RW663 - Men Behaving Badly Rewatch S02E01-03 - Tony and Rent How To

 

In this week's episode of The Men Behaving Badly Rewatch, Cory and Tom swoon over new friends as they discuss the series 2 episodes 1-3, Gary and Tony, Rent Boy, and How to Dump Your Girlfriend.

Beer of the Week: (not a paid advertisement)

Weihenstephaner is German and from the world's oldest brewery established in 1040! Very hoppy but light on citrus for a hefeweizen. 

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).

Martin Clunes recommended Neil for the part of Tony, having met on the of The Ballad of Kid Divine: The Cockney Cowboy.

Martin would later give Neil a small part as a videographer in his film Staggered in 1994-

Morris dancing is a lively form of English folk dance characterized by rhythmic stepping, choreographed movements, and often, the use of bells, handkerchiefs, and sticks.

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-

"Harvey needs his pink anorak" we think may be a euphemism for sex going by this image of an anorak-

Judith Chalmers is an English retired television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme Wish You Were Here...? from 1974 to 2003.

Susan Lawley is an English retired television and radio broadcaster. Her main broadcasting background involved television news and current affairs. From 1988 to 2006, Lawley was the presenter of Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4.

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:

Men Behaving Badly Wiki

Men Behaving Badly Episode Guide

Men Behaving Badly IMDb

Contact Us:

Send in your feedback to TheRewatchPodcast@gmail.com

Follow the show on Facebook Instagram Threads TikTok or Bluesky

Support the Show:

Head over to our TeePublic and/or Redbubble stores today and buy some merch! Every item sold sees a small return to us, and covers our hosting costs. We appreciate every purchase.

RW662 - Men Behaving Badly Rewatch S01E04-06 - Animals and Violence Career

 

In this week's episode of The Men Behaving Badly Rewatch, Cory and Tom think they know what they're asking for as they discuss the series 1 episodes 4-6, Animals, Sex and Violence, and My Brilliant Career.

Drunken Mishap:

Last week we talked about George wanting to do the bongs with his wife. It turns out this is a reference to the opening of ITN News at Ten, which show Big Ben. Here's a clip from 1992-

Beer of the week: (not a paid advertisement)

Heineken, from the Netherlands, is a pure malt lager. Very crisp and refreshing!

Animals:

Written by: Simon Nye

Directed by: Martin Dennis

Original airdate: March 10, 1992

Synopsis: 

Dermot shows up late to a company training and after quarreling with the trainer, a break is called and a young woman named Kate approaches him. He discovers that she is the younger sister of a girl he used to date but when she comes on to him, he turns her down, thinking of Deborah. 

At home he can’t understand why he turned her down, commiserating with Gary, deciding to try and proposition Deborah for just a friends with benefits situation. Gary meanwhile has decided to try and get Dorothy to explore an open relationship. The two tensely discuss their relationship, with Gary trying to paint a picture of how much he cherishes their relationship, but would like to also have sex with other women too. She surprisingly agrees. 

Dermot practices his pitch for Deborah but when she comes down, he asks her about her boyfriend and how she’s doing and she mentions the things she misses about him, getting lost in thought, not even hearing Dermot try and give his pitch for them sleeping together. In the end, he leaves her without trying again. The next day, Dermot attempts to get with Kate, but she says she only had a schoolgirl crush, but that her mom did tell her to pass on a hello to him. 

Dermot and Gary chat about the open relationship with Gary covering up his own jealousy, attributing it to Dorothy instead of himself. Gary starts to promote monogamy while Dermot fibs about letting Kate down gently and claiming he talked to Deborah and she gave him a kind of maybe concerning his friends with benefits idea.

Chat on the sofa:

Complete series writer Simon Nye's TV writing career began in 1990 when he was persuaded by producer Beryl Vertue to adapt his first novel for the small screen. Before that, he translated books on Wagner, Matisse and Braque before turning in his late twenties to fiction. After MBB, he went on to write for the short-lived 2001 sitcom The Savages. He wrote the comic adaptations of ITV Pantos, including Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Aladdin, and Dick Whittington, and he co-wrote the 2006 film Flushed Away. He even contributed an episode to the 2010 series of Doctor Who, titled "Amy's Choice."

