Men Behaving Badly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Men Behaving Badly | |
|---|---|
 Series logo, which appears before the closing credits rolled. Gary and Tony dance badly in the background. |
|
| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | Simon Nye |
| Written by | Simon Nye |
| Starring | Martin Clunes Leslie Ash Caroline Quentin Neil Morrissey Valerie Minifie Ian Lindsay |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 42 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Hartswood Films |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV, then BBC One |
| Original run | 18 February 1992 – 28 December 1998 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy, which was first broadcast in 1992 on the ITV network, but moved to BBC One (and a later timeslot) from the third series onwards. It was written and created by Simon Nye, who also wrote a book in the 1980s, which forms the basis for much of the first series.
The first series features Martin Clunes as Gary Strang, and Harry Enfield as his flat mate, Dermot Povey. From series two onwards, Enfield is replaced by Neil Morrissey as Tony Smart, who resumes Dermot's role as the immature under-achiever, perpetually behind in his rent, and hopelessly in love with Deborah, who lives in the flat above. Despite Gary's initial reservations, Tony soon replaces Dermot in the role of Gary's best friend. (Tony and Dermot are similar in character, although Dermot was slightly more introverted and repressed). It is reported that Enfield has claimed he felt uncomfortable in the programme, and left stating that a "proper actor" would do the job far better. Dermot is only mentioned twice after his departure, the first to explain that he simply isn't coming home, and the second in the first episode of series five, when Dorothy recalls him to which Gary replies "Did I tell you he got a job at Euro-Disney, testing the rides?"
The first series featuring Enfield has never been repeated on the BBC, although the second ITV series has been shown. Simon Nye has stated that ITV picked up the series partly because Enfield agreed to star in it. However the ITV network axed the show after just two series, due to poor audience figures. It has been claimed that this was due to ITV giving it a poor slot in the schedules, forcing the "bad behaviour" to be toned down. The BBC quickly snapped it up, airing the show in a later timeslot, with the result that it soon turned into one of the biggest situation comedies of the 1990s.
The show was controversially voted the best sitcom in the BBC's history at the corporation's 60th anniversary celebrations in 1996. In the BBC's later quest to find Britain's Best Sitcom, commissioned in 2004, it came sixteenth.
All series were produced by Hartswood Films. Thames Television co-produced the first two series for ITV and assisted with production from the third series onwards.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Plot
Gary Strang and Tony Smart are two modern stereotypes of 1990s men in their thirties, taking a keen interest in "booze" and "birds". Gary runs a dead end burglary alarms sales office, with two old-fashioned and muted assistants: subordinates George and Anthea. Tony on the other hand stumbles through various jobs including modelling, bar work and professional miming, due to his record stall collapsing (literally). The pair are frequently engaged in second childhoods, behaving immaturely and selfishly; nevertheless they are soft at heart. As a result of their behaviour, the relationship with the two women in their lives, Dorothy and Deborah, is persistently suffering.
Dorothy, Gary’s girlfriend (played by Caroline Quentin), is a quick-witted and sensible young nurse. The pair frequently split up, are occasionally unfaithful, but somehow always manage to get back together. Gary desperately clings to Dorothy, the only woman he can form a relationship with. Tony on the other hand has numerous girlfriends, however his true feelings are for the blonde “babe” upstairs Deborah, played by Leslie Ash. Tony loves Deborah and spends most of his time trying to impress her. He goes to extreme lengths to try and get her to have sex with him, however his feelings for her stretch far beyond lust. Deep down, Deborah feels a connection with Tony, however like Gary, a perpetual childhood prevents any relationship from forming.
[edit] Episodes
Six series were made, a total of forty two episodes, including a Christmas special, "Jingle Balls", which was aired over the Christmas of 1997. A final short run of three 45 minute episodes was made in 1998 to conclude the series. These were aired over Christmas, as had the "final" three episodes on Only Fools And Horses two years earlier.
Series one was the only series to feature Dermot (played by Harry Enfield), and the only series not to feature Neil Morrissey as Tony, who arrived at series two. The episodes of the first two series are only around twenty four minutes long, because they were shown on the ITV network, hence time was needed for advertisements. However when the show was picked up by the BBC, the episodes were extended in length to twenty eight minutes approximately. Another vigorous change to show was its content; by giving the show a later time slot as from series three, the humour was more adult-based than previously, and it was not until the third series that the show garnered notable success. After arriving at the BBC, Men Behaving Badly enjoyed huge success and won numerous awards, as did the writer and its stars.
