Spaced

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Spaced
The main characters of Spaced.
Genre	Sitcom
Creator(s)	Simon Pegg Jessica Stevenson
Starring	Simon Pegg Jessica Stevenson Julia Deakin Mark Heap Katy Carmichael Nick Frost Aida the Dog
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	14 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Gareth Edwards Nira Park
Executive producer(s)	Humphrey Barclay Tony Orsten
Running time	27 min.
Broadcast
Original channel	Channel 4
Picture format	PAL (576i)
Original run	September 24 1999 – April 13 2001
Links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Spaced is a British television situation comedy written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson and directed by Edgar Wright. It is notable for its rapid-fire editing, frequent dropping of pop-culture references and occasional displays of surrealism. Two series of seven episodes were broadcast in 1999 and 2001 on Channel 4.

Contents 1 Situation 2 Main characters 3 Recurring characters 4 Episodes 5 Style and references 6 Awards 7 Music 7.1 Track listing 8 Future 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Situation

Tim Bisley (Pegg) and Daisy Steiner (Stevenson) are two London twenty-somethings who meet by chance whilst both are flat-hunting. Despite barely knowing each other, they pretend to be a young "professional" couple in order to gain a (surprisingly cheap) flat in the distinctive building at 23 Meteor Street, and impress the landlady, Marsha Klein (Julia Deakin). Also living in the building is Brian Topp (Mark Heap), an eccentric conceptual artist and frequent visitors are Tim's best friend Mike Watt (Nick Frost) and Daisy's best friend Twist Morgan (Katy Carmichael). The series largely concerns the colourful and surreal adventures of the two as they navigate through life and decide what they want to do with their lives, come to terms with affairs of the heart, and try to figure out new ways of killing time in largely unproductive ways. Tim and Daisy repeatedly stress that they aren't a couple, but despite (or because of) this, romantic tension develops between the two characters, particularly during the second series.

[edit] Main characters

• Tim Bisley (Played by Simon Pegg): Tim, rarely seen without his skateboard, his Chocolate beanie or his PlayStation controller, is an aspiring comic book artist, amateur skateboarder and passionate follower of cult fiction in many forms (including video games, science fiction and especially - at least initially - the original Star Wars trilogy). He is a rather grumpy and short-tempered soul, quick to irritation at the slightest provocation, mostly because his girlfriend Sarah broke his heart and dumped him after an affair with her boss - and Tim's friend - Duane Benzie (played by Peter Serafinowicz). He's currently writing and illustrating a graphic novel about a boy who has been transformed into a giant mutant bear and the crazed 'Doktor Mandrake' trying to find him to replicate the experiment, but hasn't actually tried selling it because he's afraid people will laugh at both it and him. A traumatic incident in his childhood when attempting to cure a fear of dogs merely left him terrified of dogs, lightning and bamboo instead. He initially works at a comic book shop, the "Fantasy Bazaar" alongside the manager / owner Bilbo Bagshot (played by Bill Bailey). In the second series he landed his dream job as a graphic artist at Dark Star Comics. He demonstrates more of a work ethic than Daisy and has an adverse reaction to Twiglets, which make him violent.

• Daisy Steiner (Played by Jessica Stevenson): Daisy is an aspiring writer, although she tends to spend most of her time actively avoiding doing any writing - or any other actual work for that matter. Whereas Tim is often grouchy and sour, Daisy is sunny, enthusiastic and cheerful, and at times overwhelmingly so. She can also be a little aggressive though, as was seen when she joined an employment agency. She considers herself to be quite intellectual, even though she only graduated from university with a third class degree. She has a tendency to babble in conversation, making social interactions rather more difficult to navigate than they necessarily have to be. She also has a tendency to interfere in other people's problems or lives as a way of avoiding focusing on her work or her own problems. Daisy bestows most of her love in a shockingly high pitch upon Twist, and her dog Colin, a Miniature Schnauzer, whom she rescues from being put down. Daisy also possesses an innate knack for martial arts, although this is seldom called into use. Her greatest desire was to go to India and see the Taj Mahal, a goal which she accomplished between series one and two after having actually published some articles for a change (her trip was also aided by inheritance money from her deceased aunt).

• Marsha Klein (Played by Julia Deakin): Marsha, the permanently sozzled landlady, is never seen without a lit cigarette in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other. Once a promising young athlete, she retired from athletics after receiving a leg injury and became a groupie instead, resulting in several marriages that ended somewhat bitterly and a teenage daughter, Amber, with whom she is near-constantly arguing. She passionately lusts after Brian, an attraction which stems from a hazy, torrid incident in the past where rent negotiations became somewhat more sensual as a result of Brian's sheer poverty. She's utterly delighted to have new, young friends, which is slightly awkward as she's the only one who doesn't know that Tim and Daisy aren't actually a couple.

• Brian Topp (Played by Mark Heap): The lodger in the flat below Tim and Daisy's, Brian is a rather bizarre and somewhat angst-ridden and pretentious artist. Quietly spoken and intense, Brian gives the impression of being almost psychotic and sociopathic; in fact, he's just very shy and timid. His main artistic drives are anger, pain, fear and aggression, and his art is, according to him, 'a bit more complex' than watercolours; as such he frequently behaves in a tormented fashion, particularly when Marsha's lusting after him. He is in love with Twist, and embarked on a torrid relationship with her before they broke up midway through series two. Despite this, his sexuality is quite complex and frequently alluded to throughout the series, as he seems quite undecided at times. When directly asked if he's gay he replies that he is not, but in a manner that suggests he thinks he ought to be. At the start of the first series, he has a strong dislike of contemporary art but is quite talented in its use, and by the end of the second series he overcomes his disregard and proudly displays his abstract portrait of Twist in public. The character of Brian was originally written for Julian Barratt, who had previously worked with Wright, Pegg and Stevenson in their previous series Asylum. Barratt was unable to play the role so Mark Heap was cast instead.^[1]
• Mike Watt (Played by Nick Frost): Mike is Tim's best friend. He wishes dearly that he could join the army but unfortunately, owing to a painful incident (jumping from a tree, egged on by Tim) in their past which detached his retinas, he's ineligible and must instead console himself with membership in the Territorial Army. The first series revealed that Mike had been thrown out of the TA because he stole a tank and tried to invade Paris while on weekend manoeuvres in France. By the end of the first series however he was readmitted and even gained his sergeant's stripes. Mike is very protective of Tim, and subtle suggestions over the course of the series indicate that Mike may have a slight crush on him. Despite his military pretensions, Mike is a sweet and caring individual who is deeply hurt by being put aside in favour of Tim's growing relationship with Sophie in series two. The character was based on a recurring joke character between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (who are best friends outside of the series). When writing Spaced, Pegg included the character and persuaded Edgar Wright to cast Frost.

• Twist Morgan (Played by Katy Carmichael): Twist, Daisy's best friend, is (in the words of Tim) either 'sweet, but stupid, or an evil genius'. She 'works in fashion' (i.e. a dry cleaner) and is an atrociously superficial 'fashion fascist'. She is prone to giving backhanded compliments to Daisy, particularly about her size, weight or clothing choices. It is never mentioned in the series how Daisy and Twist met, though various extras on the DVD boxset state that they met at university. Although she and Brian are social opposites with apparently incompatible fashion sense, they did have an intense love affair, mainly based on sex, which ended badly. It is alluded though that they both still love each other.

• Colin (Played by Ada the Dog): Colin is Daisy's dog, bought from a dogs' home where he was shortly due to be put down, to cheer Daisy up after she is dumped by her boyfriend Richard. He is named after the cardboard box Daisy played with as a child when she wasn't allowed a real dog. Despite his mortal fear of dogs, Tim eventually manages to bond with Colin after they rescue him from being abducted by an evil scientist for animal testing. In the second series, after Daisy has returned from her travels in Asia, it is clear that Colin feels rejected by her. In the final episode she discovers he has been running off for secret rendezvous with an elderly - and rather sinister - neighbour. Daisy manages to retrieve Colin but, remembering the countless times he has been neglected and the promise of widescreen TV, he runs off again. However, when the old lady suggests changing Colin's name to Lancelot he returns to Daisy to play happy families with her and Tim. He has the ability to tilt his head sideways, thus prompting anyone who sees it to sigh at his cuteness. Colin is, in real life, a female named Ada (although this is incorrectly spelt as 'Aida' on the credits). A comment made by Nick Frost (Mike) during filming of a scene with Ada about dogs being unable to look up is referred to in the comedy film Shaun of the Dead.

[edit] Recurring characters

• Sarah (Played by Anna Wilson-Jones): Sarah is the ex-girlfriend that broke Tim's heart by leaving him for his friend, Duane, and kicking him out of their flat. Sarah is a rather antipathic person, feeding her own vanity with Tim's lame attempts to get her back, while, at the same time, ruthlessly ignoring him. She later wants to reconcile with Tim but he realises that he no longer feels the same about her.

• Richard (Played by James Lance): Daisy's boyfriend. Their pet names for each other are "Daisy Duke" and "Boss Hogg". They were in a long-distance relationship (he was living in Hull) but he later breaks up with her over the phone after she confessed to having cheated on him.

• Duane Benzie (Played by Peter Serafinowicz): The gravelly-voiced back stabber who stole Sarah away from Tim. He was Sarah's boss and Tim's good friend until Tim learned of their affair. In episode "Battles", Tim gets his revenge by shooting Duane in the testicles at close range in a paintball game. In "Gone", episode 5 of season 2, he steals Tim's keys in an attempt to extract revenge on him, only to end up colliding with a gang of young hoodlums in his idolised Mazda MX-5 and get beaten up by them.