Complete series director Martin Dennis got his start back in 1982 on episodes of ‘Allo ‘Allo. MBB was his major work, but since the show he’s worked on many other series, including The Savages, Black Books, The Vicar of Dibley, Carrie and Barry, and the revival series of Birds of a Feather. He actually returned to his hay day in 2007, and directed the 2007 TV Movie The Return of ‘Allo ‘Allo.

Neil [Gordon] Kinnock, Baron Kinnock was a privy council member and a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was Vice-President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. Kinnock was considered to be on the soft left of the Labour Party.

I Should Be So Lucky by Kylie Minogue

Horlicks is a British sweet malted milk hot drink powder developed by founders James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" to their label. In the early 20th century, it was sold as a powdered meal replacement drink mix.

Custard Creams and Gingernuts

A custard cream is a type of sandwich biscuit popular in the British Isles, and parts of the Commonwealth, filled with a creamy, custard-flavoured centre. It is believed that the custard cream biscuit originated in Britain in 1908. Usually, they have an elaborate baroque design stamped onto them, originating in the Victorian era and representing ferns. A gingernut (aka ginger snap) is a biscuit flavoured with ginger. Gingernuts are flavoured with powdered ginger and a variety of other spices, most commonly cinnamon, molasses and clove.

Sex and Violence:

Written by: Simon Nye

Directed by: Martin Dennis

Original airdate: March 17, 1992

Synopsis: 

Gary and Dermot bring Deborah to the pub, on account of her being seemingly depressed the last few days. She eventually reveals that she found out her boyfriend cheated on her in Singapore and so she broke up with him. Gary suggests getting back with her by sleeping with someone, preferably someone that is tall and blond like himself, while Dermot pushes for someone shorter with darker hair and a smile like his.

At the squash court, Dermot promises he won’t take advantage of Deborah, while Gary tries to talk but is breathless due to the exercise they’ve been partaking in, leaving him to pant his answers breathlessly. Gary sees Dorothy in the gym and makes some jokes from afar, making her laugh, but then Graham shows up and the two leave together. He goes to Dorothy and confronts her and the two argue when he finds out she slept with Graham. Gary starts to hit on every woman in the club, striking out quite spectacularly. 

Dermot goes to a bank to borrow money, but his goal of using the money to impress Deborah causes the bank manager to deny him. 

At home, Dermot is dressed in a tuxedo, planning to impress Deborah, while Gary is getting drunk, heading to the pub to leave the two of them alone. Deborah, depressed still, doesn’t see the point of trying again. The Mexican food that was supposed to show up, ends up being Japanese food because the Mexican restaurant closed down. Deborah is impressed, Japanese being her favorite. 

Jeremy, their authentic Spanish guitar player turns out to be a keyboardist, showing off his playing ability to everyone’s annoyance. After many songs, Dermot tells her he will just send Jeremy on his way. Dermot then tries to hit on Deborah, which she does seem annoyed by, but lets it drop easily when they’re interrupted by a visit from Mike, Deborah’s former boyfriend, who wants to talk. Dermot says he should leave, but then Gary shows up drunk, making a comment about Mike’s cheating ways, leading to Mike head butting him. 

Gary calls Dorothy over for sympathy and learns that her and Graham stopped seeing each other, having nothing in common. Their chemistry comes through as she picks out on one of their favorite records. Dermot admits he sold their record player to pay for his date last night, but offers them mood music by playing Jeremy’s keyboard. 

Chat on the sofa:

Squash, sometimes called squash rackets, is a racket sport played by two (singles) or four players (doubles) in a four-walled court with a small, hollow, rubber ball. The players alternate striking the ball with their rackets, directing it onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court. The object of the game is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return.

Can’t Buy Me Love by the Beatles

Paul Daniels was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.

My Brilliant Career:

Written by: Simon Nye

Directed by: Martin Dennis

Original airdate: March 24, 1992

Synopsis: 

Dermot, lost in thought, answers the door to see Deborah, who wonders what's wrong as they walk towards the kitchen, surprised he hasn’t asked her out again. He explains he got fired after having a big disagreement with a few children in the toy department.

He asks Deborah for a job but she’s unsure about hiring him. She does decide to give him a. Try making Dermot so happy he grabs her and swings her around, much to her chagrin. She then asks them to make some room in the shed for her gardening tools. 

