Bear Behaving Badly

- Season 1

(2007)

Young television presenter Barney Harwood shares a flat with his best friend Nev, a talking blue teddy bear. Across the hall lives Mr. Andy Prank - or Mr. Angry Pants as Nev terms him - the resident care-taker and ice-cream salesman, who is allergic to Nev, sneezing at his very presence and vowing to "get" him. His opportunity arises when Nev accidentally floods Mr. Prank's flat and he has to stay at Barney's, taking advantage of the fact that Barney is a heavy sleeper to pursue Nev.

Aware that he is going very thin on top and anxious to impress Postie, the flats' postwoman, Mr Prank invests in a wig, which he gleefully brings home. Unfortunately the wig seems to take on a life of its own and runs around the block stealing food from the residents. Nev and Mr Prank end up declaring a rare truce in an effort to hunt it down.

Barney is appalled at how lazy and greedy Nev is, and asks Mr. Prank to find him a personal trainer. Mr. Prank is only too happy to fill this role himself, making Nev run on a treadmill, which actually drives the motor on his ice-cream van. When Nev discovers that he has been duped, he runs as fast as he can to sabotage the motor.

When Nev accidentally turns off Mr. Prank's freezers, melting all his ice-cream, Barney organizes a raffle amongst the flat-dwellers to raise funds to save the business, the prizes including a night out with Mr. Prank and his services as a butler. Mr. Prank and his dim teenaged nephew, Bouncer-Boy, decide to cheat by throwing away all the raffle tickets but their own. However, they are observed by Nev and his koala friend, Crazy Keith, who turn the tables on the cheating pair, ensuring that Postie, the local mail-woman, who fancies Mr. Prank,gets a night out with the ...

Mr. Prank is outraged when a big blue portrait of Nev appears over the walls in the hallway that he has only just painted. He is convinced that the bear is the culprit and sets out to trap him, but Crazy Keith is less sure and decides to conduct his own investigation.

Mr. Prank is visited by Gordon Ramshorn, the notoriously tetchy celebrity ice-cream chef whose awarding of stars to ice-cream manufacturers can be career-enhancing. However, after he is set upon by Bouncer-Boy's savage cat Bandit, had water poured over him and half his shirt ripped off, he is in no mood to look kindly upon the ice-cream concoction, containing rotten vegetables ,that Nev and Keith have prepared to sabotage Mr. Prank's efforts. No stars then for Mr. Prank but Beatrice, his put-upon assistant, impresses Gordon when Barney puts her forward and she wins ...

Mr Prank returns from a holiday in America, having absorbed the culture. He adopts an American drawl and is sporting a cowboy hat. When Crazy Keith 'rustles' some of his ice cream Mr Prank immediately assumes that the culprit is Nev and challenges him to a Wild West style gunfight with messier weapons than usual.

Mr. Prank is expecting a visit from his brother, a fearless big game hunter, and, not to be outdone, he intends to impress him by claiming that he owns the building, calling it Prank Manor, and pressing Beatrice into service as his maid, and Bouncer-Boy as Binkie the butler. When Barney's pet tarantula escapes and crawls up the so-called big game hunter's shorts he is exposed in more than one sense.

Pirate Doug, a singing pirate-o-gram, arrives at the flat, sent by Uncle Rupert, with a series of compact discs which,if followed in sequence, will divulge the whereabouts of treasure hidden in the flat. The treasure is actually hidden behind the portrait of Uncle Rupert, but every time it is revealed everyone has their backs turned to it and assume that the ultimate treasure is health and friendship, as explained in Uncle Rupert's last clue.

A mysterious trunk is delivered to Barney's flat but when it is opened it clearly has magic powers as a result of which Barney disappears, Crazy Keith is turned into a cushion and the flat fills up with rabbits. It is down to Nev to reverse the spells and save the day.

Mr. Prank overhears Barney rehearsing for his part in the pantomime 'Aladdin' and mistakenly assumes that he really does possess a magic lamp which will grant him three wishes. So as not to disappoint him Crazy Keith dresses himself up as the genie, and, coincidentally, manages to conjure up certain articles for Mr. Prank. There are, however, limitations, as Mr. Prank will find out.

Barney is hit in the face with filthy water from a malfunctioning sink and asks Mr. Prank to fix it. The cause of the trouble is Crazy Keith's decision to install a water feature under the floor-boards, and, every time he turns it on it gives Mr. Prank a face full of dirty, gungy water. With a dish-mop projected onto his head, Mr. Prank runs out onto the landing, where Postie and Beatrice mistake him for a Swamp Monster and have him arrested.

