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57 comments in total

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73 out of 76 people found the following comment useful :-
Possibly the best thing to ever happen to television, 10 January 2005
Author: Jack James (jack-71) from london

The whole two series was as close to perfect as I can imagine. Funny, beautifully shot, well-produced, the only downside was that there wasn't more of it. Perhaps the reason that it wasn't as successful as it should have been was that it didn't get a large enough audience. It was aired in a time when "The Royle Family" undeservedly won all the awards and praise, whereas Spaced was considered to be aimed at immature adolescents, film parodies and comic book references only worthy of an audience that doesn't know quality when they see it. And this is a tragedy, because, if television series' can be considered art form by any stretch of the imagination, then this is a masterpiece, something to be admired by others, a definite benchmark for all other programmes.

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60 out of 61 people found the following comment useful :-
All comedies should be like this, 3 February 2001
Author: Damian Keenan (dmnkeen@aol.com)

Having just watched this series again, I am prepared to say that "Spaced" is definitely one of the greatest comedy shows EVER!

Funny, striking, imaginative, clever, compassionate, sarcastic, inventive, etc, etc, etc. You get the impression that co-stars and co-writers, Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, just cannot write a boring line of dialogue or envisage a predictable scene. Using its "nothing new" premise (mismatched couple pretend to be romantically entangled to find a place to live), this show twists and turns its way off into many brilliant and original directions, while never failing to provide the required belly laughs along the way.

It uses movie in-jokes and references in a way that would make Tarantino envious, and the hipness of its execution makes it both a show that, paradoxically, is of the moment but is also certain to be talked about in ten or twenty years from now.

The cast are all first-rate: Pegg and Stevenson manage to be both madcap and touching, and are backed up by a sterling supporting cast of fresh and exciting talent. Julia Deakin as Marsha, the flirtatious middle-aged landlady and Mark Heap as the pretentious but vulnerable artist from hell, Brian, make a hilarious double act; Nick Frost is a real find as military mad Mike; and Katy Carmichael as the initially snobby Twist manages to be dotty without turning up the annoyance factor.

Even the guest appearances are great. My two personal favourites are Michael Smiley as the chemically enhanced Tyres O'Flaherty, a non-stop raver who even dances to the ringing of a telephone; and the excellent Charles Dale (II), who is usually cast as the heavy, but gives a marvellous comic performance here as the "yes man" security guard who helps our bumbling heroes rescue their beloved pooch, Colin, from an evil freelance vivisectionist!

Credit must also be given to director Edgar Wright who has created a unique and vivid look to the show, enhancing the script's wired look at the banalities of everyday life with his brilliant use of camera movement, lighting, cross-cutting, flashbacks, etc. Even if it wasn't funny (which it most emphatically is), "Spaced" would get top marks for being the best looking show on the box.

I could go on, but "Spaced" is a comedy that needs to be seen to be believed, and then seen again...and again...and again...

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46 out of 47 people found the following comment useful :-
Possibly the best British show ever!!!, 28 January 2005
Author: donna3939 from Up North, UK

Well what can I say??? The man is a genius.

Simon Pegg, Master of Modern Comedy and the gorgeous Jessica Stevenson (yes I did say gorgeous!) have written and starred in what I consider to be the best British comedy ever.

From Colin the lovable dog to Brian the nutty artist who lives downstairs, the script and acting is 5*.

Set in London with a fantastic cast including the hilarious Nick Frost as Mike (later Ed in Shaun Of The Dead along with Simon Pegg as Shaun and Jessica Stevenson appearing in cameo role) and Julia Deakin as Marsha, the permanently drunk landlady who lives upstairs, you know you're in for a great night on the TV.

It was a shame that there was only ever 2 series made however I can understand why it ended when it did.

Best character??? Brian as the somewhat over-emotional artist (Anger, Pain, Fear, Aggression...)

My favourite moments in the series??? Tyres enjoying the effects of the rave culture with the help of various household noises!!!

Best Line (episode 1) Tim : Daisy this is Brian... Daisy : oh hi, Do you rent downstairs?... Brian : Do you mean am I gay?

All In All - ENJOY!!! You Americans don't know what you're missing!!!