• Amber Klein (Played by Theo Park (physical), Jessica Stevenson (voice)): Marsha's bratty teenage daughter. She and her mother constantly argue and the arguments always end with Amber storming out of the house. The sound of Amber leaving becomes a cue to Tim and Daisy that Marsha will come by wanting to talk. Amber's face is never seen. Marsha has called her "The Devil in an A-cup" (in the first season) and "Dutchess of the D-grade" (in the second season), among other things. In Episode 2 of Series 2, Amber finally moves out of 23 Meteor Street, because of rising tension between Amber and Marsha.

• Tyres O'Flaherty (Played by Michael Smiley): A Northern Irish bike messenger and a friend of Tim and Mike's. He is a raver and everyday noises such as a phone ringing or a car honking sound like rave music to him, often prompting him to start dancing. His raving (and presumed accompanying drug intake) also makes him prone to hair-trigger mood swings, and he possess a very short attention span and is easily distracted. He suspects Tim and Daisy are more than just friends. A zombie version of Tyres appears, very briefly (still dancing), in Shaun of the Dead.

• Bilbo Bagshot (Played by Bill Bailey): Tim's boss at the comic book store. He explains to Tim the story of Gramsci, the dog that attacks the rich on Hampstead Heath. He at one point fires Tim for his inability to get over The Phantom Menace, but later begs him to return, inspired by Tim leaving a message begging him to do so on his answer-phone. He once beat up his dad for saying Hawk the Slayer was rubbish.

• Damien Knox (Played by Clive Russell): The head of Dark Star Comics, the company that Tim desires to work for. When Tim first submitted his portfolio, Damien laughed him out of the office. Since then, Tim has been haunted by visions of Damien laughing at him and is afraid of submitting a new portfolio to him. In the DVD commentary it is revealed that he is based on Herr Starr from Preacher.

• Sophie (Played by Lucy Akhurst): Damien's beautiful assistant who helps Tim get hired at Dark Star. They immediately begin dating and have a fun relationship, much to the jealousy of both Daisy and Mike. In the last episode, she gets a job at Marvel Comics in America, and must move away.

• Dexter and Cromwell (Played by Reece Shearsmith and Jonathan Ryland): Mike's rivals in the TA. They destroyed Mike and Tim's combat robot in an effort to take their place in Robot Wars - but eventually have to settle it at the shadowy underground community "Robot Club" (a reference to Fight Club). Later, Mike earns the rank of sergeant and becomes their superior. In the final episode of the series, they assist in Mike's 'bloody spectacular idea' to convince Marsha not to sell the house.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Spaced episodes

[edit] Style and references

According to Simon Pegg, the series Northern Exposure and its frequent use of fantasy sequences was "one of the key influences" in the creation of the show. In fact, he and Jessica Stevenson pitched the show to LWT as "a cross between The Simpsons, The X-Files and Northern Exposure."^[2][3]

References to popular culture — particularly but not exclusively to science fiction and horror films, comic books and video games — abound in Spaced to the extent that the DVD of Series 2 includes the "Homage-o-meter", an alternative set of subtitles listing every reference and homage; for the "Definitive Collectors Edition" DVD boxed set, the Homage-o-meter was added to the first series as well.^[4] Providing the artwork for Tim's comic 'The Bear', drawings and doodles were 2000 AD artists Jim Murray and Jason Brashill, who also provided other incidental artwork for the show.

Spaced has a distinctive cinematic style set by director Edgar Wright and shot (unusually for a sitcom) with a single camera. In addition to borrowing liberally from the visual language of film (in particular genre films), it has particular stylistic mannerisms like the recurring device of scene changes occurring in the middle of a pan. The series' atmosphere is also established by the use of a particular flavour of contemporary electronica on its soundtrack.^[5]

The series is also noted for its regular references to recreational drug use, from its title onwards: Tim and Daisy are shown smoking cannabis on a number of occasions, the plot of "Art" is built around the after-effects of a night taking "cheap speed", and "Epiphanies", while not showing any explicit drug-taking, is full of references to the effects of ecstasy. The drug-taking goes unremarked, as a normal part of the characters' lives.

[edit] Awards

The first series was a nominee for Best TV Sitcom in the 1999 British Comedy Awards, and the second series was nominated for both a BAFTA and an International Emmy Award in 2002.^[6] In 2006, Spaced came 9th on Channel 4's The Ultimate Sitcom poll, as voted for by sitcom writers, performers, directors and producers, coming ahead of sitcoms such as The Office and Father Ted. However, in the BBC's 2004 poll Britain's Best Sitcom, the series only managed 66th place.^[7]

[edit] Music

Spaced: Soundtrack to the TV Series
Soundtrack by Various
Released	2001
Genre	Electronica
Label	4 Music
Producer(s)	Various

In 2001 a soundtrack of the first series was released in tandem with the first series on DVD and VHS. A second soundtrack was not released. A remix of "Smash It" by Fuzz Townshend was featured heavily in series two.

