Few comedy shows manage to survive
the lost of a primary cast member, but the British sex-fuelled
romp Coupling pulls it off in style with this fourth season of the
show (six episodes). The talented Richard Coyle and his loveable
character Jeff may no longer be around, but the usual cast of
Susan (Sarah Alexander), Steve (Jack Davenport), Sally, (Kate
Isitt) Jane (Gina Bellman), and Patrick (Ben Miles) are still on
board, alongside new guy Oliver (Richard Mylan). Saucy and
salacious goings on soon erupt, with the storylines focusing on
sex, sex, with Steve's baby this time around, and there are
commitment issues to contend with for Patrick and Sally.
Meanwhile, Jane is her usual spaced-out self, and Oliver manages
to slide nicely into Jeff's shoes as the erratic, disaster prone
black sheep of the crowd.
CRITIQUE
The fourth season of
Coupling proclaims "it's better than foreplay," but that's
not entirely the case. In fact, at this point the series is out of
steam. Season 2 was the best and downright hilarious. Season
3 was a little behind it but still very funny. Watching Season 4
didn't elicit many laughs, which goes to say series writer/creator
Stephen Moffat has run out of funny ideas. The main plot
throughout the season is Susan's pregnancy but there are still the
usual self-contained shenanigans going on in each episode, the
funniest of them being the late-night phone conversation involving
all six characters.
The season doesn't
do much in terms of reinventing itself but rather repeats its
formula over again, which is especially true with actor Richard
Mylan's character Oliver, who is basically a copy of Jeff (Richard
Coyle), but is nowhere near as good or interesting. Jeff is
mentioned in the first episode to be on vacation, when in reality
Coyle exited the show to take the leading role in a new series.
His presence was sorely missed in each episode. Still, there are
some things I liked about the show. In the end Season 4 offers
decent/average comedy.
The first disc holds
all six episodes from the fourth season.
1. "9 1/2 Minutes" -
9 1/2 minutes. One Bar. Three different points of view.
2. "Nightlines" -
The late-night phone call that simply will not end.
3. "Bed Time" -
Since the dawn of time, men and women have been falling in love,
and men have been trying to get home straight afterwards.
4. "Circus of the
Epidurals" - The ghost of Lesbian Spank Inferno haunts
Steve and Susan's birthing class.
5. "The Naked Living
Room" - Can a man win the heart of a woman when his apartment is a
little "unedited"?
6. "9 1/2 Months"
- Susan is in labor, Jane is naked and Sally opens a box labeled,
"Sally, don't look in this box."
THE VIDEO
BBC presents Coupling
in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen. 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 rather perplexing.
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 second disc
holds all the bonus material. There's a 43-minute documentary
called "Making of Coupling: From Script to Screen" presented in
anamorphic widescreen that is a pretty good and interesting
watch. It covers various stages of making the show, includes
interviews with the actors, writers, and others, and shows
behind-the-scenes footage. Also on hand are roughly ten minutes
of decent outtakes, nine minutes of deleted scenes, a
seven-minute interview with actor Richard Mylan who talks about
his character and other things, trailers for other BBC titles
(including The Office, MI-5, Absolutely
Fabulous), and lastly cast biographies.
Each episode is organized into
six chapters.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Coupling has lots
its edge and hilarity factor in the fourth season but manages to
entertain in decent ways nevertheless. Recommended for fans, anybody
else should start with the first and second seasons.
