Men Behaving Badly – Series 5 BBC [1992] [DVD]

Entire fifth series of Simon Nye’s popular sitcom. In ‘Hair’, Tony (Neil Morrissey) returns from travelling the globe sporting some hirsute ‘face furniture’ – only to discover that Dorothy has moved in with Gary (Martin Clunes) in his absence! ‘The Good Pub Guide’ sees Tony attempting to woo Debs using his new-found interest in astrology, while Gary checks out the new landlord of the pub. In ‘Cowardice’, Gary proves himself to be a coward after a road rage incident, and Tony begins to suspect Deborah of having lesbian tendencies. In ‘Your Mate v Your Bird’, Gary is still having a dilemma over the flatshare problem while Tony gives himself a home-made tattoo. ‘Cardigan’ sees Gary feeling decidedly middle aged, while in ‘Rich and Fat’, Tony discovers Gary’s huge nest egg. Finally, in ‘Home Made Sauna’, Debs and Dorothy go away for the weekend – so Gary and Tony invite the girls next door over for the evening.
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 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.