MEN BEHAVING BADLY
'Men Behaving Badly' was a pretty accurate look at '90s man. Not so much 'New Man', as more of the same! Obviously toned down for TV, the two male anti-heroes, Gary (Martin Clunes) and Tony (Neil Morrissey), are crude and crass, like two naughty schoolboys who never grew up, but they're somehow lovable, because they try hard to be caring and sincere, but fail hopelessly most of the time. The two girls in their lives, Deborah (Leslie Ash) and Dorothy (Caroline Quentin), deal with all of this with a droll, worldly-wise air, and come over as sage philosophers next to their two bums-fixated flatmates.
Originally, this series aired on ITV, with Harry Enfield playing Dermot, but it only really took off when it was switched to the BBC (no surprise there), and Morrissey came in (Neil - not the ex-Smiths frontman).
Simon Nye's writing is right on the button, and the four main characters put in outstanding performances, but has 'Men Behaving Badly' dated already? So many young women now love getting drunk, can outswear the men, and sleep around, that poor old Gary and Tony would be a little bit lost. Because, after all, they're two old-fashioned guys who want a woman to act like a woman...
- Paul Rance/booksmusicfilmstv.com.
Men Behaving Badly Main Cast List (BBC and ITV series)
Martin Clunes as Gary Strang
Leslie Ash as Deborah
Caroline Quentin as Dorothy
Neil Morrissey as Tony Smart
Ian Lindsay as George
Valerie Minifie as Anthea
Dave Atkins as Les
John Thomson as Ken
Harry Enfield as Dermot
Robin Kermode as Ray
Simon Nye as Catatonic Man
Peter Doran as Graham
Richard Strange as Neville
Dido Miles as Cath
Race Davies as Sally-Anne
Men Behaving Badly DVD available from booksmusicfilmstv.com - in association with Amazon.co.uk
 Men Behaving Badly - Series 1 To 6 [1992] ~ Martin Clunes, Neil Morrissey |
Men Behaving Badly Stats
Number of Series: 7 (first two on ITV, both in 1992; last series, 1998)
Number of Episodes: 45 (incl. two for Comic Relief, and one for Children In Need)
Average Length of Episodes: 30 minutes (Series 7 - the last series - consisted of 3 episodes of 45 minutes each)
Last Broadcast Episode: 'The Naughty Boys', part of Comic Relief, March 23rd, 1999
