Men Behaving Badly: The Complete Series

Another less-than-successful American re-tooling of a British sitcom, Men Behaving Badly premiered in the fall of 1996 and lasted one full season and six episodes into its second year before being dumped unceremoniously by the network. Initially, the badly behaving men were roommates Jamie Coleman (Rob Schneider, of Saturday Night Live fame) and Kevin Murphy (Ron Eldard, fresh off ER), who did everything humanly possible to live in a state of perpetual adolescence and avoid responsibility. Kevin was periodically forced to act his age by on-again-off-again girlfriend Sarah Stretton (Justine Bateman), but Jamie was more or less hopeless. The pilot, “Babies Having Babies,” found Sarah suggesting that she and Kevin have a child together, while Jamie weighed the possibility of blowing off a job interview to have a good time. “Temptation” illustrated how dopey the series could be: in this episode Jamie throws himself in front of a car, risking serious injury just to gain the sympathy of two gorgeous models. Eldard and Bateman dropped out after the first season, but the network substituted talented performers Ken Marino and Jenica Bergere. Pitted against the more popular The Cosby Show, the second season was never really able to get off the ground. This four-disc set features all 28 original first and second season episodes, plus seven bonus second-year shows that were filmed but never aired. Although it gained a following early on for its raunchy aspects and attracted some talented writers and directors, Men Behaving Badly doesn't hold up especially well, with Schneider's onscreen antics today seeming even more annoying than they did in 1996. Optional. (E. Hulse)