So, what was the mini-series? (1 of 3)

Anna is right -- I've spent too much time talking about Jack and networking and adware and all that stuff. (And I've got the opposite of writers' block right now -- about five topics that I feel I could write on.) So, before I forget, I'm going to return to the topic of That English Mini-Series I've been talking about. (But, before I do that -- really, I'm serious about the whole Help Me Decorate thing -- so scroll down and tell me what color carpet to buy.)

OK, late '80s, I sit myself down in front of British Television (which, at the time, must have had all of 4 channels) and find myself watching a program called "The One Game."

The show is the sort of thing that I know I'll like immediately, as it combines all sorts of things that my late '80s self thought were incredibly cool.

It centers around Nick, the president of a game manufacturing company. One Friday, he discovers that someone hacked into his computer and stole upwards of two million pounds from him. This is money that the company needs to pay out on Tuesday -- so he's got about four days to hunt down the thief and get his money back or he risks losing the company.

Someone leaves an envelope containing a computer disk at Nick's house. It contains a puzzle he has to solve. He eventually solves it, and it sends him to a shopping center -- at night after business hours. Shows up at the shopping center where there are four nasty-looking youths who make threatening gestures in his direction. He runs; they chase. Ultimately, he's cornered -- there's nothing but one of those drop-down security fences in front of him, and four bad guys closing in behind him. He's scared shitless, and the bad guys... disappear. Nick turns and faces the road, on the other side of the fence. There he sees a car drive up and his ex-wife is violently kidnapped, while he stands powerless, trapped behind the fence. As the car drives off, the kidnappers leave an envelope for Nick -- it's the next clue in the game.

This time, it's a videotape. Nick learns that his money and his ex-wife were taken by Nick's former business partner, Magnus -- a game designer who he froze out of the business some years back. If Nick wants to see Jenny (and the two million pounds) again, he's got to play Magnus's game -- solve the puzzles, follow the clues, and basically jump through whatever hoops Magnus has set up for him.