"Spaced" (1999) TV series 1999-2001

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

24 September 1999 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Friends Tim and Daisy, 30-something North Londoners with uncertain futures, must pretend to be a couple to live in the only apartment they can afford.

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Landlady | Hidden Character | Deception | Friendship

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jessica Hynes	...	Daisy Steiner / ... (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Simon Pegg	...	Tim Bisley (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Julia Deakin	...	Marsha Klein (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Nick Frost	...	Mike Watt (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Mark Heap	...	Brian Topp (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Katy Carmichael	...	Twist Morgan (10 episodes, 1999-2001)
Aida the Dog	...	Colin (10 episodes, 1999-2001)
Theo Park	...	Amber (6 episodes, 1999-2001)

Series Directed by
Edgar Wright		(14 episodes, 1999-2001)

Series Writing credits
Jessica Hynes		(14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Simon Pegg		(14 episodes, 1999-2001)

Series Produced by
Karen Beever	....	line producer (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Tony Orston	....	executive producer (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Nira Park	....	producer (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Humphrey Barclay	....	executive producer (7 episodes, 1999)
Gareth Edwards	....	producer (7 episodes, 1999)
Lisa Clark	....	executive producer (7 episodes, 2001)

Series Original Music by
Guy Pratt		(14 episodes, 1999-2001)

Series Cinematography by
Andy Hollis		(14 episodes, 1999-2001)

Series Film Editing by
Chris Dickens		(11 episodes, 1999-2001)
Paul Machliss		(4 episodes, 2001)
Edgar Wright		(4 episodes, 2001)
Martin Weeks		(3 episodes, 1999)

Series Casting by
Janie Frazer		(14 episodes, 1999-2001)

Series Production Design by
Jo Sutherland		(7 episodes, 1999)
Dick Lunn		(7 episodes, 2001)
Marcus Rowland		(7 episodes, 2001)

Series Art Direction by
Colin Blaymires		(7 episodes, 1999)
Claire Johnston		(7 episodes, 1999)
Rudi Thackray		(7 episodes, 2001)

Series Costume Design by
Sheena Gunn		(14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Annie Hardinge		(14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Lezli Everitt		(7 episodes, 2001)

Series Makeup Department
Christine Cant	....	makeup designer (8 episodes, 1999-2001)
Jayne Buxton	....	makeup designer (7 episodes, 1999)
Amanda Warburton	....	makeup designer (7 episodes, 2001)
Jane Walker	....	makeup designer (6 episodes, 1999)
Juliette Tomes	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes, 2000)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jim Imber	....	first assistant director (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Toni Staples	....	second assistant director (7 episodes, 1999)
Catrin Strong	....	second assistant director (7 episodes, 2001)
Mark Turner	....	second assistant director (7 episodes, 2001)
Brett Wilson	....	second assistant director (3 episodes, 1999)

Series Art Department
Laurie Law	....	property buyer (7 episodes, 1999)
Ashley Winter	....	assistant art director (7 episodes, 1999)
Paul de Csernatony	....	property master (7 episodes, 2001)
Jess Kitley	....	property buyer (7 episodes, 2001)

Series Sound Department
Glenn Calder	....	dubbing mixer (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Mark Found	....	sound (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
James Judge	....	sound (11 episodes, 1999-2001)
Philip Meehan	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Anil Mistry	....	graphics (7 episodes, 1999)
Jason Brashill	....	graphics (3 episodes, 1999)

Series Stunts
Rod Woodruff	....	stunts (1 episode, 1999)
Jeff Hewitt-Davis	....	stunt coordinator (1 episode, 2001)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Drew Seymour	....	camera operator (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
John Phillips	....	camera grip / key grip (12 episodes, 1999-2001)
Ben Robinson	....	camera operator (11 episodes, 1999-2001)
Nick Green	....	gaffer (7 episodes, 1999)
Paul Barlow	....	gaffer (7 episodes, 2001)

Series Casting Department
Stephanie Dawes	....	assistant casting director (14 episodes, 1999-2001)

Series Editorial Department
Paul Machliss	....	on-line editor (13 episodes, 1999-2001)

