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Amazon.co.uk Review
Coupling Season 4: feel free to insert your own "four-play" joke, or for that matter, your own "insert" joke. Sex is still topic 1 for the intertwined group of "exes and best friends", but in this pivotal season there are momentous "relationship issues" that will upend all their lives (insert your own "upend" joke while you're at it).
Susan is pregnant, inspiring in Steve nightmares about his own execution and unflattering comparisons of the birth process to John Hurt's iconic gut-busting scene in Alien. Missing in action is the Kramer-esque Jeff (although he makes something of a return in the season finale). Joining the ensemble is Oliver, who is more in the Chandler mode as a lovable loser with the ladies. These inevitable comparisons to "Sein-Friends" are no doubt heresy to Coupling's most devoted viewers. Indeed, this series does benefit from creator and sole writer Steven Moffat's comic voice and vision. He provides his ever-game cast some witty, funny-‘cause-it's-true dialogue, as in Oliver's observation that "Tea isn't compatible with porn". This Britcom is also less inhibited in language and sexual situations than its American counterparts. In the cleverly-constructed opening episode, in which the same "9-1/2 Minutes" are witnessed from three different perspectives, Sally and Jane can do what was left to the imagination when Monica and Rachel offered to make out in front of Joey and Chandler. The birth of Susan and Steven's baby ends the six-episode season on a satisfying and surprisingly moving grace note. A bonus disc takes viewers behind the scenes with segments devoted to bloopers and interviews with cast and crew. --Donald Liebenson
Synopsis
The complete fourth series of the British attempt at a Friends-style sitcom. Susan and Steve are expecting, Patrick and Sally have finally found each other and Jane could be moving towards an actual relationship. This disc features the following episodes: "Nine And A Half Minutes", "Night Lines", "Bed Time", "Circus Of The Epidurals", "The Naked Living Room" and "Nine And A Half Months".
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Imagine taking Joey out of Friends. Imagine taking the Cat out of Red Dwarf. Imagine removing Baldrick from Blackadder's side. What if there was no Barney in How I Met Your Mother, no GOB in Arrested Development or if Green Wing was lacking Dr. Alan Statham. Such occurances would by no means spell the end of a show (probably for commercial reasons), but they should. Ensemble comedy is exactly that. There are several cogs, and they are all integral. Yeah the show can go on, but it won't be quite as good.
The same can be said of Coupling Season 4. No Jeff means less laughs. Not necessarily because Oliver, try as he might, is any less technically funny, but because over three previous seasons we've grown to love and appreciate everything that Jeff did and said. Would the show be the same if Patrick or Steve had left? No, it would have suffered greatly. The same for the characters of Susan, Jane and Sally.
The trouble with this season is that it's different. The emptiness left by Richard Coyle's departure is felt all the more keenly precisely because Oliver is basically superfluous. We already had a witty, nervous, wreck of a man in Steve,, and the sheer bizarre audacity of some of Jeff's comedy is sorely lacking.
Moffat's writing is still sharp as ever, and the rest of the cast are on form as always. The feel is the same, the tone identical. But the dynamic has changed, and not for the better. Unavoidable perhaps, but lamentable all the same.
Give it a try. There are still some very funny laugh-out-loud moments, and the character development of the old core five is excellent. But there is definitely something lacking. And his name is Jeff.
The same can be said of Coupling Season 4. No Jeff means less laughs. Not necessarily because Oliver, try as he might, is any less technically funny, but because over three previous seasons we've grown to love and appreciate everything that Jeff did and said. Would the show be the same if Patrick or Steve had left? No, it would have suffered greatly. The same for the characters of Susan, Jane and Sally.
The trouble with this season is that it's different. The emptiness left by Richard Coyle's departure is felt all the more keenly precisely because Oliver is basically superfluous. We already had a witty, nervous, wreck of a man in Steve,, and the sheer bizarre audacity of some of Jeff's comedy is sorely lacking.
Moffat's writing is still sharp as ever, and the rest of the cast are on form as always. The feel is the same, the tone identical. But the dynamic has changed, and not for the better. Unavoidable perhaps, but lamentable all the same.
