Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9880 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-09-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 180 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Coupling is a witty, instantly addictive series that charts the tangled sex lives of a close-knit group comprising "exes and best friends": womaniser Jack, hapless nice guy Steve, "strange and disturbing" Jeff, uninhibited Susan, neurotic Sally and manipulative Jane. The obvious frame of reference is Friends (Steve and Susan are the Ross and Rachel equivalent), but this series also echoes Seinfeld in its coinage of catchphrases and plot lines (in episode one, Steve tries to dump Jane, who refuses to accept). But it's no mere British clone of US sitcoms: Coupling has its own fresh and provocative take on relationships. At one point, a furious Susan discovers that Patrick not only had a videotape of the former couple having sex, but that he also taped over her. --Donald Liebenson

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
This BBC series intended to be a FRIENDS across the Atlantic offers the same virtual scenario as the New York-based series with one exception, a greater emphasis on sex. Six friends in various states of relationships are caught in hilarious and often embarrassing situations that usually lead to sexual tension, if not out-and-out sexual activity. This collection comprises the entire first season.

Customer Reviews

Lost in the Giggle Loop
Just when it seemed that the US had the ensemble sitcom market bubble-wrapped, along came 'Coupling'; at last, a British effort that had the guts to be positive, that eschewed the tired female cynic / male cretin dynamic, and recalibrated the funniometer along the way.

Centred conceptually around the complex inter-relationships of six friends, and physically around their favourite bar, the series contains countless sharp observations on sexual politics while sensibly focussing on laughs first and issues second. Central to the appeal of the show is the glee which writer Steven Moffat takes in his characters; the anarchically unhinged Jane; the obsessively analytical Geoff, whose whacky theories, and their frequent self-fulfilment, form a recurring theme; the shallow Patrick, the nervy Sally, the unnervingly forward Susan and the struggling nice-guy Steve. You've seen them all in your local, and these distillations are so skillful you'll swear you've met them in person.

The six episodes on this DVD serve to set a style and lay a foundation for a series which could run and run. From the terrors of the Sock Gap, through the trials of the Giggle Loop, to the sheer audacious brilliance of staging half an episode in Hebrew just to get a cheap tit gag, "Coupling" Series One will have you pounding on Moffat's door simply demanding more.

Can't wait for the DVD of the second series
One of the best series the BBC has shown in years. Every episode guides us inevitably into a ridiculous situation, and yet it always seems so natural that these characters would get into such a mess.

Situation comedy at its best.

Possibly the funniest series of all time
The entire series is very cleverly written and beautifully performed.

Jeff is a comedy classic - the sock-gap, female body parts multiplying in his head - the man is a paranoid genius. Steve is everyman - we've all been there, we can all identify with him - his explanation of Inferno strikes a particular chord. Patrick - well, what can you say about Patrick? We all wish we were Patrick.

The girls are fantastic as well - Susan is gorgeous, Sally has issues and Jane is - well, Jane is Jane.

It's impossible to choose a favourite episode - each is a mini-classic. The Reservoir Dogs scene is particularly memorable, and of course "anyone can have a dead aunt".

Buy this DVD - tell your friends to buy it!