[edit] Other appearances and references
- A brief sequence was included in Comic Relief 1997, titled "Men Behaving Very Badly Indeed" and featured a guest appearance by Kylie Minogue. Although references to her were a running joke throughout the series, this sketch had her showing up at the flat, with both Gary and Tony failing to recognise her. It was released on DVD as part of the 2002 VCI release, "Seriously Funny!"
- Another brief appearance was for Comic Relief 1999, which showed a "Swinging Sixties" version of the show via recently discovered black-and-white footage, known as "The Naughty Boys".
- Women Exercising Madly, it featured the 4 regulars for a short scene at the start, while the main content is Debs and Dorothy taking part in a humorous exercise video, intercut with scenes from other series, before the girls get home and collapse with exhaustion.
- Though completely unrelated to the show, Neil Morrissey lent his name to a cheap sell-through video, Neil Morrissey's Motorbike Mania. The video, which featured low quality footage of motorbikes and occasional vignettes featuring Morrissey. The video was marketed to give the impression it was related to the series, with phrases including 'Wahay mates!' and 'behaving badly' used liberally throughout the inlay. It was later re-released as 'Bikes Behaving Badly'.
- After his departure from the show, a regular sketch in Harry Enfield's Television Programme featured the character of 1950s television presenter Mr. Cholmondeley-Warner. In one episode, he looked at the future of television, and among the envisaged programmes was a programme called "Men Behaving Splendidly".
- Clunes and Morrissey travelled to Australia to make and host/star in the series "Men Down Under" which featured the duo (as themselves, rather than their characters) exploring Aussie 'bloke' culture.
[edit] DVD releases
[edit] Region 2
All six series are available on DVD separately, and a complete collection featuring all six series is also available. The 1997 Christmas special and final trilogy (in effect series 7) are also available separately.
[edit] US Version
The series was remade for US television; aired on NBC 1996-1997; starred Rob Schneider, Ron Eldard, and Justine Bateman; and took place in Indianapolis, Indiana. [1] As a result the original series was eventually screened in the US on BBC America as British Men Behaving Badly whilst in Australia the US series aired (on the Seven Network) as It's a Man's World.
[edit] Impact
The series was not without controversy as it was claimed young males were copying their "bad behaviour", and in the public imagination it has become synonymous with the mid 1990s lad culture phenomenon. In one notorious scene, the boys pretend to be a gay Welsh couple in order to frighten away a potential buyer of Deborah's flat. In one of the final trilogy episodes, Dorothy wakes up to find a tissue stuck to her face, which Gary has used to masturbate. This was even more controversial, considering its airing over Christmas. The Christmas Special also features jokes relating to adult themes, which some audiences considered to be unsuitable for Christmas viewing.
Clunes once claimed that he and Morrissey were banned from advertising lager on commercial television because their roles had made them an influence on children, even though the show was broadcast after the watershed.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- In series one, it is said by Dermot that Gary tried to impress girls by showing them his pencil-case at university. However in series four Dorothy says Gary did not go to university. Later in series five he also states he got all his knowledge from the “University of Life”.
- Series three episode titled “Bed”- Gary drives a car into town in order to get Dorothy some painkillers; however in series six episode three titled “Jealousy” it is clearly illustrated that Gary cannot drive.
- Series six episode two “wedding”; one of the silent wedding guests (of whom is in a white suit) appeared in series two as Tony’s second-hand record stall helper. Whether this is supposed to be the same character remains to be disclosed.
- Location shots for the British series were filmed in and around Ealing in west London. The final scene of the last regular episode Sofa took place at the Cerne Abbas giant.
- In Series 5, at the beginning of episode one "Hair" and the rave in episode five "Cardigan", the music to both scenes on the DVD is completely different from when it is shown on Television.
- From series 2 onwards, Tony is seen eating cheese and also pizza from the bin but in the final episodes of Last Orders, he tells Gary that he hates cheese as it makes him retch and feel ill.
[edit] External links
- Men Behaving Badly at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Men Behaving Badly website
- British Sitcom Guide
- British TV Comedy Guide
- Comedy Guide - Men Behaving Badly at bbc.co.uk
