How Do You Want Me?

COnstantly surprising, this is one of the BBC's unsung gems.

Dylan Moran and Charlotte Coleman have such chemistry, there is no doubting the warmth of Ian and Lisa's love for each other. They're a perfect couple in many ways: she's level-headed and sensible, but sees their country life as bliss; he's sarcastic and thoughtless, seeing their life as a provincial nightmare. They are both right, and both wrong. The support they give each other, and the tenderness of some of their scenes, are quite touching and emotional; very unlike any other sitcom. Of course, knowing the series was cut short by Charlotte Coleman's terrible death makes it even more poignant.

Every attempt Ian makes to fit in, half-hearted though it may be, is destined to fail. Frank Finlay is frightening as Lisa's "lord of the manor" father, bringing real menace and threat to his scenes. With Lisa's icy mother and violent brother adding colour, the only normal one of the bunch is Lisa's sister, Helen, played with restraint and lack of cuteness by The Vicar of Dibley's Emma Chambers.

There are some huge laughs along the way: Marc Warren as a comedian Ian ships in for a village fundraiser, who ruins the night and trashes the stage; Ian's stint managing Helen's shop; Ian's "rural fire stations" calendar; the restrained anger of Clive Merrison's headmaster; Ian giving up booze.

At heart, this is a very dark, bleak series. The harmonica music enhances the isolated rural atmosphere, and there are some shots of the countryside that make the village seem totally alone. The shining light of this forgotten little outpost is the warmth of Ian and Lisa's love. Such a shame that this was cut short.

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.

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.

This is one of the most brilliant and most underrated TV comedy series of all time. From the writer of 'Men Behaving Badly' Simon Nye, but in a totally different vein, this is warm, witty and often touching.

It basically tells the story of a young couple who have moved to the countryside to be near her (Charlotte Coleman) parents. The husband (comedian and acting genius Dylan Moran) resents the move and doesn't get on with her father. And that's it. But the acting and directing is so perfect that every episode was engrossing. BBC2 stuck both series of this on quite late at night and hardly anybody seemed to see it, which is a tragedy. If you ever get a chance to see it, it's well worth a look.

"How do you want me?" was one of these programmes that grow on you from week to week, slowly and imperceptibly. It hardly even qualifies as comedy, since there are so few laughs. It's about people, and real life, and coping, and making the best of a total muddle: how we all flail about through life, not really knowing what it's all about, or why we're doing it. The tenderness at the heart of it was Charlotte Coleman. Every time she was on screen, you felt that life was worth living, because this is what it's about: finding those intimate moments, when all the bulls*** doesn't matter, because you know you're in the presence of someone who cares.

The Dylan Moran character is all bluff and bluster, and Charlotte is the port in the storm, for once playing a grounded and stable character. I, for one, will remember her most for this role, rather than her more off-the-wall efforts, because after the life she lived, it seems that she would really have been happy to lead that settled kind of life. The news of her tragic death at the age of 33 touched me in a way that felt like she was a friend. She always made you feel like hugging her.