Spaced: Series 1 and 2

Starring: Jessica Stevenson, Simon Pegg Director: Edgar Wright Original UK Premiere: 1999 Dvd Release: 12th April, 2004 Number Of Discs: 2 Format: Box set, PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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Spaced is a British television situation comedy written by & starring Simon Pegg & Jessica Stevenson, directed by Edgar Wright & broadcast on Channel 4. It is notable for its almost constant dropping of pop-culture references. Two series of seven episodes have been broadcast. The first series was a nominee for Best TV Sitcom in the 1999 British Comedy Awards. Tim Bisley, an aspiring comic book artist & Daisy Steiner, an aspiring writer. In order to secure the lease of their flat they falsely tell landlady Marsha Klein that they are a couple. Marsha, an aging divorcee rock chick, lives upstairs in a haze of cigarette smoke with her teenage daughter Amber & a regular supply of red wine. Also living in the house is conceptual artist Brian Topp ; regular visitors are Tims army-reject pal Mike Watt & Daisys best friend Twist Morgan, who is something in fashion. The regular cast is completed by Tim & Daisys dog, Colin & the characterful north London house known in the series as 23 Meteor Street.

DVD Extras: Series 1 includes trailers, out-takes, deleted scenes with commentary, cast, crew, & character biographies & a full audio commentary by the director & cast. Series 2 features a chaotic but highly enthusiastic commentary from the director & cast, including of course Simon Pegg & Jessica Stevenson, who also talk about some deleted scenes & why they were removed. There's an outtakes blooper reel, as well as a selection of raw location footage & a self-explanatory clip, Daisy Does Elvis. The most useful feature, though, is the subtitle Homage-o-Meter facility, which displays all the movie references throughout the series.

Spaced is a sitcom like no other. The premise is simple enough: Daisy & Tim are out of luck & love, so pretend to be a couple in order to rent a flat together. Downstairs neighbour & eccentric painter Brian suspects someones fibbing, & almost blows their cover with their lecherous lush of a landlady, Marsha. Fortunately he soon falls for Daisys health-freak friend Twist, while Daisy herself goes ga-ga for pet dog Colin. Tim remains happily platonic with lifemate Mike; a sweet-at-heart guns n ammo obsessive. The series is chock-full of pop culture references. In fact, each episode is themed after at least one movie, with nods to The Shining & Close Encounters of the Third Kind proving especially hilarious. Hardly five minutes goes by without a Star Wars reference, & every second of screen time from Bill Bailey as owner of the comic shop where Tim works is comedic gold. The look of the series is its other outstanding element, with slam-zooms, dizzying montages, & inspired lighting effects . Its an affectionate fantasy on the life of the twenty-something thats uncomfortably close to the truth.

The second series finds the gang at 23 Meteor Street a little older, but definitely none the wiser. Tims career is hampered by severe hang-ups over The Phantom Menace. Daisys career is just plain non-existent. There is still a spark of sexual tension between them, but its overshadowed by Brian & Twist getting it on. Propelling the seven-episode series arc is the threat of Marsha discovering that none of the relationships are what they seem, Mikes increasing jealousy & a new love interest for Tim. Thats the basis for a never-ending stream of in-jokes & references that easily match the quality of the first series. Tim has a Return of the Jedi flashback, then déjà vu in reliving the end of The Empire Strikes Back. There are spoofs of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Robocop, The Sixth Sense & comedy rival The Royle Family. There are guest spots from Bill Bailey, Peter Serafinowicz & The League of Gentlemens Mark Gatiss & Reece Shearsmith. Every episode is packed with highlights, but this series guaranteed geek pant-wetting moments have to be the mock gun battles, slagging off Babylon 5 & learning that The second rule of Robot Club is: no smoking. Jessica Stevenson won a British Comedy Award for this year. It deserved a whole lot more. , Paul Tonks

Jessica Stevenson is a British actor & writer, who is one of the creators of the sitcom Spaced. She was born in Lewisham in 1972 & brought up in Brighton. As a teenager she was part of the National Youth Theatre company & in 1993 played the First Midwife in Peter Greenaway s The Baby of Mâcon. She teamed up with future Spaced co-star Katy Carmichael in a stage double-act called The Liz Hurleys, then went on to television parts in the nursing drama Staying Alive & short-lived sketch shows Six Pairs of Pants & Asylum where the Spaced team of Stevenson, Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright first assembled. In 1998 she was cast in the supporting role of neighbour Cheryl in sitcom The Royle Family, which became a surprise hit & in 1999 cowrote & starred in Spaced. Since then she has had parts in Bob & Rose & Tomorrow La Scala on TV, Born Romantic on the big screen & also on the West-End stage & has been signed up to write & star in a Hollywood spy comedy called Double Au Pair. She appeared in the film Shaun of the Dead, written by the Spaced team of Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright.

Editors Choice: Spaced, View DVDology

Simon John Pegg is a British stand-up comedian, writer & film & television actor. Pegg was born in Gloucester & studied drama at the University of Bristol. In 1993 he moved to London & gigged on the stand-up comedy circuit before breaking into television comedy in Six Pairs of Pants, Faith in the Future, Big Train & Hippies. In 1999 he created & co-wrote the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced with Jessica Stevenson. For his performance in this series he was nominated for a British Comedy Award as Best Male Comedy Newcomer. Other credits include World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, a guest appearance on Black Books, the upcoming series of Doctor Who & the Factory Records story 24 Hour Party People. He also plays the mutant bounty hunter Strontium Dog in the range of Big Finish Productions audio plays based on the character from British comic 2000AD. Pegg co-wrote & starred in the romantic zombie comedy film Shaun of the Dead, released in April 2004.

Editors Choice: Shaun Of The Dead, Spaced, View DVDology

Edgar Wright is a British film & television director. He is the director & co-writer of the romantic comedy with zombies, Shaun of the Dead. Edar Wright started directing his own movies at the age of 14 & at the age of 20 made a spoof western, A Fistful of Fingers, which was picked up for a limited theatrical release & broadcast on the British satellite TV channel Sky Movies. He then directed a number of television comedy programmes for the UKs Paramount Comedy channel & the BBC. In 1999 he joined writer-stars Simon Pegg & Jessica Stevenson to create Spaced for Channel 4. Wright gave Spaced an unusal look for the sitcom genre, with dramatic camera angles & movement borrowed from the visual language of horror film. The critical success of Spaced paved the way for Wright & Pegg to move up the the big screen with Shaun of the Dead, a zombie comedy which mixed brit flick romantic comedy with homage to the horror classics of George A Romero & Sam Raimi. The pair are now reportedly working on a comedy action thriller.

Editors Choice: Spaced, French And Saunders, View DVDology

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