Now that I have your attention...

The British comedy series Coupling began its life on the BBC in 2000. Creator Steven Moffat (Press Gang, Doctor Who) took what could have been a standard sitcom formula (that is, Friends meets Seinfeld with more sex) and made it a sharp and relevant look at social interaction. Over the course of four years, the show did something that very few two-camera sitcoms do by watching its characters mature. It also took unconventional approaches to the sitcom formula, which earned it loads of fans and a short-lived US adaptation in 2003.

This box set represents the complete four seasons of Coupling, which ran for 28 episodes in all. I won't give a full summary of each season here, as we already have excellent reviews for the First, Second and Fourth series. Who knows what happened to the third...

Coupling centres on six thirtysomethings who are obsessed with excruciating minutiae of sex, how to get sex and what to do before, during and after sex. In other words, they are all fairly typical so far. Steve (Jack Davenport) is an incredibly indecisive man who is prone to making big speeches about the rights of men. Susan (Sarah Alexander), Steve's girlfriend - and later fiancée  - is sometimes argumentative, but probably the only one with her head screwed on straight. Steve's best friend Jeff (Richard Coyle) gives long and complicated theories and fantasies about sex lives, without actually having one of his own. Susan's best friend Sally (Kate Isitt) is a beautician that never smiles for fear of wrinkles, and has a constant fear of ending up alone. She also has a thing for Susan's ex, Patrick. Patrick (Ben Miles) is a bit of a ladies' man who only has enough blood to sustain one large organ, and it isn't his brain. Finally, there is Jane (Gina Bellman) - Steve's insane ex-girlfriend, and is someone who often misses the point and is an incurable flirt, despite the fact that she scares off most men.  In the fourth season, Jeff leaves and is replaced by Oliver (Richard Mylan), who has a sex life that is pretty much on the same level as Jeff's.

The comparison with Friends seems incredibly unjust. For starters, Coupling is funny. Coupling is also far more upfront about sex and relationships than any American sitcom has ever dared to be. Just look at the uproar over the 'coming out' episode of Ellen. By comparison, one of the main characters of Coupling (Jane) openly discusses lesbianism and bisexuality on a regular basis, and it a theme that runs throughout the show. Indeed, the attempt to remake this show in the US failed, in part, due to being deemed as 'too sexy' for US television! However, forward thinking in terms of sex is not the only area in which Coupling surpasses its American counterparts. It is clear from the first episode ("Flushed") that the format will differ greatly from the two-camera set-up that most studio sitcoms follow. We hear both 'sides' of the male/female perspective discussed via a series of split-screens and rapid editing, something that would characterise the series. Later in the first series, "The Girl with the Two Breasts" stops the story and goes back to re-tell it from a different perspective. The second season closer, "The End of the Line", does a similar thing, with the three sides tying together nicely, and the Series 3 story "Split" being told entirely via a split-screen which ran two stories simultaneously. This would culminate in the fourth season's "9 1/2 Minutes", in which the same time period is explored from three different points of view. In this way, it completely breaks the mould of similar sitcoms. In fact, in the fourth season ("Nightlines") Steve declares: "This is not, I repeat not, an American sitcom". By this stage, that much is obvious and we are all the better for it.

Coupling doesn't just fall back on novelties either. It uses a clever old entertainment industry trick to impress the audience. Want to know what it is? Have to promise not to tell...It's called 'clever writing'. It's positively underhanded, isn't it? A combination of witty and knowing dialogue, combined with genuine drama makes this one of the most unique shows on television. The 'novelty' techniques work because they add an 'epic quality', as creator Moffat has suggested, to an otherwise mundane set of situations. It has the extremely funny observational comedy of Seinfeld, but simultaneously has real dramatic tension. Rather than the schmaltzy dramatic moments of Friends, there is genuine emotion to be invested in characters you actually care about in Coupling. Hands up how many times you wanted to punch a Friends character in the nose? My there's a lot of you isn't there!

