Coupling Series Wrap Up
The themes are largely traditional. The whole thing is hetero-normative (homosexuality is barely winked at) and there's not much variation on the sex/wedding/baby model of what we "should" want. Coupling doesn't entirely buy into the "Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus" crap, however, and manages to undermine it in a variety of ways. Namely, women unashamed of the sexual natures and determined to ask for what they want. And men who have let go of the idea of control and possession and are in some ways more needy and emotional than their mates.
In a perfect world, one would hope Steve, Patrick, Jeff and Oliver wouldn't be quite so emotionally retarded. The "lovable man-child" is no more appealing than the domineering asshole. And replacing passive with bossy isn't exactly advancing the cause of feminism. The writers occasionally slide Susan and Steve into a rather uncomfortable caretaker place. At more than one point, I wonder why she's still with this schmuck if he's that clueless.
But then, American sitcoms are even more guilty of this with an endless parade of men who can't seem find their way downstairs to the kitchen without nagging direction from their wives. So is it just that things are cuter in a British accent? (I read the UK Glamour magazine, but won't touch the US one - though they cover pretty much the same ground.) Am I accepting things in this show that irritate me beyond measure in others?
Part of what is going on has to do with pace. There's no idiotic back and forth / will they or won't they. It's a TV show. Of course they will. The only real question is how long you plan to fart around first. At something like 26 episodes total for the series, Coupling doesn't have time to fart around. They even skip what would be massive set-piece event episodes on an American show - things like Steve and Susan's wedding. (I'm assuming they had one at some point between the proposal and the baby. I could be wrong.) Which makes sense, as anyone watching a sitcom these days has likely seen this story a dozen different times.
So that's where the variety in storytelling structures comes in. Time jumps and split screens go past the occasional flashbacks employed by other shows. Even the first scene of the series, as Steve and Susan move towards meetings - but not with each other - plays with audience expectations. Framing stories are often used as we see action and then cut to a group at the bar discussing what happened. Even a Greek chorus of sorts appeared as the gang eavesdropped on Jeff's date in "Faithless" and "Unconditional Sex." (Would have loved to have seen an episode narrated Mystery 3K style.)
All of this isn't to say that there's no humor. I do laugh at Steve burbling, Sally's desperation, and Jeff's politically incorrect slips of tongue - though I love them most when they rise above their character "types." But what is really interesting for me is the way the story structure is being played with. I'm tempted to picture the writer producing a traditional situation set-up, fall apart, and neat resolution, then feeding the script through a paper shredder and working with the pieces. There is a playfulness in the way that the familiar is being rearranged into an Other that is appealing to me.
Tomorrow: The Best of and Worst of Coupling. In the meantime, you can reread your favorites.