Customer Reviews

Coupling - The Complete Fourth Season

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have been a huge fan of this show from the beginning. This DVD's release date isn't for a few months, but I wanted to share my insights. The fourth season starts a few weeks after the end of the third season left off, with lots of new twists and turns, great jokes, and compelling stories. The bad news is that Richard Coyle, who plays Jeff, left the show (the character travels to the isle of Lesbos, and you fans can easily decipher the joke, I'm sure). But the good news is that a new character named Oliver, played by Richard Mylan, is an enjoyable enough replacement, despite having big shoes to fill. Here is a recap of the six episodes (if you haven't seen the finale of season three, then there might be some spoilers):

1.) 9 1/2 Minutes - A well-written story from three interweaving points of view, taking place in the bar: a.) Patrick and Sally encounter their first major conflict in their new relationship; b.) Susan is upset with Steve when he shares his odd view about her pregnacy; c.) Jane fears her blind date is her gynecologist, but it turns out to be a goofy guy named Oliver, who runs a sci-fi bookstore.

2.) Nightlines - Relationship troubles lead to a late-night phone call between Susan, Sally, Steve, and Patrick. Out of the blue, Jane joins into the conversation, and it is revealed that she keeps a key to her ex-lover's flat. But it's not who we expected. Meanwhile, Oliver receives a visit at his store from his ex-girlfriend Tamsin, whom Susan befriended earlier in the day at a seminar for pregnant women.

3.) Bed Time - A battle of wits develops between Patrick and Sally, as Patrick attemps to go home after sex, and Sally finds ways to make him spend the night at her place. Later, Sally hosts a dinner party and Oliver, Jane's date to the party, worries about his "nipple erections".

4.) Circus of the Epidurals - Steve and Susan attend an antenatal class, with Tamsin, Sally, Jane, Oliver, and Patrick in tow. The instructor turns out to be Jill (Jane's former therapist from season one's "Inferno"). Steve and the other men in the class are baffled about why a woman in labor would refuse painkillers, leading to a standoff between him and Jill.

5.) The Naked Living Room - The evolution Oliver's flat has gone through after his break-up with Tamsin is shown, becoming "unedited" as the months pass. He runs into Jane at the supermarket one day, and completely panics when she asks him to bring her up to his flat. Later, Susan begins to go into labor.

6.) 9 1/2 Months - While waiting for Susan to begin childbirth at the hospital, Steve falls asleep and dreams that a female version of Jeff has returned from Lesbos. Steve recaps the events of the day to her: a.) Sally and Patrick's relationship changes when she learns the truth about one of his previous partners, and then she discovers a mysterious box hidden in Patrick's video cupboard; b.) Oliver's romantic night with Jane is foiled by the arrival of Steve and Susan on the way to the hospital, and he wonders if Jane still has feelings for Steve. Finally, Steve and Susan's baby is born.

Overall, an excellent group of episodes with many funny and touching moments. And although the character of Oliver doesn't match the greatness of Jeff's character, fans should still give him a chance. I highly recommend this DVD, which I'll purchase when it is finally released.

One underlying problem to those serials penned by only one creative mind is that they inevitably run out of steam. "Coupling IV" demonstrates this in spades. While I & II were fine examples of the genre and made one eagerly anticipate each new episode, relish each situation and have empathy with each well-developed character, this stalled somewhat in III. True, Stephen Moffat tried in the third season to introduce novel scenarios and tricks to maintain interest, and was quite successful in maintaining viewer interest and enjoyment, but this lagged badly in IV.

One essential problem of course is the departure of Richard Coyle and his replacement by Richard Mylan. Mylan's "Oliver" character is a whiny, lisping schlemiel who just doesn't fit into the Coupling ensemble. Another problem is the stridency of Jack Davenport in his role; one can tell that this actor is getting tired of his role and no longer enjoys the part.

Although every season of Coupling has been a fine example of British Humour, one could do well to own just the first three seasons. In many ways, the last season does a lot to undermine the total enjoyment of the first three collections. My advice is to forego the disappointment and save the money.

First of all let me say that I am a huge fan of this series. I predict that this show will be remembered as hilarious twenty years from now! As for Season 4, I have some mixed feelings.

It is interesting to see the five returning characters evolve into relatively stable people. Its only natural when we see Jane finally getting over Steve and Patrick and Sally making a go of it that we find ourselves pulling for them. The problem with that is, as the show and its characters mature, its becoming less funny. It happens to a lot of comedies (think M*A*S*H*). So I don't know if Coupling has run its course or not, but if it has not it will be a challenge for Mr. Moffatt to breathe new hilarity into this cast.

Now for Oliver. Quirky characters are not new to this series. At times Jeff, Jane, and Sally have all been way over the top and with great results. With Oliver however, you find yourself almost embarrassed for him at times. Where Jeff seemed to be able to deliver the crazy lines and still be funny, the Oliver character doesn't seem as able to pull it off...

