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Removing wick to Did Not Do The Research per rename at TRS.
Deleted line(s) 67,70 (click to see context) :
* DidNotDoTheResearch: On one of the DVD commentaries, Steven Moffat mentions how the above mentioned 'Jeff in the Gimp Mask' scene was the subject of complaints from fetishist groups - who stated that in S&M, the person wearing the gimp mask is always the one chained to the bed, not the one doing the chaining.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Though in the scene in question]], Jeff was impersonating Darth Vader, who is a villain with a dominant personality.
*** Also entirely possible that the ''characters'' didn't do the research, given that they don't appear to be what you would call experts in it.
** Steven Moffat also criticised himself for having a character mention that he found religion whereas a religious person would say that he found God.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Though in the scene in question]], Jeff was impersonating Darth Vader, who is a villain with a dominant personality.
*** Also entirely possible that the ''characters'' didn't do the research, given that they don't appear to be what you would call experts in it.
** Steven Moffat also criticised himself for having a character mention that he found religion whereas a religious person would say that he found God.
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Changed line(s) 179 (click to see context) from:
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Patrick and Sally once spent over a minute explaining to Jane's boyfriend how they weren't a couple. The comment that prompted this? 'Hello'.
to:
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: SuspiciouslySpecificDenial:
** Patrick and Sally once spent over a minute explaining to Jane's boyfriend how they weren't a couple. The comment that prompted this? 'Hello'.
** Patrick and Sally once spent over a minute explaining to Jane's boyfriend how they weren't a couple. The comment that prompted this? 'Hello'.
Changed line(s) 181,182 (click to see context) from:
--->Susan: How exactly did you pass your driving test?
--->Jane: Morally.
--->Jane: Morally.
to:
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Changed line(s) 3,5 (click to see context) from:
->"Let me explain, Patrick. Here on Earth, there is a gap between seeing someone you like and having sex with them that we like to call conversation. In Jeff's case, it can last for up to ten years."
-->--Steve
-->--Steve
to:
-->--Steve
-->--'''Steve'''
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** Also this:
--->Susan: How exactly did you pass your driving test?
--->Jane: Morally.
--->Susan: How exactly did you pass your driving test?
--->Jane: Morally.
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* DramaticIrony: Used masterfully for comedic effect in "The Girl with Two Breasts."
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* IronicEcho: "Where are you going" and "up to you" in Season 2's finale, "The End of the Line."
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Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* BigBrotherMentor: Jeff tries to be this to Steve, even though they're the same age.
to:
* BigBrotherMentor: Jeff tries to be this to Steve, even though they're the same age.age and Jeff is presented as pretty incompetent in his encounters with women.
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Changed line(s) 182,183 (click to see context) from:
* TheTell: "You only say apparently when you're annoyed at something." (about Susan.)
** They also mention the pattern when someone is lying, "The prickles, the blurts, and the head laugh."
** They also mention the pattern when someone is lying, "The prickles, the blurts, and the head laugh."
to:
* TheTell: TheTell:
** Steve, to Susan; "You only sayapparently 'apparently' when you're annoyed at about something." (about Susan.)
"
**They also mention Jeff discusses the pattern when someone is lying, lying; "The prickles, the blurts, and the head laugh."
** Steve, to Susan; "You only say
**
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Changed line(s) 182 (click to see context) from:
* TheTell: "You only say apparently when you're annoyed at something."
to:
* TheTell: "You only say apparently when you're annoyed at something." (about Susan.)
** They also mention the pattern when someone is lying, "The prickles, the blurts, and the head laugh."
** They also mention the pattern when someone is lying, "The prickles, the blurts, and the head laugh."
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** Followed by PrecisionFStrike when Patrick explains who he was going to propose to, come the right romantic moment.
* CompletelyMissingThePoint: "Lesbians don't ''eat people'', Susan!"
* CompletelyMissingThePoint: "Lesbians don't ''eat people'', Susan!"
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* ExtremeDoormat: Steve "It's up to you" Taylor, at least where women are concerned. Can't say no to girls in bars, can't stand up to his girlfriend, and couldn't break up with his ex without assistance.
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Changed line(s) 31 (click to see context) from:
* AttentionWhore: Jane
to:
* AttentionWhore: JaneJane.
