Men Behaving Badly | |
---|---|
Created by | Simon Nye |
Written by | Simon Nye |
Directed by | Martin Dennis |
Starring | |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 6 |
No. of episodes | 42 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Producer | Beryl Vertue |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production company | Hartswood Films in association with Thames |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 18 February – 13 October 1992 |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 1 July 1994 – 28 December 1998 |
Related | |
Men Behaving Badly (US remake) |
Men Behaving Badly is a British sitcom that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang (Martin Clunes) and his flatmates Dermot Povey (Harry Enfield; series 1 only) and Tony Smart (Neil Morrissey; series 2 onwards). It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992. A total of six series were made, along with a Christmas special and a trilogy of episodes that make up the feature-length "last orders".
The series was filmed in and around Ealing in West London [ citation needed ]. The setting, however, is implied to be South London, and many references are made to Surrey. It was produced by Hartswood Films in association with Thames for the first two series on ITV. They also assisted with production of the third series onwards that aired on the BBC, after Thames had lost their regional ITV franchise for London at the end of 1992 to Carlton Television.
Men Behaving Badly became highly successful after being moved to a post-watershed slot on BBC1. It won the Comedy Awards' best ITV comedy and the first National Television Award for Situation Comedy. [1]
Gary and Dermot are two London-based, beer-guzzling flatmates who typically spend most of their time in front of the television or in pursuit of women. When Deborah - an attractive, single, woman - moves into the flat above, both men become obsessed with her, despite Gary already having a steady girlfriend, Dorothy.
When series two begins, it is revealed Dermot has left to travel the world, leading Gary to look for a new flatmate. Record stall owner Tony Smart then moves in and, although Gary is unsure of him at first, the two soon become good friends, revelling in a second childhood, hours of TV and mindless talks about women. Tony quickly becomes obsessed with Deborah and, unlike with Dermot, she initially shows an interest in return. However, Tony's immaturity quickly drives her to distraction, and his pursuit of Deborah becomes increasingly one-sided.
Gary manages an office selling security equipment for a dead-end company. His staff of ageing employees are the meek George and lifelong spinster Anthea, who regularly drive him to frustration with their old-fashioned views. Tony stumbles through a range of jobs including as a model, barman, mime artist and postman, after his record stall collapses.
Dorothy is an intelligent and mature nurse, and it is stated one of the main reasons she went out with Gary was because he annoyed her parents. She and Gary frequently split up and are occasionally unfaithful, including one night when Dorothy sleeps with Tony, but they always end up back together. Tony has many girlfriends but his true feelings are for Deborah, whom he initially just wants to have sex with, but quickly falls in love with in spite of her generally poor treatment of him. Deborah is often disappointed by Tony's juvenile behaviour, but can also see his good side. The two finally end up in a relationship in series six.
Although Dorothy initially dislikes Deborah (disparagingly referring to her as "Miss Wet Dream" in series two), the two bond over their shared frustration at the two men and develop a strong friendship, eventually becoming flatmates themselves.
The show aired for six series and forty-two episodes, including a Christmas special titled 'Jingle Balls', which was broadcast over Christmas 1997. A final short run of three 45-minute episodes was made in 1998 to conclude the series.
Series one was the only series to feature Dermot, played by Harry Enfield before Neil Morrissey joined the cast as Tony. The episodes of the first two series are about 24 minutes long because they were shown on ITV and time was needed for advertisements. When the show began on the BBC, the episodes were about four minutes longer.
Men Behaving Badly is based on Simon Nye's 1989 book of the same title. Producer Beryl Vertue first considered it for a film before deciding it was suited for television adaptation. Harry Enfield, already a well-known comedian, was cast first. He had seen Martin Clunes perform in a play and recommended him for the other lead. [2] [3]
Enfield felt out of place in the sitcom and announced he was leaving after the first series. [2] [lower-alpha 1] When Thames Television found out, their immediate reaction was to end the series, and they had to be persuaded to put on a second series, with Neil Morrissey replacing Enfield. After Thames lost their television franchise, ITV decided that a peak viewing figure of 7 million was insufficient and withdrew support. Incensed, Vertue approached the BBC who agreed to broadcast the show. [3]
In 1994, the BBC aired the first of a further four series. The shift to a new station and a later time slot meant, as the BBC have stated, the show could indulge in "more colourful language and behaviour". [2] The show became highly successful on BBC1, drawing a cult following. [4]
In 2002 it was revealed that Simon Nye and the cast had agreed to revive the series for three further specials the following year, in which Vertue wanted the show to focus on how Gary and Dorothy were coping with parenthood. [5] The idea was shelved the following year after Caroline Quentin became pregnant. [6] In October 2014, Clunes and Morrissey returned to the characters of Gary and Tony for the first time since 1998 in a sketch for Channel 4's "The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night" and Stand Up to Cancer telethon. [7]
The first series featuring Enfield has never been repeated on the BBC, although the second ITV series has been shown. [2]
A BBC article suggests that Gary and Tony were "a reaction against the onset of the caring, sharing 'new man'. It appeared to revel in a politically incorrect world of booze, burps and boobs". Critics Jon Lewis and Penny Stempel have stated that the show "allowed male viewers to indulge in vicarious laddism, whilst allowing female viewers to ridicule the bad but lovable Tony and Gary". They further commented that "it was also a genuine sitcom in that the humour came from the characters and their context". Simon Nye remarked: "I don't do mad, plot-driven farragoes. You have to allow your characters time to talk." [1]
Men Behaving Badly boosted the acting careers of all four of the main cast. The final episode in 1998 drew 13.9 million viewers. The show was criticised by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents for its portrayal of a "lad's culture of boozing and irresponsibility". [4]
A companion guide to the show, The A–Z of Behaving Badly was released on 1 November 1995. It features many handy tips from Gary and Tony and was written by Simon Nye. On 27 July 2000, two audio compilations were released featuring eight shows from series three and four.
A script book entitled The Best of Men Behaving Badly was released on 5 October 2000. It contains 25 of the 42 scripts, along with some new material, black and white pictures, and introductions by Simon Nye.
All six series are available on region 2 DVD separately, and a complete collection featuring all six series is also available. The 1997 Christmas special and final trilogy 'Last Orders!' are also available on DVD.
While the rest of the series was shot in 4:3, the 3 episodes making up 'Last Orders!' are the only ones filmed in widescreen. However, the episodes are cropped for the DVD release. Owing to licensing difficulties, the music at the beginning of episode one 'Hair' and the rave in episode five 'Cardigan' had to be changed for the Series 5 DVD.
The entire series is also currently available on Netflix UK, featuring the original broadcast episodes now licensed by BBC Studios. [8] The episode 'Jingle Balls!/The Big Christmas Box' is listed as the 7th episode of Series 6 under the title 'Merry Christmas'. 'Last Orders!' is available to view in widescreen for the first time since broadcast.
DVD Title | Discs | Year | Episodes | DVD release dates | |||
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Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||||
Complete Series 1 | 1 | 1992 | 6 | 25 January 2005 | 8 May 2000 | 14 August 2000 | |
Complete Series 2 | 1 | 1992 | 6 | 25 January 2005 | 5 June 2000 | 14 August 2000 | |
Complete Series 3 | 1 | 1994 | 6 | 10 January 2006 | 5 June 2000 | 14 August 2000 | |
Complete Series 4 | 1 | 1995 | 7 | 10 January 2006 | 3 July 2000 | 14 August 2000 | |
Complete Series 5 | 1 | 1996 | 7 | 7 November 2006 | 3 July 2000 | 14 August 2000 | |
Complete Series 6 | 1 | 1997 | 6 | 7 November 2006 | 20 November 2000 | 14 August 2000 | |
Jingle Balls! | 1 | 1997 | 1 | On "Last Orders" DVD | 1 January 2008 | — | |
Last Orders | 1 | 1998 | 3 | 7 November 2006 | 1 September 2003 | 14 August 2000 | |
Complete Series 1–6 | 6 | 1992–1997 | 38 | — | 22 September 2003 | September 2020 | |
Complete Series 1–LO | 7 | 1992–1998 | 42 | 7 November 2006 | 29 October 2012 | 8 August 2001 |
The series was remade for American television, broadcast on NBC 1996–1997, and starred Rob Schneider, Ken Marino, Ron Eldard and Justine Bateman. [9] The humour was not appreciated by US audiences and the remake was cancelled after two seasons. [4] The original series was eventually screened in the US on BBC America as British Men Behaving Badly. In Australia, where the British version was screened under its original title on the ABC, the US series was broadcast as It's a Man's World on the Seven Network.