I hate to say that "Jeff" departing has ruined Coupling, but it was definitely a damaging blow. Overall, Season 4 is still worth watching, but in my opinion it is the least funny of all and makes me wonder about the future of the show.

If you have seen the first three seasons, then this is a must buy. If you have not seen them, by all means watch them first!

If all the other reviews didn't make it clear enough, let me state once more: No Jeff, no mojo. Some of the best moments of the previous three series center around Jeff's crazy concepts: The "giggle loop," "sock gap,"nudity buffer," and "melty man" to name a few. It was bad enough that they lost this vital element, but they made it even worse by trying to force the new guy, Oliver, into becoming a copy-cat Jeff. A ploy which failed. Miserably. Let me suggest that you adopt C.S.F.A.T. or Coupling Season Four Avoidance Technique with this one.

If you were disappointed when you learned there were only two discs for Series Four of "Coupling," then the news that there are only episodes on the first of those two discs is going to be downright depressing. Given the results I have seen to date I appreciate the British idea of avoiding having a set number of episodes in any given series (read "season" on this side of the Pond) because that increases the quality of what we see a lot more than the American model, which is driven towards the goal of having one hundred episodes that usually translate into profitable syndication. But only six episodes to get us through Steve trying to deal with Susan's pregnancy, Sally and Patrick's serious relationship, and Jane's close encounters with Oliver, the new guy, fans have to feel Series 4 comes up short (and that is before we ever come to terms with that new guy replacing Jeff).

This series takes us from "Nine and a Half Minutes" to "Nine and a Half Months," and since the previous series ended with Susan (Sarah Alexander) announcing she is pregnant is not surprising that this one ends with the birth of the baby. We have seen writer Steven Moffat play with time and space before (e.g., "The Girl With Two Breasts" from Series 1 and "Split" from the start of Series 2), and he continues along those lines in these two episodes. "Nine and a Half Minutes" gives us the same time frame from the perspective of each couple, while "Nine and a Half Months" finds Steve (Jack Davenport) unstuck in time (and having his weirdest dreams ever) as Susan goes into labor.

With Susan being pregnant her relationship with Steve is pretty much reduced to his complete and total fear over the miracle of birth. Dragging him to antenatal classes ("Circus of the Epidurals") is the disaster you would imagine. But overall the best moments for Series 4 come from watching Sally (Kate Isitt) and Patrick (Ben Miles) become closer. The sticking point becomes whether or not Patrick has slept with Jane (Gina Bellman), an issue raised by a late night phone call that does not end until all six characters are on the line ("Night Lines") and not resolved until the final episode, when Sally actually gets into the infamous cupboard of Patrick's love and finds a box she should not open. In between we get the creative allegory of a knight playing a game of chess with a princess in "Bed Time."

I agree that the attempt to work Oliver (Richard Mylan) into the mix is problematic. Part of the trouble is how Oliver comes across too much like a poorer version of Jeff (Richard Coyle), who is present in spirit and a bit more (Samantha Spiro) for a couple of episodes. Granted, changing the peculiar mix of characters in this sextet is risky, but they should have come up with more when they came up with Oliver. The other factor here is pairing up Oliver with Jane, which works a bit better because it finally allows her to be the confident one in the relationship, as amply seen in "The Naked Living Room." This certainly suggests some ways of rethinking the Oliver character, but it is obviously a bit too late for that. Like everything else on "Coupling," the story of Oliver and Jane is to be continued.

However, I have to think we are getting close to the end of the road for "Coupling." This is not because baby Joshua has arrived, but rather because everybody is now paired up on the show ("Friends" stopped before things got that far). No wonder there were only six episodes in Series 4: once Jane and Oliver hook up nobody is out looking for sex any more. In fact, there is every possibility that "Coupling" will no longer be about sex but will actually be spending more time on the subject of love, at which point we should probably turn out the lights because the party will be over.

I am a big fan of this series and have watched all episodes. It is a funny, clever show and the entire cast has been interesting. However, this season the writing was definitely not as good as before. The laughs were few and far between and the actors seemed stiff and the entire show felt forced and awkward.

A new character named Oliver is introduced to replace Jeff. He is obviously meant to be an identical replacement, but he doesn't work. He is mostly annoying, not funny, and his physical gags are not amusing. I think the show would have been better served by picking a replacement that was very different from Jeff.

Finally, although this season is disappointing, it would have been nice to have more than 6 episodes. BBC production continues to baffle me as this show's output has varied radically from year-to-year. The show continues to have potentially interesting storylines, so I am hoping for better writing and execution next year.

