A couple of weekends ago it was Joshua’s birthday, and one of the presents he got was a DVD collection of all of the “Spaced” episodes. I was skeptical at first because I’m unfamiliar with British comedy, but I ended up absolutely loving it, and most days after watching a few episodes I find myself somehow talking with an accent. Unfortunately only two seasons aired, but those two seasons are packed with plenty of laughs and quotable lines that will keep you and your friends busy for a while.
“Spaced” debuted in 1999 and lasted until 2001 and starred Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes. Tim Bisley (Pegg) and Daisy Steiner (Hynes) are two down-in-luck 20-somethings that meet in a coffee shop daily, and through their meetings end up becoming the best of friends. They decide to become roomies, but to live in the flat of their dreams they must pretend to be a couple for their landlady, Marsha Klein (Julia Deakin). Also living in the building is troubled painter and tortured artist Brian Topp (Mark Heap). The other two and half stars of the show are Twist Morgan (Katy Carmichael), Daisy’s best friend and “fashion expert,” Mike Watt (Nick Frost), Tim’s best friend and Territorial Army enthusiast, and Colin, Tim and Daisy’s dog. Within the show’s fourteen episodes, these six characters manage to get themselves into dozens of inconvenient and hysterical situations, proving that you don’t need Hollywood and a star filled cast to produce a five star show.
Josh and some of our friends tried to get me to watch “Shaun of the Dead” before but I had always fallen asleep whenever we tried to watch it. After watching “Spaced” I now know I must see it because three out of the six main actors from “Spaced” are in Shaun of the Dead. The characters are individual and unique which is what the perfect television show does. Daisy is upbeat, optimistic and down to earth; Tim is the comic and gamer geek everyone loves; Mike is the gun-happy, dominant yet friendly male best friend; Twist is the bubbly and slightly arrogant girlfriend; Marsha is the aging cougar with a penchant for wine and cigarettes; and Brian is the no-one-understands-me, loyal friend that always pulls Tim and Daisy through in the end. Every personality characteristic is covered in some character or another, giving the show lots of life and variety.
The episodes are the perfect length and always feature an unpredictable dilemma that the crew always manages to resolve by the end of the episode. The episodes don’t repeat, either, as there is always new material circulating through the show. This includes the jokes and one-liners the show presents the audience (obviously minus the running jokes). Every episode contains humor that is always fresh and varied, so there really is something for everyone to laugh at on this show.
If you have any hesitation about this show, drop it right now, because it will blow away any preconceived ideas that you currently hold. The characters are enough to keep you interested, but mixed the show’s laugh out loud moments, random conflicts, and location, “Spaced” is the ideal 90′s sitcom to spend a weekend watching.
Related posts:
