As a fan of Edgar Wright and his films, discovering "Spaced" on Hulu a few years ago was an epic surprise. I'd had no idea that Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost had done a two-series television show in England and it came as no surprise that it was full to the brim with the geekiest of references. It's bound to appeal to anyone who loves their films and, as popular as their films have become with American audiences, I'm surprised "Spaced" hasn't found some sort of syndication on this side of the Atlantic to introduce a whole new audience. The premise of the show isn't something we haven't seen a hundred times before in other sitcoms but it's the execution that makes it stand out. The show opens with Tim Bisley (Pegg) meeting Daisy Steiner (Jessica Hynes); Tim has just gone through a nasty breakup and Daisy is hoping to move out of the flat where she's squatting with a bunch of losers. Options are scarce until they discover an advertisement for a flat available for "professional couples"
so Tim and Daisy agree to pose as a couple in order to move in. The series follows the lives of these two and their eccentric friends: militaristic Mike (Frost), struggling artist Brian (Mark Heap), fashion-obsessed Twist (Katy Carmichael), and their perpetually drunken landlady Marsha (Julia Deakin). Over the course of the fourteen episodes, they will pursue their dreams, form relationships, engage in robot battles, and, in Tim's case, come to terms with a crippling hatred for THE PHANTOM MENACE.
One of the coolest parts of Wright's films is the constant barrage of homage to other films he loves and, subsequently, influenced him. "Spaced" is no different, as each episode could be spent just counting the references to iconic films, television shows, and video games. It's a geek cornucopia. And to those fearing that the focus of the series is on forcing in Star Wars or X-Files sight gags, there is nothing to worry about. The show, written by stars Pegg and Hynes, is well written and consistently hilarious. Imagine a sitcom in the vein of "Friends" but aimed at the film geek crowd and better written. It's sad that the series only lasted the two series because fourteen episodes was enough to get me hooked but I would've loved to see where these characters lives went, especially since the final episode does sort of hint at some changes in the characters' dynamics. The first series was fun but it wasn't until the second series that the show really seemed to find it's footing and had some great stuff. In particular, the second series episode 'Gone' where it builds the most on the relationship between Tim and Daisy. The whole series is built on the usual "will they or won't they" relationship dynamic but it never really focuses on it, and this episode gives the two the most time together where we actually get to see them come a little closer over the course of one night's drunken/stoned adventure.
As fun as all that is, it's the bizarre characters that inhabit the world of "Spaced" that really make the show addicting. In its short run, the show managed to flesh out these characters better than most other sitcoms I've seen. Tim is pursuing his career as a graphic artist with dreams of drawing for a major comics company and, oddly enough for Simon Pegg, I actually found the character to be the least likable (note: not unlikable). Tim's somewhat self-centered and makes obvious on multiple occasions that he'd often rather not be bothered with others' problems while he pines away for his ex-girlfriend. Still, he's a goofball and he's got his moments. Daisy is far more caring but she's not without her own flaws. A professional procrastinator, she's slowly but surely working her way towards a life in journalism if she'd just sit in front of the typewriter long enough. Her feelings toward Tim become pretty obvious early on in the series but Tim's pretty oblivious to it all. My personal favorite would be Brian, the spastic artist living on the bottom flat. Mark Heap created the most memorable character of the series with Brian, always on edge and awkward beyond words in social situations. The episode focused on his reunion with a former artist colleague (series one, episode three: 'Art') is one of the best purely because we get the most time with his character, and his later (short-lived) relationship with Twist in the second series gives it some of the funniest jokes.
"Spaced" is a must-see show for anyone who fell in love with Wright, Pegg, and Frost in the Three Cornetto Trilogy films. It's all of the fun of their big screen features dished out in bite-sized 25 minutes episodes. While it doesn't have the same strong laughs that I found in "The IT Crowd", the characters and stories are infinitely more complex and the whole production has got Wright's trademark visual flair to give it some extra appeal. "Spaced" really was a great show and another prime example of fantastic British television.
One of the coolest parts of Wright's films is the constant barrage of homage to other films he loves and, subsequently, influenced him. "Spaced" is no different, as each episode could be spent just counting the references to iconic films, television shows, and video games. It's a geek cornucopia. And to those fearing that the focus of the series is on forcing in Star Wars or X-Files sight gags, there is nothing to worry about. The show, written by stars Pegg and Hynes, is well written and consistently hilarious. Imagine a sitcom in the vein of "Friends" but aimed at the film geek crowd and better written. It's sad that the series only lasted the two series because fourteen episodes was enough to get me hooked but I would've loved to see where these characters lives went, especially since the final episode does sort of hint at some changes in the characters' dynamics. The first series was fun but it wasn't until the second series that the show really seemed to find it's footing and had some great stuff. In particular, the second series episode 'Gone' where it builds the most on the relationship between Tim and Daisy. The whole series is built on the usual "will they or won't they" relationship dynamic but it never really focuses on it, and this episode gives the two the most time together where we actually get to see them come a little closer over the course of one night's drunken/stoned adventure.
As fun as all that is, it's the bizarre characters that inhabit the world of "Spaced" that really make the show addicting. In its short run, the show managed to flesh out these characters better than most other sitcoms I've seen. Tim is pursuing his career as a graphic artist with dreams of drawing for a major comics company and, oddly enough for Simon Pegg, I actually found the character to be the least likable (note: not unlikable). Tim's somewhat self-centered and makes obvious on multiple occasions that he'd often rather not be bothered with others' problems while he pines away for his ex-girlfriend. Still, he's a goofball and he's got his moments. Daisy is far more caring but she's not without her own flaws. A professional procrastinator, she's slowly but surely working her way towards a life in journalism if she'd just sit in front of the typewriter long enough. Her feelings toward Tim become pretty obvious early on in the series but Tim's pretty oblivious to it all. My personal favorite would be Brian, the spastic artist living on the bottom flat. Mark Heap created the most memorable character of the series with Brian, always on edge and awkward beyond words in social situations. The episode focused on his reunion with a former artist colleague (series one, episode three: 'Art') is one of the best purely because we get the most time with his character, and his later (short-lived) relationship with Twist in the second series gives it some of the funniest jokes.
"Spaced" is a must-see show for anyone who fell in love with Wright, Pegg, and Frost in the Three Cornetto Trilogy films. It's all of the fun of their big screen features dished out in bite-sized 25 minutes episodes. While it doesn't have the same strong laughs that I found in "The IT Crowd", the characters and stories are infinitely more complex and the whole production has got Wright's trademark visual flair to give it some extra appeal. "Spaced" really was a great show and another prime example of fantastic British television.