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* BigBrotherMentor: Jeff tries to be this to Steve, even though they're the same age
to:
* BigBrotherMentor: Jeff tries to be this to Steve, even though they're the same ageage.
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* BondageIsBad: Averted. Jeff and his girlfriend are shown to take part in bondage as part of their relationship and it shown as part of a loving consensual relationship... or would be if Jeff weren't so bad at it.
to:
* BondageIsBad: Averted. Jeff and his girlfriend are shown to take part in bondage as part of their relationship and it is shown as part of a loving consensual relationship... or would be if Jeff weren't so bad at it.
Changed line(s) 58 (click to see context) from:
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: The finale of series 3 had [[spoiler:Patrick and Sally finally getting together]], and series 4 gave [[spoiler:Jane a love interest in the form of Jeff's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute]]
to:
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: The finale of series 3 had [[spoiler:Patrick and Sally finally getting together]], and series 4 gave [[spoiler:Jane a love interest in the form of Jeff's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute]]SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute]].
Changed line(s) 80 (click to see context) from:
* FreudianSlip Lampshaded with Captain Subtext.
to:
* FreudianSlip FreudianSlip: Lampshaded with Captain Subtext.
Changed line(s) 85 (click to see context) from:
* GayConservative: Howard, Jane's "date"
to:
* GayConservative: Howard, Jane's "date""date".
Changed line(s) 90 (click to see context) from:
* GranolaGirl: Jane
to:
* GranolaGirl: JaneJane.
Changed line(s) 105 (click to see context) from:
* IfYouDieICallYourStuff: ("Porn buddies" are a variation in which the surviving buddy has to retrieve all the porn from the dead one's flat before their family [[PersonalEffectsReveal goes through their effects]], to spare the dead man's post-mortem embarrassment and help the survivor through the grieving process.)
to:
* IfYouDieICallYourStuff: ("Porn "Porn buddies" are a variation in which the surviving buddy has to retrieve all the porn from the dead one's flat before their family [[PersonalEffectsReveal goes through their effects]], to spare the dead man's post-mortem embarrassment and help the survivor through the grieving process.)
Changed line(s) 114 (click to see context) from:
* LifeEmbellished: Moffat calls the series "my life as told by a drunk"
to:
* LifeEmbellished: Moffat calls the series "my life as told by a drunk"drunk".
Changed line(s) 116,117 (click to see context) from:
* LivingInAFurnitureStore: Averted so many times by RuleOfFunny
* TheLoinsSleepTonight: The [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Melty Man]]
* TheLoinsSleepTonight: The [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Melty Man]]
to:
* LivingInAFurnitureStore: Averted so many times by RuleOfFunny
RuleOfFunny.
* TheLoinsSleepTonight: The [[AnthropomorphicPersonification MeltyMan]]Man]].
* TheLoinsSleepTonight: The [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Melty
Changed line(s) 121 (click to see context) from:
* MissingEpisode: Only four out of ten episodes of the U.S. version aired on NBC before the show was cancelled, though the remaining episodes did air in Europe, the original pilot for the U.S. version(which featured Melissa George as Susan) however has never aired.
to:
* MissingEpisode: Only four out of ten episodes of the U.S. version aired on NBC before the show was cancelled, though cancelled. Though the remaining episodes did air in Europe, the original pilot for the U.S. version(which version (which featured Melissa George as Susan) however has never aired.
Changed line(s) 124 (click to see context) from:
* MushroomSamba: Jane on the "paracetemol" in ''Jane & The Truth Snake''
to:
* MushroomSamba: Jane on the "paracetemol" in ''Jane & The Truth Snake''Snake''.
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* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Patrick and Sally once spent over a minute explaining to Jane's boyfriend how they weren't a couple. The comment that prompted this? 'Hello'.
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Changed line(s) 27,29 (click to see context) from:
* AbortedArc ([[spoiler:Jeff and Jane were implied to have an interest in each other at the end of series 3, but Jeff's actor left the show and this was never mentioned again.]])
** This was, however, [[spoiler:salvaged for [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Oliver]] in the fourth series]].
* AnthropomorphicPersonification (we do not talk about [[spoiler:[[TheLoinsSleepTonight the Melty Man.]]]])
** This was, however, [[spoiler:salvaged for [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Oliver]] in the fourth series]].
