The Guardian, 18 February 2002, by Mark Lawson
"Fling Quartet"
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A recent movie had the title *Women Talking Dirty*, but the 
words would serve for a whole turn-of-the-century genre. 
From *Sex in the City* through *The Vagina Monologues* to 
this week's Channel 4 documentary *The Female Orgasm*, 
female sexuality has moved from behind the bikesheds of the 
schedules to the morning assembly. I was watching football 
at the time, but read reports that one recent episode of 
*Sex and the City* featured female ejaculation, which really 
is one in the eye for puritans. Because explorations of male 
sexuality were for so long the defaults position of 
television, there hasn't been much call for them recently. 
But *Manchild* (Tomorrow, 10pm, BBC2) is the backlash to the 
backlash: a dirty-perky attempt to do a *Sex and the City* 
for men.

While the female species of the form focuses on single women 
in their 30s, the male version concentrates on single men in 
their 50s. This is for comic but also anthropological 
reasons, because these are the ages when the respective 
genders do hunt in interesting packs, responding to the 
biological clock and the male menopause. The thrust of this 
seven-parter is that divorce allows dads to become lads 
again. As Terry (Nigel Havers) puts it, in part of a 
narration which addresses the viewer throughout like a 
Jehovah's Witness on the doorstep: "If you time it right, 
you can have two lives."

This timing seems mainly to involve sexual time-travel in 
reverse. While planning the wedding of a daughter from his 
first marriage, Terry is also plotting the bedding of women 
his daughter's age. Another divorcee, James (Anthony Head), 
a dentist, picks up a woman with half his years, but, when 
her head goes to his groin, her age goes to his head and 
he's next seen in the office of a consultant urologist. 
Patrick (Don Warrington) has never maried, while Gary (Ray 
Burdis) remains faithful to his wife, making speeches about 
the erotic pay-offs of long-time married love which neither 
he nor his mates believe.

The dialogue is mainly locker-room, building up a sexual 
rhythm through rhyme and alliteration. Gary wonders why 
"girls who could have their pick of dick" are interested in 
his middle-aged friends, leaving them "up to their ears in 
25-year-old muff." One of these twentysomethings later tells 
James: "I've got a Mohican on my muff." There are clear 
signs that "muff" is about to follow "shag" on the journey 
to sitcom acceptability. But these conversational shock 
tactics also feature some truly spiky writing. When Terry 
visits the motorbike shop - the only cycle which the male 
menopause involves - the salesman swaggers: "If you want to 
feel your testicles right up the back of your throat, get a 
Yami." When Terri straddles a Harley-Davidson, he's warned 
that "they're for old geezers. We call them Hardly Able-To."

At least one woman previewing the series has already called 
it misogynistic, but *Manchild* is honest about the secret 
prejudices of a gender in the same way that *Sex and the 
City* is. Both series are ilke listening at the keyhole of 
the restroom you don't use. And, where the women's show is 
finally kindly towards its central characters, it's clear in 
*Manchild* that the chaps are being guyed. Havers's 
portrayal of the male menopause should severely reduce the 
sales of motor-bikes to the over-40s.

It's entirely possible that Nigel Havers thinks he's good-
looking, but the photography in this series is a match for 
him. No television series except *Changing Rooms* has paid 
such close attention to wallpaper and paint. Scenes shimmer 
with the deep reds and blues of the walls of restaurants, 
health clubs and Harley Street consulting rooms, all looking 
as if they've been redecorated by Lord Irvine. The director, 
David Evans, made *Fever Pitch* and the comparison is 
instructive. Where Nick Hornby's books feature hopeless but 
ultimately loveable men, the guys here are unloveably 
hopeless. The central characters all fancy that "bra-less 
gardening bird off the telly," but, while leering across the 
schedules at *Ground Force*, *Manchild* also manages an 
entertaining nod to *Sex and the City* from the other stool 
in the bar.

[.....]



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