Up until last week I’d considered myself a “fan” of Spaced. I’d watched the series through over 10 times; I could quote it from memory and even used bits in daily conversation at work (sadly none of my co-workers ever got it…ever). But Goddamn, I was so wrong. How could I claim to be a fan when my only viewing copy was a bootleg DVD Rip of the BBC release? I’d never heard the original audio commentaries from the cast and crew. I’d never seen the hours upon hours of bonus footage and supplementary materials. I’d never even watched the series in a format that did it justice.
For that last reason alone the boxed set of Spaced has become a vital cornerstone in my DVD collection. No longer am I watching a grainy or pixilated copy of episodes – the clarity is goddamn beautiful and honestly looks better and crisper than 90% of the other TV on DVD box sets I own. Just incredible.
Spaced is a delightful BBC sitcom following Tim (Simon Pegg) and Daisy’s (Jessica Hynes) misadventures as they share their apartment with a group of unconventional and endlessly quirky personalities. Dog nappings, paintball wars and a never ending stream of pop culture references make this one of the best possible sitcoms of the current generation. Hold on, attempting to brush away the series’ tendencies towards pop culture adoration as mere “references” was stupid of me. Let me take that back. For these individuals film, comic books and television are life. And vice versa. Spaced is the absolute incarnation of our generation’s mindset in television form. Each episode seems three dimensional as it never fails to sweep across the broad spectrum of emotion. Never content to settle purely for laughs, Spaced will jerk tears from your eyes as much through laughter as through genuine emotion. This series is just that good.
My viewing experience never stops at just watching a TV series. I’m the type of die hard mook that insists on then rewatching it with audio commentary turned on. I’m not crazy – many shows have stellar audio commentaries to accompany their show, but Spaced, again, leaves all these others in the dust. To truly take in the Spaced DVD box set you need to watch the entire series 3 times over. Okay, wait, you need to watch it two times and then listen a third time. First, you need to watch the entire series (this really should go without saying). The second time through you ought/need to watch it with the original BBC Box Set Audio Commentary wherein the cast & crew comment talk about the series, what they liked, what they didn’t like, etc. For me this audio commentary track was incredible. However, I think the casual American viewer may want to bypass this one entirely in favor of the third audio track. This version features the cast and crew but also a prominent American Guest including Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Patton Oswalt, Matt Stone or Diablo Cody. This audio track was funny though slightly annoying since it was taken up, in large part, by the American counterpart wasting a lot of time asking about certain British phrases they didn’t understand. One part valuable, one part funny, one part obnoxious and tiresome. Still fun.
As if all that wasn’t enough then we have the Extras on the DVD which are crammed in there yet still overflow. The first two discs with each one housing their respective halves of the two season series each includes the typical extras: the commentary tracks, outtakes, cast & crew bios and trailers. I will add here though that these two DVDs also feature a“Homage-O-Meter” which is a really fun feature considering that sometimes entire segments of an episode are ripped directly from movies.
Beyond the basic extras on the first two discs we have a third, overstuffed disc. I started in on this expecting it to go quick. God was I wrong. The two bigger features are each over an hour and then along with those we have even more odds and ends. The first big feature is the fan favorite “Skip to the End” feature length documentary which goes back to revisit Spaced years after its second and final season. This is a really great watch. Then we have the Spaced on-stage reunion in 2007 where they face a Q&A session with the fans who attended a sold out marathon showing of the entire Spaced series. Again, this stretched way beyond my expectations but I enjoyed every minute. Like in the commentaries, it’s really interesting to hear the cast & crew talk about the experience and everything that’s happened since.
This last little nugget of praise is something I rarely get to comment on – but the packaging (I know this seems like I’m going overboard) is some of the nicest and coolest looking shit I’ve ever seen on a DVD boxed set. The DVDs have awesome custom drawings of the cast. The box itself is equally beautifully drawn upon with a cover that echoes the George Lucas saga lampooned all too often throughout the series.
Even if you’ve never heard of Spaced, Simon Pegg or Edgar Wright you owe it to yourself to check this out. Unfortunately, as of right now Blockbuster doesn’t rent it and if you’re a Netflixer be prepared to wait months if not a year to get your hands on the rental copy. My personal recommendation (if you haven’t already guessed): is to go out and lay down the cash for your very own copy. I’m not one to usually recommend such mindless consumerism – but this is easily, one of the best box set values you’ll ever find with one of the best programs ever run on television.
Do it now. Thank me later.
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