* AnthropomorphicPersonification (we do not talk about [[spoiler:[[TheLoinsSleepTonight the Melty Man.]]]])
to:
* AbortedArc ([[spoiler:Jeff AbortedArc: Jeff and Jane were implied to have an interest in each other at the end of series 3, but Jeff's actor left the show and this was never mentioned again.]])
again.
** This was, however,[[spoiler:salvaged salvaged for [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Oliver]] in the fourth series]].
series.
*AnthropomorphicPersonification (we AnthropomorphicPersonification: We do not talk about [[spoiler:[[TheLoinsSleepTonight [[TheLoinsSleepTonight the Melty Man.]]]])Man]]!
** This was, however,
*
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Removing unnecessary (and hard to read) parentheses.
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* BigBrotherMentor (Jeff tries to be this to Steve, even though they're the same age)
to:
* BigBrotherMentor (Jeff BigBrotherMentor: Jeff tries to be this to Steve, even though they're the same age)age
Changed line(s) 50 (click to see context) from:
* ButtMonkey (Steve and Jeff take turns in this role -- Oliver too, when Jeff leaves)
to:
* ButtMonkey (Steve ButtMonkey: Steve and Jeff take turns in this role -- Oliver too, when Jeff leaves)leaves.
Changed line(s) 55 (click to see context) from:
* CerebusSyndrome (started rearing its head in series 3 with the increasing Patrick/Sally tension, but became more noticeable after Jeff left)
to:
* CerebusSyndrome (started CerebusSyndrome: Started rearing its head in series 3 with the increasing Patrick/Sally tension, but became more noticeable after Jeff left)left.
Changed line(s) 58 (click to see context) from:
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds (the finale of series 3 had [[spoiler:Patrick and Sally finally getting together]], and series 4 gave [[spoiler:Jane a love interest in the form of Jeff's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute]])
to:
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds (the CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: The finale of series 3 had [[spoiler:Patrick and Sally finally getting together]], and series 4 gave [[spoiler:Jane a love interest in the form of Jeff's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute]])SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute]]
Changed line(s) 65 (click to see context) from:
* DidNotDoTheResearch - On one of the DVD commentaries, Steven Moffat mentions how the above mentioned 'Jeff in the Gimp Mask' scene was the subject of complaints from fetishist groups - who stated that in S&M, the person wearing the gimp mask is always the one chained to the bed, not the one doing the chaining.
to:
* DidNotDoTheResearch - DidNotDoTheResearch: On one of the DVD commentaries, Steven Moffat mentions how the above mentioned 'Jeff in the Gimp Mask' scene was the subject of complaints from fetishist groups - who stated that in S&M, the person wearing the gimp mask is always the one chained to the bed, not the one doing the chaining.
Changed line(s) 71 (click to see context) from:
* DramaBombFinale (in a rare HappyEnding version of the trope)
to:
* DramaBombFinale (in a DramaBombFinale: A rare HappyEnding version of the trope)trope.
Changed line(s) 79 (click to see context) from:
* FreudianExcuse (Jeff's mental stability is largely a result of the way his mother raised him)
to:
* FreudianExcuse (Jeff's FreudianExcuse: Jeff's mental stability is largely a result of the way his mother raised him)him.
Changed line(s) 85 (click to see context) from:
* GayConservative (Howard, Jane's "date")
to:
* GayConservative (Howard, GayConservative: Howard, Jane's "date")"date"
Changed line(s) 87 (click to see context) from:
* GirlOnGirlIsHot (Noted by ''every'' main male character, Steve in particular.)
to:
* GirlOnGirlIsHot (Noted GirlOnGirlIsHot: Noted by ''every'' main male character, Steve in particular.)
Changed line(s) 89,90 (click to see context) from:
* AGodAmI (Jane has a strange moment like this in "Faithless".)
* GranolaGirl (Jane)
* GranolaGirl (Jane)
to:
* AGodAmI (Jane AGodAmI: Jane has a strange moment like this in "Faithless".)
"Faithless".
