Coupling: Best of and Worst of

When I looked back at yesterday's post, I thought maybe it sounded like I was damning with faint praise. "It's not as bad as the average American sitcom" is not a very high bar to set.

Going through the episodes to make up the Best Of/Worst Of list proved to me just how much I did like the series. There was something in just about every episode that made it worth watching or rewatching.

In fact, there was only one episode that I could say was really a "Worst Of," and that's mostly just in comparison to the other episodes. It's average instead of fantastic. And there were two other episodes that hinged on a character trait or plot point that annoyed me, which doesn't really speak to the overall quality of episode - just to the thing that really bugged me.

So we'll get the Worst Of out of the way first.

Worst of Coupling

The Man with Two Legs

So frantic and yet so dull. Jeff's antics in this episode just weren't a hit with me and the surrounding action didn't pick up the slack. It's one of those stories where everything is a build up to a single punchline, yet that punchline wasn't all that funny when you get down to it.

The Freckle, the Key and the Couple that Weren't

I don't like that they got rid of Julia. I don't like that her "he's not that bad" ex-boyfriend was an angry punk. I wish they'd had more closure to the relationship than they did. The whole way the story just wandered off at the end seemed so wasteful.

Circus of the Epidurals

Steve's issues are usually pointed in Steve's direction, but here he's essentially trying to boss Susan around, which doesn't work for me.

Best of Coupling

Flushed

Great introduction to all the characters, cleverly playing with assumptions at the very beginning and then building up to Susan's "satiric" breast.

Her Best Friend's Bottom

Hands down one of the best. Beautifully manipulating and layering with the editing and flashbacks. Introduces Captain Subtext. One of Steve's more inspired rants on the usefulness of throw pillows. With a deadly punchline at the last from Patrick.

Naked

I liked Jeff. I liked Julia. I liked Jeff with Julia. So in spite of (or because of) the so embarrassing it hurts moment for Jeff in the conference room, I loved this episode.

The End of the Line

Another episode that plays with time and place to lay down events and then switch them round in the next segment. I also like that the split between Steve and Susan comes from such a mundane place and isn't played for melodrama on either side.

Remember This

For some reason, I liked Sally and Patrick together, so the flashback to their first meeting was fun. It's also the closest we get to seeing the group "before" the series started.

Bed Time

How can you top Susan the Happy Trotting Elf? Well, you can't. So there.