[image-4]Published September 18, 2008.
Spaced: The Complete Series
Directed by: Edgar Wright
(BBC Warner)
Early on in British series Spaced, procrastinating writer Daisy (Jessica Hynes) manically suggests the idea of throwing a party to her new roommate, Tim (Simon Pegg). “We could have a glitter ball! I could make one out of tinfoil!” she enthuses. The hilariously lame party that results has a soundtrack featuring “American Pie” and “The Power of Love;” only three guests show up, and Daisy ends up making out with her surprisingly old paper boy. Spaced is co-written by Hynes and Pegg (the latter of whom went on to star in and co-write Shaun of the Deadand Hot Fuzz) and directed by Edgar Wright (the director/co-writer of both those films). It’s unsurprising, then, that the series is packed with clever film references ( One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction…) and I imagine that it’s that aspect of the series that appeals to famous fans like Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Matt Stone (all featured in episode commentaries). I probably missed a lot of the in-jokes, but I’m still laughing at that party-from-hell, and at childlike pretentious artist Brian (Mark Heap), a man who makes triptychs about pain in his dank apartment, then runs excitedly to the door when he thinks Father Christmas might be there.
–Lindsay McCarney
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2008.