*GranolaGirl (Jane)GranolaGirl: Jane
*
Changed line(s) 95 (click to see context) from:
* HiddenDepths [[spoiler:Jane. Compared to Susan she's still pretty shallow but she's actually [[CloudCuckooLander less insane]] and more sensitive to others' feelings than she appears to be. She is, however, still an AttentionWhore.]]
to:
* HiddenDepths HiddenDepths: [[spoiler:Jane. Compared to Susan she's still pretty shallow but she's actually [[CloudCuckooLander less insane]] and more sensitive to others' feelings than she appears to be. She is, however, still an AttentionWhore.]]
Changed line(s) 112,114 (click to see context) from:
* KavorkaMan (Patrick, though it's a fine line between this and TheCasanova)
* LeftHanging (the finale of season 2)
* LifeEmbellished (Moffat calls the series "my life as told by a drunk")
* LeftHanging (the finale of season 2)
* LifeEmbellished (Moffat calls the series "my life as told by a drunk")
to:
* KavorkaMan (Patrick, KavorkaMan: Patrick, though it's a fine line between this and TheCasanova)
TheCasanova.
*LeftHanging (the LeftHanging: The finale of season 2)
2.
*LifeEmbellished (Moffat LifeEmbellished: Moffat calls the series "my life as told by a drunk")drunk"
*
*
Changed line(s) 116,117 (click to see context) from:
* LivingInAFurnitureStore (Averted so many times by RuleOfFunny)
* TheLoinsSleepTonight (the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Melty Man]])
* TheLoinsSleepTonight (the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Melty Man]])
to:
* LivingInAFurnitureStore (Averted LivingInAFurnitureStore: Averted so many times by RuleOfFunny)
RuleOfFunny
*TheLoinsSleepTonight (the TheLoinsSleepTonight: The [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Melty Man]])Man]]
*
Changed line(s) 134 (click to see context) from:
* PizzaBoySpecialDelivery (Jane does this in Jeff's flat.)
to:
* PizzaBoySpecialDelivery (Jane PizzaBoySpecialDelivery: Jane does this in Jeff's flat.)
Changed line(s) 136,138 (click to see context) from:
* PlugNPlayFriends (Oliver)
* {{Powerwalk}} (parodied: "Stop playing ''ReservoirDogs''!")
* PutOnABus (Jeff is Put On A Plane... to Lesbos)
* {{Powerwalk}} (parodied: "Stop playing ''ReservoirDogs''!")
* PutOnABus (Jeff is Put On A Plane... to Lesbos)
to:
* PlugNPlayFriends (Oliver)
PlugNPlayFriends: Oliver
*{{Powerwalk}} (parodied: {{Powerwalk}}: Parodied: "Stop playing ''ReservoirDogs''!")
''ReservoirDogs''!"
*PutOnABus (Jeff PutOnABus: Jeff is Put On A Plane... to Lesbos)Lesbos.
*
*
Changed line(s) 140 (click to see context) from:
* RantInducingSlight (Steve has at least one of these per series)
to:
* RantInducingSlight (Steve RantInducingSlight: Steve has at least one of these per series)series.
Changed line(s) 143 (click to see context) from:
* TheRashomon (Several times.)
to:
* TheRashomon (Several TheRashomon: Several times.)
Changed line(s) 153,154 (click to see context) from:
* RealSongThemeTune ("Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps")
* SadistShow (And how!)
* SadistShow (And how!)
to:
* RealSongThemeTune ("Perhaps, RealSongThemeTune: ''Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps")
Perhaps''
*SadistShow (And how!)SadistShow: And how!
*
Changed line(s) 156 (click to see context) from:
* ShirtlessScene (every male lead gets at least one, though Steve's are rather conservative
to:
* ShirtlessScene (every ShirtlessScene: Every male lead gets at least one, though Steve's are rather conservativeconservative.
Changed line(s) 174 (click to see context) from:
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute (Oliver replaced Jeff)
to:
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute (Oliver SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Oliver replaced Jeff)Jeff.
Changed line(s) 182,183 (click to see context) from:
* ThrowTheDogABone (see Crowning Moment of Funny)
* TwiceShy (Jeff and Julia)
* TwiceShy (Jeff and Julia)
to:
* ThrowTheDogABone (see ThrowTheDogABone: see Crowning Moment of Funny)
Funny
*TwiceShy (Jeff TwiceShy: Jeff and Julia)Julia.
