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?

The American DVD collection for Spaced is finally coming out, and Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes and Edgar Wright will be promoting it through their US invasion. Well, by "US invasion," I mean they're going on a four-city tour, screening episodes and answering questions in NYC, LA, San Diego's Comic-Con, and Austin. That's sort of an invasion, yeah?

Anyway, I was just sitting here and feeling sorry for myself, like I do, doubly so this time because I won't be able to attend any of those inevitably textbook events. Then, I stumbled across this recent blog entry from Simon Pegg.

Let's start with the good news, because I like ending on a downer. American fans of the British comedy Spaced, starring Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson), and Nick Frost, are in for a treat because the Spaced Region 1 DVD finally has a release date! Expect the good stuff to come out July 23 of this year. I'm tempted to buy it just because it's something new, shiny, and Spaced-related, but I already splurged on the 3-Disc Collectors' Set and a region-free player that I got just so that I could watch the series. Why, yes, I am a sad little person.

When I first heard the news of an American Spaced remake, I was outraged, just based on principle. How dare McG touch one of my favorite shows of all time? How dare he even entertain the very notion? "For shame, McG," I thought, "For shame." I then proceeded to the nearest Best Buy, where I collected all the copies of Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle and set them alight. I was then banned from entering any Best Buy ever again, but I think I made my point clear.

Spaced director Edgar Wright recently updated his blog with his own thoughts on this situation and now I'm even more upset. The gist is this: McG and FOX are planning to remake Spaced. Director Edgar Wright and writers/stars Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson were not contacted before the decision was made to pursue an American version. They will not be involved in the same fashion as the way Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant worked with NBC's adaptation of their creation, The Office.