Ideal (TV series)

infobox television
show_name = Ideal


creator = Graham Duff
format = Comedy
runtime = 30 minutes
starring = Johnny Vegas
Nichola Reynolds
Graham Duff
Seymour Mace
country = UK
network = BBC Three
first_aired = January 2005
last_aired = present
num_episodes = 32 |

"Ideal" is a British sitcom originally broadcast on digital channel BBC Three, created by Graham Duff and produced by BBC Comedy North and Baby Cow Productions. It stars Johnny Vegas as small time cannabis dealer Moz. The title of the series is a pun on "I deal". The closing theme is "Song of the Oss" from the album "Nuada: Music Inspired By the Film the Wicker Man" composed by British band Candidate. It is set in Salford, Greater Manchester, chosen because Duff was familiar with the area having done many stand-up gigs there during his youth.

The entire series takes place in Moz's flat, the hall outside, his neighbour Judith's flat, the roof (in one episode) and Fist's flat (Series 4). It revolves around the eclectic array of recurring characters that come to visit Moz to buy cannabis, socialise or both.

A fourth series started airing on Monday 28 April 2008 [http://www.babycow.co.uk/flashmen.html Baby Cow Productions site] ] on BBC Three and concluded eight weeks later. A fifth series has been commissioned and will be broadcast from February 2009.

Characters

* Moz: (Johnny Vegas) is a small time cannabis dealer in Salford. As the series progresses his life becomes more and more complicated. At the end of the first series and throughout the second he suffers from guilt over his role in Craig's murder. At the climax of series two he falls through the roof of his flat and breaks his leg. At the beginning of the third series his leg is in plaster. During series three Moz is plagued by born again Christian builders renovating his flat after the fire and pretends to share their faith but this backfires when they persuade him to propose to Nicki. In the third series finale Moz is attacked by one of the builders when he discovers Moz's real occupation. In series four Moz engages in an affair with long-term customer Jenny, and finds himself caught in the middle of a gang war.

* Nicki: (Nichola Reynolds): Moz's girlfriend. As the series progresses it becomes apparent she is cheating on him. At Moz's birthday party she has sex with Moz, PC and Kuldip and becomes pregnant. When the baby is born it is quickly apparent that Kuldip is the father. In the second series Nicki moves in with Sangita and they become involved, which Moz chooses to deny completely, at first naively, then perhaps through jealousy or because he misses Nicki so much. In series three Nicki and the baby live with Moz again (although the baby is seldom seen). Throughout the third series she has hallucinations involving Moz's head on the shoulders of a bodybuilder and as her baby. In the fourth series Nicki rekindles her affair with PC, ultimately leaving Moz for him in the series finale.

* Cartoon Head: (James Foster, series 1 / David Sant, series 2): A man who never speaks and always wears a mask resembling a cartoon mouse). It is revealed during the first series that he is in fact a hitman. The irony with Cartoon Head, is that he has had several telephone conversations with Psycho Paul and Moz, yet he never utters a word on screen. Cartoon Head's mask was superglued to his face by his boss 'Stemroach' and it is impossible to remove. The left ear of the mask was cut off by Steve in the seventh episode of the series three but it was sellotaped back on by the following episode. In series 4 it is revealed that Cartoon Head has taken over as leader of the Triads.

* Craig / Steve: (Seymour Mace): Craig was a recurring annoyance in the first series who begged Moz to sell him weed, although Moz sells only to friends. In the seventh episode of series one he brings a carrier bag full of weed to Moz's flat when his supplies are low and they strike up a friendship. Moz remarks that he and Cartoon Head should 'take him out' clubbing but the latter is on acid, misinterprets this and shoots Craig. At the end of the first series, Craig's identical twin Steve arrives to look for his brother and fuels Moz's paranoia and guilt over the murder of Craig. Steve joins his brother's killer and Psycho Paul in their gang. In the seventh episode of series three he attacks them both and becomes leader. Unfortunately he feels unable to maintain his status and resigns in the following episode, whereupon the others gouge out his left eye with a spoon. In the fourth series Steve remains loyal to Psycho Paul despite his previous injury, as Paul promises to one day return his preserved eye. In the final episode he kills Stemroach (by throwing the glass encased eye into his forehead) and promptly quits the gang.

