Men Behaving Badly 20th Anniversary Complete Collection
Created by Simon Nye.
Starring Martin Clunes, Neil Morrissey, Leslie Ash and Caroline Quentin.
SYNOPSIS:
Flatmates Gary and Tony are your typical “lads”, a pair of irresponsible, politically incorrect and seriously juvenile men who refuse to grown up and whose idea of heaven is sitting on the sofa, drinking lager, talking about women and putting the world to rights while watching Kylie Minogue videos on the TV.
The classic British sitcom Men Behaving Badly receives a new DVD reissue this week in celebration of its 20th (well, 21st) anniversary, as FreemantleMedia Enterprises brings together every booze-soaked, politically incorrect moment from all six series, the 1997 Christmas Special ‘Jingle Balls’, the final ‘Last Orders’ trilogy and the rarely-seen Comic Relief sketches ‘Kylie’ and ‘The Lost Pilot’ for the very first time in one 8-disc collection.
Created and written by Simon Nye (and based upon his 1989 book of the same name), Men Behaving Badly capitalised on the ‘new lad’ culture of the decade to become one of the defining sitcoms of the 1990s. The series revolves around two typical blokes, Gary (Martin Clunes) and Tony (Neil Morrissey), who share a flat in London and generally spend their time doing typically blokey things, such as knocking back beer, chatting about birds and knocking back more beer, much to the dismay of Gary’s long-suffering girlfriend Dorothy (Caroline Quentin) and their upstairs neighbour – and object of Tony’s affections – Deborah (Leslie Ash).
Arriving in 1991, the first series of Men Behaving Badly saw Martin Clunes sharing the screen with TV funnyman Harry Enfield as Gary’s original flatmate Dermot, only for Enfield to depart after six episodes, opening the door for Neil Morrissey to step in for series two. This proved to be a masterstroke, with Clunes and Morrissey enjoying superb on-screen chemistry together, but it wasn’t until a move to the BBC in 1994 that the show really began to find its stride, with its post-watershed time-slot allowing Nye to really push the envelope, with Men Behaving Badly then going on to become one of the most popular and acclaimed TV shows of the 90s.
Aside from some dodgy fashions and wonky hairdos (Deb in particular), Men Behaving Badly has aged extremely well and without a shadow of a doubt that is down to the superbly witty writing from Simon Nye, along with the fantastic Clunes / Morrissey double-act. Of course, not all of the humour comes courtesy of the male leads, and special praise should also be given to Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash, who both went on to become as integral to the show as Gary and Tony, delivering plenty of laughs themselves along the way. There’s also a fine set of supporting characters, including Gary’s workmates George (Ian Lindsay) and Anthea (Valerie Minifie), and pub landlords Les (Dave Atkins) and Ken (John Thompson), while Harry Enfield does well enough as Dermot in the early episodes, despite looking a little uncomfortable at times.
Men Behaving Badly was voted as the greatest sitcom in the history of the BBC at the corporation’s 60th anniversary celebrations back in 1996, and while the likes of Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses and The Office would all have something to say about that, there’s no question that it’s among the finest British comedy shows ever made. Even at its weakeast (i.e. the first series), Men Behaving Badly delivers a good few belly laughs every episode, and if you have fond memories of the series and don’t already own any of the DVDs, then this 20th Anniversary Collection is a must-buy. Meanwhile, if you’ve never seen the show before, then grab yourself a takeaway, pop this in the DVD player sit back on the sofa in your favourite pair of boxer shorts, crack open a Sod and enjoy over 20 hours of 100% proof comedy gold.
Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com and the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.
Originally published October 31, 2012. Updated April 12, 2018.