This emotional investment is made a lot easier by a terrific cast. Jack Davenport is easily the most recognisable, having appeared on the big screen in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. However, all of the cast members have a significant amount of comedy weight under their belts. Sarah Alexander was in the British comedy Smack the Pony, and Richard Coyle was spotted in Human Traffic. I'm sure this excellent cast didn't get paid nearly as much as the cast of Friends - which was reportedly US $1 million an episode - but work so much better as an ensemble than that other cast did. Sorry if I sound like a Friends hater. I am, so it just comes out that way...

While the show didn't quite maintain its sharp and clever tone for the duration of its run, four seasons is a fair bit these days for even the most popular of British comedies. The fact that "9 1/2 Minutes" aired during the fourth year is an indication that the show was still willing to experiment at a stage when most other shows would have settled into a comfortable rut. That said, by the final season, the Coupling gang had matured into a group of people in fairly stable relationships, with Steve and Susan expecting their first child. Despite all of that, Coupling remains one of the best examples of how to do something different with a well-worn genre that usually takes pride in just how similar each show can be to the last one.

You've got to love the age of digital television. Coupling has been shot entirely on video, and is presented here in a pristine 1.85:1 (16:9) transfer. The 28 episodes and bonus features are spread across five DVD9s (dual layer) and one DVD5 (single layer) discs.

Naturally, there are no film blemishes or artifacts to be seen. Colours are crisp and bright, and detail level is always exceptionally high. Despite the plethora of bright colours, quite often from clothes or the busy pub scenes, there is never any concern over colour bleed or over-saturation.

This is one of those great video presentations that happily leaves me with very little to report.

This is a dialogue-heavy show, so naturally most of the sound comes from the front and centre speakers. Very minimal use is made of the surround speakers, but they aren't really needed either. I've never seen a sitcom that has needed surround speakers and a subwoofer, even one as innovative as Coupling. Dialogue is always loud and clear, and even the persistent soundtrack is not enough to drown it out.

A solid soundtrack.

The extras on these discs have been directly ported over from the original releases, so I will simply give a brief summary here.

The First Series is devoid of bonus features.

The slightly longer Second Series comes with some bonuses on its second disc (Disc 3 of the set). There is a fairly lengthy (21:05) Interview with Steven Moffat, who talks about how he conceived the show based on his relationship with his wife. Cut together with clips from the show, it is a very discussion of what makes a good comedy. This followed by a very brief Interview with Jack Davenport (4:00). He seems like a fairly likeable sort of chap, and the interview was all too brief. Finally, there is a Behind the Scenes featurette (3:55), which isn't so much a 'making of' as it is footage from a series of photo shoots with the cast. Very disappointing.

The Third Series seems positively packed compared with most BBC shows. First up, there are commentaries on "Split"; "Remember This"; "The Freckle, The Key and the Couple Who Weren't"; "The Girl With One Heart" and "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps". All of the commentaries are with Moffat and actor Jack Davenport. Both are quite funny, especially when they discuss continuity fubs. The second disc for Series 3 (Disc 5) contains quite a few Outtakes (8:31). There is also a set of Interviews (19:49) with the entire cast discussing their characters, and whether they would hang out with themselves. Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue, the producer, are also interviewed about the concept of the show. Finally, there are a series of text-based Unfilmed Script Extracts.

The Fourth Series (Disc 6) contains a lengthy documentary called From Script to Screen (43:10). This is an interesting little documentary that takes us through the interesting process of the creation of a sitcom episode. Moffat is frank about how contrived a comedy has to be, and points out the differences between his show and an American comedy, as does the producer. We hear about the writing process; see the rehearsals; and other behind the scenes information. There is also a lengthy set of Outtakes (10:14) on this disc that show us just how much fun was had behind the scenes.  

Although Coupling was not unique in being a 'show about nothing', the way it went about it was certainly innovative. Where most sitcoms rely on innuendo, Coupling came out and said it. The format was played with on a regular basis, and always kept the audience on their toes. In short, the show never treated its audience as idiots, something that most American sitcoms feel the need to do.

While most Coupling fans will already own the complete series from their previous individual releases, this is a great way for new fans to jump on board and see the whole thing in one go. Although there are no new bonus features on this set, collected together under 'one roof' they make a very impressive collection indeed.

Highly recommended.