Gary questions how Dermot got Deborah to give him a job and the discussion of jobs they wanted to as kids, makes Gary start to think about his own job and he wonders aloud the next day to George about how Dermot will now be working with Deborah, wondering when the last time was that they had a young attractive woman working with them. Gary asks Anthea if she sees him as a dynamic entrepreneur or a complete failure but she pauses which exasperates Gary. She then explains that she thinks young people are in too much of a hurry to get ahead at the expense of older people. Gary decides to try and do something special for Anthea’s birthday.

Dermot studies the workers’ manual for Deborah’s restaurant while Gary and Dorothy play Who’s The Postman, a board game (that looks suspiciously like Monopoly with the street spaces covered up). As they start to play, Gary and Dermot pick the pawns that are real jobs, relegating Dorothy to one of the wives of the careers in the game, to which she is thoroughly annoyed by, especially given Gary’s, Dermot’s, and the game’s attitude towards women. Gary puts his foot in his mouth, dismissing Dorothy’s job as not a proper job. The two argue about their jobs before Dermot finds a toy gun Gary found in the shed and the two start playing war. 

At the restaurant, Dermot tries his best as a waiter but can’t get himself to be flirty with the female diners. Gary and Dorothy come in, planning to celebrate his resignation from the company but Gary doesn’t want to tell them he’s leaving. George and Anthea arrive and make several comments about their past and future working for Gary and the company, which makes him uncomfortable, given that he knows the company will close down after he resigns. As he begins to tell them his decision, Dermot opens a piece of mail informing Gary that there is no job available as he previously thought. He tries to tell Gary but is brushed off with George and Anthea thinking Dermot is playing charades. They eventually guess that he is trying to communicate “no job”, which causes Anthea to worry she’s lost her job. While George comforts her, Dermot shows Gary the letter, and he realizes he has to stay where he is. Deborah brings out the birthday cake Gary ordered which unfortunately has a goodbye also written on it, causing Anthea to cry, thinking she’s been fired. 

Meanwhile Dermot gets thrown out of the restaurant by a man who got angry that Dermot was trying to kiss his girlfriend. Deborah promptly fires him. Dermot decides to get some sleep since he needs to get a few things in the morning, with Gary prompting him to get a job, a girlfriend and a future.

Chat on the sofa:

The lady diner was Suzy Cooper and aside from a few minor roles here and there (22), she had a run of 128 out of 150 episodes of Jupiter Moon (Ilea is an old space craft cruising around the Jupiter system, and functioning as a university. This is the story of its crew and students).

The keyboardist Jeremy was Phil Wilmot whose main claim to fame was also Jupiter Moon (130 episodes).

Linda Lusardi is an English actress, television presenter and former glamour model.

Test Card F is a test card that was created by the BBC and used on television in the United Kingdom and in countries elsewhere in the world for more than four decades. Like other test cards, it was usually shown while no programmes were being broadcast. It was the first to be transmitted in colour in the UK and the first to feature a person, and has become an iconic British image regularly subject to parody. The central image on the card shows Carole Hersee playing noughts and crosses with a clown doll, Bubbles the Clown, surrounded by various greyscales and colour test signals used to assess the quality of the transmitted picture. It was first broadcast on 2 July 1967 (the day after the first colour pictures appeared to the public on television) on BBC2. Carole was the daughter of BBC engineer George Hersee, and is said to hold the Guinness World Record for Longest Television Appearance at 70,000 hours, although she denies this. She went on to become a costume designer for many West End productions and films.

Pan's People were a British all-female dance troupe most commonly associated with the BBC TV music chart show Top of the Pops, from 1968 to 1976. The group, founded and led by choreographer Felicity "Flick" Colby in December 1966, accompanied top 20 hits on the weekly show for eight years, when artists were unable or unwilling to perform live. Pan's People appeared on many other TV shows in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, and also performed in nightclub cabaret.

[Arthur] Bamber Gascoigne was an English television presenter and author. He was the original quizmaster of University Challenge, which initially ran from 1962 to 1987.

The Garibaldi biscuit consists of currants squashed and sandwiched between two thin oblongs of biscuit dough before baking. The biscuits are similar to Eccles cake. Popular with British consumers as a snack for over 150 years, the Garibaldi biscuit is conventionally consumed with tea or coffee.

