Coupling - The TV Series
Created | Updated Mar 2, 2005
Coupling is a BBC romantic sitcom set in London. It centeralises around six friends - involved, formally involved or hoping to be involved - and their love lives. Most of the action revolves around the bar where they go together every night. Written By Steven Moffrat and produced by Martin Dennis, three series have been produced, and the format has been sold to NBC in America. Often called an English equivilent of Friends, though not by its fans.
Characters
Steve
Steve has been friends with Jeff for years. At the beggining of the first episode he is dating Jane, but meets Susan whilst having sex with Jane and asks her out. He has a tendancy for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, but is good natured and ready to stand up for male-kind against women.
Susan
Going out with Patrick in the first episode, dumps him then gets asked out by Steve in the ladies toilets. Works in the same office as Jeff and Julia.
Jeff
Poor Jeff never seems to get it right. He fumbles when talking to women and ends up giving them the impression he collects womens ears in a bucket or similar. Despite his lack in the practical, as it were, he makes up with the theory and has a wide knowledge of sexual moves, practices and facts. Tends to come up with strange ideas in a social context such as "Wouldn't it be great if breasts had a brain each". Has a special gift to appear in all of Steve's erotic dreams, much to the dismay of Steve.
Sally
Sally is Susan's oldest friend. She has always wanted to go out with Patrick but never seems to get the chance. She is a beautician and has set out to prove to the world that excessive use of moisturisers can defeat aging and even death. Develops issues at the drop of a hat and tends to retire to her "safe place" in times of consuming terror.
Patrick
Patrick was going out with Susan at the begginging of the first episode but was dumped. Has a reputation for being a big boy (wink wink nudge nudge). Very popular with women, but (or maybe beacuse of it) has no apparent subconcious and is very simple. Constantly annoyed that women around him keep saying "size" accidentally.
Jane
Jane was going out with Steve at the beggining of the first episode but gets dumped by him in favour of Susan. Very very stupid and extremely self absorbed. An "emotional vegitarian" ("I know vegitarians and i like the same films as they do" - Jane).
Julia
Not really one of the six, and only appears in the second half on series two amd the first half of series three. She is Susan and Jeff's boss and aslo becomes Jeff's girlfriend in the last episode.
Episodes
A list of episodes with original broadcast dates.
Series 1 (12 May 00 - 16 Jun 00)
FlushedSteve is fed up of Jane, his insanely stupid girlfriend. Susan wants to break it with her boyfriend Patrick. By chance they choose the same bar to do the job, and happen to bump into each other in the toilets afterwards, leading to an interesting first date.
Size Matters
Steve and Susan prepare for their first date, with help from their respective friends. But, when Steve gets to Susan's house he discovers a rather disturbing suprise.
Sex, Death And Nudity
Jane's aunt who brought her up dies, and Jane asks Steve to come the funeral with her, but when Susan comes too it leads to a whole string of misunderstandings.
Inferno
Susan cleans Steve's flat and accidentally finds a pornography tape in his VCR. When she eventually confronts him at a dinner party, he has limited time to think of a good excuse, leading to an interlectual debate about the differences between porn and erotica.
The Girl With Two Breasts
For the first time since, well, ever, Jeff finds another woman who seems interested in him. However it turns out that she doesnt speak a word of english, she is leaving the country the next day and, due to his unique chatting up style, she believes Jeff collects womens ears in a bucket.
The Cupboard Of Patrick's Love
Steve finds out that Patrick keeps videos of him having sex with all of his old girlfriends, of which Susan is one of many. Steve demands to see the video but Patrick refuses. Meanwhile Susan has also found out about the videos and goes to investigate.
Series 2 (3 Sep 01 - 29 Oct 01)
The Man With Two LegsEvery day, Jeff sees a woman get on his train, and get off again, but due to the amount of people on the train he only ever sees her left leg, but falls in love none the less. When she sits opposite him one day he makes a desperate attempt to chat her up, and for once, succeeds. By telling her that he has a wooden leg. It turns out that her brother lost his leg too, putting Jeff, yet again, in an arkward position. As he puts it: "I've finally met the girl of my dreams and i can't take my trousers off!"My Dinner In Hell
The day starts badly for Steve, but it gets worse. Meeting Marriella Frustrup in person completly blanks out his mind and he forgets Susan's name. Whats more, the TV is conspiring against him, embarressing him by showing programs about masturbation at the worst time. Then in the evening, a dinner with Susan's very open parents, where one misheard word means his evening has just begun.Her Best Friend's Bottom
Steve leaves his keys at Susans one day, and when he goes to get them back, finds out that Sally is using Susan's shower. He accidentally sees her naked and they try to make sure that Susan doesnt find out.The Melty Man Cometh
Sally and Patrick are attempting to bed each other, but come up against a problem on the way... the melty man.Jane And The Truth Snake
Jane gets fired from her job of Traffic Reporter, and looks to go into childrens entertaining. She accidentally overdoeses and creates a whole new person in the form of Jake the Truth Snake, a sock puppet who always tells the truth, getting her into lots of trouble.
