Coupling

Coupling. 

This is the show Friends was desperately trying to be but failed at every year. I just never bought into the whole fantasy world created in Friends, most of the simplest of internal logic never made much sense in the show and I always found the characters of Ross, Phebe, and Joey some of the most annoying and irritating people in the world and on television - will someone please tell me how the character of Joey was able to get his own television show? How Phebe was still alive and not in a mental institution? I could never understand. How Joey wasn't on a mentally disabled list was another thing I could never understand. And Ross was just annoying for someone who had a PHD and if he had a PHD he was one of the stupidest people alive to hold a PHD. So yes there were issues I had with Friends those just scrape the surface. 

Now Coupling, the main thing I can say about Coupling is that the BBC has done it again in creating a brilliant show that for the most part holds up logically the way Friends never did. These people always seem to meet at night, in bars, and in their flats after work, unlike Friends who seemed to meet at all times of the day and any day of the week where I kept asking myself, "When and were do these people work?" 

Coupling is laugh out loud funny. I haven't seen a show in ages that made me laugh out loud in a long time but Coupling seemed to do just that in every episode. A lot of their dialogue and conversations had some real bite and thoughtfulness to it that American shows only think they have. There is a lot of talking about sex in show just so you know before you go into watching it, but like I said a lot of the talk comes from a very honest place which makes Coupling all more relevant as no matter who you are the idea of sex as a universal constant that bridges all languages and cultures is always going to be true. I think I only found that last four or so episodes of Season Four not as good and the main reason for that was they ditched one of the main characters and replaced him with another character that was nowhere as good. I don't know why they did this but in my opinion it really hurt the last season because that character was pivotal to the show.  His absence was sourly missed. In truth this show is just about what the title of it is about, Coupling.  People, relationships, friendships, partners, mixing and matching with the people around us.  These are the driving forces of this show and it was all the better for it.  The six main leads in this show really clicked and seemed more real than the blank, cliched characters from Friends.