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40 out of 43 people found the following comment useful :-
More Please..., 20 February 2005
Author: samgisoad from United Kingdom

'Spaced' is, for my money, one of the best comedy series produced in the English language in the last ten years; genuinely, laugh-out-loud funny, scrupulously well-written, brilliantly acted and with a kicking soundtrack that has introduced me, at least (and I'm guessing a few others) to some fantastic little-known bands (Using LemonJelly long before they were famous, for example) - this must rank alongside 'Black Books' in its cult-but-inclusive appeal. The true genius is in the fact that you could probably watch this with your vicar and - apart from a low swearing incidence - they would find little to criticise (unlike, say, equally funny but edgier shows; Chris morris' work for example) but it still makes perfect post-pub viewing. When one sees the dross that usually passes for sitcom in the UK, once-great Shakespearean actors mugging at the camera and silently cursing their agent as the canned laughter robotically shrieks, you wonder why they don't just hand over the entire comedy drama section of UK TV to Pegg, Stevenson, Bailey, Moran and Serafinowicz. Please make more. Please.

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32 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
This is what I have been waiting for!!, 24 May 2002
Author: Fractalizer from Germany

I am writing this comment after watching _all_ 14 episodes of Spaced that are currently available in what was basically one sitting. Living in Germany I had been totally unaware of this rare gem among all the mediocrity and outright rubbish that is usually aired on TV until the owner of my favourite video shop (which specializes in US and UK imports) pointed out the Series 1 and Series 2 DVDs to me.

Right after I had seen about 10 minutes of the very first episode I was hooked. I am about the same age as the main characters in the series and many of their traits and interests seemed uncannily familiar. Maybe I should be a bit worried about being able to easily identify with Tim's motivations and obsessions or about actually knowing people like Mike myself... Uhm, I'll better not delve into all this, but let me say that watching all those familiar situations, topics of discussion and reactions of people being acted out so convincingly by the cast was pure enjoyment for me - unlike anything else I had ever seen on the telly!

And then there are the pop culture references. Most of them are to films or TV series. If you are a film buff or comicbook/scifi geek and have always got some fun out of the film refs in Simpsons episodes _please_ by all means watch Spaced! Not only are these scenes all very well done and intelligently embedded into the narrative - it's also the whole context of the series and its characters that makes all the references so, uhm, fitting and, well, funny. (It's a bit hard to describe really, and I'm not going to spoil anything by giving examples... just watch it!)

Taking in everything in one go I also found it nice that there's a consistent story arc that stretches across all 14 episodes, and I also liked the references to earlier episodes that were sometimes made, especially in the 2nd series.

Well. I must say I feel a little bad now about having blown all this on one single day. I mean, you're supposed to save good and precious things and use them sparingly over time. But sometimes things are so f***ing good that you just have to have it all, at once, until nothing's left.

So what do I do now with no more unseen Spaced for me to watch? Bloody 'ell, I'll just watch all 14 episodes again, tomorrow!!

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25 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Brilliant and entertaining!, 21 January 2006
Author: jag91772 from United States

Okay, so I happen to be a partying, comic book reading, horror movie watching, video game playing, thirty something-year-old gal from the US, who is also a major Star Wars geek. And according to some that is the only audience that this show would appeal to. Well, I disagree. It really spoke to me, for obvious reasons, and I think that the characters of Tim and Daisy are much of an amalgam of the people in my generation who want to succeed but are either afraid to take the risk, feel like they can't get a break, or are just to damned lazy to do so! But there is also something about the relationship of the characters that I think could appeal to anyone. And the peripheral characters are deliciously strange. I think that it's well written and acted. I think that it's funny, and weird and bizarre and just really, really fun to watch! If you liked Shaun of the Dead then you will definitely like this series. I only had one problem with it. They didn't make enough episodes!!!

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25 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful, 15 April 2001
Author: Alex Thorpe (a.thorpe@uea.ac.uk) from Wymondham, England

There simply isn't a better TV comedy around at the moment than Spaced. Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson's scriptwriting is so sharp and full of references it can sometimes be hard to keep up through the onslaught of hilarious jokes. With such well rounded characters it is just too good for words, it is the recognition humour and references that make this a wonderful comedy.

