TVSquad

Hulu has been making all the right, super-sweet moves lately, at least in my book. Not only is the site streaming the marvelous British comedies Peep Show and Green Wing, but now Spaced is on Hulu, too. Spaced! You can tell I'm excited because I put an exclamation mark on it. The show has been available on DVD in the States for quite a while, but now that both seasons are online, there really isn't any excuse to not experience it. Is it obvious that I have a weird, almost evangelical need to spread the word?

Spaced aired from the late-90s to the early 2000s, showcasing the talents of some of today's finest super-famous talent. It was a sitcom loaded with pop culture references, fantastic writing and really delightful direction, and it's fun to see how far the creative minds have come.

First of all, the show was written by the stars of the show, Jessica Stevenson (now Hynes) and Simon Pegg. Although Hynes has done a lot of work since her Spaced days, Americans are probably more familiar with Pegg, who has starred in Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Star Trek and is now working on a film with Greg Mottola. Nick Frost is another familiar face as Pegg's best friend; he and Pegg were also BFFs in Shaun, Hot Fuzz, and the upcoming Mottola film, though not in Star Trek (even though I thought he would have done well as Scotty's tiny alien buddy).

The director of the series, Edgar Wright, has also refined his technique while maintaining his creative edge between Spaced and his work today. He directed Shaun and Hot Fuzz, and is now working on the feature film version of the fantastic Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series. A lot of the camera movement in his films is definitely reminiscent of his work in Spaced. Green Wing's Mark Heap also brings a lot of goodness, and familiar faces like Ricky Gervais and Bill Bailey also take part.

It shouldn't take much to convince someone to give this show a try, and since it's so readily available now, you might as well enjoy it if you haven't already.

Here's the first episode to get started, but trust me, you'll fall in love with the characters even more over time.