Spaced Out features the full details of the music used in series two at this link

The Guy Pratt remix of the A-Team theme music was never made commercially available.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Warm Up Music" (0:08)
2. "Theme Of Luxury" - Fantastic Plastic Machine (1:05)
3. "Count Five Or Six" - Cornelius (3:03)
4. "Beat Goes On" - All Seeing I (4:00)
5. "We're A Couple" (0:04)
6. "Gritty Shaker" - David Holmes (6:10)
7. "Smash It" - Fuzz Townshend (4:17)
8. "There Must Be An Angel" - Fantastic Plastic Machine (3:58)
9. "It's Over" (0:05)
10. "Homespin Rerun (Kid Loco Space Raid Remix) - High Llamas (7:47)
11. "We're Gonna Get Our Dog Back" (0:05)
12. "Absurd (Whitewash Edit)" - Fluke (3:39)
13. "More Beats And Pieces" - Coldcut (4:03)
14. "Morse" - Nightmares On Wax (6:20)
15. "If We Have It They Will Come" (0:04)
16. "Bobby Dazzler" - Sons Of Silence (4:53)
17. "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp (Chemical Brothers Remix)" - Mercury Rev (6:22)
18. "Disco Fudge" (0:13)
19. "Synth And Strings" - Yomanda (3:18)
20. "Test Card" - Fuzz Townshend (3:30)
21. "This Party Is Rubbish" (0:04)
22. "King Of Rock And Roll" - Prefab Sprout (4:23)
23. "S'Il Vous Plait - Fantastic Plastic Machine (5:39)
24. "Fake Sex Noises" (0:08)

[edit] Future

A third and final series has been eagerly requested from fans and considered for some time by the cast and crew (with Simon Pegg joking that it would end with a Blake's 7 style shoot-out) but a rumoured movie is not on the cards. Edgar Wright told the official fan website spaced-out that he is "torn" about making more Spaced and that "we have genuinely talked about it and have some neat ideas that could work in a Before Sunset / Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? kind of way". Soon after series two had aired on television, the official Spaced website announced that, "despite what certain national newspapers might have said, Series 2 is not the last series of Spaced. There will be a third series of Spaced - we just don't know when."^[8]

Many see the movie Shaun of the Dead, written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright and directed by / starring Wright and Pegg respectively (Jessica Stevenson made a small appearance), as essentially a spin-off of the series, featuring many of the same actors and set out in much the same way, and both men have acknowledged that the zombie sequences in the episode 'Art' were a key inspiration. Wright, however, points out the differences: Shaun has fewer pop-culture and movie references, and tries to avoid the clichés of recent horror parodies in favour of a more naturalistic style as its story progresses.

The success of Shaun of the Dead was unexpected, both in the UK and the US, and they proceeded to produce a second movie entitled Hot Fuzz, released in the UK on 16 February 2007. In a 2006 Radio 4 interview, however, Simon Pegg stated that he’d like to bring back Spaced for a one-hour special to "tie up all the loose ends".^[9] However, there have been no formal or significant commitments to a third series of Spaced, and no indication of a new series or special being commissioned.

Spaced premiered in the U.S. on Bravo in 2002. Only four episodes were aired. In 2004, the now-defunct Trio began airing the show regularly. BBC America began airing the series on June 23, 2006.

Whilst there is little indication that a third series will be produced in the near future, the recent Spaced: Definitive Collector's Edition DVD box set contained a documentary, 'Skip to the End', examining the making of the show and its cultural influence. Whilst primarily factual and based around interviews with the cast, crew and outside commentators, this documentary is notable in that it features an in-character 'epilogue' of sorts to the series in which Daisy and Tim briefly appear in the doorway of the flat, holding a baby - a brief conversation establishing that the baby is theirs and that they are now in a relationship. At one point Tim calls the baby 'Luke'.

During an Australian interview for Hot Fuzz with Sydney magazine The Drum Media, Nick Frost confirmed that Spaced would not be returning for a third series. “It’s dead. I know Simon doesn’t like to disappoint the fans so he says ‘ooooh, maybe…’, but I don’t have any sort of emotional attachment to it so I can just say it’s not happening.”

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Spaced Out - official, fan-operated website
• Edgar Wright Q&A on the Spaced Out forum
• Spaced at the Internet Movie Database
• Spaced at the BFI's Screenonline
• Spaced - the potted history - from Blather.net