Ian [Richard Kyle] Paisley, Baron Bannside was a privy council member (advisor to the sovereign), a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2008.

Johnny Seven O.M.A. (One Man Army) 

KODA:

Men Behaving Badly is based on Simon Nye's 1989 book of the same title. Producer Beryl Vertue first considered it for a film before deciding it was suited for television adaptation. Harry Enfield, already a well-known comedian, was cast first. He had seen Martin Clunes perform in a play and recommended him for the other lead.

Enfield felt out of place in the sitcom and announced he was leaving after the first series. When Thames Television found out, their immediate reaction was to end the series, and they had to be persuaded to put on a second series, with Neil Morrissey replacing Enfield.

What's Up Next?

Series 2A brings us an introduction over the first 3 episodes, Gary and Tony, Rent Boy, and How to Dump Your Girlfriend

Further Resources:

Men Behaving Badly Wiki

Men Behaving Badly Episode Guide

Men Behaving Badly IMDb

Contact Us:

Send in your feedback to TheRewatchPodcast@gmail.com

Follow the show on Facebook Instagram Threads TikTok or Bluesky

Support the Show:

Head over to our TeePublic and/or Redbubble stores today and buy some merch! Every item sold sees a small return to us, and covers our hosting costs. We appreciate every purchase.

RW661 - Men Behaving Badly Rewatch S01E01-03 - Intruders Bet Alarms

 

In this week's episode of The Men Behaving Badly Rewatch, Cory and Tom pursue their options as they discuss the series 1 episodes 1-3, Intruders, The Bet and Alarms and Setbacks.

Beer of the week: (not a paid advertisement)

Go to or personal favourite-

Cory went for an everyday Aussie beer, a Carlton Draught.

Tom opted for a Wow Wheat, an orange wheat ale from his local Four Peaks Brewing Co.

Intruders:

Written by: Simon Nye

Directed by: Martin Dennis

Original airdate: February 18, 1992

Synopsis: 

Dermott is utterly depressed after being dumped by his girlfriend for sleeping with her friend. His roommate, Gary, tries to sympathize with him, but he has his own problems. He’s ready to move on from his own girlfriend of two years, Dorothy, and upon hearing that she has a new "friend" named Graham, immediately regrets the decision and decides to try and continue the relationship. Things are further complicated when an attractive young woman, Deborah, moves in upstairs, and both young men show signs of interest.

Chat on the sofa:

Martin Clunes plays Gary. He’s more popularly known these days for the long running series Doc Martin, following trials and tribulations of a socially awkward doctor. He also played the lead in Reggie (a mid level corporate drone going through a mid life crisis, 12 episodes), and William and Mary (the lives of William, an undertaker, and Mary, a midwife, cross. They become romantically involved, but what happens for the rest of the series is far less predictable. 18 episodes). He was also the voice of Kipper the Dog in a series of British animated shorts for children.

 

Harry Enfield plays Dermott. His work is primarily comedy and skit shows, like Harry Enfield and Chums, Harry and Paul, and Harry Enfield’s Television Programme. He has recently been in the series The Windsors, a parody show about the royal family, playing Charles. He was also in a musical based on Prince Andrew in which he plays Tony Blair.

Dorothy is played by Caroline Quentin. She starred in the sitcom Life of Riley (the dysfunctional lives of a newly married couple and the children each of them bring from a previous relationship). She was in the dramedy Life Begins (a late-30s English couple's summer holiday turns upside down when the husband announces his desire to move out, leaving his wife in newfound roles as provider and single parent. She finds herself both stronger and weaker than she imagined). Other series works include Johnathan Creek and Kiss Me Kate. Most recently, she was a lead in the Lazarus Project (a man wakes up to find himself reliving the same events over and over again. Confused, he is introduced to the Lazarus Project, a top-secret organization that uses its ability to rewind time to save the world from extinction).

Deborah was played by Leslie Ash. Her last series was Tricked, in 2020 (as World War One begins, a baby girl is born. After a tragic event that left her father shaken, he makes a decision that will change everything - to raise Georgina as George, ensuring her safety but marking the start of her life of crime), and Broke in that same year (crime drama). She did provide some voices for an episode of Big Finish’s Doctor Who audio plays (An Earthly Child). She’s mostly been doing short films lately.

