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Men Behaving Badly Six Pack
In an original run that lasted from 1992 to
1998, British sitcom Men Behaving Badly became a firm fan
favourite that, like one of the many bottles of Chianti enjoyed by its
central characters, only got better with age.
Season 1 didn’t have the casting quite
right, and the writing on Season 2 wasn’t quite as sharp as that of
later seasons – in addition some pretty terrible hair and costuming
decisions still featured prominently. By Season 3 all the essential
ingredients were in place however, and everything from Season 4 onwards
was pure magic.
The series revolves around two flatmates,
lovable and ever-so-slightly responsible home security salesman Gary
Strang (Martin Clunes, Acid House, Doc Martin) and lovable
but entirely irresponsible Tony (Neil Morrissey). Much to the chagrin
of Gary’s long-suffering girlfriend Dorothy (Caroline Quentin) and
Tony’s perennial love interest Deborah (Leslie Ash) the boys do enjoy a
drink, and their bumbling attempts at actually acting like adults give
the series much of its comedic impetus. Tony’s womanising ways, Gary’s
stubborn refusal to grow up, the pair’s drunken tomfoolery and Deborah’s
long-standing rebuttal of Tony’s charms were all central themes, though
thanks to some top-notch dialogue and truly hilarious scenarios the
series never degenerated into boorish loutishness – it was often blokey
but it always had heart, and plenty of substance and laugh-out-loud
moments too.
As the name suggests Roadshow’s new Six
Pack edition comprises the first six seasons into one regular-sized DVD
slipcase, something of a bonus considering the last bulky box set housed
each series separately and retailed for a good $30 more. The collection
isn’t quite comprehensive – the Christmas special and the all-important
feature-length seventh season, known as ‘The Last Shout’, are nowhere to
be seen – but it’s close enough and with its 38 episodes running a pinch
over 17 hours you certainly won’t be left feeling short changed.
Audio & Video
Men Behaving Badly
always came across a little soft, and that’s the case
once more with this latest DVD outing. The transfer is still fairly
decent regardless, with no real grain or artefacts to speak of, and the
DD 2.0 audio is clear and consistent throughout.
Special Features
Each disc features animated menus
with unique sound effects. There are also four Interactive Quizzes with
Outtake rewards upon completion, and though I’m not sure this
constitutes an extra the fact that there is ‘Scene Selection with Each
Episode’ is also being touted as a Special Feature.
Summary
Men Behaving Badly
garnered its fair share of awards: it was named the
Comedy Awards best ITV comedy, won the First National Award for Best
Television Comedy and was, albeit controversially, voted the best sitcom
in the BBC’s history at the corporation’s 60th anniversary
celebrations in 1996. A deft, daft and eminently enjoyable subversion
of UK ‘lad culture’, the series isn’t perhaps as widely known among the
current generation as it should be, but was, and is, always good for
plenty of laughs. |