*
Changed line(s) 189 (click to see context) from:
* UnusualEuphemism (Jeff has one for everything sex-related. In the first episode he introduces "The Zone" and "Unflushable" in the opening five minutes)
to:
* UnusualEuphemism (Jeff UnusualEuphemism: Jeff has one for everything sex-related. In the first episode he introduces "The Zone" and "Unflushable" in the opening five minutes)minutes.
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Added DiffLines:
* SpitTake: Both the women and the men when Jane/Oliver tells them Jane and Oliver were taking a stroll toward Oliver's apartment and Jane asked: "Can I come up?"
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* CantActPervertedTowardALoveInterest: Patrick doesn't succeed getting an erection during a hookup with Sally because he was falling in love with her.
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* DiggingYourselfDeeper: Jeff, whenever he talks to a woman.
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* MessyHair: Jeff.
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Changed line(s) 16 (click to see context) from:
* '''Patrick''': A laid-back casanova who ''does'' have his heart in the right place on occasion. He is also very well endowed (the tripod). Although he's not too bright, he has his serious moments.
to:
* '''Patrick''': A laid-back casanova who ''does'' have his heart in the right place on occasion. He is also very well endowed (the tripod).(a "tripod", apparently). Although he's not too bright, he has his serious moments.
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Augmented a character description
Changed line(s) 16 (click to see context) from:
* '''Patrick''': A laid-back casanova who ''does'' have his heart in the right place on occasion. Although he's not too bright, he has his serious moments.
to:
* '''Patrick''': A laid-back casanova who ''does'' have his heart in the right place on occasion. He is also very well endowed (the tripod). Although he's not too bright, he has his serious moments.
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added Noodle Incident reference
Added DiffLines:
* NoodleIncident: Jane's "long story" about her crazy twin in the season 2 finale.
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Deleted line(s) 81,90 (click to see context) :
* FreudWasRight: The whole show - note the fact that we've just listed every single trope with "Freud" in it.
** Jane's "Jake the Snake" puppet:
-->'''Sally:''' Oh my god, it's a penis!
* FridgeLogic: Which leads to a CrowningMomentOfFunny. During the episode "Inferno," after Jane's very vague grasp of what vegetarianism is, we get this exchange between her and her therapist at dinner:
-->'''Jill:''' A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat, you insane '''bitch.'''\\
'''Jane:''' I get enough of that language during our sessions.
** Realize that Jane is so screwed up, she has sent a licensed health professional so over the edge, she's insulted her repeatedly. It was our first major glimpse into how messed up Jane really is.
-->'''Jill''': We agreed two months ago to end your therapy, it was going nowhere.
-->'''Jane''': I thought that was just an exercise to help me cope with rejection!
-->'''Jill''': No, that ''was'' rejection.
** Jane's "Jake the Snake" puppet:
-->'''Sally:''' Oh my god, it's a penis!
* FridgeLogic: Which leads to a CrowningMomentOfFunny. During the episode "Inferno," after Jane's very vague grasp of what vegetarianism is, we get this exchange between her and her therapist at dinner:
-->'''Jill:''' A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat, you insane '''bitch.'''\\
'''Jane:''' I get enough of that language during our sessions.
** Realize that Jane is so screwed up, she has sent a licensed health professional so over the edge, she's insulted her repeatedly. It was our first major glimpse into how messed up Jane really is.
-->'''Jill''': We agreed two months ago to end your therapy, it was going nowhere.
-->'''Jane''': I thought that was just an exercise to help me cope with rejection!
-->'''Jill''': No, that ''was'' rejection.
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Changed line(s) 49 (click to see context) from:
* BritishBrevity: Four seriess, and a total of 28 episodes, just barely more than a single American season of 22.
to:
* BritishBrevity: Four seriess, series, and a total of 28 episodes, just barely more than a single American season of 22.
Changed line(s) 56 (click to see context) from:
* CharacterFilibuster: Steve, about [[OneAnEpisode Once A Series]] - topics include pornography, the pointlessness of cushions, and [[HappyPlace the sanctity of the toilet]].
to:
* CharacterFilibuster: Steve, about [[OneAnEpisode [[OnceAnEpisode Once A Series]] - topics include pornography, the pointlessness of cushions, and [[HappyPlace the sanctity of the toilet]].