Henry Richard Enfield is an English comedian, actor, writer and director. He is known in particular for his television work, including Harry Enfield's Television Programme and Harry & Paul, and for the creation and portrayal of comedy characters such as Kevin the Teenager, Loadsamoney, Smashie and Nicey, The Scousers, Tim Nice-But-Dim and Mr "You Don't Want to Do It Like That".
Caroline Quentin is an English actress, broadcaster and television presenter. Quentin became known for her television appearances: portraying Dorothy in Men Behaving Badly (1992–1998), Maddie Magellan in Jonathan Creek (1997–2000), Kate Salinger in Kiss Me Kate and DCI Janine Lewis in Blue Murder (2003–2009).
Alexander Martin Clunes is an English actor, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series Doc Martin and Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly. Clunes has narrated a number of documentaries for ITV, the first of which was Islands of Britain in 2009. He has since presented a number of documentaries centred on animals. He has also voiced Kipper the Dog in the animated series Kipper.
Neil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, businessman, narrator and presenter. He is known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road, Nigel Morton in Line of Duty, and Rocky in Boon. Morrissey also provided the voice of the titluar character, Roley, Lofty, and others in Bob the Builder.
Leslie Ash is an English actress. She is best known for her roles in Quadrophenia (1979), ITV series C.A.T.S. Eyes (1985–1987), the BBC sitcom Men Behaving Badly (1992–1998), drama Where the Heart Is (2000–2003), and medical drama Holby City (2009–2010).
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Harry Enfield & Chums is a British sketch show starring Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse and Kathy Burke. It first broadcast on BBC2 in 1990 in the 9 pm slot on Thursday nights, which became the traditional time for alternative comedy on television.
Hardware is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 2003 to 2004. Starring Martin Freeman, it was written and created by Simon Nye, the creator of Men Behaving Badly and directed by Ben Kellett.
Simon Nye is an English screenwriter, best known for television comedy. He wrote the hit sitcom Men Behaving Badly, and all of the four ITV Pantos. He co-wrote the 2006 film Flushed Away, created an adaptation of Richmal Crompton's Just William books in 2010, and wrote the drama series The Durrells.
The 2004 British Academy Television Awards were held on Sunday 18 April at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, London. The ceremony was hosted by Davina McCall and broadcast on ITV the following day.
Hartswood Films is a British television production company founded by Beryl Vertue in 1979. They have also produced dramas such as Jekyll, as well as documentaries, and the 1990s ITV/BBC sitcom Men Behaving Badly.
Shaggy Dog Story is a charity programme for Children in Need, put together by the BBC in 1999 as a sequel to the previous year's Future Generations video, and the great success of 1997's "Perfect Day" charity single. It was first shown on 27 December 1999.
Comedy Connections is a BBC One documentary series produced by BBC Scotland that aired from 2003 to 2008. The show looked at the stories behind the production of some of Britain's comedy television programmes, showing how they tied in with the production of other comedy shows. The show featured interviews with some of the cast and crew of the subject programme, as well as footage from the series.
Babes in the Wood is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1998 to 1999. Starring Karl Howman and Denise van Outen, Babes in the Wood was written by Geoff Deane, Paul Alexander, Simon Braithwaite, Ian Searle and Fleur Costello.
Beryl Frances Vertue was an English television producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films.
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That's TV is a national television network in the United Kingdom, broadcasting via Sky, Freesat, Freeview, and Virgin Media. That's TV started off as the owner of a number of local television licences in several conurbations, but even though regional news can still be found via these services, these channels simulcast the classic hits and television schedule of the national That's TV channel for most of the day.That's Television Ltd is owned by That's Media Ltd, which is based at The Flint Glass Works in the Ancoats neighbourhood of Manchester.