Man to Man with Dean Learner
Encyclopedia
Man to Man with Dean Learner is a British
comedy
chat show that was first broadcast on Channel 4
on October 20, 2006 and released on DVD on September 3, 2007. It features comedian
s Richard Ayoade
and Matthew Holness
.
Originally called Deano's After Dark, the show features Dean Learner
(Ayoade) chatting to a range of guests (all played by Ayoade's co-writer, Matthew Holness) including Merriman Weir and Garth Marenghi.
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 misogynistic tendencies — with Finnish model Satu Suominen (as his 'beautiful assistant-cum-bartender') being the target of many of his jibes.
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. Dean Learner goes into his first of several tirades. This initial one is about philosophy and having to queue for the restroom.
Steve 'The Accelerator' Pising 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 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
.
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 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
.
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.
Randolph Caer may be a play on the name of the Lovecraftian character Randolph Carter
, though they have little else in common.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
chat show that was first broadcast on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
on October 20, 2006 and released on DVD on September 3, 2007. It features comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoade
Richard Ellef Ayoade is a British comedian, actor, writer and director best known for his role as Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd.Ayoade was born an only child to a Norwegian mother, Dagny , and a Nigerian father, Layide Ade Laditi Ayoade. Ayoade studied at St...
and Matthew Holness
Matthew Holness
Matthew Holness is an English comedian and actor from Whitstable in Kent. He attended Chaucer Technology School in Canterbury and read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he was vice-president of the Cambridge Footlights...
.
Originally called Deano's After Dark, the show features Dean Learner
Dean Learner
Dean Learner is a fictional character created and performed by British comedian Richard Ayoade in stage shows and television shows. Learner is a famous publisher, mostly of pornography, but also of the books of the fictional horror writer, Garth Marenghi .Ayoade first played Learner in the...
(Ayoade) chatting to a range of guests (all played by Ayoade's co-writer, Matthew Holness) including Merriman Weir and 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 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; folk musician Merriman Weir who has a penchant for rather dark songs (Holness is an adept guitarist); and another actor, who delivered a chilling and possibly improvised monologue.Bafta Nominated composer Andrew Hewitt
Andrew Hewitt
-Training and performance:Andrew was classically trained from childhood as a pianist and tenor singer. He won music scholarships and entrance bursaries to Westminster Abbey Choir, Uppingham School, the National Youth Music Theatre, St Johns College, Cambridge University and the Guildhall School of...
, who scored Darkplace, also scored sections of Man to Man.
An amount of the humour stems from Learner's dubious business activities and misogynistic tendencies — with Finnish model Satu Suominen (as his 'beautiful assistant-cum-bartender') being the target of many of his jibes.
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. 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 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
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
.
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
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
and speaks with a voice reminiscent of George Takei
George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
.
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
James Blunt
James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...
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
Richard and Judy
Richard and Judy is the name informally given to Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, a married couple who are both British television presenters and columnists. Since their marriage, their television appearances have been largely made as a couple. They are best known for presenting This Morning and...
, 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
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
Uri Geller
Uri Geller
Uri Geller is a self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other supposed psychic effects. Throughout the years, Geller has been accused of using simple conjuring tricks to achieve the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy...
.
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.
Randolph Caer may be a play on the name of the Lovecraftian character Randolph Carter
Randolph Carter
Randolph Carter is a recurring protagonist in H. P. Lovecraft'sfiction and a thinly disguised alter ego of Lovecraft himself. The first tale in which Carter appears--"The Statement of Randolph Carter" --is based on one of Lovecraft's dreams....
, though they have little else in common.