Liverpool Echo, 20 February 2002, by Dawn Collinson.
"A bit too much sex in the city."
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*Manchild* (BBC2), a *Sex and the City* for fortysomething 
men was how this new comedy drama was hyped.

But on this first outing, the comparisons to Carrie & Co 
were woefully few and far between.

The subject matter was predominantly sex and it was in a 
narrative sytle, with Nigel Havers talking us through the 
lifestyles of him and his three menopausal pals.

That was where the similarity ended, though, because while 
*SATC* is sharply written and full of intelligent oneliners, 
*Manchild* was just witless.

The basic premise was four blokes going through stages of 
mid-life crisis with varying degrees of dignity.

Havers' character Terry was a sad leather-clad motorbike 
riding divorcee, always with an eye on his next model 
conquest. His trio of mates were Anthony Head (of *Buffy* 
fame), a lothario who has having trouble rising to a younger 
challenge, Ray Burdis who was considering an affair with an 
unnamed braless TV gardener and Don Warrington (Philip from 
*Rising Damp*), who we found out little about.

What unfolded was a succession of unfunny cliches which 
would embarrass any man, 40 or not.

At first I gave it the benefit of the doubt that it was 
trying to be ironic, but it was too heavy-handed to be 
really clever. In the end I decided it was just 
chauvinistic.

[.....]



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