Spaced
The archetypal slacker comedy, Spaced is held in awed esteem by those who think Star Wars is the highest form of cultural expression and Pot Noodles are tastier than a three-course meal at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. That'd be us then.
Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Jessica Stevenson (now Hynes, but still Jessica), Spaced tells the story of two young 'professionals', Tim and Daisy, who meet by chance in a cafe and pretend to be a couple in order to secure a flat in north London. Amazingly, it works, and they don't even fall in love in the process.
Once they're in, it's time to sort out their lives. Daisy wants to be a journalist and Tim wants to spend more time with his PlayStation, but chain-smoking landlady Marsha, and twitchy and tortured artist Brian, who live in flats elsewhere in the house, make it their business to complicate matters. Then there's Tim's best mate Mike, who once stole a Chieftain tank and tried to invade Paris during TA manoeuvres. The perfect bloke to have over at all times, looking vaguely scary, then.
What really sets it apart from just about every single sitcom ever made (and we don't say that lightly) is the surreal, dream-like atmosphere of the thing. Director Edgar Wright, who's since become a Hollywood bigshot with films like Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World on his bulgy CV, honed his skills with Spaced, and it shows. Whole scenes are gorgeous homages to everything from Star Wars to the Resident Evil computer games, all enacted within a dark and vaguely sinister residence that's a bit Young Ones and a bit Rising Damp, on acid.
And then there are the characters themselves. Grumpy, pop culture-addled Tim and cheery but almost awe-inspiringly lazy Daisy have become icons of sitcomland, but Brian is also a work of genius, character-wise. A bit like character from Munch's Scream painting come to life, he spends most of his time committing physical atrocities upon himself, howling in the dark and avoiding the advances of landlady Marsha, who finds him inexplicably attractive. Pub trivia factoid: Brian was originally going to be played by future Might Booshy beardie Julian Barratt, who had worked alongside Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson (aka Hynes) in a now almost forgotten 90s series called Asylum. Which also happened to be the launchpad for director Edgar Wright. Frankly, you're not a proper fanboy or fangirl unless you've seen the show, if only because it's almost impossible get hold of. (Although some say you can catch it on Norman "Holly" Lovett's website... keep it under your hat.)
And if that digression struck you as fanciful and largely pointless, then get used to it. Spaced is full of twisty, turney asides and scenes-within-scenes (again, a bit of Young Ones influence there, we reckon). There's also a lot of casual drug use, which is one of the things that helped it NOT get the woeful US remake treatment. For a large and scary time, just such a thing was on the cards, but thankfully "McSpaced", as it was dubbed by Edgar Wright, never materialised.
A proper landmark in the history of sitcoms, Spaced didn't just help launch Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as two of the most popular comic actors of our era – it also ushered in a new wave of wonderfully offbeat shows. Black Books, Green Wing and Peep Show all owe something to the dark genius of Spaced. Oh, and sci-fi freaks, comics nerds, genre movie addicts and anyone who grew up worshipping Boba Fett will be eternally grateful for a show that celebrates geekdom of all kinds.
When is it on?
The series is currently off-air.
Simon Pegg
Simon's always kept his friends close, and why not when they're Nick Frost, Edgar Wright, David Schwimmer and Chris Martin?
Spaced vs Peep Show
Both variations on the traditional sitcom, but in the great comedy war would you be geeking out with the Spaced crew or cowering in the JLB office with Mark and Jez?
Spaced Series 2 quiz
Were you paying attention, or about as clued up as Marsha, three bottles in?
Which Spaced character are you?
If you were a resident of Meteor St would you be a geeky Tim, a lazy Daisy, a mental Mike or a gloomy Brian?
Comments
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Ace692 | 9 Jan 10
Just fantastic. Dave is so on the ball when it comes to comedy.
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Lingdada | 19 Dec 09
Spaced is an absolute No1 classic,clever,and hilarious and I wish I'd written it!!
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stephaniewoohoo | 9 Nov 09
jus wonderin are you guna show series 2?
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stephaniewoohoo | 3 Nov 09
lovin dees reruns fantastic
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stephaniewoohoo | 27 Oct 09
outstandin dave is replayin spaced kudos both series were outstandin simon pegg and nick frost rock th show
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SofiaL44652 | 26 Oct 09
Oh no! I thought it was starting tonight - I missed the first one last week :( It was great to see again tonight, even if it was the second one. Love it :)
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Jake Gould | 21 Oct 09
Well we see where they end up really on the SPACED documentary, I take it as cannon that they have "Luke" :P
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skbromley | 21 Oct 09
I'd love to see where Tim and Daisy are at now, but the Peggster has gone on record and said there will not be a third series. :'(
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fuzztastic | 21 Oct 09
Spaced is amazing , i have the boxset twice , but i still watched it on tv monday. i agree Spaced needs a series three nows the time to bring it back
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skbromley | 21 Oct 09
>I have it on both DVD's too, normal and special, haa And me. It's a beautiful thing. Haaaaaa.
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Jake Gould | 20 Oct 09
I have it on both DVD's too, normal and special, haa
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skbromley | 20 Oct 09
I have this on DVD - twice - yet I still wanted to watch this last night, simply because it SO deserves to be watched. Unfortunately, I couldn't - the television was spoken for - but it remains, in my mind, one of the best sitcoms ever written. On a completely different note, ten years ago, when this was first showing, I went to see Eddie Izzard live. And I'm going again this weekend. Isn't it funny how history repeats itself?
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Jake Gould | 18 Oct 09
Thank God somones trying to revive the best sit com ever. This series NEEDS a come back badly, come on lets roll!











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Ace692 | 9 Jan 10
View all commentsJust fantastic. Dave is so on the ball when it comes to comedy.