Review of Spaced

Introduction

What is Spaced?

That was the question I had to ask myself having missed the 1st run of the series when it was on Channel 4 last year.

Having now watched all 7 episodes that are on this DVD (the 1st season) all I can say is its strangely compelling, completely off the wall and has its moments when the plot lines are just a little to close to reality for comfort ;-).

It`s just what us twentysomethings have been crying out for (well everyone I asked anyway, not that any would admit it in public).

However putting this all to one side. Spaced is basically a sitcom that is squarely pitched at the same audience of the likes of `Game On`, `Men Behaving Badly` et all. It does pander to some the genres clichés (though no where near as many as others I could mention) but still comes out as fresh and original (and British, Yes!).

Video

Considering it origins as a TV comedy (notorious for bad transfers and bad master tapes) the anamorphic transfer is good, offering a clean (if a little dark and undefined in places) picture with little in the way of grain.
A worthy use of DVD in the visual department.

Audio

The audio is again surprisingly well defined, offering good vocals without them getting mudded into the background sounds.
It`s a Dolby 2.0 stereo affair and as such is not something to get your sound system worked up about.

The commentary is also fairly reasonable offering, giving a little insight into the series from the main characters.
It does however require a certain level of dedication to get through all 7 episodes with this on.

Features

For a TV series, the DVD is surprising well endowed in the extras department.
It offers a full length commentary, deleted scenes and outtakes, a good range of the series trailers (most pick fun on last years blockbusters movies or TV) and some menus that make good use of some of the great comic art from the series.
The only down side with the menus that I noticed was the fuss required to select a specific episode to watch (having to go through up to 3 menus is a drag).

Conclusion

The series is well acted, well put together and enjoyable (if not to everyone`s taste). The DVD is also a shining example of how TV series should be releaseed on the format, good picture, worthy extras and quality packaging. All told I can find very little reason to not recommend it, if you`re a fan then you should already have it, if not why are you waiting?