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Gary and Tony:
Written by: Simon Nye
Directed by: Martin Dennis
Original airdate: September 8, 1992
Synopsis:
Gary works on finding a new roommate due to Dermot having run off with a new girlfriend. He interviews lots of potential tenants but they all leave him less than enthused. In the end, a young man named Tony shows up late to view the room and Deborah and Dorothy immediately smitten with him. After he leaves, the girls convince him that he is Gary’s best choice and so when Tony returns to get his bag that he forgot there by accident, he is welcomed aboard as the new roomie. Deborah wonders what he has in his bag and he reveals it’s a pig head he was delivering to a butcher friend of his who says if you put it in a microwave then the eyes explode.
The next day, Gary leaves Tony to move into the place and he walks around exploring the place when Deborah stops by to visit. The two talk about her ex and how it ended and Tony claims that his relationships seem to just go wrong all the time and because he’s just shy and needs a woman to guide him through.
Meanwhile Gary fights with Anthea at work because she wants a bigger raise. Since she hasn’t received one, she has started doing her job badly. In retaliation Gary removes the wheels off her chair and the bulb from her desk lamp. As a result, he has to type his own memos himself, which is difficult due to his poor typing skills. He calls Anthea in to discuss things and since she is not willing to compromise with him, he locks her in the supply closet.
Back at home, Gary and Tony hang out and talk about their relationships, of which Gary notes that he and Dorothy have been dating for awhile. Tony reveals he’s just broken up with his girlfriend, using Deborah as an excuse, telling his ex that he started dating Deborah. Dorothy gets out of the bath to hang out with them, and Deborah stops by to give Tony a book on relationships, along with a letter she found outside addressed to her and Tony.
It turns out to be a letter from Tony’s ex that tells him and Deborah off, explaining she’s left his guitar outside and a present for Deborah. They look outside to see that Tony’s guitar has been left standing in a pile of manure that has been dumped onto Deborah’s sports car. Deborah leaves disgusted.
Chat on the sofa:
Neil Morrissey plays Tony. He was a lead in the series Good Karma Hospital (Doctor Ruby Walker arrives in India looking for a job and a distraction from her heartbreak. She anticipates the sunshine and picture-perfect beaches, but not the realities of work at an under-resourced hospital), and a drama called Crucible of the Vampire (Young museum curator, Isabelle, is sent to inspect a part of what seems to be a strange crucible buried near an eerie old manor). His main claim to fame is arguably the voice of Bob the Builder from 1997 to 2014. When the show was retooled by Mattel, he was replaced by a new actor. Most recently, he was in a drama called Love Rat (recently divorced Emma enjoys a whirlwind holiday romance with hotel proprietor Niko on the paradise island of Cyprus. When she realises Niko has scammed her out of her life savings she enlists the help of her ex to get the money back) and Finders Keepers (keen detectorist Martin and his wheeler dealer soon to be son-in-law Ashley who, while on a boys bonding trip in the idyllic fields of rural Somerset, discover a hoard of buried Saxon treasure worth millions).
Rent Boy:
Written by: Simon Nye
Directed by: Martin Dennis
Original airdate: September 15, 1992
Synopsis:
Tony pulls a prank on Gary, pretending he’s on the radio, which leads them to talk about Tony’s job as a “record producer”, in which he reveals that (1) he mostly works with men, (2) actually got a phone number from one of the Village People, and (3) recently had a vacation in Mykonos.
At work, George is trying to finish a crossword puzzle, leading to he and Gary talking about their two competing newspapers, and noticing that a famous television host had a vacation with two male companions in Mykonos, which, in combination with the things he learned about Tony, leads Gary to suspect that Tony is gay. Anthea and George both rib Gary about himself possibly being gay as well.