Ever on the make to earn some extra cash, Mr. Prank decides to enter a local competition for rare and unusual pets at the local sports centre. His pet will of course be Nev. But Nev is highly resentful at being bullied into acting like a pet and is as disobedient as possible. Crazy Keith, on the other hand,is extremely enthusiastic to win, and even provides himself with an 'owner', a shop window dummy dressed in Barney's clothes, whom he christens Gary.

Barney's Uncle Rupert, who is the landlord and owner of the flat-block sends a message via Mr. Prank that he is planning to sell the building because he is in need of the money. Panic ensues with Mr. Prank trying his best to dissuade potential buyers and the others considering finding somewhere else to live. Amidst the chaos it is Crazy Keith who comes up with an idea to save the situation.

Despite Mr. Prank's best efforts to devise a super-efficient security system, Marvin the Mad Clown, a local burglar, climbs through the window of the flat where Beatrice, helped by Mr. Prank,is preparing a surprise party for Barney. He ties them both up with a string of sausages whilst searching for a valuable medallion hidden in the food. The good news is that a clown policeman arrives at the flat to arrest Marvin. The bad news - for Mr. Prank - is that the two clowns indulge in a pie fight and he is caught in the firing line.

It is Beatrice's birthday and Barney charges Nev with the task of clearing out the rubbish from the flat in order to impress her. However Mr. Prank is waiting on the landing to pounce on him and he has to go underground - literally - to see Crazy Keith in order to make his escape.

Mr. Prank is the only person to turn up for the auditions of Barney's pantomime 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' so there is no option but to give him the role of the fortieth thief, even though he is a terrible actor and has trouble remembering his lines. Crazy Keith, on the other hand, actually does mistake him for a real thief when he overhears him going through his lines and calls the police to arrest him.

It is the night before Halloween. Nev, a newcomer to the festivities, is unsurprisingly "fwightened" but Barney tries to hook him onto the joys of Trick Or Treat. However, Mr. Prank and Bouncer-Boy decide to exploit the situation by inventing a ghost called Headless Henry the Postman to drive Nev and Barney out of the flat, though of course it rebounds on them.

It is Valentine's Day but there is only one card for Barney and it isn't even from Beatrice as hoped but from his mother. Nev resolves to save the situation and cheer his friend up . On the other hand Mr. Prank is absolutely deluged with valentines from a 'secret' admirer. Could it be Postie, the mail delivery woman who is, to his annoyance, so besotted with him? He is determined to find out but at the end of the day there are surprises for all concerned.

Barney has won an award as best children's television presenter and is all set to go to a posh ceremony for his presentation. Unfortunately, the ever-helpful Nev has shrunk his dinner-jacket, and there is worse to come. There is to be dancing, and Barney has two left feet. Nev organizes some lessons with Beatrice, but help also comes from a most unexpected quarter - Mr. Prank, who proves himself to be a great little mover!

Barney's tricycle gets smashed and, in order to raise funds to get him a new one, Nev organizes a jumble sale among the occupants of the flat. Mr. Prank has inadvertently left his diary in amongst the jumble and it makes fascinating reading for Nev and Crazy Keith, enabling them to anticipate his next plots against them.

Barney is taking Nev on his first holiday abroad but unfortunately Nev decides to wash their holiday outfits in the washing-machine and, in the process, shreds their tickets and passports. Barney puts a brave face on but Nev feels extremely guilty and, to try and make amends, transforms the flat into an exotic poolside holiday location.

When Crazy Keith ventures out from his home beneath the floor-boards into the flat Postie sees him and mistakes him for a rat. Mr Prank phones for the rat catcher but unfortunately it is a robot, which, having caught sight of Nev, mistakes him for a rat and pursues him around the building getting more and more out of control.

It's Bouncer-Boy's birthday and one of the presents that he receives is a joke kit so it goes without saying that he is going to try out all the jokes on Nev, who eventually has had enough and gets his own back. He bombards the birthday boy with water-filled balloons and ensures that he gets his cake full in the face. To make it an even unhappier birthday for the nasty teenager he gets blamed for all the mess by Mr. Prank.

Mr. Prank hopes to make a fortune when he copies Beatrice's recipe for Double Chewy Honey Gooey ice cream, though his failure to pay her for it means she can't afford a new dress to wear when Barney takes her to the ball. To cheer her up Nev gives her a ruby ring Barney's aunt has left him but it gets stuck on her finger and the only lubricant to hand is the Double Chewy Honey Gooey ice cream. With Mr. Prank's potential buyer for it due to arrive, Beatrice gets her opportunity to save the day and make Mr. Prank pay for her new dress.

In order to drum up custom for Mr. Prank's ice cream van, Beatrice suggests that the gang make a commercial, extolling the virtues of his wares. Barney writes a jingle but unfortunately Nev and Keith's editing includes some rather too realistic shots of Mr. Prank shouting at customers and indulging in some very unhygienic practices.