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Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* BondageIsBad: Averted. Jeff and his girlfriend are shown to take part in bondage as part of their relationship and it shown as part of a loving consensual relationship...or would be if Jeff weren't so bad at it.
to:
* BondageIsBad: Averted. Jeff and his girlfriend are shown to take part in bondage as part of their relationship and it shown as part of a loving consensual relationship... or would be if Jeff weren't so bad at it.
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Added DiffLines:
* BondageIsBad: Averted. Jeff and his girlfriend are shown to take part in bondage as part of their relationship and it shown as part of a loving consensual relationship...or would be if Jeff weren't so bad at it.
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YMMV sinkhole
Changed line(s) 20,21 (click to see context) from:
It had a US remake that lasted about four episodes before being chased off the face of the Earth. (The Greek version ran for a whole series.) YourMileageMayVary, though.
to:
It had a US remake that lasted about four episodes before being chased off the face of the Earth. (The Greek version ran for a whole series.) YourMileageMayVary, though.
)
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Changed line(s) 181 (click to see context) from:
* TheCastShowOff: In the U.S. version, Chris Moynihan showcases his juggling and balancing talents.
to:
* TheCastShowOff: In the U.S. version, Chris Moynihan showcases his juggling and balancing talents.talents in one episode.
Added DiffLines:
* TheWindyCity: The setting of the U.S. version
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Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
*** Played straight in the U.S. version, in one episode it's strongly implied that she slept with weather girl Connie.
to:
*** Played straight in the U.S. version, in one episode it's strongly implied that she Jane slept with weather girl Connie.
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* ExecutiveMeddling: The original pilot for the U.S. version was based off the episode "Inferno" and was more faithful to the original show, which confused NBC execs, so they gave showrunners Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont and original series director Martin Dennis the heave-ho, along with Kaplan's husband, Breckin Meyer (Melissa George had also been fired and replaced by Rena Sofer a month earlier) and Emily Rutherford, ''Cheers'' executive producer Phoef Sutton was subsequently brought in to redevelop the show.
Changed line(s) 126 (click to see context) from:
* MissingEpisode: Only four out of ten episodes of the U.S. version aired on NBC before the show was cancelled, though the remaining episodes did air in Europe.
to:
* MissingEpisode: Only four out of ten episodes of the U.S. version aired on NBC before the show was cancelled, though the remaining episodes did air in Europe.Europe, the original pilot for the U.S. version(which featured Melissa George as Susan) however has never aired.
Added DiffLines:
* TheCastShowOff: In the U.S. version, Chris Moynihan showcases his juggling and balancing talents.
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Added DiffLines:
*** Played straight in the U.S. version, in one episode it's strongly implied that she slept with weather girl Connie.
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Added DiffLines:
* RealPersonCameo: Mariella Frostrup and Angus Deayton appear in a weird, possibly imaginary sequence in the second episode; Mariella appears in a later episode for real.
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Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:333:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/coupling_uk-show_3697.jpg]]
->"Let me explain, Patrick. Here on Earth, there is a gap between seeing someone you like and having sex with them that we like to call conversation. In Jeff's case, it can last for up to ten years."
-->--Steve
''Coupling'' was a British SitCom from 2000 to 2004 about a circle of friends and their complicated sex lives. Written by StevenMoffat, produced by his wife Sue Vertue, and based very loosely on their early relationship. (The WordOfGod is that Steve and Susan went on to make a sitcom about their lives, and Steve is now working on "[[Series/DoctorWho some old kids show they recently pulled out of mothballs]]".)
The series was notable for its meticulously-crafted plots, revolving around lies and misunderstandings in the FawltyTowersPlot and ThreeIsCompany veins, and hilarious cases of DiggingYourselfDeeper. Each episode was very detailed and expansive on matters such as impotence, masturbation, pornography and lesbianism. It's different to other 'traditional' British comedy and certainly isn't anything like ''{{Blackadder}}'' or ''FatherTed''.
The characters are intended to represent a spectrum of confidence and paranoia in relationships among men and women. They are:
* '''Steve''': A nice, if somewhat neurotic everyman, who starts dating Susan after breaking up with Jane.
* '''Susan''': A snarky and practical blonde with the occasional mean streak, who starts dating Steve after breaking up with Patrick.
* '''Jeff''': Steve's best friend. A paranoid ManChild obsessed with women's bits who provides the show's most awkward moments.
* '''Sally''': Susan's beauty-obsessed best friend. Although originally written as a one-note character, she gets plenty of serious character development after the first series.
