Rik Mayall Presents: The Complete First And Second Series

This is a series of TV movies from the early 1990s starring British comedian Rik Mayall (sadly departed us June 2014), best known in the US for his ground-breaking anarchic comedy series The Young Ones, shown on MTV here in the early 80s,and as the slightly psychotic invisible friend of Phoebe Cates in Drop Dead Fred. Mayall had true versatility as an actor, leading man good looks, and displays a wide range of talents in these hour-long stories containing both comedic and dramatic elements. Those who know him only for his ability to bug his eyes and display 357 emotions across his face in rapid succession while saying something outrageously funny or borderline perverted while simultaneously shaking his underwear-clad bottom are in for a treat. Here in no particular order are the stories: Dancing Queen: Neil's friends play a prank on him at his bachelor party by drugging him and putting him on a train without any pants, money, or ID the night before his wedding. Luckily for him, the stripper at said bachelor party, Pandora (Helena Bonham-Carter) is also on the train and attempts to help him. Lovely seaside views of Scarborough and a romantic storyline helped along by the music of Abba and Fleetwood Mac make this truly adorable. Notable for being Bonham-Carter's first foray into modern characterization from a world of Merchant-Ivory costumers. Micky Love : Easily the best of the stories here. Mayall flawlessly plays Love, an aging TV host who struggled with alcohol, scandal, and divorce in the past but now has a lucrative and popular gig with Family Values. Rumors fly that he will be ousted in place of a young, hip host (Alan Cumming). Drastic measures are the order of the day as Love struggles to regain his place and battles old demons while something is going on behind the scenes. A biting look at fame, celebrity, gossip, show biz, and has a great fight scene between Cumming and Mayall. Also features Peter Capaldi and Jennifer Ehle. Briefest Encounter: Greg has party-crashed and met Siobhan, a leggy brunette in a tight black dress, who has brought him back to her place for a night of steamy sex. Sadly, things go sideways for Greg with his inamorata's dog, his inability to remember her name, and his obvious dodgy sounding tale of a dead wife. Things go from bad to worse during what should be a sexy romp, when mistaken intentions abound and each suspects the other of something fishy. Amanda Donahoe and Rik play well off each other and sparks as well as some other things fly in this mostly comedic tale of a night gone very, very wrong. Clair de Lune: Toby is finishing up his law degree and making ends meet by driving a taxi. He is raising his daughter Annie as a widowed dad, leaving her overnight in the care of the older next-door neighbor lady, who is quite smitten with him and wishes he would give her a tumble. Toby, however, is focused on Annie, whose birthday is coming up and he has a special getaway surprise for her. A spanner is thrown into the works when lovely blonde Clair enters Toby's taxi and involves him in a personal domestic drama with unforeseen complications. The storyline is thin, the music is murky and not very good, but Rik and the little girl playing his daughter (Leonie Sooke) have wonderful chemistry. The Big One: Sexy. Also hot. Also, damn sexy. Did I mention this was scorching? Mayall is Lewis Fox, rather desultory real estate agent, compulsive liar, and grifter always looking for the next con. In the process of evaluating a luxury penthouse apartment for his boss, Lewis decides on a whim to appropriate the identity of its dead owner, John Wilde. Romantic complications with Jules (Saffron Burrows) and the wife of the dead man (Phyllis Logan) bedevil Lewis, as well as some people who have compelling reasons for finding Mr. Wilde. Lewis gets in way over his head and must think quick in order to extract himself. Sexy, sexy Rik in a hot tub, some car chase scenes, and a comedic denouement with everyone pointing a gun at everyone else make this quite an enjoyable ride, even if the plot twists were rather easy to untangle. Dirty Old Town: Probably the weakest of the stories. Rik plays Raymond, a down-on-his luck alcoholic, homeless and reduced to living in an alley. Once a promising doctor, he made an error and caused a patient to die, leading him to drown his sorrows in a bottle. Following a car accident, his identity is confused with that of a promising script writer, and Raymond enters a strange new world he can't quite comprehend. Rik does a fine job but the storyline is scattered and contains too many threads never sewn up quite neatly. Still, worth a look if only to see the range of talent this man had. All in all, a wonderful collection. Will definitely broaden your mind on the magnificent Mr. The Rik Mayall, who despite living on this planet for a heartbreakingly short 56 years, managed to create some memorable characterizations, not all of them zany. Had he lived, perhaps a villain role in something like Sherlock or even a part on Downton Abbey would have raised his profile in the States and brought his unique brand of energy, charm, wit, style, looks, and class to a new generation.

Saw this years ago when BRAVO TV was still a good channel (the early '90's).

So funny. You'll laugh your balls off.

