Spaced: Humble flat-share to cult smash

Written by: Jake Godfrey
Published: Sunday 24th November 2024

It is fair to say that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's life story is many geeks' fantasies come true. Beginning their career by parodying Hollywood cinema, they went on to create their own cult classics on the big screen, with Wright now one of the most sought-after directors in the world and Pegg appearing in the triumvirate of iconic sci-fi franchises - Doctor Who, Star Trek and Star Wars - as well as playing Benji in the multi-billion dollar Mission Impossible series.

But in 1995, all of this was yet to come. Pegg and Jessica Hynes, née Stevenson, met on a long-forgotten sketch show called Six Pairs Of Pants. The ensemble also featured Comedy Store Player Neil Mullarkey, Sally Phillips and Katy Carmichael, who they would later cast as Twist in Spaced.

In fact, the genesis of Spaced can be traced through a series of sketch shows. In 1996, Wright directed Matt Lucas and David Walliams in their breakout series Mash And Peas. In the same year, he worked with Pegg and Hynes for the first time on Asylum, which followed a collection of unsettling characters trapped in an insane asylum somewhere in the English countryside where the staff are just as abnormal as the patients. This loose framework allowed for a series of sketches following different characters, and here we got the first glimpse of Wright's penchant for parody and pastiche, using whip pans, quick cuts and other cinematic devices. Considering the talent involved, it is astonishing that the show lays languishing in Paramount Comedy's archive - Julian Barrett, Adam Bloom, Norman Lovett and Bill Bailey were among the regular cast.

Shortly afterwards, Bailey fronted his own sketch show, Is It Bill Bailey?. Directed by Wright, the s eries was written by Bailey, Sean Lock and Martin Trenaman, mixing Bailey's stand-up and music with sketches and featured Pegg among the cast.

Spaced, written by Pegg and Hynes, first aired in 1999, and the opening episode perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the series. The duo play Tim Bisley and Daisy Steiner, who both find themselves on the cusp of homelessness. Meeting in a café, they both spot an ad for a reasonably priced flat, with the caveat that it is available to professional couples only. They decide to pretend to be in a relationship and there follows a wonderfully written sequence in which they fill each other in on their backstory, ending with the perfect punchline:

The landlady is Marsha, played by Julia Deakin. Perpetually pissed with a fag forever protruding from her mouth, she takes a shine to the duo and allows them to move in. She is in a constant battle of wills with Amber, her teenage daughter who is only ever seen in brief snatches as she storms out of the house.

Living below them is Brian, played by Mark Heap, a starving artist whose work is "a bit more complicated" than watercolours. Through the series we get glimpses of his violent art style as he paints in various states of undress. In Art, we learn of his past as a performance artist, where he worked alongside the condescending Vulva, played by David Walliams.
Tim spends most of his time with best friend Mike, played by Nick Frost. Despite dressing in camouflage and trying to get into the Territorial Army, Mike is a teddy bear of a man, with hints of a homosexual affection. He cares deeply for Tim, and a running gag sees the two interacting like children, playing games and camping in a tent in the garden.

Completing the ensemble is Katy Carmichael as Daisy's best friend Twist, who "works in fashion" (in reality, a dry cleaner). Quite why they are friends remains a mystery, as Twist is never especially pleasant towards Daisy and rarely treats her as an equal. Over the course of the series, she and Brian develop feelings for each other, which makes Marsha jealous as she also harbours feelings for him.

Semi regular characters include Tim's boss Bilbo, played by Bill Bailey, and Michael Smiley as fast-talking bicycle courier Tyres, whose obsession with rave culture make him home-in on ordinary, everyday sounds that gradually morph into a thumping backbeat (Smiley reprised the role for a split-second cameo in Shaun Of The Dead). Peter Serafinowicz appeared in several episodes as Tim's girlfriend-stealing nemesis Duane Banzi, but perhaps the most important supporting character was Colin, an adorable Miniature Schnauzer played by Ada the dog. After acquiring him in Battles, Colin remains a point of contention between Tim and Daisy until he is kidnapped in the following episode, Chaos, and Tim mounts a Mission Impossible-style mission to rescue him.

One of the remarkable things about Spaced is the sheer volume of guest stars who appeared, just on the cusp of finding fame. For a series obsessed with pop culture, the show itself is now a cultural touchstone, with dozens of cameos from those conquering the comedy scene from the late 90s onwards. These included Mark Gatiss and Kevin Eldon as Matrix-esque agents in Back; Paul Kaye in full Dennis Pennis getup in Art; Reece Shearsmith as Robot Wars nemesis Dexter in Mettle and Leaves (Shearsmith's deranged delivery of the line "Oh yeah, I hadn't thought of THAT" is a highlight); and a young Ricky Gervais in Dissolution as the letting agent who inadvertently triggered the events of the show, when he mistakenly entered 'professional couples only' into Marsha's advert.

