''Good and Bad at Games'' is a UK television drama, first shown in the '' Film on Four'' strand on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

Television on 8 December 1983. The screenplay was written by William Boyd and the lead roles of Cox, Mount and Niles were played by

Anton Lesser Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is an English actor. He is well known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', as Thomas More in ''Wolf Hall'', as Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', as Prime Minister ...

Dominic Jephcott Dominic Jephcott (born 1957) is a RADA-trained English actor and writer. He is known for his work in ''The Beiderbecke Affair'', ''The Beiderbecke Connection'', '' Midsomer Murders'', and in '' Holby City'' and ''Casualty'', as the adulterous Doc ...

and Martyn Stanbridge. A young

Rupert Graves Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in ''A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he star ...

also appears briefly as Guthrie. The film was directed by

Jack Gold Jacob M. "Jack" Gold (28 June 1930 – 9 August 2015) was a British film and television director. He was part of the British realist tradition which followed the Free Cinema movement. Career Jacob M. Gold was born in London, the son of Ch ...

, and produced by Victor Glynn. The story, told partly in flashback to 1968, concerns a

clique A clique ( AusE, CanE, or ), in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popular ...

of English public schoolboys who bully and humiliate an unpopular younger pupil (Cox) who is 'bad at games'. Ten years later Cox uses the naive and equal outsider Niles, who is only included in the clique because he is 'good at games', to find out more about the lead persecutor (Mount), in order to exact revenge.

Cast

* Niles – Martyn Stanbridge * Cox –

* Mount –

* Frances – Laura Davenport * Joyce – Frederick Alexander * Harrop –

Graham Seed Graham Seed (born 12 July 1950, in London) is an English actor. Education Seed was educated at Charterhouse School, an independent boarding school in the market town of Godalming in Surrey, followed by RADA in London. Career Seed is best kn ...

* Colenso –

Ewan Stewart Andrew Ewan Stewart (born 26 August 1957) is a Scottish film, television and stage actor. Early life Stewart was born in Glasgow, and is the son of the late Scottish entertainer Andy Stewart. His mother Sheila lives in Arbroath, Scotland. St ...

* Guthrie –

* Tregear – Philip Goodhew * Girl – Ceri Jackson * Boy – Tristram Wymark

Music

* The songs "

Badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and ...

" and "

Strange Brew ''Strange Brew'' (also known as ''The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew'') is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular '' SCTV'' characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, portrayed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served ...

" by the rock group

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

are featured prominently.

External links

* Channel 4 original programming 1983 television films 1983 films British television films Films directed by Jack Gold Films with screenplays by William Boyd (writer) {{UK-tv-film-stub