About six months ago I was sitting around with two very good friends of mine just chillin', never illin', in my mouth I got some fillins...whatever. It was that afternoon that they introduced me to the wonderful British comedy, "Coupling."

I have always enjoyed British comedies. Not having cable until I moved out on my own, the only taste of England's notorious dry wit came from PBS which gained the rights now and then to rebroadcast series (usually ones that had been off the air for some time). Whether it be the antics of the staff of Grace Brother's Department Store ("Are You Being Served?"), the comical adventures of the crew of the "Red Dwarf," the misadventures of Rene Artois and the French Resistance in "Allo' Allo'," or the inexplicable "Mr. Bean," British humor has always had a strong appeal for me. And, being a nerd in general, I cannot resist the charm of Monty Python. Ni!

For the most part, the American sitcom has a tried and true formula. A friend recently pointed out that there are probably five shows on right now that star an overweight, middle-class guy, married to an attractive, thin woman. For those of you playing the WITFITS home game, see how many you can name! British sitcoms may work the same way, but there is something distinctly different and, often times, weird about what they consider funny that I find refreshing (and, obviously, amusing as hell).

For those of you who haven't seen it, "Coupling" is about a group of friends (3 guys and 3 girls) and everyone's favorite preoccupation: sex. The immediate comparison that comes to mind is the American series "Friends," but any such comparison would be purely superficial. "Coupling" is unique, distinct, and very funny. The cast is very good, although "Jeff," played by Richard Coyle, is clearly the standout character. The writing is excellent: extremely witty, irreverent, and often times very close to the truth in spite of it being comedy. What strikes me often is how clever the show really is at times. There is one episode ("The Girl With Two Breasts") in which Jeff tries to chat up a beautiful foreign woman at the pub who, as it turns out, is Israeli and speaks no English. What's brilliant is that the first half of the episode shows the conversation from his point of view and the second half switches over to show hers (at which point the actress is speaking in English, so we understand her, but Jeff's lines are complete gibberish). And this seems to be a trait shared among the British comedies I hold dear: they offer a new take on the genre and present a style of storytelling not often used here in the States.

"Coupling" is currently in its 4th season, all of which are already available on DVD. If you're like me and your cable provider offers it, you can catch the shown on BBC America.

"Lap dancing is the ultimate nightmare of a man: porn that can see you." - Steve, "Split"

Tags: Comedy, Television