Jeff & Konnor's Blog

Is there anything funny on TV anymore? If you are having as much trouble as we are finding humor on television, check out Coupling, which aired on the BBC from 2000 through 2004. It's something like Friends, except more clever. Most episodes explore how the same events are seen differently by different people. This usually takes the form of cuts between a main story line, three women discussing that story, and three men discussing the same story but from an entirely different perspective. Or, half the show takes place from one character's perspective, then the second half replays the same events but from a different character's point of view.

We tried to find a short representative scene, but short clips don't reveal the real humor in the show, which comes less from one-liners than from longer plot set ups. All the episodes are on YouTube in 10-minute chunks if you'd like a preview. All four seasons are available on Netflix, Netflix Watch Instantly, and Blockbuster online, and it still repeats on the BBC if you have that in your cable lineup. Disclaimer: every episode is sexually themed. And please don't confuse this with the awful U.S. version that was cancelled after four episodes (and, as a piece of trivia, was not aired in Salt Lake City because the local network affiliate thought it was obscene.)