightingale: The Screen Music of Richard Harvey''.<ref>{{cite web |first=Richard |last=Harvey |title= ''Shroud for a Nightingale: The Television Drama Music of Richard Harvey'' |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id= mw0002958409 |pure_url=yes}} |publisher=[[Allmusic]] |accessdate=February 25, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Richard |last=Harvey |title= ''Shroud for a Nightingale: The Screen Music of Richard Harvey'' |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id= mw0000071319 |pure_url=yes}} |publisher=[[Allmusic]] |accessdate=February 25, 2017}}</ref>

===Track list===
All songs by Richard Harvey.
#"Game, Set and Match"
#"Wrong Side of Charlie"
#"Tante Lisl - The Wings of Remembrance"
#"Unter Den Linden"
#"Goodbye Codes"
#"Coming Home"
#"The Bridge"
#"Tianguis"
#"Domingo's Path"
#"Snakes & Ladders"
#"The Cloisters of San Jacinto"
#"The Hurricane Season"
#"A Christmas Spy"
#"A Rough Crossing"
#"The Oxford Joker"
#" Pulling Strings"
#"The End Game"

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0092360|Game, Set and Match}}
*[https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipOa0dTzWpqTg67JNsqWhWMWBoFOMu6iquAo_XHj Pictures from the Granada TV production of Game Set & Match]

{{Len Deighton}}

[[Category:1988 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1988 British television series endings]]
[[Category:1980s British drama television series]]
[[Category:ITV television dramas]]
[[Category:Espionage television series]]
[[Category:Television series about the Cold War]]
[[Category:Television shows based on British novels]]
[[Category:Television shows based on works by Len Deighton]]
[[Category:Television series by ITV Studios]]
[[Category:Television shows produced by Granada Television]]
[[Category:British English-language television shows]]
[[Category:MI6 in fiction]]
[[Category:British spy television series]]
[[Category:Multilingual television series]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Berlin]]
[[Category:Television shows set in Pomeranian Voivodeship]]