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24 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Exactly what french TV will never be able to do !, 4 November 2005
Author: Grégory Alexandre (pitcairn@wanadoo.fr) from Paris, France

"Spaced" has never been broadcast (to my knowledge) on French TV, so I bought the complete 2 seasons series on Amazon after seeing Shaun of the Dead, which I consider to be one of the best comedies ever. Well, even without any subtitles (I get around in English), "Spaced" appears to me as the exact epitome of what British TV can do at its best : a perfect brew of comedy, rhythm, political incorrectness, extraordinary acting, stylish writing, socially-oriented matters... I really was mesmerized at the creativity both screenwriters and director displayed all along the 14 episodes, always renewing what could be taken as pure show-off style on the first one. This is why I love British comedy, TV & cinema. Wit. Man do they have it. Simon Pegg if you ever read this : you ARE the Force !

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20 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
It's life Tim, and boy, do they know it., 9 January 2003
Author: Eristophanes from The asylum for the confused and befuddled

"Spaced" is like watching the cartoon of the life of the average SFX reader or Ain't-it-Cool UK talkbacker. It's the closest thing to fanboy (and fangirl) heaven there is. By that, I don't mean it's a perfect word for word film version of Lord of the Rings nor even a big BBC production of Asimov's Foundation trilogy. No, this is where really good fanboys (and fangirls) go when they die.

Set around the lives of Tim Bisley and Daisy Steiner sharing a ground floor flat somewhere in North London it shows in a disturbingly honest way the lives of the average late 20-something, recently moved to London, wannabe creative, painfully middle-class, skint people in much the same way that David Attenborough might bring to life the daily trials of a family of pandas. Their many rituals and habits are studied in detail as they go about carving their way in the cruel world around them. We see them go clubbing, going to sign on, in the pub, and rescuing dogs from animal testing laboratories. The one thing that leads me to think that this is only a sitcom and not real life is that their flat is always suspiciously clean.

As Tim is a struggling graphic artist trying to break into the world of comic illustration, it's appropriate that the characters are all cartoons themselves. They almost spew stylised behaviour, phrases and clothes. Some even have their own signature moves such as Brian's standardised description of his 'work' when he is asked what he paints. The editing follows this lead with many cut-aways into people's thoughts much in the manner of a thought bubble. The sheer quantity of cultural references is staggering. However, having lived a life similar to this, I know the number of cultural references in real life is at about the same level.

If you're currently aged between 27 and 34, this is the only sitcom you'll ever need to see again. Well, Black Books is pretty good too. Anyway, there are few things that make me laugh as much of this. If you know the words to the Ewok song, watch this.

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13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Americans should watch "Spaced", 30 January 2005
Author: Celeste Avonne from San Marcos, Texas

I've just spent five hours watching the most terrific British sitcom, "Spaced." Now my inner voice speaks with an English accent and I'm left wondering if maybe I grew up on the wrong side of the Atlantic. I am an American viewer, and I'm sad that it has taken so long for this show to reach the States.

In "Spaced" there are references comic books, Tekken, and Evil Dead II. It is also worth noting that Tim, one of the main characters in "Spaced," lost his job over "The Phantom Menace."

I thoroughly enjoyed my hours of uninterrupted British indulgence. I recommend "Spaced" because it's so darn funny. Tim, played by Simon Pegg, is the assistant manager of a comic book shop. His boss's name is Bilbo Bagshot (I'm serious) and said boss has slugged people out on at least two occasions because the one getting slugged said that "Hawke the Slayer" was crap. Also, Peter Serafinowicz (aka the Voice of Darth Maul) turns up as the slick-suit who stole Tim's girlfriend away. They have a great showdown on a paintball course.

Also wonderful is Daisy (Jessica Stevenson), the other main character. She's a writer, but comes up with all sorts of creative ways to avoid actual writing. The in-jokes are brilliant, the directing is fresh, the acting is endearing without being sappy. The next time this show airs on Trio or BBC America, grab some popcorn and hoard the remote because you'll want to watch all of it.

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