When we American fans of British comedy fell in love with “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” there was little question that the folks at the BBC would eventually take advantage of the growing cult surrounding the work of Simon Pegg and release his early series, “Spaced,” on DVD. And, really, how could they not? After all, look at these raves from famous people who are, by virtue of their fame, better than you:
* “Watching ‘Spaced’ is kinda like watching a Kevin Smith film if Kevin Smith had any real talent.” – Kevin Smith
* “I watch and re-watch ‘Spaced’ from time to time to remind myself how good television comedy can be.” – Matt Stone
“The best thing out of England since Winston Churchill.” – Seth Rogen
“I laughed hard, and I hate comedy.” – Judd Apatow
“Annoyingly good.” – Eddie Izzard
“‘Spaced’ is a to-be-envied, to-be-cherished blend of pop culture heartbreak and genuine human hilarity. It’s also a foolproof Idiot Test. Here’s how it works: if someone ever tries to duplicate, replicate, or otherwise re-do this one-of-a-kind show, they’re an Idiot! Aren’t we all lucky to have such a thing in our world?” – Patton Oswalt
“Innovative. Witty. Hilarious. ‘Spaced’ is the show we American comedians watch and say, ‘How the hell did they get away with this?!’ Buy this and you can officially be cool.” – Bill Hader
Of course, some of us couldn’t wait for the domestic release – cough-cough Jason Zingale cough-cough – and had to buy a British copy of the set to watch on their region-free DVD player, but we’re guessing those people will still be ordering this set – due for release on June 17 – if only because of the special features.
All two seasons and 14 episodes of “Spaced” will be packaged within the set, of course, but there’ll also be new exclusive commentary with director Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson), and guests Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Bill Hader, Matt Stone, Patton Oswalt and Diablo Cody, an exclusive Spaced On Stage reunion Q&A recorded at the National Film Theatre, London in October 2007, and “Skip to the End,” an exclusive feature length documentary. There’ll also be outtakes, deleted scenes, raw footage, a photo gallery, newly updated cast and crew biographies, but something particularly eyecatching is a feature that the “Gilmore Girls” sets could’ve used: an Homage-O-Meter, an onscreen feature that tracks each pop-culture reference.
“Spaced.” You know you want to buy it. Too bad it’s not on Amazon for pre-order yet…but it will be.
Oh, yes: it will be.
