Most filmgoers of the past six years will recognize at least one of the gentlemen best known for the subversive comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
However, unknown to most filmgoers is that these three comedic geniuses were first united in a British sitcom that debuted 10 years ago this past September. The name of the show was Spaced and North American audiences desperately need to be introduced to it.Â
Spaced follows the exploits of Tim (Simon Pegg) and Daisy (Jessica Hynes), two British 20-somethings who pose as a couple in order to rent a flat. Together with their closest friends, Mike (Nick Frost) and Twist (Katy Carmichael), their alcoholic landlord Marsha (Julia Deakin) and Brian (Mark Heap), the abstract expressionist artist who lives in the basement, they loaf about, play video games, bicker about the Star Wars prequels and pay loving homage to countless films and television shows.Â
Spaced is the stereotypical sitcom as re-imagined by someone like Quentin Taratino or Kevin Smith. Pegg and Hynes (who also wrote the show) envision the characters as true products of their day and age, communicating through constant references to pop culture, contenting themselves with work in a comic shop and bumming around in front of the television, watching Star Wars and playing Resident Evil.
The show’s references are nonstop and include the likes of a shot-for-shot reconstruction of John Travolta’s death scene in Pulp Fiction, Matrix-esque agents hunting down Daisy and the apex of the series, a John Woo-inspired imaginary gunfight in a back alley, complete with characters flying through the air in slow-motion, firing off dual imaginary guns.
At other times, the references are quite subtle and take an astute person versed in obscure pop culture to pick up on. Spaced rewards viewers that are like-minded to its characters, something that most sitcoms can’t boast.Â
The characters of Spaced are wonderful variations on character types we’re all familiar with: the passionate comic book geek, the aspiring writer, the alcoholic mother, the gun-loving man-child and the starving artist. Pegg and Hynes’s brilliance is mostly due to their ability to make these characters grow beyond the confines of their archetypes.
The characters are eccentric but not quirky and they’re funny without being childish. Most importantly, the characters exhibit real emotions. At no point does Wright attempt to extort an emotional reaction from the audience by dishonest sentimentality or a recycled gag. Spaced doesn’t ask for your affection — it earns it.Â
Although Spaced is primarily a comedy, it often contains poignant ruminations on life, love, work and friendship. As only the best sitcoms can do, the characters in Spaced grow increasingly endearing over the course of the series and become friends of sorts to the viewer. Tim and Daisy begin to exhibit a life that goes beyond the confines of the show and thus, it’s unfortunate that the series lasts for only the brief span of 14 episodes.Â
Fortunately for fans of the show, the creative minds behind Spaced haven’t stopped working together and Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz demonstrate that their talents keep improving. Â
So, if you appreciate good television, you owe it to yourself to give Spaced a try, if only to experience the best of referential comedy.