* Psycho Paul: (Ryan Pope): Originally a rival dealer to Moz, Psycho Paul now works alongside Cartoon Head. He first appeared in the first series as a more violent and successful rival dealer. Shortly after PC busted Psycho Paul and gave all his weed to Moz, Psycho Paul hunted Moz down and threatened to kill him if he didn't return the weed. Throughout the show Psycho Paul bullies Moz (or Morris, as he calls him), often slapping him and pressuring him into helping him out with his plots.

* Phil 'PC' Collins: (Tom Goodman-Hill): As the name implies, PC is a police constable for Greater Manchester Police. He supplies Moz with weed seized from other dealers during raids and they are close friends, at least initially. However he has been sleeping with Nicki, and after she gets pregnant at Moz's birthday party, he falls in love with her, offering to take care of her and the baby and drunkenly challenging Moz to a fight. In the second series finale he is stabbed by Stemroach's gang, but takes his revenge by blackmailing Moz into setting up Stemroach in series three. Following these events he is hurt to discover that Moz has allowed Brian to be his best man. There were no direct references to PC's real name until series four episode, The Past, revealed it to be his actual name; it stands for Phil Collins, but he hated the name because he shares it with the singer.

* Troy: (Tony Burgess, also co-writer): Moz's brother is a strange character to say the least. In the second series he hides from his wife in Moz's airing cupboard. He is very touchy about the topic of his wife and becomes upset when people talk to him about it. He once moved out of Moz's flat to go back to her, only to return in the next episode with bruises. He is a complete contrast to Moz; loud, not very conscientious, completely egotistical and most notably a lot smaller than his brother. He loves Late 1980s/Early 1990s Club music and runs his own pirate radio under the name DJ Troy. Moz sees him as a pest at times yet sometimes betrays fraternal affection. Troy is also a sub-standard DJ.

* Kuldip: (Ronny Jhutti): Moz's former best friend. A relatively successful DJ (much to Troy's annoyance) who was a frequent visitor to Moz's house in the first series, but only appeared in the second to find out that he is the father of Nicki's baby. In series three he returns from Barcelona to pursue Nicki and it is revealed that she has been writing to him every week and sending him photographs of baby Sanjeev.

* Judith: (Joanna Neary): Moz's timid, demure necrophiliac neighbour who is constantly saying 'sorry'. They are mutually attracted, but he is disgusted at the idea of her having sex with dead bodies. Judith experiments with drugs with Moz and, once overdosed him with cookies filled with magic mushrooms, taking advantage of his unconscious body to have a pseudo-necrophiliac encounter. It proves to be a turning point for her. Judith develops an obsession with Moz and soon sculpts a giant clay model of Moz's head in her flat. Towards the end of the third series a wasp mask is superglued to her face and proves stubbornly persistent. This causes Cartoon Head to become attracted to her and they soon make the perfect masked relationship, although he starts to ignore her when she has it removed. In the final episode of series four Judith has the wasp mask stuck back on and says "I'm not Sorry" and Cartoon Head is happy again.

* Jenny: (Sinead Matthews): A dim-witted teenager who regularly visits Moz to buy drugs while childminding. She is also friendly with Nicki and gets pregnant about the same time by one of the "children" she minds. In the third series she gives birth to a baby who is briefly taken into care by Social Services. When she regains custody she is not sure that the right baby has been returned to her, but concludes that she likes the new one better. In the 4th season Jenny and Moz begin an affair which they have trouble keeping secret due to Jenny's lack of any intellectual acuity. In the final episode of the series she is accidentally shot in the crossfire of a gang war between Stemroach and Cartoon Head, and appears to bleed to death in Moz's arms.

* Felix: (Des O'Malley): The father of Jenny's baby, although technically she was childminding him when it was conceived. He appears to be overwhelmed by the idea of fatherhood and still has childlike tendencies himself. Although seemingly more intelligent than Jenny, he is indifferent to everything.

* Stemroach: (David Bradley): The terrifying boss of Cartoon Head and Psycho Paul with many illegal schemes. PC, Moz, and even Psycho Paul are afraid of him. It seems that he has a wife and a girlfriend (who had recently given birth) and the wife went 'up the wall' over the news. He was arrested in series three after PC and Moz set him up, but he was released on bail and now takes full advantage of Moz's debt to him. He can talk only through a hand held throat speaker as he has no vocal cords, a result of being accidentally shot in the throat by Moz's brother Troy. He is killed by Steve in the last episode of series 4 after once again threatening to kill Moz.

* Brian: (Graham Duff, creator and writer of the show): A very flamboyant homosexual who visits Moz regularly, accompanied by a different boyfriend every week. He is known for the line 'Inn't he ?' In the third series he finally falls in love and proposed to his current beau, only to be dumped. Moz takes pity on the heartbroken Brian and allows him to be his best man, despite Derrick's hints that he would like the role and to PC's chagrin. His boyfriend turns out to be the registry officer and they are happily reunited, though by the fourth series they've split and Brian is back to his promiscuous ways.

* Colin: (Ben Crompton): A petty criminal, who always seems to be on probation. He isn't particularly clever, though he is somewhat crafty. Often he is a tedious annoyance to Moz. Joins Psycho Paul's gang in series four.

* Carmel: (Hanne Steen): A Spanish escort, who was caught up in a kidnapping and lost her memory in the process. Colin has convinced her that she is his girlfriend. In the last episode of Series four it becomes apparent that they are actually 'an item' and Carmel & Colin leave, apparently to start a new life in spain "Holla".

* Sangita: (Sunetra Sarker): Nicki's best friend. During the Christmas episode Sangita convinces Nicki to leave Moz and to move in with her and the two begin an affair. Sangita suffers from multiple sclerosis.

*Yasuko: (Haruka Kuroda): A bubbly and naive Japanese woman with a cleaning compulsion. She encountered Nicki during a ménage à trois in Thailand, on the basis of which she turns up at Moz's flat seeking accommodation. Eventually she marries Moz's stultifyingly dull friend Derrick.

*China: (Natalie Gumede): A sexually promiscuous young woman, currently employed as a prostitute by Carmel's ex-boyfriend/pimp.

*Silicon Valets: (Andrew Lee Potts and Tim Fallows): Lee and Jason together are Silicon Valets, a group of indeterminate quality and style, who drop by to buy drugs and brag about their success. They fail to pick up on Moz's insults about their musical quality. They do achieve some success getting to number 43 in the charts. At the end of Series 3 Lee is caught snorting cocaine in Moz's bathroom by the born-again Christian builder, who attempts to forcefully baptise him and nearly drowns him in the process. His body is sealed inside Moz's hot water tank by him, however he wakes up inside the tank and doesn't know where he is. When he is released in series four, he has a tendency to hallucinate.

*Kim and Miko: A Japanese girl band duo who do not seem to speak much English but giggle a lot, who are kidnapped by 'Fist' in series 4.

*Tania: (Emma Fryer): Tania is one of Moz's 'friends'. Moz has had a few affairs with her in previous series'. She was caught stealing by Moz's mum in a Series Three Episode. She makes occasional appearances throughout each series. In Series Four, she appears to have relationship with Psycho Paul.

