Star Games
Encyclopedia
Star Games was a TV series which ran in weekly syndication from September 7, 1985 to March 1, 1986. It featured teams of actors representing various American
TV shows competing in sports events. The events the teams competed in included swim
sprints and relays, kayaking
, track
sprints and relays, a bicycle
relay, and an "Apache Relay" obstacle course.
The show ran for two sets of 13 episodes, or "seasons". The host throughout was former Olympic
decathlon
champion and actor Bruce Jenner
. Pamela Sue Martin
co-hosted for Season One, while Season Two had Morgan Brittany
. Former American football
player and actor Dick Butkus
served as the show's "Special Referee".
The series was similar in presentation to Battle of the Network Stars
, and debuted only four months after the 18th Special aired. The program was distributed by Viacom.
, with a team from General Hospital finishing second. Other strong-performing teams from the first season included Days of our Lives
, Still the Beaver
, and a combined team from Fame
/Gimme a Break!
.
. The runners-up were a combined team from Charlie & Co.
/Love Boat
. Other notable teams from the second season included Dynasty
, The Brady Bunch
, Hollywood Beat
, Growing Pains
, Dallas
, and a combined team representing The Insiders
/Miss Universe
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
TV shows competing in sports events. The events the teams competed in included swim
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
sprints and relays, kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
sprints and relays, a bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
relay, and an "Apache Relay" obstacle course.
The show ran for two sets of 13 episodes, or "seasons". The host throughout was former Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
decathlon
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
champion and actor Bruce Jenner
Bruce Jenner
William Bruce Jenner is a former U.S. track and field athlete, motivational speaker, socialite and television personality. He won the gold medal for decathlon in the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics....
. Pamela Sue Martin
Pamela Sue Martin
Pamela Sue Martin is an American actress best known for playing Nancy Drew on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries TV series and Fallon Carrington Colby on the ABC nighttime soap opera Dynasty.-Biography:...
co-hosted for Season One, while Season Two had Morgan Brittany
Morgan Brittany
Morgan Brittany is an American film and television actress. She is possibly best known for her role in the 1980s primetime soap opera Dallas, where she portrayed Katherine Wentworth, the scheming younger half-sister of Pamela Ewing and Cliff Barnes.-Early career:Under her birth name, Brittany...
. Former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and actor Dick Butkus
Dick Butkus
Richard Marvin "Dick" Butkus is a former American football player for the Chicago Bears. He was drafted in 1965 and he is also widely regarded as one of the best and most durable linebackers of all time. Butkus starred as a football player for the University of Illinois and the Chicago Bears. He...
served as the show's "Special Referee".
The series was similar in presentation to Battle of the Network Stars
Battle of the Network Stars
Battle of the Network Stars is the name of 19 US television specials featuring competitions among teams of popular television performers representing the three major broadcast networks at that time: ABC, CBS, and NBC.- History :...
, and debuted only four months after the 18th Special aired. The program was distributed by Viacom.
Season One
The first season was won by a team representing Falcon CrestFalcon Crest
Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced....
, with a team from General Hospital finishing second. Other strong-performing teams from the first season included Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
, Still the Beaver
The New Leave It to Beaver
The New Leave It to Beaver is an American sitcom sequel to the 1950s and '60s series, Leave It to Beaver. The New Leave It to Beaver began with the 1983 CBS TV movie Still the Beaver, and was picked up in 1984 as a Disney Channel series with the same name; however, it only lasted one season...
, and a combined team from Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
/Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break!
Gimme a Break! is an American sitcom which aired on NBC from October 29, 1981, until May 12, 1987. The series stars Nell Carter as the housekeeper for a widowed police chief and his three daughters.-Premise:...
.
Season Two
The second season was won by a team from Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...
. The runners-up were a combined team from Charlie & Co.
Charlie & Co.
Charlie & Co. is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 18, 1985 to May 16, 1986. Created by Allan Katz, the series starred Flip Wilson and Gladys Knight. Charlie & Co. is regarded as CBS' answer to The Cosby Show, which was a ratings success for NBC at the time...
/Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
. Other notable teams from the second season included Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
, The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
, Hollywood Beat
Hollywood Beat
Hollywood Beat was a mid-1980s American television police drama starring Jack Scalia, Jay Acovone, Edward Winter and John Matuszak.-Cast:* Jack Scalia as Det. Nick McCarren* Jay Acavone as Det. Jack Rado* John Matuszak as George Grinsky...
, Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
, Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
, and a combined team representing The Insiders
The Insiders
The Insiders was a mid-1980s American television detective series starring Nicholas Campbell, Stoney Jackson and Gail Strickland.-Notes:The one season program aired on Tuesday nights on ABC in the fall of 1985...
/Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
.