De-Coupling

Wide awake late the other night, I decided to watch a couple of episodes of Coupling on Netflix.  The original, British version.  I’d heard good things about it, chiefly that it was written by Steven Moffat who is currently the head writer for Doctor Who and writer and co-creator of Sherlock!  Also, one of its stars was Gina Bellman who plays Sophie the Grifter on Leverage and I thought it would be interesting to see her playing a character instead of playing a character who is playing a character or characters.

(Yeah, I know Sophie’s real name isn’t Sophie. But she won’t tell me what it is any more than she’ll tell Nate.)

Turned out that Bellman didn’t have much to do in the episodes I watched and while there were some good lines the writing was mostly typical sitcom back and forthing, with the characters talking mainly to set each other up for insults and punchlines.  And there doesn’t seem to be much to it.  From what I can tell, Coupling is about three things.

Men are stupid, really stupid, about women, love, and sex.

Women are hornier and raunchier-minded and think and dream more about sex than men know and women would like to admit, and the reason they don’t have happier and more adventurous sex lives and aren’t doing it all the time like rabbits is that men are stupid about women, love, and sex.

And this week might be the week when we get to see one of the three female leads actually naked on camera and although you might be hoping it’ll be Susan or Jane, because they’re the pretty ones, wouldn’t it be funnier if it’s Sally because she’s the supposedly prim and proper one?

Is that about it, or should I give it more of a chance?

Comments

[tom]

I'd keep going. It gets better. & I wish I had know that about women back when I was in High School.

[Ken Houghton]

"Is that about it, or should I give it more of a chance?"

I'm still trying to figure out why you would give up, given the prologue.

What tom Said. Even the final season, when Jeff is mostly gone, gets interesting.

And that's even if I didn't think Jack's defense of Lesbian Spank Inferno is one of the great moments in all of dramatic history.

[Dylan]

It's definitely lightweight, but I thought the show got a little smarter. Specifically because Jane's character gets a little further away from being daft to just being zany. Sally actually becomes a more full-fledged character as the show goes on too.

The beginning was caricature. I'm not gonna say it moves into "character" completely, but it's smarter. Popcorn, but good popcorn.

[Toby]

And did you notice Lance that the lead actor is the living, breathing incarnation of the original Arthur Dent?

He has the right mannerisms too, I would have liked to have seen him in the HGTTG movie (a better script would have helped too).

[Tom]

Coupling definitely gets better and Jeff definitely inhabits his own universe. Richard Coyle himself has been getting more screen time lately. He was one of the best bits of "Prince of Persia: Sands of Time". He also starred in a BBC adaptation of the Terry Pratchett novel "Going Postal" as reformed con man Moist Lipwig.

If you're interested in Steven Moffat's writing combined with Gina Bellman's acting, you may want to check out 'Jekyll' if you haven't already. It's Moffat's take on the story of Jekyll and Hyde set in the modern period, starring the amazing James Nesbitt. (I originally didn't care for Gina Bellman in 'Coupling' and it took her performance in 'Jekyll' to realize that I actually didn't like her character, Jane. Jane is naturally and obliviously frustrating and unlikeable by design. Gina just managed to portray those qualities with skill.)

[Lance Mannion]

Looks like we've got two different Toms commenting here. Second Tom, thanks for the Jekyll recommendation. Now the new question is should I start that and go back to Coupling or finish Coupling and then move on to Jekyll or go back and forth? I can complicate my television viewing like nobody's business.

Btw, speaking of Going Postal, do you know when it will finally become available on DVD in the US?

Toby, I hadn't noticed that about DAvenport. I've been too distracted trying not to think about him in Pirates of the Caribbean. But now that you mention it, he sure does look like the original Dent. Martin Freeman's Arthur has grown on me over time, but it would have been an interesting difference. I believe the producers of the movie originally tried to get Hugh Grant which would have taken it in yet another direction.

[actor212]

So it's basically "Friends" with a British accent and the chance to see Rachel's tits.

Pass.

[actor212]

But now that you mention it, he sure does look like the original Dent.

Simon Jones. He also did the voice of Dent Arthur Dent in the BBC radio serial. In fact, Douglas Adams has said he wrote the role of Dent with Jones in mind.

[Tom Sinclair]

Second Tom, thanks for the Jekyll recommendation. Now the new question is should I start that and go back to Coupling or finish Coupling and then move on to Jekyll or go back and forth? I can complicate my television viewing like nobody's business.

Btw, speaking of Going Postal, do you know when it will finally become available on DVD in the US?

(I added the surname to this post to ease confusion.)

Your choice. 'Jekyll' is tons of scary fun with lots of interesting characters and has the trademark Moffatt snappy dialogue. However, it's only six episodes.

It's possible 'Coupling' just isn't your style (I mainly hung in there for Jeff's insane theories stated so seriously in those beautiful Welsh tones.) Try a couple of more episodes to see if it grows on you. (Jane definitely improves[as in, becomes a believable human] by about the third or fourth season, so you could probably skip a few if you'd like to see Gina make this character her own.)

I think "Going Postal" is already out on DVD here. It's certainly available on iTunes. BTW, David Suchet plays the villainous Reacher Gilt with incredible relish.

[Michael T.]

I never did get into Coupling (I still think that the sitcom ((with the exception of Spaced)) is still one area where the USA trumps the UK. I wholeheartedly endorse Jekyll as well as Sherlock, if you haven't seen it.

[Bill Murray]

according to Amazon, Going Postal will be available for purchase on September 20, 2011

[Vir Modestus]

"Coupling" is one of my favorite sitcoms ever, ever surviving my knowledge of its genesis. Geoff's theories and Steve's rants contain some of the best writing on television. When Geoff left after season three, I lost interest.