I've seen a few episodes of the first season of Coupling (UK version), and I honestly can't understand why the Brits love it so much. The humor relies entirely on one-liner jokes, backed up with a cheap canned laugh-track. It reminds me of the dozens of forgettable stupid sitcoms that have come and gone over the years; in all, nothing special here.Now, I certainly don't mind infantile humor or sex jokes (quite the contrary), but they've got to actually be funny to make me laugh. I barely cracked a smile during the painful hour-and-a-half I devoted to the first few episodes of Coupling I endured before I started fast-forwarding and finally gave up altogether. (And yes, I'm referring to the original UK version.) The people who thought this show was "hilarious" have clearly never seen a minute of Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, or Newsradio.I started watching Coupling because of the show's writer Steven Moffat, whose unforgettable, brilliant work on Doctor Who and Jekyll made me crave more. But this type of writing is clearly not his strong suit. Moffat's dramatic and sci-fi writing is superb; unfortunately, Coupling was a waste of his time and mine.

Network: BBC America; Genre: Sitcom; Content Rating: TV-MA (for profanity and pervasive innuendo and sexual content); Available: DVD; Perspective: Classic (star range: 1 - 5); Seasons Reviewed: Complete Series (4 seasons) Don't let the rancid after-taste of NBC's feeble attempt at a remake back in 2003 frighten you off (as it almost did me) from the original British creation that is "Coupling". But the remake was a scene-for-scene remake, how could the original possibly be that much better? Are the performances really that much better as to overcome such potentially stale material? Well, simply, yes. Because while NBC's bastardized version had the words on the page, it didn't have the spirit, the heart and it didn't have Jack Davenport, Richard Coyle and Gina Bellows. Now let's forget this and flash back 3 years prior.When Steve (Jack Davenport) breaks up with his ex (Gina Bellows), he falls for Susan (Jane Alexander), the ex or his friend, Patrick (Ben Miles),. As Steve and Susan enter into the tumultuous winding road of a relationship, this brings all of their friends together, including caustic, self-loathing Sally (Kate Isitt) and sexual man-child Jeff (Richard Coyle).With it's 3 guys/3 girls cast, "Coupling" has most often been compared to a British version of "Friends". Except that "Coupling" is smart, creative, insightful, howlingly funny and generally better in every imaginable way. I'd prefer to compare it to an American product that is worthy of this comparison. Different than "Sex and the City" in that it focuses on the progression of a single relationship, and sharing "Seinfeld's" fanatical obsession with picking apart the minutia of social mores - "Coupling" works so brilliantly because it narrows its sights on one thing and smokes it into the ground. That one thing: the sex joke.The sex joke. A time honored crutch by hack comedians and writers everywhere. The sitcom landscape is riddled with them, most of them tacky, 90% of them unfunny. But in "Coupling", creator Stephen Moffet elevates the sex joke to a witty art form with an unparalleled wit and imagination. Every single episode of the show's 4 season run deals with pulling apart and critiquing some aspect of sex and relationships from a fresh point of view.Going down the list of all the things that can annoy me about a sitcom, I find that "Coupling" lacks or directly contradicts all of them. Canned laugh track? Not here. The nagging know-it-all woman paired with a spineless man cliché? Nope, the show is too well written for that. Behold as Jack Davenport grabs a page-long monologue from the script and tears the through scene with a feverish rant, usually standing up for the male perspective that is usually just marginalized to a corner in an American sitcom. The bathroom is a man's sanctuary, men like looking at breasts and they don't know what the hell a couch cushion is for. Davenports' rant at the end of "Inferno" (a modern classic episode all around) is worth the price of a DVD purchase alone.Equally well written are the women, who strike back at the guy's long-standing befuddlement over sex and their bodies with clever clarity. "What's so difficult about Front and Center", a line spoken by Jane while critiquing her lover had me wondering why I'd never heard this before on TV. Susan, Sally and Jane know the power of their own sexuality and wield it like a weapon against any "half-man half-erection" in their path.The way Moffett tells his stories never flags in it's invention. He can't just give us a comedy of errors, he constructs just about every episode through a complex series of flashbacks, metaphorical dream sequences, time shifts and multiple character points of view. Holding back on just the right bits of information and weaving it all together to maximize the delivery of every joke. Season 3's remarkable "Split" is literally told entirely in split-screen. Season 4's "Night Lines" finds everyone crossing phone lines with hilarious complication. "Remember This" takes the cake for intertwining the male/female perspective on a single event brilliantly.Like any great sitcom, the strength and cohesion of this cast cannot be understated. Richard Coyle makes Jeff Murdoch one of the best spastic side-kicks in TV history. Which is why his departure from the series leaves a huge hole in the final season. A hastily conceived replacement in Oliver (Richard Mylan in an uphill battle) along with a pregnancy story makes season 4 in every way feel like a series that is winding down. It also starts straining reliability. Moffett had me at The Naked Window, The Giggle Loop and even The H-Word, but when he starts relating childbirth to The John Hurt Moment in "Alien" - I just can't go there.While the show is crammed with more "Seinfeldian" catch-phrases than you can fight off with a torch, there is such warmth and intelligence behind the show. Under the clothes "Coupling" finds it's biggest laughs in the differences between men and women, depicting us as worlds apart, attempting to overcome ludicrous communication and perception hurdles in order to simply cohabiting under the same roof in relative peace."Coupling" is simply one of the all-around best studio-audience sitcoms ever. Trust me when I tell you that if nothing else the laughs this show has to offer are huge.* * * * * / 5

Two things about this show made my jaw nearly fall off when I watched it for the first time. 1) Jack Davenport, more commonly known to American audiences as Commodore Norrington from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. I must say he's much better looking as a normal human being and he's a fantastic actor. He delivers one long, complicated, hysterical monologue about every episode. I'd love to see David Schwimmer or Matt LeBlanc try that. 2) Steven Moffat. Until I saw the end credits one night, I had no clue Steven Moffat, a writer I was familiar with from watching Doctor Who, was also responsible for Coupling. Gobsmacked would be a good way to describe my reaction. Coupling is quick-witted sexual farce, Moffat's episodes of Doctor Who tend to be horrendously complicated and terribly emotional. That, ladies and gentlemen, is real talent. It also explains references to Daleks and Oliver's "Bring Back Doctor Who" sweater in the fourth series.It is a great misconception that Coupling is like Friends. The two shows have only one thing in common, the structure; three guys and three girls, and that's where the similarity ends. Friends is about six people and occasionally their sex lives; Coupling is about, well...sex, oh, and six people. Currently it's on on BBC America at 10/9 central and it always makes the perfect end to my day.

this 'Brit Com' gets an easy 10/10 from me.the Brits really know how to make a great sitcom.the writing easily rivals that of any North American show of this genre or any genre.the show is more risqué than many shows we have here,though things have changed in the that regard in the last few years.this is due mainly to the proliferation of specially channels.anyway,back to "Coupling".the writing is superb as are the performances.i would probably say that this show is equal to "Friends" in quality writing and performances,but that is just my opinion.if you have fairly conservative tastes,this show is not for you,as it could be considered offensive or worse.everybody has their own opinions.for me,nothing beats "Coupling" for pure hysterics and misunderstandings.as i said,an easy 10/10 for me