Rik Mayall Presents: The Complete Series [DVD] I missed this great Rik Mayall TV series when it was first shown! After the sad death of Rik, I saw an episode called Dancing Queen on ITV as a tribute to Rik & I thought it was very good &that I must try & get all six episodes! It was hard to find & then I found it on Network DVD'S & ordered it straight from Rarewaves UK as I have used them before & a great service & price! All the episodes a really good & a great star-studded cast including Amanda Donohoe, Helena Bonham Carter, Nick Hancock and Lee Evans just to name a few! The Episodes Comprise: 1. Micky Love (1993) 2. Briefest Encounter (1993) 3. Dancing (1993) 4. The Big One (1995) 5. Dirty Old Town (1995) 6. Clair De Lune (1995). The Complete Series on a 2-DVD Set! Great quality picture & sound on a six episodes! If you love Rik, then this is a must buy! :-)

I bought this DVD after seeing one episode - the hilarious "Dancing Queen" - on TV as a tribute to Rik Mayall following his untimely death. I was never a fan of Bottom or The Young Ones but I must admit that this DVD set is excellent. Each of the 6 stories are very different and Mayall and his supporting cast are excellent in each one. I'm surprised that I've never seen any of these episodes repeated on SKY and I consider this set to be a bargain for £12. Dancing Queen is worth the price on its own, but 6 great stories make this a bargain. My only advice is buy it now and enjoy hours of great comedy

Hilarious, that's all.

The sad, unexpected death of Rik Mayall has prompted me to do a short review of this DVD which I bought nearly ten years ago when it first came out thanks to old-TV-everyone-else-seems-to-have-forgotten specialists Netwerk. Although another reviewer has quite rightly made the connection that these films were almost like (and I'm paraphrasing here) a 'Comic Strip Lite made for an ITV audience' I'd personally give anything for ITV to return to the days when they felt brave enough to commission this kind of thing again. In fact, I seem to remember some mild fallout after the transmission of 'Mickey Love' with lots of Daily Mail letter (and it was letters then, possibly Basildon Bond) writing about the many sexual references and 'strong' language. I also think though, that these came as a shock / (unjustified) disappointment at the time to those brought up on the manic Rik of the Blackadder, Bottom, etc... But in retrospect this might have been Riks finest hour; after all, when you discount the ensemble Comic Strips (for which there was no real solo 'Rik' outing), the Young Ones, Bottom, Filthy, Rich and Catflap, etc... all we are really left with is The New Statesman, some guest appearances, and later best forgotten vehicles such as 'Believe Nothing'. So what are the plays actually like? Being set in a contemporary world, they have dated, but are definately worth at least a single viewing for any casual Rik Mayall or 'black comedy' fan. 'Micky Love' concerns a thinly disguised version of Hughie Green (since covered more openly by BBC4, although with even more arguments over how real it all was) who finds his downfall from the top of the TV light ent. roost. Dirty, Rich, and Catflap actually proves less of an influence than you might imagine for this one, principally as there is an air of menace and realism in this one missing from DRC. Trainspotters like me will love the fact it was filmed almost entirely on location at Granada Studios in Manchester, the only unpleasant thing about it is perhaps a record number of 'star cameos' by people who are either in prison, or would be had their crimes been proven before they died. 'Briefest Encounter' regards the slightly overlong details strangers meeting at a party then going back to one of their homes together. Not that great, although quietly competent. 'Dancing Queen' is the one people talk about the most I think. A bit like a mini Comic Strip episode (and I have to wonder how many of these were actually 'strip' rejects or Rik-led proposals that were not accepted) this concerns a man at a stag-do running away with the stripper, its a very Comic Strip style piece. I have my suspicions, in fact, the next 2 episodes fall into the same bracket... 'The Big One' regards a man who is a compulsive liar, and ends up in fear of this life after impersonating a wanted person. he goes on the run, etc... 'Dirty Old Town' features a tramp somehow mistaken for a writer just like 'that film'... But with Rik in the title role, it is very watchable and again a great example of something that might not even get commissioned these days. 'Claire De Lune' is about a runaway woman finds some unexpected help in a taxi driver, for the time being anyway. Its another one that gets talked about a fair bit outside of these reviews. Its also worth a watch. And so it goes. Rik never did anything like that again, although a terrible quad bike accident just 3 years later could not have helped. Its just a shame not to be writing this review in nicer circumstances, as I've been meaning to do it since 2006. Just one parting note though. Something that has pervaded Rik (and, to a larger degree, Adrian Edmonson's careers) is their lack of introspection; even now (especially now) you won't find commentaries or documentaries on the DVDs of anything they've ever been in other than the big Comic Strip box-set. This is a shame, but artistically of course their call. Just such a shame we'll now never have a chance for Rik to tell us just what was going through his mind over 20 years ago when he made these. I wonder who will make the inevtitable documentary now about Rik's life? He wasn't particularly channel-loyal, so I wonder if there is a Kremlin style red telephone at ITV, C4 and the BBC so they can talk about such things and come to an agreement on all the clips? Probably not, as I imagine they talk all the time. "This house will become a shrine, and punks and skins and rastas will all gather round and hold their hands in sorrow for their fallen leader.".