Men behaving Badly

The pageant of boorishness and slobbery known as Men Behaving Badly launched itself upon an unsuspecting audience in 1992. Over the course of six episodes, Gary (Martin Clunes), the disgruntled manager of a security alarm company, struggles to break up with his long-suffering girlfriend Dorothy (Caroline Quentin) while competing with his aimless flatmate Dermot (Harry Enfield) for the attentions of their fetching new upstairs neighbour Deborah (Leslie Ash). The plots are built on contrivances like a chess match over opera tickets or an attempt at seduction via a synthesized flamenco guitar, but the humor always springs from the petty, careless, and generally inane behavior of Dermot and Gary. Gary persuades Dorothy to accept an open relationship, then becomes consumed with jealousy when she sees another man; Dermot tries to persuade Deborah to relieve their basic needs while her boyfriend is in Singapore. It could be tiresome squalor--and according to reviews, the American remake of the show (featuring Rob Schneider and Ron Eldard) was just that--but Clunes and Enfield invest this pair of clods with enough humanity to make their mishaps both excruciating and funny. Enfield left after this first sextet of episodes; Clunes and Enfield's replacement Neil Morrissey took the show to five more series, but Enfield's charming dimness makes this first series worth a look.

The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture--albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart--there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey' Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs.
Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot--allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations--that the show began to gain a significant audience.

By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment."

Series 2 includes: "Gary and Tony", in which Tony moves into the Gary's flat and makes his first disastrous attempt to woo upstairs-neighbour Deborah; "Rent Boy" in which Gary thinks Tony is gay; "How to Bump Your Girlfriend" in which no sooner has Tony got back together with his old girlfriend and filled her in about Gary ("nice bloke, ears like the FA Cup") than he decides to give her the shove; "Troublesome Twelve Inch" in which Gary tries to sell a rare record belonging to Dorothy without her knowing; "Going Nowhere" in which Tony buys a van to impress Deborah who in turn gets stuck in a lift with Gary; and "People Behaving Irritatingly" in which Tony's brother and missus visit the flat much to Gary's annoyance ("It's not enough that they were at it all last night, now they're trying to set up a national sperm bank in my bath.)

The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture--albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart--there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey's Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs.
Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot--allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations--that the show began to gain a significant audience.

By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment."

Series 3 includes: "Lovers" in which Gary becomes worried that he hasn't slept with enough women; "Bed" in which Dorothy and Gary experience problems in the boudoir ("What's the matter? We always have sex after I've cooked for us. That's why I do it."); "Casual Ties" in which a depressed Deborah decides to sell her flat and go travelling, while Tony fails to cheer her up by impersonating different types of Cheese; "Weekend" in which Tony gets a job at The Crown; "Cleaning Lady" in which Tony reconsiders his professional options ("I could be an escort." "What, a car?" asks Gary); "Marriage" in which Gary joins Dorothy for a candlelit dinner ("Why she couldn't find a restaurant with proper lighting I don't know").

Series 4 includes: "Babies" in which Dorothy gets broody. ("I suppose the big question is do I really want children with a man who still has a Fungus the Bogeyman pillowcase."; "Infidelity" in which Gary thinks Dorothy may be having an affair; "Pornography" in which Deborah invites Dorothy and her new boyfriend to a dinner party, much to Gary's chagrin; "3 Girlfriends" in which Dorothy has some unpleasant news for Gary; "Drunk" in which Gary's fresh start with Dorothy is put at risk by his local's extensive range of guest lagers; "In Bed with Dorothy" in which Dorothy's recuperative powers are tested following an appendectomy when Gary "shoulders the burden of caring for her". Meanwhile Tony discovers he needs glasses ("No one in our family wears glasses. We just go from brilliant eyesight to ... dead."); "Playing Away" in which Gary harbours hopes that a creative-writing course he is attending with Deborah will turn into a dirty one.