Series Other crew
Caroline Clark	....	production coordinator / production team (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Morag Webster	....	unit nurse (14 episodes, 1999-2001)
Lucy Enfield	....	script supervisor (7 episodes, 1999)
Sarah Lee	....	location manager (7 episodes, 1999)
Stephen Malit	....	location manager (7 episodes, 1999)
Rebecca Mason	....	production team (7 episodes, 1999)
Claire Broughton	....	production team (7 episodes, 2001)
Sarah Hewitt	....	production accountant (7 episodes, 2001)
Kathy Hughes	....	script supervisor (7 episodes, 2001)
James Lindsay	....	location manager (7 episodes, 2001)
Mark Nunn	....	production team (7 episodes, 2001)
Theo Park	....	production team (7 episodes, 2001)
Rachel Stone	....	production team (7 episodes, 2001)
Jonathan Wicks	....	location manager (7 episodes, 2001)
Barbara Gash	....	dog handler (4 episodes, 2001)
Ben Kingsland	....	production team (3 episodes, 1999)
Conor Lennon	....	production team (3 episodes, 1999)
Nigel Wood	....	accountant (2 episodes, 1999)

Production Companies

• Paramount Comedy Channel
• London Weekend Television (LWT)

Distributors

• Channel 4 Television Corporation (1999-2001) (UK) (TV) (original airing)
• BBC Warner (2008) (USA) (DVD) (complete series)

Other Companies

• Direct Tools & Fasteners  expendables

Also Known As:

Runtime:

24 min (14 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 (some episodes) | Australia:M | Australia:MA (some episodes) | Ireland:12 (some episodes) | Ireland:15 (most episodes)

Filming Locations:

23 Carleton Road, Tufnell Park, London, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Comedy Channel

Trivia:

The series is full of references to, and pastiches of movies/TV series, some quite obvious and some amazingly obscure. The more prominent references include The Star Wars Trilogy, The Shining (1980) The Evil Dead (1981) Evil Dead II (1987), Scooby-Doo (2002), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), "The A-Team" (1983), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Matrix (1999), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Taxi Driver (1976), Pulp Fiction (1994) and The Omen (1976).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010) (V)

All comedies should be like this

Having just watched this series again, I am prepared to say that "Spaced" is definitely one of the greatest comedy shows EVER!

Funny, striking, imaginative, clever, compassionate, sarcastic, inventive, etc, etc, etc. You get the impression that co-stars and co-writers, Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, just cannot write a boring line of dialogue or envisage a predictable scene. Using its "nothing new" premise (mismatched couple pretend to be romantically entangled to find a place to live), this show twists and turns its way off into many brilliant and original directions, while never failing to provide the required belly laughs along the way.

It uses movie in-jokes and references in a way that would make Tarantino envious, and the hipness of its execution makes it both a show that, paradoxically, is of the moment but is also certain to be talked about in ten or twenty years from now.

The cast are all first-rate: Pegg and Stevenson manage to be both madcap and touching, and are backed up by a sterling supporting cast of fresh and exciting talent. Julia Deakin as Marsha, the flirtatious middle-aged landlady and Mark Heap as the pretentious but vulnerable artist from hell, Brian, make a hilarious double act; Nick Frost is a real find as military mad Mike; and Katy Carmichael as the initially snobby Twist manages to be dotty without turning up the annoyance factor.

Even the guest appearances are great. My two personal favourites are Michael Smiley as the chemically enhanced Tyres O'Flaherty, a non-stop raver who even dances to the ringing of a telephone; and the excellent Charles Dale (II), who is usually cast as the heavy, but gives a marvellous comic performance here as the "yes man" security guard who helps our bumbling heroes rescue their beloved pooch, Colin, from an evil freelance vivisectionist!

Credit must also be given to director Edgar Wright who has created a unique and vivid look to the show, enhancing the script's wired look at the banalities of everyday life with his brilliant use of camera movement, lighting, cross-cutting, flashbacks, etc. Even if it wasn't funny (which it most emphatically is), "Spaced" would get top marks for being the best looking show on the box.

I could go on, but "Spaced" is a comedy that needs to be seen to be believed, and then seen again...and again...and again...