Spaced
Every TV trend has an origin. The police procedural had Law and Order. The docu-comedy had The Office. The rise of Nordic Noir is down to Wallander and The Killing. The clever, pop-culture comedy? That’s all down to a short lived little show called Spaced.
The brainchild of comedians Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, they took their love of all that was pop-culture and mixed it with a bit of The Simpsons and Northern Exposure (a drama about a New York doctor living in Alaska) to create a sitcom like nothing before.
The show centred on Tim and Daisy, two friends who are forced to live together after a series of mess ups leave them homeless, and their utterly weird friends and neighbours.
Whether it is reclusive artist Brian who lives down stairs, Tim’s gun-nut Army reject buddy Mike or Daisy’s fashionista friend Twist, not a single one of them seems to have all the sandwiches in their metaphorical picnic baskets.
The secret to Spaced’s brilliance though is the mix of the banal and the insane. Characters going out to a club, going paintballing and a regular old mugging are made into crazed, silly and absolutely hilarious exploits. With this mix, the show never feels anything but completely joyous and unpredictable.
The show’s brilliant writing is only helped by the array of comedic talents on show. Pegg and Stevenson have a lovely on –screen chemistry and Nick Frost and Mark Heap as Mike and Brian are brilliant while Julia Deakin’s drunken landlady is a work of genius.
While the show only ran for two series, its 14 episodes really don’t really have a single low ebb.
Spaced was completely unlike any other comedy on TV in the late nineties. Pop-culture obsessed with bizarre, random characters, Spaced is without doubt the precursor to most TV’s best and brightest comedy shows that have hit the airwaves over the last few years. From Arrested Development and Community, through to The Big Bang Theory and even The Office, Spaced’s fingerprints are all over today’s comedy.
The show’s impact has been bigger than anyone could have imagined for the stars too, launching nearly all those involved into the for-front of the comedy world. While Mark Heap and Jessica Stevenson have gone on to great comedy careers on TV (for some time you couldn’t find a funny TV show without Mark Heap) it’s the main three guys that have taken the world by storm.
The trio of Pegg, Frost and Wright embarked on a film trilogy, lovingly mocking all their favourite film tropes and lampooning Hollywood better than pretty much anyone else can. Having achieved massive success with both Shaun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz, the three are back together for The World’s End, which is set to start filming this year.
They’ve had a fair bit of success separately too. Frost was just in Snow White and The Huntsman (a film now more famous for other reasons) and has made a nice little line in supporting comedy characters that Hollywood is more than happy to indulge in. Wright’s gone on to direct the phenomenal but unsuccessful Scott Pilgrim vs The World and is in line to become Marvel’s latest filmmaker. Simon Pegg, well, where to start. Genuine Hollywood star of both comedy and, surprisingly, action Pegg now has the clout and cache to pick and choose what films to drastically improve.
Eulogised across the industry and the internet, Spaced is more than worth it’s praise and is absolutely essential watching for any comedy fan. Heck, even the biggest sour puss in the world couldn’t resist the charms of Tim, Daisy and their pokey little flat.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
You can get hold of Spaced on DVD from Play.com right here.
Tagged in Simon Pegg TV Edgar Wright Nick Frost Hidden Gems