Spaced has aged remarkably well, and that can largely be put down to the distinctive visual style Wright imprinted on the show. Because the characters are steeped in popular culture, the visual language of the series represents the way they see the world. The Shining is a particular favourite reference point, with several occurring throughout the 14 episodes - Beginnings has Tim quote Jack Nicholson, saying that the spare bedroom is "perfect for a child" before finding two eerie girls in the cupboard; Chaos finds Tim flashing back to his abusive stepfather chasing him through a maze; and in Gone they get locked out of their house, followed by a smash cut to the following morning, their bodies and faces frozen in place.

Occasionally, the sitcom dedicates whole subplots to film parodies: Mettle sees Daisy get a job in a kitchen, only to find herself battling Joanna Scanlan's Nurse Ratched in a pitch perfect parody of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. These references are at the nexus of the narrative, to the extent that the DVD release contains a 'Homage - O - Meter' subtitle track that explain each reference as it appears on screen.

What made Spaced not just unique but so notable was that it embraced its inherent geekiness and ran with it full throttle. While other youth-orientated sitcoms of the era like Game On focused on sex and relationships, Pegg and Hynes were more concerned with individualism. Tim and Daisy are drifters who are not especially concerned about careers or lovers and are trapped in a perpetual adolescence. This refreshing attitude contributed to the cult success of the show.

Wright's subsequent film career can also be attributed directly to Spaced, not only in developing his signature style, but even individual episodes: the zombie sequence in Art directly led to the creation of Shaun Of The Dead, while the martial arts seen in Back served as a training ground for the fully fledged kung fu sequences in The World's End, in which Wright, a huge Jackie Chan fan, got to work with Jackie Chan Stunt Team alumnus Brad Allan.

It says a lot about the love people have for the show that more than two decades later, ardent fans continue to question the trio about a third series or special. However, the two series stand up spectacularly well on their own, and closure is provided in the final moments of the superb DVD documentary Skip To The End. Having spent the day revisiting filming locations from the show, Pegg, Hynes and Wright walk away from the house, whereupon the camera pans back to see Daisy emerge followed by Tim, a baby in his arms, where dialogue confirms that they did eventually become a couple:

An American adaptation of the show was mooted almost as soon as the original series ended. The mix of pop culture references and youth culture should have made it an easy sell to travel across the pond. However, as has proved the case in so many attempted remakes, US television executives failed to understand what made Spaced work. Pegg, Hynes and Wright were especially angry at how they overlooked Hynes's role in the writing of the show, and producers failing to involve any of them in discussions. Wright dubbed the project "McSpaced", due to film director McG being attached at one stage. In a reunion at the BFI Southbank, Wright has since explained his reasoning for not pressing ahead with an American remake, saying it is the "same reason it couldn't be a film. Part of the charm of Spaced is, it's people in north London acting out stuff from American films... you know, Hollywood in, kind of, suburbia... American TV is much more glamorous. It doesn't make any sense. I remember that the producer at the time said, 'Yeah, we'd have to change a few things. We'd have to take out the drugs and the swearing, and obviously, Mike can't have guns'".

Pegg appeared in a number of other cult comedies around this time, including Big Train alongside Heap, Arthur Mathews's Hippies and Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson's cinematic version of Bottom, Guest House Paradiso, which also featured future Shaun Of The Dead stars Bill Nighy and Kate Ashfield. Producer Nira Park continues to work with Wright to this day and is one of the major forces in the British film industry, producing projects with Pegg, Frost, Joe Cornish and Ben Wheatley. Hynes also continued to appear in a number of comedies, including notorious flop According To Bex, John Morton's Twenty Twelve and W1A, and appearing alongside David Tennant in Shaun Pye's autobiographical comedy There She Goes. She also wrote and starred in suffragette sitcom Up The Women, and collaborated with Julia Davis on black comedy pilot Lizzie And Sarah.

Wright and Pegg brought their referential, metatextual style to the big screen in what is now known as their Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy - so named because a character eats a cornetto whose colour relates to the theme of each film; Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz and The World's End. Many Spaced alumni appear in supporting roles.

In many ways, Spaced transcended its genre to become the very thing it affectionately parodied, a piece of pop culture beloved by fans who took it to their hearts the same way Tim does with Star Wars (except The Phantom Menace). It surely remains one of the most inventive sitcoms ever commissioned by Channel 4, and long may its legacy live on.

Where to start?

Series 1, Episode 6 - Epiphanies

This episode perfectly encapsulates everything that contributed to the magic of Spaced. It features the first appearance of Michael Smiley's motormouth bicycle courier Tyres, who takes the gang clubbing. The episode is perhaps best remembered for the finale, which is arguably the definitive depiction of clubbing on screen, topped off with the triumphant euphoria of Mike dancing to a remix of The A-Team's theme tune.

Spaced - The Definitive Edition

This three-disc collector's edition contains all the extras from the previous DVD releases, plus a host of brand new features including music promos, cast interviews, and an in-depth and specially filmed documentary featuring interviews with cast members including Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson, Nick Frost, cameo actors (Bill Bailey, David Walliams, Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith) and journalists. It also includes a tour made by Simon, Jessica and Edgar of different show locations with clips of archive footage from the very first programmes Simon and Jess appeared in together.

First released: Monday 14th August 2006

DVD

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• Distributor: 4DVD
• Region: 2
• Discs: 3
• Catalogue: C4DVD10070

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