SPACED! AT LAST!

when i first heard about 'spaced,' i feared it would be like all those lame british comedies you usually see on PBS -- set in a department store of some kind, a really bad laugh track, stuffy humor, etc.  i really had no idea what to expect, but i bought in anyway because a trusted friend couldn't stop talking about it.   'what?! you haven't seen 'spaced?' it's the best british comedy ever!!' she said.  so, i tool a leap of faith and bought it off amazon UK.  [nerd alert] i even bought a region-free dvd player just so i could watch it.  about three minutes into episode 1, i was hooked.  all i can say is that my friend was not wrong. now, after seven years, 'spaced' finally got a proper US release on tuesday, july 22.  hooray!

the premise is fairly simple [two twenty-somethings posing as a professional working couple in order to rent out a flat], but big kudos to simon pegg, jessica stevenson and edgar wright for finding the madness, insanity, and hilarity in the mundane routine of every day life.  the laughs come pretty fast and furious, thanks the sharp dialogue, rapid-fire exchanges, frenetic editing and zooms, and unique camera angles.  all that is well and good, but it's pegg's and stevenson's charisma and charm that keep you coming back for more and more. 

if you're a fan of so-called pop culture, 'spaced' is a dream [they make a hack like diablo cody look like a cheap tijuana knockoff].  simon pegg's tim drops more references than you can shake a stick at--some you don't even catch until a second and third viewings.  you get odes to baywatch, the a-team, close encounters of the 3rd kind, the x-files, various comic book heroes [the flash, batman, etc], and, of course, plenty of homages to star wars -- including an hilarious dog rescue episode in which our heroes adopt the code names han, leia, luke, chewie and jabba. 

the supporting cast is uniformly excellent, too. twist, the fashionista who works at a dry cleaners; brian, the tortured artist who lives downstairs; marsha, the alcoholic landlady; and mike, the 'territorial army' reject and tim's best friend who once stole a tank and tried to invade paris.  tim and mike's scenes together are priceless, as is the entire paintball episode [#4, 'battles.']. 

but ultimately what sets it apart from other pop-culture wannabees is its heart [you'll want to have a hanky with you during the final episode]. if you're not fully in love iwth tim, daisy and the rest of the gang, you just don't have a heart.  that's all there is to it.

my favorite scene of the entire run is episode 5 of season two, 'chaos.'  watch and behold the genius:

i think i gave myself a hernia i was laughing so hard.  i must have watched this scene a couple dozen times.  it never gets old.

pegg and director edgar wright would go on to create 'shaun of the dead' and 'hot fuzz' [two of my favorite movies ever]. stevenson made a cameo in 'shaun,' but was sadly absent from 'hot fuzz.'  nick frost, who plays mike in 'spaced,' also starred in 'hot fuzz' and 'shawn of the dead.' rumor has it that edgar wright is currently working on the big screen adaption of 'ant-man' for marvel comics.

it's a shame 'spaced' lasted fourteen episodes.  however, given each episode's singular brilliance, you can't really blame them for going out on top.   so check out the entire first episode below.  you'll love it.



how's that for a slice of fried gold?