h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: 'Spaced' - the TV Series - A3293381
Author: Nonentity - U225438

An overview of one of the most innovative UK comedy series in a long while.

I never watched 'Spaced', now I wish I had....

Good job!

Thanks.

I only got curious about it after watching 'Shaun of the Dead', reading about all the references to it on the imdb and a friend told me I was mad not to have seen it. And I was!

The new DVD boxset is well worth checking out - besides both series and oodles of extras, it contains an excellent feature-length documentary.

Great entry - I loved Spaced - it must be time for a repeat, surely!

Really interesting about Nick Frost not being an 'actor' - an undiscovered talent there, I think! One thing you might mention is that Mark Heap also starred in the recent, and equally fantastic 'Green Wing'.

Oh, and:

Although it looked as though Tim and Daisy's future was fairly certain. Nobody knows when or indeed if a third series will be made. => Although it looked as though Tim and Daisy's future was fairly certain, nobody knows when or indeed if a third series will be made.

Claire

Thanks Claire.

Funny how you can re-read your own stuff hundreds of times and still miss the most obvious errors!

I'll add the info about 'Green Wing'.

Cheers

No probs - good luck with this!

Thanks!

Cracking - this is one of my favourite TV series ever!

On first glance, the one thing I would say is that Tim meets Daisy in a cafe rather than a restaurant.

I'll be back for a more detailed look later

Maybe it might be nice to mention the references to the A-Team as well - from "You're like Mr T, only white and hairy" to Mike being the centre of attention in the club...

Okay.

Will add 'The A Team' to the list of homages. Yes, it was a café - sometimes the right word escapes you when you're writing it!

Cheers

I wonder when BBC America will pick this up? I hope it's soon!

Since I'm not at all familiar with the series I can't really comment on content, other than that I didn't find it lacking in any way; I didn't have unanswered questions at the end.

I did, however, find a couple of technical errors...

--Unlike other proposed tv comedies at this time, the two writers were pleasantly surprised to find that, due to the strength of their script, a pilot 1 was not required, and that they could go ahead with seven episodes, as an LWT/Paramount co-production to be shown on the UK terrestrial station Channel Four. >> This can probably be at least two sentences. Also, there shouldn't be a space between 'pilot' and the footnote.
--Footnotes 8 and 9 should go before the full stops.
--In the John Woo footnote, you might mention a title.
--Need a space between footnote 11 and Shaun.

Great entry!
Hope I get to see the show sometime

Thanks so much.

I've now corrected the technical stuff. (The 'Shaun' footnote already has a space - it just displays that way.)

As I posted earlier in this thread, you can re-read your stuff loads of times and are so busy checking the content, you still miss things that stick out like a sore thumb. I daresay there'll be one or two more... Just goes to show we Sub-Editors are human too!

Have added 'Face/Off' as a John Woo example - it's as good as any.

Grateful to you!

Marvellous. Deserves a place in the EG
HF

Thanks!

Great entry

I have a couple of suggestions. Might it be worth mentioning that Mark Heap (Brian) worked with Simon Pegg (Tim) on a sketch show called 'Big Train' (probably best remembered for the 'World Stareout Championship' animations)? Kevin Eldon from 'Big Train' also appears in Spaced at least once - I think he was the 'Matrix' agent and he might have reappeared as something to do with Robot Wars, but I could be wrong about that.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/b/bigtrain_66600630.shtml

I have a slight quibble with the introduction:
"The fact that such a thing could be devised in Britain made it even more out of the ordinary."

I think (and it's just my opinion) that Britain is quite good at that particular kind of surreal sitcom...

I forgot about Big Train! Another really funny sketch show - especially the showjumpers playing at being firemen, and the office manager with the innovative way of distracting his complaining staff members (bringing out cute little kittens)!

Fried gold Nonentity


All round excellent entry

Maybe have a footnote saying something about Bill Bailey eg. British stand up comedian who also starred in Channel 4 comedy 'Black Books' which Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson and Nick Frost have all appeared in.

I'm not sure it's worthy of the 'fried gold' accolade, but thank you anyway!

I've incorporated all your suggestions.

I've only slightly changed the opening paragraph. What I was trying to impart was that it was unusual for Britain to produce a comedy that was not only funny, but also surreal and multi-levelled - all of those things.

The current wisdom is that the US does tv comedy better than anyone. I personally would beg to differ on that one, since I've yet to find one that makes me laugh. (Written by committee, then re-written during recording when nobody laughs, then dubbing laugh tracks when STILL nobody laughs... Don't get me started on American tv comedies! Matron! Take them away!)

Sorry. Rant over. Anyway, thanks for all your suggestions and kind comments.

Further to adding your suggested content, I have now reduced the amount of footnotes by incorporating some of them into the main body of the entry.

They were threatening to make a Guide Entry in themselves!

Hope it still reads okay.

Hello

Another bit of info, Simon Pegg worked with Bill Bailey on the series 'is it Bill Bailey?' the badly scheduled and unjustifiably unrepeated BBC2 series. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144054/

Researcher PSG

Good one! I really must dig out my video of the second series (which I've never yet managed to watch).

Mol