Spaced: The Complete Series DVD Credits:

Region: 1

Spaced: The Complete Series DVD Release Date: 21st July 2008

Our Rating: Extras Rating:

User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

Spaced: The Complete Series DVD Review:

It comes as no surprise to see so many fans of Spaced are filmmakers themselves, many of which featured as guest commentators being American directors and writers. Spaced is an adoring sort of spoof of popular blockbusters of all sorts, showing the roots of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Whereas the common definition for spoof lately has been related to the string of Dimension and Fox spoofs, which are not only dumbed down far below what the original content was, but they also seem to have a juvenile fascination with tearing film apart. It is almost as if they hate film, but it is obvious that Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes have a strong love of the films they are spoofing and imitating throughout the purposefully thinly developed plot of the show. So it is understanding that filmmakers would love to watch a show that is clearly in love with the same films any common film fanatic, and even more understandable that filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, and Matt Stone would be so passionate as to invest time to record commentary tracks for the long awaited DVD release of Spaced.

Much like Nick Frost’s film obsessed character from Hot Fuzz; the characters in Spaced are obsessed with everything from Star Wars to The Evil Dead. Star Wars comes into issue, but The Phantom Menace causes Tim to lose his job as well as 18 months of agony. He gets over his girlfriend dumping him for his friend faster than he does The Phantom Menace being so bad. Nick Frost appears in Spaced as well, this time as Mike, Tim’s artillery obsessed military friend. When Tim is dumped by his girlfriend he pretends to be dating Daisy, a slacker writer, so they can get an apartment together. Above them is a strange alcoholic mother with a rebellious teenage daughter, and below them is Brian, an extremely strange artist. With a cast of characters like this and the unexpected postmodern twists (or complimentary spoofs) there is no telling what will happen from one moment to the next. Daisy’s new job working in a kitchen somehow becomes a fantastic homage to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which is a perfect example of the brilliance in the simplest things. There are so many of these homages that there is an onscreen feature referencing each of the pop-culture references.

What makes Spaced so entertaining, as well as a notch above most comedies and miles above anything considered a spoof in the last fifteen years, is how effectively the show combines different types of humor. Whether simply appealing to the geek in the viewer by referencing every beloved fan film from Pulp Fiction to The Matrix as well as even the most obscure, playing with words for pun’s sake, or the significant amount of physical comedy both Jessica Hynes and Simon Pegg use a great deal in the series, there are all sorts of comedy which keep the show from ever slowing down or growing flat. As much as we love most comedy series, after less than a season we can usually predict the jokes as they are coming, but with Spaced it moves so fast that the next joke has come and I am still enjoying the one before.

There are three discs in the set; the first two discs each containing a season each. The first disc contains the first seven episodes that were season one with the second disc containing the seven episodes from season two. On these two discs there are a number of commentary tracks from the original UK release of the show on DVD, featuring director Edgar Wright along with Pegg, Hynes, Frost and others. There are also all-new commentary tracks with Wright, Pegg, Hynes along with guest commentators, most of which are referenced within the episodes. These commentators include Kevin Smith, Quentin Tarantino, Bill Hader, Matt Stone, Patton Oswalt and Diablo Cody. The third disc contains countless deleted scenes, outtakes and just plain raw footage. There is also a feature-length documentary and footage from a reunion Q&A.

Our Rating: Extras Rating: User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

Spaced: The Complete Series DVD review written by: Ryan Izay