---

1. Spaced-Season2,episode 5,“Gone”,Critical Analysis
The TV program Spacedisverydistinctive inthatthe whole programisfilmedwithasingle camera
style andit borrowsheavilyfromdifferentvisual stylesof genre films.Inthisspecificepisode “gone”
the openingborrowsheavilyfromactionmovies.Thisisdone usingclevereditingwhichinturn
effectsthe pacingof the episode.Inthe openingscene TimandDaisyare seenbeingchasedbya
groupof teenage thugswhichtheyare thencaughtby. AfterbeingthreatenedbythemTimand
Daisyrealize there isaway to getout the situationandthatis to “letthemhave it” the frame then
freezesonherface before the title sequence starts.Afterthe title sequencethe episode thenflashes
back six hoursso the audience canwatch the eventsunfold.The freeze frame howeveradirect
reference tomany80s moviesthatuse the freeze frame techniquethatare now regardedas cheesy
intoday's world.Thishoweveriswhatwouldmake itsuccessfulandfunnyasitis obviouslyadirect
parodyas so many otherreferencesinthisTV show are.
The reasonfor thisis because SimonPegthe co-creatorandwriterof thisserieswhowasa teenager
inthe 80s isa self-proclaimednerdwithmanyof hisworkscontainingsimilarpopculture references
to those inSpaced.Thismeansthat the seriesspacedisaimedatpeople withsimilarinterests.Thisis
perhapswhySpacedisdescribedasa cult sitcomwitha dedicatedfanbase whichisironicasthe
maincharacters are portrayedasexactlythe type of people thatwouldbe incult followingsasthey
wouldbe interestedinandsometimesborderlineobsessive withthingslikevideogamesaswell as
mass franchisessuchasStar Trek,Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter,The Lord of the Rings,Game
of Thrones,etc…However,thisisone of the reasonswhythistype of comedyisso cleverand
successful.Manyof these franchisesattractmainstreamaudiencesthatwhilstadmittedlynot
understandingall the referenceswouldstill be able tounderstandmostof themif theyare obvious
and notobscure.
The editingstyle isalsoveryimportantinthisprogramas itsetsthe moodand tone.Forexample,
the scene were Timand Daisyare planningwhattodo onthere nightout daisytalksaboutwhatshe
wantsto do and as she doesthese eventsare visualizedonscreenusingphotosflashinginandoutof
the screenwitha soundeffect.Thisiscleverasitgivesa sense of repetitivenessasif thissequence
of eventshashappenedbefore severaltimesandthatperhapsthese photographsweretakenon
that similarnightout.ThismeansthatTim’sfollowingreactionmakesevenmore sense asafterhe
dismissesDaisy’sideaalmostasif theyhave done itbefore andthenhe talksaboutwhathe wants
to do.This isthenvisualizedusingdrawingswhichgivesthe impressionthattheyhave neverdone
anythinglike thatbefore andthatTim’sideaisthe betterone.Somethingelse thatgivesasense of
repetitivenessisthe use of repeatedshotsof drinksslammingdownonthe table whentheyare
drinkinginthe bar to showthe passage of time as well asto show how manytheyhave had to drink.
Thisdrinkingmontage isaccompaniedbyanupbeatsongwhichisin myopinionthe mostimportant
part as it wouldn’tworkwithoutthe musicasthatsetsthe whole atmosphere of the scene.
The music alsoservesasan importantdevice tosignifyachange intone to the viewerinthiscase it
isusedto signifyapotential threattothe protagonists.Thischange comesinthe scene were Timis
usingthe urinal andhe meetsthe ringleaderof the teenage thugsthatwill eventuallyattackhim.

2. There conversationstartsof as casual but growsincreasinglytenserasdoesthe musicas itbecomes
a longdrawn outsingle note gettinglouder.Thiswouldalertthe viewerthatthe episode is reaching
itsclimax andthat a sequence of eventsisabouttotake place whichwill take themeventually
towardsthe scene that wasforeshadowedinthe opening.Thisisaclassicbuteffective methodof
lettingthe audience know thatthe newcharacterthathas beenintroducedinthisscene isgoingto
cause significantproblemslatereventhoughwe alreadyknow thatthischaracteristhe antagonist
as we saw theminthe openingflash-forward.A similarmethodisusedagaininthe followingscene
were the character of Dwaine Benzie isintroduced.
In thisscene TimseesBenzie sittingatthe table withDaisylaughingatsomething.ItshowsTim’s
obviousshockandrage at seeingBenziesittingthere withDaisybyslowingdownthe videoand
havinga longnote beingplayedinthe backgroundthatgetshigherandhigheras the videogets
slowerandslower.We alsosee flashbacksfromTim’smemorythatshow the audience thatBenzie
stole Tim’sgirlfriend.We thenimmediatelyknow thatTimandBenzie are enemieshoweverwe
don’tfeel like he isanactual threat tothe protagonistsdue tothe nature of whichhe isintroduced
whichishimlaughinginslowmotionasthisfeelslike anotherparodybythe director.Whetherthis
was intentional ornotisunknownhoweverthere isthe addedfactthatthe character of Dwaine
Benzie wasn’tseeninthe openingflashforwardof the episode whichseemstobe the mainclimax,
so the audience isn’tlikelytofeel threatenedbyhimashe isn’tthe mainvillain.Thismakeshima
secondaryantagonist.
The episode finallycomesfullcircle whenacouple of sceneslaterTimandDaisyare corneredinthe
alleywaybythe groupof teenage thugsinthe scene thatthe openingforeshadowed.The ringleader
the guy that Timmet inthe urinal inthe bar isangry at Tim forgivingthema bag of cookingherbs
insteadof cannabis.Theythenstartto threatenTimand Daisysayingtheyare goingto beat them
up.Daisy thensays“letthemhave it” howeverinsteadof the freeze frame shotthatwasshownin
the openingsequence she andTimthenraise theirhandsinthe shape of guns and beginpretending
firingonthe thugs whoplayalongwithitand beginfiringback.Inthisscene the program is
referencingitselfasinan earlierscene Tim’sfriendmike wasexplaininghow all menhave this
unspokenconnectionthatwhenone of themdosomethingstupidthe otheroneshave tojoinin
hence whythe thugsare playingalongwithit.The tone isnoticeablydifferentinthisscene tothe
one showedinthe flash-forwardatthe start of the episode.The musicismore upbeatandrockand
roll ratherthan as seriousasit wasin the opening.Thisislikelytoshow thatonce the characters
start to pretendtoshootat each otherthat theyaren’treallyinmuchdanger at all.This scene
quicklybecomesaparodyof itself howeverassoundeffectsof real warfare are overlaidontothe
scene alongwiththe musicchangingto a sad melodythatsoundslike itcouldbe rightoutof a war
film.Thisiseffective ashumorasto the characterstheybelieve theyare ina serioussituation
howevertothe vieweritappearstobe ridiculous.
From studyingthisepisode of spacedIhave observedthatitusestechniquessuchasself-parodying,
popculture referencesandcleverediting bothaudiblyandvisuallytocreate comedy.Ibelieve this
worksbecause itletsthe viewerknowthatthe programdoesn’ttake itself tooseriously.Thisisre
enforcedthroughoutwiththe use of fantasysequenceswhichgivesthe programanalmostcartoon
element.