Gotcha
It is Susan and Steve's anniversary. Steve books a nice restuarant but is plauged by the problem : should he propose to Susan now or is their relationship going nowhere. Back at the bar, Patrick runs into one of his old lovers who doesnt seem to remember him.Dressed
Jane meets a man at the pub and ends up being invited to his for dinner the following night. She goes along dressed only in an overcoat and nothing else, hoping to allure him. She then discovers that she wasn't the only guest to be invited.
Naked
It's Jeff's 30th birthday and he has met a woman in his company that he quite likes. She and he are quite similar in that they do not make good first impressions when meeting members of the opposite sex, but with a little help from Steve and Susan, Jeff gets a birthday party he will never forget.
The End Of The Line
Susan receives a phone call from a French client, Gisselle, who makes suggestive comments. Someone at the bar overhears and believes Susan to be French. She has to keep up the charade while she phones Steve. Steve on the other hand met a woman at the bar the previous week and made the mistake of giving her his number. The phone rings and he pretends to be Australian at Bruce's Bar and Grill to try to get rid of the woman (who is actually Susan though not admitting it). Very soon a whole web of misunderstandings, deceit and lies tangles them both up and puts their relationship in the balance, and the episode and the series ends up with Susan leaving thier flat crying.
Series 3 (September - November 02)
SplitSteve follows Susan but fails to get her to return to the house. The screen splits in two, Steve on the left and Susan on the right. From this point we see what each of them are doing at the same time. Steve gets Jeff and Patrick to go to the "Temple of Woman" (A lap dancing club) with him. Susan gets Sally and Jane to go to the "Temple of Woman" (Sally's Beautician Shop) with her. They both crawl home at 1 am
and meet each other...Faithful
Jeff, who, for once in his life, actually HAS a girlfriend, is being chased after by another woman in the office. Confused, he doesnt know how to respond, and has to call on the help of his friends. Meanwhile, Jane tries to convince her new christian boyfriend about the advantages of pre-marital sex.Unconditional Sex
Jeff meets Wilma for a drink with help from the Steve, Susan, Patrick and Sally by hands-free. She admits that she fancies him and offers him a night of no-strings unconditional sex. Steve, on the other hand, fails to impress Susan with his view of their relationship.Remember This?
Patrick turns up at Sally's at 3am, thinking that she is under attack from a spider, and accidentally interupts her an another man. The boys reminice about the office party two years before where the group first met. The girls also reminice, but from a slightly different angle.The freckle, the key and the couple who wern't
The Group meet Jane's new boyfriend, an avid christian who doesnt believe in pre-marital sex. Meanwhile, Jeff and Julia encounter a problem during their, ahem, "quiet night in front of the television".The Girl With One Heart
Steve and Susan hold another dinner party, and invite both susan and Patricks's new girlfriend, who doesnt't seem to mind the girls. Meanwhile Jeff tests out his new toilet aid. Dont ask.Perhaps, Perhaps, PerhapsThe three girls go into the bathroom at the bar to take a pregnancy test One of them is posative, but they don't know who. Is it Sally, with her old boyfriend Peter? Is it Susan, with Steve? Or is it Jane with The Pizza Man?
The End of Coupling??
In 2002 the rights to the show were sold to NBC in america, meaning that no more series of the show could be made. The plan was to remake the episodes with american Actors to put on after the last series of friends had been made. However, due to the, some might say, cardboardness of the american actors used, the series was a gigantic flop and after four episodes the rights were sold back to the BBC.
Series 4
All Change...At this point in the cannon Richard Coyle, who plays Jeff, decided to leave the series and so "Jeff decides to leave England for the quiet remote island of Lesbos". In his stead come in two new characters;
Oliver Morris
Comic book store owner Oliver is first met by the group as Jane's blind date. He has a tendancy to make a fool of himself and is described by Jane as a mix between an idiot and a puppy.
Tamzin
Oliver's ex-girlfriend who Susan meets at Anti-natal classes (though pregnant by another man). Nine And A Half Minutes
The same Nine and a half minutes from the view of three couples - Steve and Susan, Patrick and Sally and Jane and Oliver.
Nightlines
Susan rings up Sally in the middle of the night to complain about Steve, not realsing that the conference call setting is on.
Bedtime
Sally holds a dinner party in the hope of making patrick stay the whole night. Patrick, however, is determined not to be kept under the thumb.
Circus Of Epidurals
Susan and Steve visit antinatal classes, but end up with the whole group dragging along.
The Naked Living Room
Jane makes a suprise visit to Oliver's flat, not giving him enough time to hide all of his magazines. Just how long can he keep her standing in the hallway?
Nine And A Half Months
Susan's baby arrives suddenly, then doesn't, then does again. Meanwhile Oliver is round jane's flat, enjoying an evening of fun, and Sally finds a tape of Patrick sleeping with jane. It's not quite what he remembered though.
