Coupling - Wer mit wem?

I came across "Coupling" quite by accident one evening on BBC America. I have always been a fan of most Britcoms, and watched the remainder of the episode that was being aired, and then the next episode that followed immediately thereafter.

I discovered something very interesting. Somehow this show could present just about anything and not only get away with it, but made it extremely funny at the same time. Subjects that would come across as crude, rude, and in poor taste in American sitcoms are presented here with surprisingly funny results. The cast's ensemble is just about perfect, and all are very likable in their own quirky way.

It's been a very long time since I have laughed so hard watching a television show. I believe the last time was watching "The Vicar of Dibley" -- surprise! -- another Britcom.

I've just spent the weekend watching seasons 1 and 3, and this is about the funniest show that I've ever seen. People compare it to Friends (the only real similarity is that there are 6 people involved, Coupling, however, is actually really funny instead of kinda funny.) but I'd say the show reminds me of Seinfeld, or Arrested Development in the sense that a variety of completely separate plots come together in an unexpected way in the end. It's flawless in its execution. Jeff really steals the show for me. I'd give a list of suggested episodes, but that list would essentially be a list of the entire running.

My sides are still sore from laughing so hard. If you live in America, you can either get it on BBC America or get the DVD's. And you should. Seriously.

I'm an American who just saw Season 1 of "Coupling" on DVD for the first time. Based on those first six episodes, I think the BBC's "Coupling" -- along with a new US series over here called "Arrested Development" -- is possibly the sharpest, funniest, and best-written situation comedy since the golden days of Norman Lear and MJM Productions.

The cast chemistry is amazing. The archetypes are extremely identifiable, even over here, which is why the series translates so well. In comedies the subject of sex is often treated adolescently, and it's true that the characters in "Coupling" have some childish, "American Pie" reactions to sexual politics, but they're still, clearly, adults. As with "American Pie," there's a big heart behind the hormones and phermones. But the gags in "Coupling" are brilliantly written and executed. The writers don't take the easy way out; the bawdiness of their humor is cut with intelligence and a really, REALLY great sense of left-field punch lines. Maybe naysayers have to wander through the bereft nature of many American sitcoms to understand why "Coupling" is so appreciated by a cult American audience, but it's the real deal.

Episode 4 of Season 1, called "Inferno," contains an extended monologue in which an embarrassed male character attempts to outline the plot of a lesbian porn film. He is forced to defend his affection for the stuff by being asked to give a cogent plot summary. He's squirming under this challenge -- he's got to defend his proclivities, maintain a balance between self-defense and self-effacement, and STILL intellectualize the plot of the film enough to prove he's smart enough to rise above it. This whole sequence is, possibly, the best-written and funniest 5-minute quasi-monologue ever to be televised.

"Coupling" takes a traditionally pubescent subject matter, the puerile male fascination with sex, opposes it with the progress of rational thought, and is extremely funny in the process. Lots of US sitcoms (and some UK ones) are lucky if they get one horse laugh from the viewer every three minutes. "Coupling's" ratio is more like one horselaugh every thirty seconds. It's that good.

(I never saw the NBC version of this show, incidentally, and have no interest -- apparently it sucked. I can understand why someone would want to use the BBC version as source material, though.)

Many people have drawn comparisons between "Coupling" and "Friends". I'll admit there are similarities. Six friends in the city living out their lives. But what Moffat has created is a comedy with multiple levels, superb plots and fantastic comedy. The performances from the six main actors are superb. Mention must be made of Richard Mylan (Oliver Morris Series 4 -)who had the difficult job of stepping into the shoes of Richard Coyle (Jeff Series 1-3), while Jeff is holidaying in Lesbos (cue many Lesbian jokes). Mylan does this successfully and , with the help of Moffat, has created a Jeff-like character but a character who is distinctly not Jeff. The Programme is quite simply the best sitcom on British TV.

I'm a Yank who is only now catching the show on local PBS, courtesy of BBC America. I never saw the (aborted) NBC attempt and, having seen about a half dozen episodes, I'm glad I *didn't* As someone old enough to remember "Monty Python" from it's original run, I must agree with other posters that I feared that truly hysterical "Brit wit" was a thing of the past. I never really cared much for "Fawlty Towers" (as much as I love Mr. Cleese), and only the medieval episodes of Black Adder really tickled me fancy.

But "Coupling" -- hoo hah! Anyone who compares this to "Friends" has clearly never watched more than an episode. At the height of its mild amusement, "Friends" never equaled the least of this absolutely *brilliant* series. For all the stereotypes of Brits as dry, stuck-up and stodgy, I've found that, humour-wise, we across the pond can't hold a candle...

"Coupling" is the height of "cultured rudeness" in the vein of "Absolutely Fabulous" -- one of the most adult Brit-coms I've ever seen. Every episode is consistently ROTFLMAO funny. I couldn't even begin to pick a fave character.

Patrick plays the "stud" character in an amusingly original manner: he has his way with the chicks, and yet is dim enough to not *totally* emasculate us lesser males. The episode where one of the gals has him bring out the "big guns" in the loo, to intimidate a bloke, is something you'd NEVER see on American TV.

Jeff is.... well, the most creatively addled loon since Seinfeld's Kramer, albeit *nothing* like him. Almost a child-man, he reminds me of the Frasier line in "Cheers" - "What color is the sky in *your* world?" Jane is so annoyingly self-absorbed and yet, like Jeff, also such a waif that you don't totally despise her. It amazes how the series' creators walk the edge, crafting characters that *ought* to pluck your last nerve but, unlike George and Kramer from Seinfeld, could actually be tolerable in real life.

The other three characters are brilliantly crafted as well, but these three stand out after the limited viewing I've been exposed to. I have never even considered purchasing a TV series on DVD but, in addition to wanting to see at least the entire first three seasons (I have read here that Jeff is not in the fourth season, and I don't think I could warm up to a substitute), I really must turn on many of my close friends to this marvelous show.

For those of you Yanks out there who only know of this show from NBC's feeble attempt to import it, you *must* catch this on your local PBS station if and when it airs, or pester them incessantly until it does. You'll not only understand why the attempt at translation failed, but you'll finally get to see what the fuss was all about.

If *anything* on the American telly was this consistently funny, we wouldn't have to suffer the endless rot of "reality" TV, and the "dead in half a season" warmed over '70s-era situation (non)comedies. Twelve out of ten... a *MUST SEE*!!!