“Spaced”
BIG thanks to Rich Johnston for shipping me a copy of the first series of “Spaced,” a British television series that has yet to make it here to the states. If you go looking for reviews of the series you’ll generally find they’re all positive, and that’s for good reason: it’s a damn good show.
I’ve been sitting here trying to find a way to describe the show for my fellow American’s without it coming off as “inside baseball geeky” or just plain “Ally McBeal” lame. Quick recap of first episode, Daisy meets Tim at a cafe. Daisy needs to find a new flat because hers is a rat infested shithole with drugged out squatters. Tim just got “chucked” by his girlfriend and needs a new flat as well. Daisy’s having a hell of a time finding anywhere to live, feeling all the good places have been snatched up by psychic house finders of some sort. Then, she sees an ad for a real deal of a furnished residence, but the requirements include couples only. So, Daisy decides (remember, they hardly know each other and just met) that they should fake being a couple in an effort to get the place. OOOOOOOOOOOkay! BTW, Daisy’s a wannabe journalist (she knows how to do it, she’s just the worlds greatest procrastinator) and Tim’s a wannabe comic artist (he does the art, but hasn’t had any success at it yet and works as the asst. manager at a comics shop).
The duo of Tim and Daisy are very appealing and quirky, but it’s the neighbors at the apartment who steal the show. Marsha, the manly looking landlord, and Brian, the downstairs lodger who isn’t quite sure if he’s gay or not (at least his answer to the question is an odd one, even though he may or may not be sleeping with Marsha) are two very, very funny odd beings. Much like “Alley McBeal” (how the fuck does that bitch spell her name anyway?), the show uses specialized direction techniques to tell the story, but in a much more intelligent and imaginative way than David E. Kelly could ever imagine.
I’ve been radically sick the past 10 days or so, so when the DVD arrived it helped while away my time in bed something nice. I’ve seen five of the first seven episodes and they get better and better. The last two episodes I saw where Daisy’s Dog gets abducted were damn hillarious.
Seeing as how this is a Channel 4 production and not BBC, I don’t know if it’ll ever end up on BBC America, but maybe Bravo could pick it up. Both the first and second series are available on Region 2 DVDs and I can say if you liked both “The Office” and “Coupling,” you should enjoy “Spaced” as well.
Thanks again Rich! You did good on this one, although I’m still not sure about “The League of Gentlemen” yet. It’s either the most incredibly brilliant thing I’ve ever watched, or the worst case of diarhea ever. “Dave? Is Dave there?”
Shit. That reminds me, I still need to mail his copy of “Mallrats.” Rich, I’ll be making a trip to the Post for you tomorrow. Damned customs forms.