*Fist: A man simply known as "Fist" moved next door to Moz in Series Four.His flat is usually dark and unlit,and Fist seems to spend a lot of time watching people come and go in the house,perhaps with sinister intent. Both Psycho Paul and the Low Triad in Series Four attempt to get him onto their side although it is currently unknown which gang he has joined or if he has even joined one at all. He was shown briefly at the end of the Series Four Episode, The Birthday and has spoken only his name.Fist dresses in black,wears a black ski mask all the time and seems to have buck teeth. His hand has the word "Fist" tattooed on his knuckles. Fist is a rather frightening character, although the Japanese girl band duo,Kim and Miko, who are kidnapped by him, think he is quite funny. The credits sequence credits him 'As Himself'. It is revealed in the series finale that he is a Reverend, and he subsequently crucifies Alan. This part is in fact played by Graham Duff, and is later revealed by the builder Alan,who seems to know him, to be one 'Vicar Fistwick'

*Tony and Chen: Tony and Chen are members of the Low Triad, initially working for Min Yin Low. In the first episode of series four they stab Moz, in an attempt to persuade him to spy on Stemroach for the Triad. In the fifth episode, they return to reveal that the Triad has been taken over by Cartoon Head.

Episode list

eries One

The first series originally aired on BBC Three from January 11 2005 to March 1 2005. It has since been repeated on BBC Two, and is currently being repeated on BBC Three.

# The Rat: Nicki is getting fed up with Moz not paying her enough attention, PC turns up with a delivery, and a strange man wearing a cartoon mask lets himself into the flat. Moz also has to contend with a couple of unwelcome visitors in the shape of a rat and rival dealer Psycho Paul.
# The Seduction: While Nicki is away, Moz tries to play by attempting to seduce one of his new customers after seeing her at a nightclub where his best mate Kuldip is a DJ. However, the rat (from the previous episode), has other ideas...
# The Boyfriend: Colin (who's still on probation) tells Moz about the body found across the road with its hand cut off, China's got a new boyfriend, and Nicki returns.
# The Affair: Moz gets rid of his stalker and China has split up with her boyfriend. Meanwhile Colin tries to flog some stolen goods (even though he's still on probation) and then steals the photos of Nicki.
# The Backpacker: A face from Nicki's past arrives unexpectedly wanting to stay, the polaroids from behind the bathroom cabinet go missing and re-appear, and Moz is selling red weed.
# The Party: It's Moz's birthday, and all Nicki has bought him is a sandwich and some chocolate, so she decides to throw him a party in the flat.
# The Pregnancy: The severed hand makes a return. Moz's stalker (Craig) is back, and spends some quality time with Cartoon Head. Nicki takes a pregnancy test.
# The Body: Cartoon Head shoots Craig. Nicki tells Moz she's pregnant.
# Xmas: An Ideal Xmas where Moz's mam turns up with a karaoke machine, Nicki snogs a woman in the bathroom while reminiscing about the two men she shagged there less than nine months ago and the murdered Craig's twin brother sucks his killer's nipple.

eries Two

The second series ran between March 4 2006 and May 2 2006 on BBC Three. A special Christmas episode also aired on December 27 2005.

During the second series, episodes were made available on BBC Three's web site a week before their initial TV broadcast, in common with several other BBC Three comedy shows.

# The Stag Do: Nicki's moved in with Sangita while Moz has a nervous new neighbour, Judith. Derrick and Yasuko are due to get married and Moz is asked to be best man. Cartoon Head has a special surprise for the stag do.
# The Landlord: Moz's landlord is coming to visit at the most inopportune time.
# The Hydroponics: Moz might be falling for his new neighbour Judith while being haunted by the ghost of Craig.
# The Séance: A plain clothes policeman gets trapped in Moz's loft, pensioner Mrs. Coneybear from downstairs performs a séance, and Judith's secret is revealed.
# The Boss: Psycho Paul's gang have a kidnap plan that they need Moz for. He won't help until he receives a visit from their boss, Stemroach.
# The Guest: A succession of unwanted guests turn up at Moz's door while a kidnap victim remains in his flat.
# The Delivery: Moz is tipped off by PC about a drugs bust and now has to remove all evidence from his flat. Nicki goes into labour.
# The Money: Moz's life is in turmoil: Nicki's just given birth to a well-tanned baby; he gets raided by the police; PC gets drunk and wants to fight him; Stemroach and gang turn up to pay him less than expected and manage to stab PC in the process; Judith offers herself to him and they end up on the roof as his flat burns below them.

eries Three

Filming for series three began on November 23 2006 Fact|date=April 2007 and premiered on BBC Three on Tuesday March 20 2007 Fact|date=June 2008, with the first episode available on the station's website. In the first episode of Series three, a picture on a mobile phone shows David Sant (Cartoon Head) without the mask; he is now playing Carmel's pimp.

