At last -a geek friendly comedy series! (not counting the IT Crowd, of course...) If you love pop culture references (including a delicious reference to my own favourite Hawk The Slayer!) then this is for you. Not only are the writers geeks, but so are the characters and they often reference comics and classic films in their daily lives - re-enacting mock gunfights; playing endlessly on games-consoles and generally bumming around.
What makes this so funny is it's brazen dis-regard for the rules of television; each person has their own reality and just as Family Guy will segue way into fantasies; flashbacks and genuine tomfoolery so did Spaced (almost a decade beforehand).
This is genuinely funny and actually rewards repeat viewings as you pick up on the pop-culture references more. The performances are nothing short of inspired, both Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson are evenly matched and suit the roles perfectly (which as they wrote Spaced, makes sense!) but for me it's the supporting characters that are the real strokes of genius. My particular favourites are Tyres who is a raving bike messenger prone to hair-trigger mood swings (no doubt due to his incessant drug taking) and Bilbo who's the Hawk The Slayer loving comic store owner (played by Bill Bailey no less).
If you like Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz then this is where it all started, so buy it... watch it and be prepared for a thoroughly rewarding experience!
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