At home, Tony is jamming loudly on his bass which causes Deborah to come up to investigate. He tries rizzing her up by suggestively showing her how the guitar works. He tells Debrah she’s glad she came down and she’s flattered, but he’s glad mainly because he’d liked her to sew a rip on one of his pants and while she’s annoyed by the request, she eventually says she’ll do it just this once. She then notices a nude picture of a woman on his wall and he plays it off as a woman fighting for sexual rights, translating the German poster. Seeing that he speaks German, Deborah asks him to translate a letter she received.
Gary goes with Dorothy to pick out a video to rent, and due to his homophobia is pushing her to rent erotic thrillers to assert his straightness. She wrangles the truth out of him and she suggests just asking him, but he claims he has no issue with it and just wants Tony out of his place.
Tony talks with a friend at work, which turns out to be a street side record sales shop, rather than an actual record company. Gary stops by and is surprised to discover the lie, but presses Tony about his vacation, trying to see if he went with a girl or had any secret rendezvous there in secret bays. He then takes a phone call on Tony’s mobile phone which turns out to be stolen.
At home Dorothy is licking Gary’s ear but he’s depressed about Tony’s situation, wishing he had a more normal roommate. When Tony arrives home, Dorothy embarrasses Gary by telling Tony that Gary wants to know if he’s gay, to which he answers he’s not. Deborah arrives with her letter, and in trying to translate it, Tony tells her the letter is about a guy telling her that he’s already in a relationship. Dorothy luckily has taken German in school and translates it to reveal it is actually asking about a Morris car, seeking her help with acquiring wood for it. Deborah storms off angry.
Later, Tony and Gary design the perfect woman consisting of parts of famous beautiful women. As they think about their fantasies, Dorothy comes in and empties a can of whipped cream all over Gary’s pants.
Chat on the sofa:
A Morris Car-
How to Dump Your Girlfriend:
Written by: Simon Nye
Directed by: Martin Dennis
Original airdate: September 22, 1992
Synopsis:
Gary wakes up aside Pat, a girl he’s been seeing, but has just recently returned from a trip. She starts talking about their future together and Tony quickly changes the subject. She asks who Deborah is but Tony plays it off as just being the girl who lives upstairs and no one of serious interest.
Gary comes up with a very complicated cleaning schedule for him, Tony, Dorothy and Deborah to share the household duties.
Gary and Tony talk about Pat and he tells him that he is going to break it off with her, as he keeps imagining that she’s Deborah, to which Gary admits, he’s done himself as well. The two then try and figure out where and when to break it off.
Gary heads to the store for cleaning supplies, while Tony and Dorothy discuss how he’s smitten with Deborah and she reveals she finds Gary really quite sweet.
Tony starts cooking up a dinner to bring to Deborah, but takes a call from Pat first, trying to blow her off, saying he’s not feeling well. He brings the food to her but a man named Stewart is already there. Tony makes up some lies to make Stewart feel incompetent and then reveals that Deborah has been his girlfriend for the last 8 years and Stewart leaves.
Meanwhile Gary starts cleaning while Dorothy lays on the couch relaxing. When he discovers that, he checks the cleaning schedule to see that she’s changed it. He demands she change it back, closing his eyes and asking her to put the stickers back on it. Instead, she sets it on fire.
Deborah cleans the hallway, despite feeling sick, and Tony asks her if she wants to lie down for a bit, escorting her inside. Deborah joins them, still feeling ill, but Pat shows up, angry about a fax she got breaking up with her. Gary tells him it was fast, modern and tactful. Tony tells Gary to get Deborah out of the way so he can talk to Pat without her seeing.
Tony tells Pat that it was all a misunderstanding and that he doesn’t want to break up with her, the fax being meant to talk about a cat, rather than Pat. As she goes to leave, satisfied, she sees that Gary and Dorothy are watching Tony’s movie he made about his feet, but the image then cuts away to Tony recording a break up message on the tape. As Pat stares at him in disbelief, he tries to play it off as being made for a different Pat.
What's Up Next?
Series 2B episodes Troublesome Twelve Inch, Going Nowhere, and People Behaving Irritatingly.Further Resources:
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