# The Night: Moz tries to hide his dope dealing from the born again Christian builders working in his flat, and lack of sleep is making Nicki hallucinate. Judith the 'reformed' necrophiliac is seen dragging heavy sacks up the stairs into her flat.
# The Christians: The Police Constable has fallen in love with China, Nicki thinks she's losing her mind and Brian has turned into a Goth. Meanwhile, Moz is forced to perform an exorcism on Jenny the child minder.
# The Pyramid: Moz is desperate to dissuade Cartoon Head and Psycho Paul from shooting a porn film in his bathroom. His mother Sheila joins a dodgy pyramid selling scheme and Nicki and Brian are involved in a car crash.
# The Nest: Moz receives an unwelcome visit from gang leader, Stemroach. Meanwhile, the discovery of a wasp nest in the loft has disastrous consequences for the born again Christian builders.
# The Bath: Moz's attempts to enjoy a nice, warm bath are continually thwarted, initially by a steady stream of visitors requiring weed, advice and a shoulder to cry on, then by a bizarre murder.
# The Set-up: With Nicki out celebrating her hen night, Moz reluctantly agrees to help the Police Constable to set up Stemroach. Meanwhile, Cartoon Head and Psycho Paul have an evil plan all of their own.
#The Crabs: Moz is trying his best to enjoy his stag night. However, Judith has had a wasp mask super-glued to her face, three crabs have escaped in the flat and Jesus has just appeared in the loft.
#The Wedding: It's the morning of Moz's wedding and he's woken up next to another woman. Now all he has to do is get rid of her, overcome his nerves, deflect the advances of a very demanding Judith and save Brian from a psychopathic Christian.

eries Four

Series Four began on BBC Three on Monday April 28 2008 at 10:30pm on BBC Three. Episodes were available on the BBC iPlayer prior to their TV premier, but not on the BBC website. It ran for eight weeks.

# The Pains: When Moz suffers a suspected heart attack, his girlfriend Nicki re-ignites her affair with the PC.
# The Past: Moz reminisces about 1993, the year he first moved into the flat.
# The Vodka: When Moz gets a visit from the drunken Jenny things soon get out of hand.
# The Secret: Despite Moz and Jenny's best efforts to keep their affair secret, it seems everybody knows what's going on.
# The War: As the war with the Low Triad heats up, Psycho Paul turns Moz's flat into a bootcamp.
# The Birthday: Nicki's birthday party doesn't go entirely according to plan. Moz splits up with Jenny, Nicki splits up with PC and mysterious neighbour "Fist" kidnaps Kim and Miko.
# The Television: It's all change for Moz as Nicki moves out and new love Jenny moves in and Moz gets his (so talked about) tv.
# The Future: Moz and Jenny get mixed up in the war between Stemroach and the Low Triad when tragedy strikes. Cartoon Head, Psycho Paul, and Steve finally go their separate ways.

Awards

On November 18 2006, Ideal received the Best Comedy award at the RTS North West Comedy Awards Fact|date=April 2007.

On DVD

A boxset of series 1 (excluding the Christmas special episode) was released in the UK on November 7 2005. It includes the following extras:
* Making of Ideal
* Out-takes
* Deleted scenes
* Commentaries from Johnny Vegas (Moz), Graham Duff (creator, writer and Brian) and Henry Normal (executive producer).

The second series was released on DVD on February 19 2007 [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000LRYTAE 1] .The third series was released on DVD on June 9 2008 [http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/5301768/Ideal-Series-3/Product.html]

References

* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000LRYTAE Amazon]

ee also

*Top Buzzer

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/ideal/ BBC Comedy - Ideal]
* [http://www.comedy.org.uk/guide/tv/ideal/ British Comedy Guide]
*
* [http://www.idealforum.co.uk/ UK based Ideal forum!]