* '''Patrick''': A laid-back casanova who ''does'' have his heart in the right place on occasion. Although he's not too bright, he has his serious moments.
* '''Jane''': Steve's ex. A walking mess of crazy with many hidden layers of even more crazy, although hidden underneath all of ''that'' crazy, she seems to be a very sweet, very scared woman.
* '''Oliver''': The final series' replacement of Jeff. Owns a fantasy/sci-fi store and is worse with the opposite gender than the rest of the cast combined.
It had a US remake that lasted about four episodes before being chased off the face of the Earth. (The Greek version ran for a whole series.) YourMileageMayVary, though.
The central cast of three male and three female characters inevitably invited comparisons with ''{{Friends}}'' and led to a certain amount of disappointment among some viewers when it wasn't in fact much like ''Friends'' at all. This comparison, along with the short-lived American remake, were {{Lampshaded}} in series 4, when Steve states that their lives are not "an American sitcom".
Came fifty-fourth in ''Series/BritainsBestSitcom''.
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* AbortedArc ([[spoiler:Jeff and Jane were implied to have an interest in each other at the end of series 3, but Jeff's actor left the show and this was never mentioned again.]])
** This was, however, [[spoiler:salvaged for [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Oliver]] in the fourth series]].
* AnthropomorphicPersonification (we do not talk about [[spoiler:[[TheLoinsSleepTonight the Melty Man.]]]])
** We do talk about Captain {{Subtext}}, but only when we mean something else...
* AttentionWhore: Jane
* AuthorAvatar: Steve.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:Steve and Susan.]]
* TheBabyTrap: [[spoiler: Susan attempts this with Steve]]:
--> "We never really got 'round to organizing a wedding. Thought maybe a whole human being would be easier."
* BetterThanSex: Jeff once said this of a childhood activity that involved writing the word "naked" hundreds of times on a sheet of paper and rubbing his face in it.
* BigBrotherMentor (Jeff tries to be this to Steve, even though they're the same age)
* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Patrick, so much so that a former girlfriend used him as a model for a sex aid--without his knowledge.
-->'''Steve:''' I think you may have been had, mate.
-->'''Jeff:''' And a lot more often than you realized!
** In his personal opinion, he's also "got technique". His ex Jane disagrees, advising him that, when kissing, he should stop considering the epiglottis at the back of the throat a target and that he should stop trying to make nipples revolve like the knobs on an etch-a-sketch.
* BirthdaySuitSurpriseParty: Oh, ''Geoffrey''.
* BiTheWay: Jane mentions early in the show that she's bisexual, and mentions it often, but Susan thinks [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians she isn't bisexual at all]]. At one point she claims that being bi means she can go out with gay men, and simply won't believe the gay man in question when he tries to [[IncrediblyLamePun put her straight]]. However, when Susan later snogs her in order to turn on Steve, Jane is very obviously affected by it.
** Later in the series though, Oliver points out to Jane how these claims are all part of her tendency to [[AttentionWhore do anything to get attention]]. When she denies it, [[SubvertedTrope he shows her a foldout from a lads mag and she squeals and turns away in horror]].
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Susan, Jane, Sally.
* BritCom
* BritishBrevity: Four seriess, and a total of 28 episodes, just barely more than a single American season of 22.
* ButtMonkey (Steve and Jeff take turns in this role -- Oliver too, when Jeff leaves)
* CannotTalkToWomen: This is one of Jeff's defining characteristics.
* TheCasanova: Patrick
* CategoryTraitor: Sally accuses a gay man of being a traitor because he supports the Conservatives.
* CerebusSyndrome (started rearing its head in series 3 with the increasing Patrick/Sally tension, but became more noticeable after Jeff left)
** Jeff himself was going through this just before he left, especially in his last conversation with Jane - it's filled with plenty of jokes but it slowly becomes clear just how lonely and deeply unhappy they both are, especially when they get onto talking about their love interests who are supposedly 'exploring their feelings' which as Jeff sadly points out means they are actually being dumped.
* CharacterFilibuster: Steve, about [[OneAnEpisode Once A Series]] - topics include pornography, the pointlessness of cushions, and [[HappyPlace the sanctity of the toilet]].
