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Men Behaving Badly - Series 5 [1992]
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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 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. The DVD version also features aquiz. Series 5, for me, represented the high spot of the whole thing, where Martin Clunes had physically adapted himself for the role -- with longer, more unkempt hair and rather more body mass -- and became an utterly believable Gary. The joy of it is that Clunes makes a special effort for each episode to do something prattishly and memorably ridiculous -- such as his enthusiastic sofa jig to Tony's awful guitar ditties in the 1st episode, or the wonderfully clumsy route of the beer-can to his mouth each time he takes a sip using the 'Lager mitt'. Series 5 also heralds the arrival of Ken, the utterly inexperienced barman, played by the deadpan John Thompson. Comedy elsewhere has been more incisive and far more satirical. But this is character-based sitcom at its peak, with writer and actors working together to create something magnificent.
RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £3.52 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
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.
Badly's Zenith
Review date: 2002-06-17 Rating: 10 out of 10
MEN BEHAVING BADLY was a magnificent series of series, in which the highly intelligent Martin Clunes was miscast as the slobbish focal point, Gary. But that was the glory of the concept -- the equally eloquent, Shakespearean Caroline Quentin was also miscast as the long-suffering Dorothy who, for no perceptible reason, stuck with Gary most of the time.
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Reviews
An Absolute Cracker
Review date: 2001-01-25 Rating: 10 out of 10
Once again we see Gary and Tony collide through their student type lives, behaving badly and drunkedly running around after Leslie Ash. Each series gets funnier than the next and this one is a definate buy.I found this one of the funniest videos i've ever seen along with Trigger Happy TV and had to leave the room at points such as Gary being sick over the camera.
It steers through many different themes ranging from Les being sacked from the crown and ken the new landlord moving in, to the whole street finding out that Gary secretly has a stash of £33,000. If you liked "Game On" or "Babes In The Wood", You'd love it!!!! Suitable to anyone with a sense of humour!!!
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Caroline Quentin
Leslie Ash
Martin Clunes
Neil Morrissey
Creators:
Martin Clunes (Primary Contributor)
Neil Morrissey (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Fremantle Home Entertainment
EAN: 5030697080059
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Full Screen, PAL,
Release date: 2000-07-03
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 203 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2000-10-08
Language: English (Original Language)