Series / Man O Man

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Ten men are judged by a Studio Audience of 400 women, and try to impress them by performing well in a number of rounds. After each event, the audience would vote on which man performed the best. If they performed well, they get a Kiss of Life - if not, Rule of Pool applies. The winner gets a Cool Bike to ride home.

The Spanish version has a page of its own.

Tropes in Man O Man include:

• A Lady on Each Arm: The host of the US version entered like this.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: One very common twist was to have the contestants' mothers backstage, and they managed to see the carnage unfold live!
• Audience Participation: The studio audience of 400 women get to vote.
• Awkward Kiss: One backstory from 1999:
  Chris: He [one contestant] once kissed a girl in a nightclub and when they separated, her two front teeth had come out and were in his mouth!
• Bait-and-Switch: Frequently hostesses asked to throw eliminated contestants into the pool would pretend to kiss the contestant... and then throw him in!
• Black Comedy: See The "Fun" in "Funeral".
• Cool Bike: The winner got this as a prize.
• Crossdresser: Played for laughs about Ali from Enfield in an episode from 1999:
  Chris: Number 2, Ali is a student of economics. He used to look like a mini professor when he was young, he loathes junk food and heights, and used to make his mum laugh when he was younger by dressing up in her hats and clothes!
• Crowd Chant: "In the pool!" when a man says something the women don't like.
• Dance Party Ending: Always one of these.
• Flowers of Romance: In one 1999 episode, Terry from South London appears and throws flowers to the audience on his entrance!
• The "Fun" in "Funeral": One contestant from 1999 worked as an undertaker for six months because "it was a good laugh".
• Hopeless Auditionees: One task required the men to sing along to a backing track of a song with a Double Entendre title, leading to some of these.
• Once an Episode: For no discernible reason other than to see how the audience would react, producers show photos of the contestants when they were young.
• Rule of Pool: I wonder what happens when one of the guys loses a round?
• Self-Deprecation: Chris Tarrant, scripted gagmeister in chief.
  Chris: Welcome once again to Man O Man, as always, a simple show with an even simpler presenter!
• Sled Dogs Through the Snow: Played for laughs.
  Chris: Tom Hughes is a drama student. His first job was a paper round but he was so lazy he used to get his mum's two poodles to pull him round on his skateboard!
• Snakes Are Sexy: One round in 1999 involved the three contestants left having to belly-dance while a professional put a live snake around their necks.
• Transatlantic Equivalent: Surprisingly for what is really quite a European format, this show was a one-episode wonder on UPN in 1995.
• Voted Off the Island: After every round, the studio audience voted the men off via a keypad vote. Funny how British host Chris Tarrant would use keypad audience voting on another show a few years later?
  • Played very straight in most versions, where the set was, for some bizarre reason, based on a jungle paradise.