Petting Zoo: Spacing out on Spaced
Melissa Mary Smith COLUMNIST
Issue date: 11/24/09 Section: Opinion
Ever since I can remember, I've enjoyed British comedy.
Growing up, I would tune into late-night PBS for its BBC America feed. I was drawn to British TV shows like "Black Adder" and reruns of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"; shows like these were the bread and butter of my odd sense of humor.
I found a wonderful absurdity to British comedy and could never understand why people would use adjectives such as dry and boring to describe it.
Over the past few years, the Brits' comedy has increasingly become more accepted by American TV viewers.
We even seem to enjoy copying their comedic formulas and sitcoms, as seen in the case of "The Office."
One surreal British sitcom that I kind of think fell under the radar in American TV culture is "Spaced."
First airing in 1999, "Spaced" was a mere two seasons (14 episodes) of geeky bliss. It came and went abruptly, but with its posthumous DVD box-set release, it's slowly begun to strike a chord with nerds everywhere, myself included.
Making pop culture references to "RoboCop," "The Omen," "Strontium Dog" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Spaced" stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, of "Shaun of the Dead" fame.
"Spaced" was the brainchild of Jessica Hynes and Simon Pegg, and was directed by Edgar Wright, director of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz."
The show is smart, but not pretentious, in its comedy. The scenes almost run into one another and the overall flow of the show feels like one, continuous "Python" skit.
Tim and Daisy, played by Pegg and Hynes, are down on their luck and freshly out of relationships.
Their break-ups leave them homeless, and upon a chance meeting at a local fast food diner, they decide to orchestrate a fake relationship in order to move into a couples-only flat.
The lengths they go to to fool their soon-to-be landlord, Marsha, are hilarious and include spending an entire day taking pictures together and remembering trivial information about one another.
Growing up, I would tune into late-night PBS for its BBC America feed. I was drawn to British TV shows like "Black Adder" and reruns of "Monty Python's Flying Circus"; shows like these were the bread and butter of my odd sense of humor.
I found a wonderful absurdity to British comedy and could never understand why people would use adjectives such as dry and boring to describe it.
Over the past few years, the Brits' comedy has increasingly become more accepted by American TV viewers.
We even seem to enjoy copying their comedic formulas and sitcoms, as seen in the case of "The Office."
One surreal British sitcom that I kind of think fell under the radar in American TV culture is "Spaced."
First airing in 1999, "Spaced" was a mere two seasons (14 episodes) of geeky bliss. It came and went abruptly, but with its posthumous DVD box-set release, it's slowly begun to strike a chord with nerds everywhere, myself included.
Making pop culture references to "RoboCop," "The Omen," "Strontium Dog" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Spaced" stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, of "Shaun of the Dead" fame.
"Spaced" was the brainchild of Jessica Hynes and Simon Pegg, and was directed by Edgar Wright, director of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz."
The show is smart, but not pretentious, in its comedy. The scenes almost run into one another and the overall flow of the show feels like one, continuous "Python" skit.
Tim and Daisy, played by Pegg and Hynes, are down on their luck and freshly out of relationships.
Their break-ups leave them homeless, and upon a chance meeting at a local fast food diner, they decide to orchestrate a fake relationship in order to move into a couples-only flat.
The lengths they go to to fool their soon-to-be landlord, Marsha, are hilarious and include spending an entire day taking pictures together and remembering trivial information about one another.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Britcom Fan
posted 11/24/09 @ 11:59 AM EST
If you liked Black Adder and Spaced, check out Black Books (Bill Bailey is awesome) and Peep Show. You will die laughing from both.
madge
Melissa Mary Smith
posted 11/24/09 @ 7:50 PM EST
I am a pretty big Black Books fan, actually. Dylan Moran is my hero on that show.
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