IMDb > "The Name of the Game" (1968)

"The Name of the Game" (1968) More at IMDbPro »TV series 1968-1971

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   115 votes
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Writer:
Philip Wylie (writer) (episode)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Name of the Game on IMDbPro.
Seasons:
1 | 2 | 3 full episode list
Release Date:
20 September 1968 (USA) more
Genre:
Adventure
Plot:
This odd series had three rotating stars, who were featured in independent episodes tied together by a loose common theme... more
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 9 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Blu-Ray Review: ‘Mamma Mia! The Movie’ Given Gift Set Treatment
 (From HollywoodChicago.com. 24 November 2009, 7:30 PM, PST)
Nintendo Wii Review - Roogoo: Twisted Towers
 (From BuzzFocus.com. 13 September 2009, 7:10 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Ambitious Series Set in World of Publishing... more (11 total)

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 4 of 134)
Gene Barry ... Glenn Howard (44 episodes, 1968-1971)

Robert Stack ... Dan Farrell (24 episodes, 1968-1971)
Susan Saint James ... Peggy Maxwell (21 episodes, 1968-1971)

Anthony Franciosa ... Jeff Dillon (17 episodes, 1968-1970)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
90 min (76 episodes)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Filming Locations:
Los Angeles, California, USA more
Company:
Universal TV more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Anthony Franciosa's character, Jeff Dillon, worked for "People Magazine". This was 6 years before the real People Magazine existed. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Steven Spielberg and the Small Screen (2004) (V) more

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
18 out of 18 people found the following comment useful.
Ambitious Series Set in World of Publishing..., 26 March 2004
Author: Ben Burgraff (cariart) from Las Vegas, Nevada

Based on a popular TV-movie from 1966 ("Fame is the Name of the Game"), this 90-minute series was touted as NBC's 'quality' series of 1968, with three high-caliber stars (Gene Barry, Anthony Franciosa, and Robert Stack), movie-quality scripts, and first-class production values. Set in the world of magazine publishing, NBC trumpeted stories "ripped from today's headlines", and "action and adventure on a world-wide scale".

While NO series could have delivered everything NBC promised, "Name of the Game" was, in general, an entertaining series, through much of it's run, and occasionally could be daring and imaginative.

Top-billed was Gene Barry ("Bat Masterson", "Burke's Law"), as Glenn Howard, multimillionaire head of Howard Publications, replacing crusty character actor George Macready from the TV-movie. Suave and debonair, Barry's character often seemed little removed from his previous role, millionaire cop Amos Burke. But Howard was a crusader, unafraid to take on Washington, and address 'sensitive' issues. His 'starring' episodes tended to be the widest-ranging, with the most memorable single show of the entire series, "L.A. 2017", a nightmarish yet often satirical view of a pollution-poisoned future, based on a Philip Wylie story, and directed by a very young Steven Spielberg.

Anthony Franciosa ("Valentine's Day") reprised his TV-movie role as Jeff Dillon, an investigative reporter for "People" magazine (long before Time/Warner created it!) Cocky and intuitive, Dillon would often stumble into major stories by chance, and would, 'Columbo'-like, hound villains until the full measure of their evil-doings would become known. The most 'lone shark' of the three leads, Dillon was Howard's 'bad boy', often in hot water, but always vindicated by episode's end.

Appearing least frequently, Robert Stack ("The Untouchables"), ex-cop and crusading head of "Crime" magazine, took on everyone from the Mob to serial killers, willing to tackle cases that law enforcement agencies had given up on. Aided by reporters Joe Sample and Ross Craig (Ben Murphy and Mark Miller), he could dissect 'perfect' crimes, and bring closure to grieving families. Despite his limited appearances, "Name of the Game" offered some of Stack's best work.

Making her TV-series debut was Susan Saint James, who, at 20, had been a hit in the TV-movie. Now 22, she would appear in most of the episodes, as Howard's personal assistant and Dillon's bane. Spunky, occasionally loopy, but always endearing, Saint James would become one of television's most popular actresses for over two decades, moving on to "McMillan and Wife" and "Kate and Allie".

While ratings would eventually do "The Name of the Game" in (as dwindling quality scripts, and changing formats, necessitated by budget restraints, lost the series it's core audience), and other publishing-themed series proved more hard-hitting and topical ("Lou Grant"), NBC's ambitious series certainly earned it's place in the sun. While many of it's elements seem dated, today, it was as 'cutting-edge' as TV got, in 1968!

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