How Do You Want Me?

This was a great comedy/drama. Perhaps the best work on-screen Dylan Moran has produced, and a huge progression for writer Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly). This programme never received the scheduling it deserved, and is long over-due for a DVD release (especially when terrible 'comedies' like Two Pints of Lager are being released by the BBC).

The programme focused on the relationship between Ian (Moran) and Lisa (Charlotte Coleman) as they relocate to her rural hometown. The seemingly idyllic location, masks a more sinister reality. The adjustment to life in The Village and especially the hatred Lisa's father feels (and shows) toward Ian make up the bones of the series'.

The darker elements of the plot never stray into caricature, and the ensemble cast provide a believable (and very funny) array of locals. The love between Ian and Lisa really holds the piece together, and its to Moran's acting credit that we believe he would continue living in this rural nightmare, thanks mainly to the on- screen rapport between him and Charlotte Coleman (who sadly died after the second series).

I remembered this series fondly and had given up hope of it being repeated.

But I discovered that both series have just been put out on DVD. Only ten years after it was first made, but they got there in the end.

And I'm delighted to say that it is as funny and as sweet as I recall. Dylan Moran essentially plays his stand-up persona (himself?), and, as such, is wonderful. Rather than all the sitcoms that feature wise-cracking central characters who get rewarded with overdone canned laughter, Moran is put in a situation in which none of the other characters find him funny.

As has already been said, Charlotte Coleman is wonderful. It's also interesting to watch because many of the supporting cast, such as Mark Heap and Peter Serafinowicz, have subsequently become familiar from roles in "Shaun of the Dead", "Spaced" and "Green Wing".

An incredibly subtle, persuasive comedy (from the writer of Men Behaving Badly!!) that has more charm (particularly in scenes between Charlotte Coleman and Dylan Moran) than Hugh Grant's grin.

The supporting cast are one of the best ensembles ever in a British comedy from Frank Finlay to Emma Chambers.

The set up (married couple swap the rat race for the country where the wife's family still live, only to find things aren't as simple as they'd hoped) has been used before in may other films/sitcoms, but never with such believability, wit and inventiveness. When you watch Ed, you can't help but think that John Beckerman and Rob Burnett saw 'How Do You Want Me?' on a visit to England.

Overall, it is a vehicle for Dylan Moran and whilst his character bears many similarities to his character in 'Black Books', Ian Lyons has a humanity and loveableness that is intoxicating and absent from Bernard Black. The chemistry between his character and Charlotte Coleman is the icing on the cake.

The second series proved that this was a comedy that deserved to run and run, even if it only had critical approval. The untimely death of Charlotte Coleman meant that the second series would be the last. Deserves to be seen once more.

I agree with all the reviewers bar one who misses the point of the whole exercise.

Irish city boy Ian Lyons relocates to the home town of new wife Lisa in the West Sussex countryside. Yes, he is a fish out of water among her family and the conservative rustic types that populate the area. But the narrative and message is more than that - it's about love and how far that can sustain a relationship when one of the participants is clearly treading water in a culture he doesn't understand and which fails to embrace him.

It is funny and emotionally moving at the same time. Dylan Moran and the late Charlotte Coleman navigate their respective roles brilliantly. Dylan Moran went on to other things while Charlotte Coleman died tragically a couple of years later. The show only ran for twelve episodes over two series and ended without resolution. Sometimes life has no resolution and that may have been writer Simon Nye's intention. I'll always remember Charlotte Coleman fondly and this show maintains my memory of her tremendous talent.

Previously Simon Nye wrote the award winning Men Behaving Badly. Dylan Moran went on to write the award winning Black Books. Why nobody gave this an award escapes me.

This seemingly forgotten and unappreciated work of unalloyed genius deserves repeating and above all deserves a DVD release. The cast were brilliant, the script sublime. The only series that comes close to its brilliance is Black Books.