Man to Man with Dean Learner

''Man to Man with Dean Learner'' is a British comedy chat show that was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 20 October 2006 and released on DVD on 3 September 2007. It features comedians Richard Ayoade and Matthew Holness.

Originally called ''Deano's After Dark'', the show features Dean Learner (Ayoade) chatting to a range of guest characters (all played by Ayoade's co-writer, Matthew Holness) including folk singer Merriman Weir and horror writer Garth Marenghi.

Production

Holness and Ayoade spent time testing out material in front of a live audience in December 2005 ; the show involved Ayoade fixed in the role of smut-peddling presenter Dean Learner and Holness playing various characters. These included Glynn Nimron, a sci-fi – or "S.F.", as he preferred it – actor with a new biography detailing his extremely close relationship with a director; Garth Marenghi, returning to promote his new ''Darkplace''-esque movie ''War of the Wasps''; folk musician Merriman Weir who has a penchant for rather dark songs (Holness is an adept guitarist); and another actor, Randolph Caer, who became a social pariah after starring in one of Dean's grindhouse movies (the Marenghi-penned slasher film ''Bitch Killer'').

Bafta Nominated composer Andrew Hewitt, who scored ''Darkplace'', also scored sections of ''Man to Man''.

An amount of the humour stems from Learner's dubious business activities and anachronistically androcentric tendencies – with Finnish model Satu Suominen (as his 'beautiful assistant-cum-bartender') being the target of many of his jibes, and most of the guests having some sort of business connection to Learner which is sometimes declared upfront and sometimes revealed in the course of the episode.

Episodes

Garth Marenghi

*Original Transmission Date: 20 October 2006
Marenghi discusses his humorous side and how it caused him to lose an ear, his latest movie ''War of the Wasps'' which turns out to be an allegory for a future war with the Dutch, and his new interest in painting having already done one exhibition and currently working on another. Many elements of the Marenghi character bear similarities to fiction author Harlan Ellison. Dean Learner goes into his first of several tirades. This initial one is about philosophy and having to queue for the restroom.

Steve Pising

*Original Transmission Date: 27 October 2006
Steve 'The Accelerator' Pising (pronounced 'pissing') is known to his public as former four time Formula Five Motor Racing World Champion. He is hospitalised in the early 1990s after a horrific accident due to mysterious brake failure, which ended his motor racing career. In this episode of Man to Man, we learn of Steve's love of camels and his hatred of his brother Barry. We also get a sneak peek at Dean's new reality show with Steve called ''The Learner''. Dean has a short rant here, in which he shares his appreciation of wet wipes with Steve. Pising has many similarities to British F1 champion Nigel Mansell.

Glynn Nimron

*Original Transmission Date: 3 November 2006
Glynn Nimron is a true legend in his field; in this case, episodic futuristic law enforcement television drama series of the mid-1970s. A pioneering half-Hawaiian actor most famous for his role as 'Bot' in the classic Sci-Fi series ''Galacticops'', Glynn will be celebrating the release of his 3000th film, ''Space Bandits From Pluto and their Pirate Pals'', later this year. Nimron has many similarities to ''Star Trek'' actor Leonard Nimoy and speaks with a voice reminiscent of George Takei and Kryten from the British comedy series Red Dwarf.

Merriman Weir

*Original Transmission Date: 10 November 2006
Merriman Weir is a legendary folk guitarist famed for classic songs of melancholy and regret. This is Weir's first television appearance in a 30-year career and follows his much publicised bar-fight with James Blunt at this year's Big Chill festival. Don't miss this rare and classic acoustic set (this last instruction has also been forwarded to Merriman).

Amir Chanan

* Original Transmission Date: 17 November 2006
Amir Chanan is a self-confessed 'Master of the Psychic Arts'. Rediscovered by a new generation of fans after his classic 'Mind Fondle' appears on Richard and Judy, Amir talks to Dean about conspiracy theories, comfort feeding, mind control for the under fives and his bath-time therapy for the dispossessed. Chanan has many similarities to Israeli psychic Uri Geller.

Randolph Caer

*Original Transmission Date: 24 November 2006
The underrated character actor Randolph Caer grants his first television interview in 28 years following his traumatic 'live' mauling by TV's Lennard Ritter. Celebrated for his groundbreaking performances in films such as ''Bitch Killer'', ''Pew! What A Scorcher!'' and ''That Duck! 2: (Duck on the Run)'', Randolph appears exclusively on ''Man to Man'' for a birthday celebration special.

Due to the death of Caer shortly before the programme's transmission, all guests from the previous five episodes (except Merriman Weir) were invited on to pay their respects. Over the course of the episode it is apparent that many of these guests, and Dean himself, bear some responsibility for Caer's downward spiral, which began after Caer became a social pariah due to his role in ''Bitch Killer''. Caer's career slide is similar to that of respected British director Michael Powell whose career never fully recovered from the critical mauling it received for ''Peeping Tom'' (1960), a serial killer film loathed at the time by the press but which now is regarded by many, including Martin Scorsese, as a seminal masterpiece.

External links

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{{Richard Ayoade

Channel 4 comedy
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
2006 British television series debuts
2006 British television series endings
2000s British comedy television series
British television talk shows
English-language television shows
Films scored by Andrew Hewitt