Series 5 includes: "Hair" in which Tony returns from holiday to discover Dorothy has convinced Gary she should move in. And that Tony should move out; "The Good Pub Guide" in which our heroes are dismayed when The Crown gets a new look and new landlord (The Fast Show's John Thomson). Tony rescues the pub's old condom machine as a present for Deborah ("I thought it was something we could enjoy together."); "Cowardice" in which Tony becomes convinced Deborah is going through a lesbian phase; "Your Mate Vs Your Bird" in which increased tension in the household persuades Dorothy to reconsider her living arrangements; "Cardigan" in which Gary, concerned he's becoming middle-aged, suggests they go to a rave; "Rich and Fat" in which Tony goes on a diet after Gary accuses him of being "a bit of a podgemeister"; "Home Made Sauna" in which temptation comes Gary's way when Dorothy and Deborah go away for a sailing weekend.

Series 6 includes: "Stag Night" in which Gary agrees with Dorothy's suggestion they get married ("We've tried everything else.") provoking potentially disastrous stag-night shenanigans; "Wedding" in which Gary and Dorothy's wedding day fails to run smoothly. ("I don't want to get married--I haven't slept with enough women," he complains. "Do you want to squeeze one in?"); "Jealousy" in which the quartet make the grave error of going away for a weekend in the country; "Watching TV" concerns a quiet night in with Captain Kirk & Co ("On the Starship Enterprise, when no one's looking, do you think they all swivel round in their chairs really fast?"); "Ten" in which the communal boat is rocked by the simultaneous arrival of Dorothy's nephew and Deborah's mother; and "Sofa" in which Tony buys a snake.

Martin Clunes, Neil Morrisey, Leslie Ash, Caroline Quentin It's time to call 'Last Orders' down The Crown, as the Men Behaving Badly gang bow out with the hilarious Final Trilogy of feature-length episodes. So join Gary, Tony, Dorothy and Debs in a final bout of bad behaviour. Performance Sex is beautiful and natural, until Gary and Dorothy decide they want to make a baby. Tony is about to move in with Deborah when she goes in hospital with a bad leg. Tony faces up to the dilemma: could he live with a one-legged woman? But not to worry, the most important thing is: It's Karaoke Night at The Crown. Gary In Love Dazzled by the prospect of a free hotel suite, Deborah, Tony and Dorothy join Gary for a weekend in Worthing in November. Tony and Gary get drunk and smuggle a municipal landmark back to their hotel, then wonder how to dispose of it. Dorothy thinks she is pregnant and Gary thinks he is falling in love with Wendy. Tony decides only he can sort it out... Delivery Tony has got a job as a postman and is finally taking life seriously - too seriously for Deborah who realises she preferred him when he was carefree and stupid. Gary's office is closing down, not that he can bring himself to tell the staff. Dorothy is very pregnant and already worried about having another helpless, flatulent, breast-fixated little bastard in the house...

This was the first extended episode of MBB ever transmitted, on Xmas Day, after the final episode of the final series had finished. Tony's going out with Debs, Gary and Dorothy are practically living together, but it's the surreal stuff in this story that grabs you. The story runs in two parallels - there's a modern Christmas Day going on, opening presents, putting up trimmings, cooking the turkey (all of which the gang screw up in in their own inimitable way), but there is also a Victorian, almost Dickensian, pantomime going on at the same time, with George as the butler, Anthea as a housemaid, and our four heroes acting as lords and ladies of the manor tucking into an enormous feast with their friends, snowballing with the village children, toboganning down a snowy hillside, singing carols round a grand piano and other simple pleasures that our great grandparents used to take part in.
They also manage to fit in a trip to the Crown (in fact Tony fits in two trips to the Crown, and gets accosted by a stripper on his second visit), so all in all this is a pretty good DVD. There's also a 25-minute collection of X-rated out-takes from all the episodes since Neil Morrisey took over from Harry Enfield.