5 Reasons Why Edgar Wright’s Spaced Is Better Than Friends (& 5 Why It Is Not)

Friends recently announced a reunion special to the delight of many of its fans. While many have considered it to be one of the best shows of all time, some have argued that there are many problematic things that fans have overlooked that included Joey’s sleaziness, the rampant homophobia and the show’s lack of diversity.

Therefore, for those that are looking for a show to fill this Friends shape void, Edgar Wright’s Spaced should be high on anyone’s list. Created by British Comedy geniuses Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, it follows the hilarious and sometimes ridiculous lives of Daisy Steiner (Stevenson) and Tim Bisley (Pegg) who after just meeting, pretend to be a couple so that they could share a really good apartment. Here is a list of five reasons why Spaced is better than Friends and five why it is really not.

10 Better: Didn’t Last Past Its Prime

Friends lasted for a total of ten seasons and many fans felt that the later seasons simply didn’t measure up. Also, many of the characters became awful caricatures of themselves and not the fun and interesting twenty-somethings that fans fell in love with.

Spaced, on the other hand, lasted for only two seasons and fourteen episodes. Therefore, almost all of the episodes were fresh, fun and give a perfect snapshot of life at the end and start of the millennia.

9 Not: It Ended Abruptly

As Spaced only lasted fourteen episodes, it didn’t really have the ability to set up an ending that could perfectly tie up each of the character’s storylines.

The last episode of the series, perfectly titled “Leaves,” left fans with a lot of questions, like if Daisy and Tim would end up together. The show certainly felt as if it deserved an additional season but this will seemingly not happen and fans are left to make up their own conclusions about the characters’ futures.

8 Better: Gave Us The Duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are easily one of the best comedic pairs of all time. Often staring in Edgar Wright’s works, like the Cornetto franchise, the two have excellent comedic chemistry and perfectly know how to work off each other. However, at the start of Spaced, Frost was only a waiter who also happened to be Simon Pegg’s roommate.

He had barely any acting experience but Pegg convinced Edgar Wright that he would be perfect for the role of Mike Watt. Eventually, Frost got stuck into his role and became one of the show’s hit characters. So, it is easy to see why without Spaced we would have never gotten this perfect comedic duo.

7 Not: The Show Had A Weird Obsession With Guns

Overall, the show was pretty progressive but one of the most bizarre and sometimes scary aspects of the show was its obsession with guns. Mike Watt (Nick Frost), who played Tim’s best friend, was essentially a bit of a mad gun nut. He was often seen armed and regularly carried around semi-automatic weapons and even some hand grenades.

Although Mike was pretty much harmless throughout the show, his almost obsessive love for the military and weapons made him a little terrifying and it can be a bit uncomfortable to watch.

6 Better: It Is A Lot More Relatable

One of the aspects that made Friends such a success was how incredible the lives of the characters were. They lived in a massive apartment in New York, never really worried about things like bills and almost all of the characters except for perhaps Rachel and Joey, basically had most of their careers planned out.

However, as all actual twenty-somethings know, this is not normally the case. The entire premise of Spaced was based on the very realistic idea of struggling to find a decent and cheap apartment. Tim and Daisy spend most of the series basically struggling to be actual adults, who are also trying to figure out their careers and love lives.

5 Not: It Is Equally As Undiverse

Friends is often criticized for the lack of diversity on the show and unfortunately, Spaced also falls in the same category. The main cast members are all white and people of color do not really feature in the show, except maybe as some extras.

London is easily one of the most diverse cities in the world, therefore, it doesn’t really make sense that most of the characters were white and straight. Fans who are expecting a more modern take on Friends will surely find this aspect very disappointing.

4 Better: Has A Relatable Female Leads

One of the best parts of Spaced was the relatable and complex female leads like Daisy, Marsha (Julia Deakin), and Twist (Katy Carmichael). This is in part thanks to Stevenson, who wrote a lot of their characterizations and dialogue.

Unlike Monica, Rachael, and Phoebe, who at some points in the show are very one-dimensional, the three main female characters of the show are flawed, a little nutty and seemingly just want to make it through life while also having a good time.

3 Not: Marsha Couldn’t Leave Brian Alone

A rather weird aspect of the show was Marsha’s inappropriate obsession with one of the other tenants in her house, Brian (Mark Heap). Throughout the show, Marsha consistently tries to seduce Brian and it is heavily implied that at one point, Brian struck a ‘deal’ with Marsha in order to pay rent.

Marsha’s behavior very clearly borders on harassment and it does make for a variety of awkward scenes that leaves viewers a little uncomfortable.

2 Better: Pop Culture Masterpiece

The best way to describe Spaced is as a show that was made for nerds, by nerds. These days, the idea of referencing and imitating pop and nerd culture is almost a given, but back in 1999, it was not the case. However, Spaced dived straight in and spent a large part of the show referencing and imitating cult movies, video games and comic books.

One of the most memorable scenes of the show was Tim’s long and angry rant about why The Phantom Menace was terrible. It even had an epic paintball episode long before Community became famous for theirs.

1 Not: Was Nowhere Near As Much Of Cultural Phenomenon

Almost everyone in the whole world has watched at least an episode of Friends. However, Spaced is still relatively obscure in comparison. One of the best aspects of watching a very popular show is to become part of the show’s community and to be able to make references that everyone will be able to understand.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t really exist with Spaced and there just aren’t that many fellow fans to interact with. Hopefully, as Spaced is currently on some streaming services, more people will fall in love with this quirky nerdy British show.

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