At the end of
Coupling's outrageous second season, Steve (Jack Davenport) and
Susan (Sarah Alexander) have split up; Jeff (Richard Coyle) and Julia are living
in a state of perpetual arousal; Jane (Gina Bellman) is a man-eater in
sincere search of love; Sally (Kate Isitt) gets more neurotic and
self-obsessed each day; and Patrick (Ben Miles)... well, what can one
say of Mr. Tripod, the love beast? How can their lives possibly
get crazier? Find out in the third season of this hilarious,
critically acclaimed U.K. comedy sensation!
CRITIQUE
Ah yes, another
British comedy series that makes me laugh out loud, the first one
being The Office (read my
review). Coupling, from the genius and dirty mind of
creator Steven Moffat, revolves around six friends who engage in
frequent sex talk, embarrassing situations, and relationship
dilemmas.
One could compare
Coupling to the successful American program Friends,
but that wouldn't be fair... to Friends. What makes
Coupling a successful sitcom is the outrageousness and
complexity of the episodes. Season 3 features seven hilarious
ones, and each one presents funny storylines, character
interactions, and dialogue. Like most sitcoms, Coupling
comes with a laugh track, but it doesn't intrude. Many of the
jokes and situations speak for themselves.
Unlike most sitcoms,
however, is the show's running time of 29 minutes. Each of the
seven episodes move at a great pace, and the quality of the
writing makes for great programming. Steven Moffat is full of
great and fun ideas. His knack for dialogue is great, too, plus he
gives his characters fun and real things to talk about; Moffat
often times comments on the pros and cons of love/sex
relationships.
Aside from the
quality writing, the cast makes the difference and is also the top
reason why the show works so well. These actors aren't pretty boys
or blonde bombshells (unlike in the failed US version of the
show), they're simply good-looking and talented. Jack Davenport (Pirates
of the Caribbean) speaks with a deep English accent, but he
delivers great monologues, and his sense of comedic timing is
priceless. His two buddies are played by Richard Coyle and Ben
Miles, the one a total goofball and has-been-amateur with women
("Hippo!"), and the other a charismatic fellow with a great exit
strategy, respectively.
The three women are
played by Sarah Alexander, Gina Bellman, and Kate Isitt. Their
conversations at the bar table are very often hilarious,
especially with Bellman's character always voicing her ridiculous
but sensual thoughts. All three of them are great counterparts to
the three guys, and with the tagline of the third season insistent
on asking, "Are you up for a threesome?", the answer is a pleasant
"yes, please."
Suffice it to say,
if you like sitcoms and want to have a great evening or two,
Coupling is your best choice right now. It's a lot of fun on
two discs. If you're serious about discovering Coupling,
start at the beginning like I did a month ago. You won't be
disappointed, I guarantee it.
The third season of
Coupling arrives on two discs, with the first four episodes
on disc one, and the remaining three on the second disc (along
with the special features). Here is an elementary synopsis of the
episodes:
1. "Split" - Susan
is furious. Steve is
indecisive. Both seek refuge in The Temple of the Woman.
2. "Faithless" - Jane finds herself competing with the Supreme
Being of the Universe. Jeff finds himself a rabbit in co-worker
Wilma's headlights.
3. "Unconditional Sex" - Jeff's dilemma: A beautiful woman and an
offer he cannot accept.
4. "Remember This" - Are Patrick and Sally suffering from a case
of arachnophobia?
5. "The Freckle, The Key and The Couple Who Weren't" - Steve
doesn't have eyes in his bottom and Jeff swallows the key to the
Julia's handcuffs.
6. "The Girl With One Heart" - Sally is lonely, unhappy and
unfulfilled. Then she goes and spoils it all.
7. "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps" - Three eggs, three women, three
possibilities...
THE VIDEO
BBC presents Coupling in
1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen. I caught a glimpse of the show on
BBC America last week and the video quality wasn't that good; it
appeared soft and the presentation was overly bright, plus the
image was fullscreen.
On DVD, Coupling looks much, much
better. Colors are well-saturated and detailed. The lighting of
the sets gives the show a fresh look. Compression artifacts
don't show up, neither does grain. Image quality is pretty good
with nice detail and sharpness. Definition is fine also, nothing
spectacular. Overall, however, this is a fine-looking show that
looks great in widescreen.
There are no
subtitles for this release, which is a bit incomprehensible, but
closed captions are available.
THE AUDIO
BBC presents Coupling in English
2.0 Dolby Surround. The dialogue is clear at all times and is
easy to understand. Music cues sound nice, with the two front
speakers offering good channel separation. I didn't hear any
noise in this presentation. Overall, a clear audio presentation.
THE EXTRAS
The third season
arrives in a two-disc set with some extras. First, there's commentary on
every episode by Steven Moffat and Jack Davenport. These
guys laugh and joke, but also tell stories from the set and
experiences outside of the show. Despite
several silent spots, the commentaries are a good listen. You can access
the tracks from the individual episode index.
Deleted
scenes/outtakes (8:35) are pretty funny. These are all
screw-ups by the actors, caused by the complexity of the scenes,
perhaps, but mostly the dialogue is what cracks them up. It's an
enjoyable reel that fans will highly appreciate.
Rounding out the
extras is a photo gallery, bios of the actors
and main crew, and trailers for several BCC series.
Each episode runs 29 minutes
and is organized into
six chapters.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Coupling is a
great amount of fun and entertainment. The comedy in this third season is hilarious and the
characters are great, but the second season is better. The DVD is a very nice package with good
video/audio and some rewarding extras, especially the outtakes. Fans
should grab a copy of the third season immediately. Coupling
comes highly recommended to everyone.
