Coupling-Series 3 (2002)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio Audio Commentary-Steven Moffat (Writer) And Jack Davenport (Actor) Outtakes-Jack Davenport (Actor) Interviews-Cast Notes-Unfilmed Script Extracts
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	204:30 (Case: 243)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Martin Dennis
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Jack Davenport Gina Bellman Sarah Alexander Kate Isitt Ben Miles Richard Coyle
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$39.95	Music	Simon Brint Mykola Pawluk John Connor

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.75:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.75:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    When I sat down to enjoy an episode of this show (by the previously revealed O.C.-loving girlfriend), I wasn’t quite sure what I was in for. I had fairly shunned Friends for its entire run and then rediscovered it on DVD. However, much to my delight, the feel-good sanitary nature of Friends just pales in comparison to this show ... but then, the British were always smarter comedians.

    Coupling is the story of six friends living in London. There are the three girls – Susan (Sarah Alexander), Jane (Gina Bellman) and Sally (Kate Isitt). And then there are the three guys – Steve (Jack Davenport), Jeff (Richard Coyle) and Patrick (Ben Miles). All six are pretty much hopeless, but manage to amuse us with their various antics falling in and out of relationships.

    Coupling only has very short seasons, usually running no more than seven episodes a season, and the third season of the show is no different:

1. Split (29:15)

    After a series of misunderstandings, Susan and Steve break up – him to go to a strip club to try and feel better, her to a beauty salon. Can they patch up their differences?

2. Faithless (Part 1) (29:02)

    With Jeff being seduced by the office bad girl and Jane trying to seduce a Christian radio presenter, there is indeed a crisis of faith going on.

3. Unconditional Sex (Part 2) (29:09)

    Will Jeff be able to resist the feminine wiles of Wilma? Will Jane land her religious toy boy?

4. Remember This (29:17)

    What exactly happened at the drunken party where everybody got together? “Spiderman, Spiderman...”

5. The Freckle, The Key and the Couple Who Weren’t (29:14)

    With skin blemishes and bondage abounding, somebody is liable to get hurt.

6. The Girl With One Heart (29:17)

    Dinner at Susan’s place ... that’s just a recipe for disaster, particularly with an incestuous group like this.

7. Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (29:16)

    When a series of pregnancy tests gets muddled up, we know that one of the girls is pregnant – but which one?

    This is a very funny show, owing perhaps more to the writing than anything else. The third season is also the finest of the lot, overshadowing previous seasons and setting a bar that was just too high for the fourth season to meet. It is very inventive and only at times predictable. Once you get used to its silliness and take it all with a grain of salt, even the most ludicrous scenarios just become funny.

    If you like your comedy crass and British and you’ve never come across Coupling, this is definitely a series to check out.

Video

    These DVDs are presented in 1.75:1, 16x9 enhanced, which is a definite saving grace. Given this show has a 1.66:1 Letterbox broadcast ratio, I do not recall how the episode Split was even achieved.

    The transfer is very smooth, with great detail and only some minor graininess. Darker shots exhibit less detail and are more prone to the aforementioned graininess, but even they are not exceptionally bad.

    Colour is extremely rich and vibrant, and the production crew manage to make the UK look colourful and lively rather than its actual grey drab concrete nothingness.

    There are no MPEG artefacts, and only some very faint background moire and minor aliasing. These are only really noticeable when you go and get picky, however, and there is nothing overly distracting. The blinds in the background of the Christian reading group in Faithless were probably the worst of it.

    There is next to nothing in the way of dirt.

    Oddly enough, there are no subtitles.

    The dual-layer pause on the first disc is concealed between episodes. The second disc is only single layered.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Audio is available in 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo in English only.

    This track has great dialogue reproduction, which is the most important thing. Inflection and tone come through crystal clear and there is never any trouble understanding what is being said (unless you have trouble with British accents, that is).

    Other than that, though, this track is largely run of the mill. There are a few left-right directional cues, but nothing significant.

    The music reproduction is decent, with a good range, but lacking in any pounding bass.

    The subwoofer didn’t come to life.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menus

    All menus are in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced. The main menu has the theme song playing in 2.0 Dolby Stereo. All other menus are static and silent.

Disc 1

Audio Commentaries

    There are audio commentaries on the following episodes:

• Split
• Remember This
• The Freckle, The Key, And The Couple Who Weren’t
• Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps

Disc 2

Outtakes (8:31)

    Presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, these are a series of amusing outtakes from the series.

Interviews (19:40)

    Presented in 1.33:1, Full Frame, 2.0 Dolby Stereo, this is a look at the characters of the show and includes interviews with the principal cast.

Unfilmed Script Extracts

    These are a series of stills with the scripts for three scenes that were never filmed.

    This has been available in R1 since halfway through 2004. The main differences here seem to be in the extras. The R1 version misses out on the Interviews and the Unfilmed Script Extracts. The R4 version misses out on Cast Bios and Photo Gallery. Personally, I think R4 wins out on all counts. Go local with this one.

    Coupling: The Complete Third Series is an amusing set of episodes, and probably the best this series has to offer so far. Some are downright hilarious, and I highly recommend this for a night in when you’re feeling kind of low.

    Video is very good, although prone to some very minor aliasing and moire effect artefacts.

    The audio is unremarkable, but faithfully reproduces the dialogue, which is the most important thing.

    There are a few good extras here, but whether they warranted a second disc or not is really open to debate.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall