Men Behaving Badly (U on:
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''Men Behaving Badly'' is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
that was created and written by
Simon Nye
Simon Nye (born 29 July 1958) 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 Ric ...
. It follows the lives of Gary Strang (
Martin Clunes
Alexander Martin Clunes Order of the British Empire, OBE Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, comedian, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV (TV network), IT ...
) and his flatmates Dermot Povey (
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) 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 ...
; 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
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...
. The setting, however, is implied to be
South London, and many references are made to
Surrey. It was produced by
Hartswood Films 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''.
In 2009, Hartswood opened ...
in association with
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
for the first two series on ITV. They also assisted with production of the third series onwards that aired on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, after Thames had lost their regional ITV franchise for London weekdays at the end of 1992 to
Carlton Television.
''Men Behaving Badly'' became highly successful after being moved to a
post-watershed slot on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
. It won the Comedy Awards' best ITV comedy and the first National Television Award for Situation Comedy.
Plot summary
Gary and Dermot are two
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
-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.
Cast
*
Martin Clunes
Alexander Martin Clunes Order of the British Empire, OBE Deputy Lieutenant, DL (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, comedian, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV (TV network), IT ...
plays Gary Strang, manager of a security sales office with two old-fashioned, middle-aged subordinates. He owns the flat that he shares with Dermot, and later Tony. He is in a long-term, albeit off-and-on, relationship with Dorothy. Gary is arrogant and immature for his age, which frequently causes annoyance to Dorothy.
*
Harry Enfield
Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) 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 ...
plays Dermot Povey, Gary's original flatmate, in series one. Dermot is forever failing to pay his rent and is desperately in love with Deborah. He leaves for a round-the-world motorbike tour. Unlike Tony, Dermot seems to come from a similar background to Gary.
*
Neil Morrissey plays Tony Smart from series two onwards. Tony is Gary's
womanising flatmate, who is infatuated with Deborah. He is well meaning, but has a habit of annoying those around him with his thoughtless comments and off-the-wall behaviour. He also has musical ambitions which are not matched by his abilities.
*
Leslie Ash plays Deborah Burton, an attractive blonde woman who lives in the flat above Gary and Tony. Deborah works in a restaurant, and although attracted to Tony, his immaturity, devil-may-care attitude and other aspects of his character push her away.
*
Caroline Quentin plays Dorothy Martin/Bishop, Gary's outspoken girlfriend. She is a nurse who initially lives with her parents, before moving in with Gary and Tony in series five. She later makes friends with Deborah, eventually becoming her flatmate.
*Ian Lindsay plays George, an employee with old fashioned views at Gary's security firm. George is married to the unseen Marjorie, with whom he has a son.
*Valerie Minifie plays Anthea, an employee at Gary's security firm with views similar to George. Anthea is a lifelong spinster.
*
Dave Atkins plays Les, the landlord of The Crown, Gary and Tony's local pub, who is briefly Tony's boss. His appalling hygiene standards are matched by the run-down and unkempt nature of the pub.
*
John Thomson plays Ken, Les' successor as landlord of The Crown, from series five onwards. He appears to know nothing about the pub trade - admitting he got the job because his brother-in-law was sleeping with the personnel officer at the brewery - and his attempts to modernise the pub are undermined by his lack of experience in the role. He is also briefly Tony's boss.
Episodes
The show aired for six series and forty-two episodes, including a
Christmas special
Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptatio ...
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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, the episodes were about four minutes longer.