Give it a try. There are still some very funny laugh-out-loud moments, and the character development of the old core five is excellent. But there is definitely something lacking. And his name is Jeff.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Series 4 of Coupling falls far short of the brilliance of the previous three series. It seems that Steve Moffat may just be getting tired and this reflects in the script which seems almost like a cut and paste job of each characters often formulaic reactions to the world around them. Steves melodramamatic tenancies where in previous series were very affective (cushion arguement/we are men speech) now seem pretty forced. Sally seems to be rehashing all her old lines from the previous series, and are certainly now starting to run a little thin. Jane seems to be a little less crazy and slightly more charming in this series which is great however it would seem like a pretty unbeleivable change in character has taken place since we saw her last.
There are also no episodes that show great originality such as the one where Jeff spent a whole episode missunderstanding, and in turn being missunderstood by an attractive Hebrew speaking lady. On that note the absence of Jeff in this series is one of the bigger blows I felt, although his absence alone cannot be accountable for the shows shortcomings in general this time round.
In the first few series you really got to know and care for the characters, but it seems series four does a good job of undoing these ties. A few good episodes aside, quite dissapointing, although if there are any veterans of the previous series I'm sure it will be a tempting buy if only to see what your old mates have been up to.
There are also no episodes that show great originality such as the one where Jeff spent a whole episode missunderstanding, and in turn being missunderstood by an attractive Hebrew speaking lady. On that note the absence of Jeff in this series is one of the bigger blows I felt, although his absence alone cannot be accountable for the shows shortcomings in general this time round.
In the first few series you really got to know and care for the characters, but it seems series four does a good job of undoing these ties. A few good episodes aside, quite dissapointing, although if there are any veterans of the previous series I'm sure it will be a tempting buy if only to see what your old mates have been up to.
17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
The first three series of Coupling were exquisite. As others here have said, this one has its moments (although I'm trying hard to think of one as I write) but generally comes nowhere near the same standard. We miss Jeff, of course - he's as inspired a comic creation as Baldrick or Captain Mainwaring - but his absence is not the real problem. That is Oliver, who is an idiot and a badly-written idiot too.
The early series work so well because we sense the mutual warmth and the shared history between the characters; Oliver has no part in that and we get no impression that the others feel anything for him at all, yet there he is, trying to join in as Jeff used to. Good comedy - think Dad's Army, Frasier, Steptoe - is all about characters and this character simply doesn't belong. He's the man with the accordion, trying to play along with a string quintet and it jars every time he appears. I hope there'll be no more Coupling, and nothing more to spoil the magic of the early series.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Oops, there's someone missing
COUPLING without Richard Coyle (Jeff) is like RIO BRAVO without John Wayne, SOME LIKE IT HOT without Marilyn Monroe, THE PARTY without Peter Sellers, DIRTY HARRY without Clint... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Frank Joericke
Not quite there!!
This does not match the past three series and most people would agree this almost soley down to the absence of the character Jeff who made the programme what it was. Read more
Published 18 months ago
Not quite there!!
This does not match the past three series and most people would agree this almost soley down to the absence of the character Jeff who made the programme what it was. Read more
Published 18 months ago
excellent
Feel free to insert your own "four-play" joke, or for that matter, your own "insert" joke. Sex is still topic number one for the intertwined group of "exes and best friends," but... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Mr. Stephen Hendry
Very good climax to great series
The final series of Steven Moffat's creation has all the wham bam action and blunt sexual humour the first three encoded with the majority of the cast returning to dazzle and... Read more
Published on 17 April 2010 by Stampy
It's not Coupling Uncoupled....
A lot of 1- 2- and 3-star reviews here by disappointed fans. I was a bit disappointed too when I watched it for the first time a couple of years ago in strict sequence with the... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2010 by PatB
very good
I thought this the most adult of all the series.
I really enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed it.
Published on 20 Mar 2009 by Paul C. Tippetts
Don't do it!
Save yourself the let down. I adored the first three series and watch them often on DVD but the fourth series is really not in the same class. Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2006 by Stephen
The fourth series
The first 3 series of coupling where in all exellent very origional british comedy at its best. Unfortunatly the fourth series is a real let down. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2005 by nicholas howard
Coupling returns as fresh and funny as ever before!
Laughs are certainly a plenty in the fourth series of Coupling! Six more hilarious episodes to feast on and a brand new character to get to know in the form of science fiction... Read more
Published on 23 Sep 2004 by "cake82003"
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