Patsy Kensit’s Bicycle

This joke also reminded Cory of this commercial for Pepsi:

The Bet:

Written by: Simon Nye

Directed by: Martin Dennis

Original airdate: February 25, 1992

Synopsis: 

Gary, having made plans to attend an opera with Dorothy, gets pushed into a chess game with Dermott. The prize? His opera tickets. Dermott spends the week working later so he can try and learn how to play chess from his coworker George. Meanwhile, Dermott runs into the new neighbor, Deborah, at the furniture store he works in and asks her to go to the opera with him, anticipating an easy win. She tells him she has a boyfriend, albeit one out of the country, but he plays it off as just a “friend” activity to do together and she accepts. Later that week, Gary and Dermott play their chess match, with Gary quickly winning, his hard work of practicing paying off, and he heads to the opera with Dorothy. Dermott says that his wallet was stolen and he and Deborah plan for a night together. However, Gary returns home with Dorothy because the tickets turned out to be fake, and he got into a fight with the usher over them. When Dorothy feels bad that he lost out on the money, Dermott pushes Gary to reveal the tickets were free, and Gary pushes Dermott to reveal he was only using the opera tickets to get Deborah into bed. She leaves, upset that he would try that with her.

Chat on the Sofa:

Fool’s Mate

Alarms and Setbacks:

Written by: Simon Nye

Directed by: Martin Dennis

Original airdate: March 3, 1992

Synopsis: 

Gary, depressed over his girlfriend Dorothy not talking to him and seeing another man, drowns his sorrow in the pub with Dermot. The two guys both set their sights on their new neighbor Deborah. 

 

At work, Gary is trying to pick out the perfect burglar alarm to impress Deborah, with his coworker George urging him to try and get back with Dorothy. 

Back at home, Gary holds a tenants meeting consisting of him, Dorothy and Dermot. Dermot tries to put the moves on her but she shuts him down right away before Gary reveals the burglar alarm system he picked out. Dermot goes to the hospital that Dorothy works at in an attempt to get her to tell back together with Gary which she is against, talking about the many men she meets at the hospital, including Graham. He fibs about Gary calling out sexual things about Dorothy in his sleep which makes her consider contacting him.

Dermot helps Gary install the alarm system and tells Gary that he saw Dorothy and she seemed to miss him.  He leaves to answer a phone call from Dorothy and tries to hand it over to Gary but it is not within reach, so he kicks the ladder aside, pushing Gary down further enough to talk on the phone. Gary and Dorothy agree to meet. 

Gary tries to impress Deborah with the alarm system but is having issues getting it set up correctly, the ringing going on for three hours. Pulling the wire out causes a blackout in the house and then a surge causes Gary to get shocked and fall. He recovers and the three of them head inside to get candles and phone the electrician. Dermot tries small talk with Deborah about her boyfriend but she’s a bit cold towards him. As Dermot goes to get more candles, Gary tries to talk with Deborah about her boyfriend too. As he talks with her, complimenting her and trying to woo her, Dorothy walks in to hear him talk bad about their relationship and calls him out on it and dumps a fern in his lap and a potful of dirt on his head. Dermot returns and tries to rizz Deborah up, blowing out the candle and grabbing her hand but she kicks him in the groin.

Chat on the Sofa:

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
They met on the set of Cleopatra in 1962 and their affair, while both were married, became a global scandal. Their first marriage took place in 1964, and they divorced in 1974. They remarried in 1975 but divorced again less than a year later.

Music
Dermot plays Jim Reeves (briefly) on the jukebox

Agadoo by Black Lace is Gary’s fav song, according to Dermot

Dermot finds an old Showaddywaddy album in the garden shed

What's Up Next?

Let's check out the remaining 3 episodes in series 1B, Animals, Sex and Violence, and My Brilliant Career.

Further Resources:

Men Behaving Badly Wiki

Men Behaving Badly Episode Guide

Men Behaving Badly IMDb

Contact Us:

Send in your feedback to TheRewatchPodcast@gmail.com

Follow the show on Facebook Instagram Threads TikTok or Bluesky

Support the Show:

Head over to our TeePublic and/or Redbubble stores today and buy some merch! Every item sold sees a small return to us, and covers our hosting costs. We appreciate every purchase.