Comments on: Spaced

By: And Now For Something Completely Different… « In One Ear…

And Now For Something Completely Different… « In One Ear… — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:29:11 +0000

[...] Johanna Draper Carlson has a really good review (as opposed to my ramblings) over here. [...]

By: Charles RB

Charles RB — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:27:29 +0000

That’s probably it – pity the large audiences don’t seem to pay much attention to 3 and 4, eh?

By: James Moar

James Moar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:10:36 +0000

Charles: I assume the BBC3 and BBC4 names are intended to make people associate them with the established names and large audiences of BBC1 and 2, seeing as they replaced previous digital channels by the names of “BBC Choice” and “BBC Knowledge”.

Not that anyone but us British residents or extreme Anglophiles needs to know a bit of this, says the guy who can name all the US networks and some Japanese ones.

By: Charles RB

Charles RB — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:38:38 +0000

“The IT Crowd is going to air on IFC starting in September.”

You lucky people!

“So… “Channel Four” is different than “BBC4″?”

Yeah – BBC4’s only a few years old and a digital channel, whereas Channel 4 is terrestrial and you get it by pressing 4 on the remote. I don’t know why it’s even called BBC4.

By: clay

clay — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:47:48 +0000

The BBC now has BBC3 (youth) and BBC4 (arthouse), not to mention a news channel, a parliament channel and two kids’ channels.

So… “Channel Four” is different than “BBC4″? I think that’s where my confusion came in — I thought they referred to the same thing. (That’s why I mention the “four main channels” — I thought I was talking about BBC 1-4.)

By: Chris G.

Chris G. — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:05:42 +0000

The first time I watched Spaced — one of the times the late great cable channel Trio ran it — I remember realizing, to my surprise, just how much I cared about the characters by the final episode. It’s a wonderful little show and I wish I could give it a hug.

The IT Crowd is going to air on IFC starting in September.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:52:05 +0000

Hunh, I never noticed that — I’ll have to watch the movie again. The mention of Ecstasy reminded me of something Liz and I noticed while watching but I couldn’t figure out how to work into the review: the casual use of drugs as a part of regular young adult life, whether at a club or pot at home.

GMcG: It’s new to us, for the most part, so excuse our enthusiasm. Most over-rated, though, I have a bunch more candidates ahead of it. Like Lost. Or Sopranos.

By: Charles RB

Charles RB — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:47:32 +0000

“the Ecstasy-taking bike messenger”

You can briefly see him turned into a zombie in Shaun…

By: GMcG

GMcG — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:45:21 +0000

As much as I like it, I think Spaced may be one of the most over-rated shows ever. It’s almost 10 years since it started, and 7 since it finished, and people are still raving about it.

It was good, but it wasn’t THAT good.

By: John

John — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:15:12 +0000

Spaced is a sweet, wonderful little show that just gets better and better as it goes a long. My favorite character is, actually, the Ecstasy-taking bike messenger. He wasn’t on much, but he was fabulous when he was.

By: Paul O'Brien

Paul O'Brien — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:13:25 +0000

“Seriously, I thought the four main channels were all under the “British Broadcasting Corporation” umbrella?”

No, the BBC is responsible for BBC1 and BBC2. ITV is a full-blown commercial channel, as is Five (though it’s not a very successful one). Channel Four is a weird hybrid, set up under the Thatcher administration, which is supposed be advert-funded while providing public-service and minority interest programming. It interprets that remit very loosely.

All of these channels have now spawned a flotilla of digital siblings on Freeview. The BBC now has BBC3 (youth) and BBC4 (arthouse), not to mention a news channel, a parliament channel and two kids’ channels. ITV has been joined by ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4. Channel 4 has E4, More4, Film4 and 4Music. And even Five has some spin-off channels whose names I forget.

We also have a digital channel called Dave, so-called because “everyone knows a bloke called Dave.” It seems to mainly run repeats of Top Gear.

British broadcasting is a strange place.

By: Charles RB

Charles RB — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 08:05:12 +0000

“I’ve joked with the spouse that if we ever took a vacation to the UK I’d probably spend most of the time watching TV.”

Five minutes of Eastenders will change that VERY quickly… ;)

By: Lyle

Lyle — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:17:10 +0000

I think only the big time anglophiles know about the difference between BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five. Channel 4 is probably second best known for managing to get a crossover series with buzz like Queer as Folk or Skins, but that’s still not so well known.

I’ve joked with the spouse that if we ever took a vacation to the UK I’d probably spend most of the time watching TV.

As for BBC America, a lot of their programming comes from other networks though I’ve seen some viewers (dedicated anglophiles, based on what I said earlier) who’ve complained that BBCA gives BBC shows more of a chance and are quicker to dump the ITV/Channel 4 programs if they don’t catch on quickly.

By: Adam Arnold

Adam Arnold — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:43:16 +0000

I picked up this boxed set at the BBC America book at Comic-Con after reading a review in Entertainment Weekly. I’m actually kind of amazed I somehow missed this show all this time. Maybe it’s the title that can throw you as it’s not the best title for instantly knowing what the show is about, but in a way…it’s perfect.

Johanna, another series you should try to track down and see is “The IT Crowd.” You’ll laugh yourself silly.

By: odessa steps magazine

odessa steps magazine — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:40:33 +0000

I believe the gimmick with “BBCA” is now “the best in British Television,” not necessarily “just BBC shows.”

for example, BBCA just started (or will soon start) showing Primeval, which I believe is an ITV show.

I’m glad to see Spaced finally over here. I’ve had the R2 set for quite a while now and like the fact I can now make references to the show and people will know what I mean. :>

By: clay

clay — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:58:14 +0000

Wait, it’s not?

Seriously, I thought the four main channels were all under the “British Broadcasting Corporation” umbrella?

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:46:19 +0000

To us, all UK TV is BBC. :)

By: Paul O'Brien

Paul O'Brien — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 18:31:01 +0000

Interesting to see they’re promoting this as a BBC show in America, considering it was broadcast on Channel 4.

By: Charles RB

Charles RB — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 14:54:14 +0000

“I like the way the British handle TV series. They do a limited run”

A mate of mine once joked that if we had done 24, it would’ve been called 6.