Having heard a lot of comments about Coupling along the lines of what Ben wrote, I started watching it. I think I got through the first to episodes.
My first impression was that the production value was terrible. It looked like something produced by a college student.
In terms of writing/dialog and acting, it felt like someone said, "hey, let's make a Friends-like porno movie, but without any nudity or actual sex." The jokes were juvenile (basically a one-trick pony), and the acting was mostly horrible. I like Gina Bellman from her time on leverage, but she was downright awful. The best thing about it was Susan, and that's only because she was hot.
Absolutely NOTHING about those two episodes was done "better" than anything Friends did. Friends took a few episodes to find its groove, so I'll keep watching, but unless things improve significantly, I can't myself making it past four or five episodes.
The first episodes are more of an introduction of characters. Sex, Death, and Nudity is the first one that made me fall out of my chair. (The giggle loop is still a running gag in my house to this day).
But it’s Steven Moffatt’s writing in seasons 2&3 especially that make it the greatest and funniest show in history to me. In fact it has passed MASH as my all time favorite show.
Ok, so I've now watched through season 2, episode 4 ("The Melty Man Cometh"). I'd not have gotten this far had the show not improved, but most of my initial assessments still hold.
The production value has improved only a little, and it still feels like it was written by some sex-obsessed college kid. I keep waiting for an episode that doesn't revolve primarily around a sexual theme, and it hasn't happened yet. The show and the characters are extremely one-dimensional and, therefore, have no real appeal as people (except as sex objects). And, unfortunately, even when the show does hit on something funny, it drives it into the ground, and I've found myself more than once thinking, "ok, I get it; move on." No subtlety whatsoever.
I did not find the "Sex, Death and Nudity" episode particularly funny (although it did have a couple moments that made me laugh). The "giggle loop" was particularly unfunny in that it simply slapped a silly name on something virtually everyone is familiar with.
"The Girl with Two Breasts," however, was, on the whole, quite funny. The setup with the girl speaking Hebrew, followed by the depiction of the conversation from the opposite point of view.
Also, the Coupling theme song SUCKS.
So, I'm still at a bit of a loss about the purpose of you popping into this thread and writing, "The Brits did it better with Coupling." You didn't answer Adami's question, "Did what?" It certainly seems to be the case that the two shows didn't do any or many of the same things and really are nothing more than sitcoms with 3M/3F ensemble casts. Other than that, the two shows don't seem to have anything in common.
Topic: The Friends Appreciation Thread (Read 35396 times)