I think it's time to clear up some of the debate over Coupling's love-it-or-hate-it fourth season.
The fourth season is a huge departure, because all of a sudden the show is about monogamy instead of swinging. Everyone is growing up, just about everyone feels out of their depth and Jeff's mythical trip to Lesbos leaves a noticable gap in the group. That being said, I laughed harder while watching the season 4 episodes than I had since I first watched season 1. For anyone who has ever gotten pregnant, had a baby and/or been dragged kicking and screaming into adulthood, season 4 offers a terrific chance to recognize yourself in the Coupling characters and get a good chuckle out of the experience. The neverending phone call, the disastrous "antenatal" class, Steve's obsession with potential damage to Susan's "equipment" -- the satire is just as real, the jokes just as spot-on as it was in the first season.
That being said, all my single friends who have not yet experienced their "John Hurt moment" don't see what's so funny. So my best advice is, if you're still in the dating scene, stop at season 3. If you watch Coupling because you remember when life was like that and wouldn't go back to it if someone paid you, I can highly recommend season 4. I respect a show that can grow up the way Coupling has been willing to, and I like the fact that it has something to appeal to most people regardless of their current stage of life.

Essentially a racier, British version of Friends, Coupling has survived a disastrous attempt at Americanization and the departure of popular cast member Richard Coyle. The addition of Richard Mylan to the cast is hardly a substitute for Coyle who was arguably the funniest cast member on the show but he is fine in his own way and the quality of the writing is still top notch.

The quality of the show's writing is still excellent. For example, in one episode Steve refers to child birth as the John Hurt bit, a reference to the slimy creature that bursts out of his chest in Alien. He also describes a child birthing video as "horror porn," - seeing a face coming out of a place where one shouldn't. However, the pairing up of the cast has the potential for disaster as the thrill of the chase is now gone. Of course, this presents a new series of comedic possibilities as the dynamic between couples is explored. Moffat also continues his spot-on parodies of British popular culture, including one clever bit where Patrick imagines himself in an episode of The Prisoner when he's actually having sex with Sally.

"Making of Coupling-`From Script to Screen'" is a 43-minute featurette that traces the development of an episode from the writing phase to rehearsals to actual filming. Now in its fourth season, the process is much more polished. This is a good look at how the show is put together.

There are ten minutes of outtakes that include your usual blown lines and flubs but in a way that conveys how much fun the cast must have working on this show.

Also included are eight and half minutes of deleted scenes that include more of Steve's dream sequence early on in the season. Most of the bits are amusing in their own right but were rightly cut.

"Interview with Richard Mylan" features the new addition to the cast as he talks about the daunting task of replacing Richard Coyle and how he got on with the rest of the cast.

Finally, there are some very detailed biographies for the cast and crew.

Coupling is no doubt one of the best sitcoms ever. The script is fresh and witty and Steven Moffat is one of the best writers around. On the down side, I can't help but miss 'Crazy' Jeff, who was one of my favorite characters with his 'nudity buffer', 'sock gap', 'giggle loop' and 'melty man' monologues. ("Men are disgustoids in human form.") Oliver, Jeff's replacement, just can't compare and I felt that most of his scenes were slow and unnecessary - and just basically not funny! His acting feels forced as he tries too hard to imitate Jeff and misses by several miles.

On the other hand, the episode 'Nightlines' was absolutely fantastic - a late night phone conversation between the six characters where they all (especially Patrick) end up revealing a little more than they intended.
[Fav quote: "An axe-wielding fetus?!"]

'Circus of the Epidurals' was also one of the gems of this season where the group attends Susan's antenatal class which results into Steve's nightmare version of well, Inferno. We also see the return of Jill, Jane's ex-therapist from Season 1.
[Fav quote:
SALLY: Patrick? Have you slept with ALL these women?
PATRICK: Well, I don't know, I only just got here, I havent' checked.]

All in all, the show's still as brilliant as ever but I'd have to give it 4 stars as I feel like the entire show could do without Oliver. But the show's still absolutely brilliant, it would be an insult to compare 'Coupling' to 'FRIENDS'.

...you get Season 4 of "Coupling". For 3 seasons this was a brilliant, brilliant comedy that combined a terrific spot-on cast with the writing talents of Steven Moffat. Absolute magic.

I have no clue why Richard Coyle left the series thereby removing his character Geoff. Perhaps (perhaps, perhaps) he sensed that the series was heading toward the shark tank and decided to bail before the decidedly un-funny Sally-Patrick relationship storyline gained momentum. Whatever the case, I prefer to think of the series as ending at the conclusion of Season 3.

There were certainly funny moments in Season 4. Jack Davenport as Steve, Gina Bellman as Jane, and Ben Miles as Patrick were all tremendously talented comedians. But the writing began to suffer as the voices of Sally and Susan began to sound like fingernails on a chalkboard rather than provide humour. What was a tremendously funny comedy series that provided me with some of the best belly-laughs I've ever had became a mire of gender gap jokes that weren't as funny as they were sad and pathetic. I began to emit courtesy laughs just to cover for the obvious embarrassment of the actors. Then I just turned off the tube altogether. A sad conclusion indeed. In the end you could just see the shark tank looming up ahead.