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds (the finale of series 3 had [[spoiler:Patrick and Sally finally getting together]], and series 4 gave [[spoiler:Jane a love interest in the form of Jeff's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute]])
* {{Cliffhanger}}: Every series ends this way.
* CloudCuckoolander: Jane and Patrick both have their moments.
* ClusterFBomb: Sally's reaction to [[spoiler: discovering Patrick's engagement ring]].
* CountryMatters: When Susan is in labor in the series finale, she wants to have a natural birth, but tells Steve to ask her three times if she wants the drugs. Midway through, though, she changes her mind about this:
-->'''Nurse:''' She said "you can't."\\
'''Steve:''' Yeah, trust me, the word wasn't "can't."
* DidNotDoTheResearch - On one of the DVD commentaries, Steven Moffat mentions how the above mentioned 'Jeff in the Gimp Mask' scene was the subject of complaints from fetishist groups - who stated that in S&M, the person wearing the gimp mask is always the one chained to the bed, not the one doing the chaining.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Though in the scene in question]], Jeff was impersonating Darth Vader, who is a villain with a dominant personality.
*** Also entirely possible that the ''characters'' didn't do the research, given that they don't appear to be what you would call experts in it.
** Steven Moffat also criticised himself for having a character mention that he found religion whereas a religious person would say that he found God.
* DepthDeception: Jeff being dragged up to the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny miniature]] [[GroinAttack guillotine]].
* DramaBombFinale (in a rare HappyEnding version of the trope)
* DiggingYourselfDeeper - Jeff, in spades - the trope was formerly [[TropeNamer named]] for Jeff's epic "Bucket of Ears" speech in "The Girl With Two Breasts". Steve has his moments, too.
* DistractedByTheSexy: The reason for Steve's five failed attempts to break up with Jane.
* EarpieceConversation: Jeff gets talked through a possibly-a-date with a co-worker.
* EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench: In one episode, it's mentioned that Susan has a bad weakness for an Aussie accent. According to Sally, when they were visiting Australia, they always knew it was time to leave town when a new bar was named after her.
* FawltyTowersPlot
* FidelityTest
* FreudianExcuse (Jeff's mental stability is largely a result of the way his mother raised him)
* FreudianSlip Lampshaded with Captain Subtext.
* FreudianSlipperySlope:
-->'''Jane:''' I do not say "penis" when I mean penis! I mean, penis! Penis, car, penis, car...
* FreudWasRight: The whole show - note the fact that we've just listed every single trope with "Freud" in it.
** Jane's "Jake the Snake" puppet:
-->'''Sally:''' Oh my god, it's a penis!
* FridgeLogic: Which leads to a CrowningMomentOfFunny. During the episode "Inferno," after Jane's very vague grasp of what vegetarianism is, we get this exchange between her and her therapist at dinner:
-->'''Jill:''' A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat, you insane '''bitch.'''\\
'''Jane:''' I get enough of that language during our sessions.
** Realize that Jane is so screwed up, she has sent a licensed health professional so over the edge, she's insulted her repeatedly. It was our first major glimpse into how messed up Jane really is.
-->'''Jill''': We agreed two months ago to end your therapy, it was going nowhere.
-->'''Jane''': I thought that was just an exercise to help me cope with rejection!
-->'''Jill''': No, that ''was'' rejection.
* FullNameUltimatum: Jeff's mother's reaction to the (very many) times she [[CaughtWithYourPantsDown caught him doing something embarrassing]] was always "Oh, ''Geoffrey''..."
* TheFunInFuneral: The "Giggle Loop"; also the memorable "Will you three stop playing ''ReservoirDogs''?"
* GayConservative (Howard, Jane's "date")
* GenderEqualEnsemble: Three guys (Steve, Patrick and Jeff) and three gals (Sally, Susan and Jane).
* GirlOnGirlIsHot (Noted by ''every'' main male character, Steve in particular.)
** So crucial is lesbianism to Steve's (ahem) solo sex life that he finds himself unable to give a sample at a clinic until Jeff fetches some porn from home to supplement the material provided.
* AGodAmI (Jane has a strange moment like this in "Faithless".)
* GranolaGirl (Jane)
** It's debatable though in how far this is just another mask she uses to manipulate the people around her.
*** TwoWords: "Bi-Vegetarian".
* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: Jeff is clean-shaven in the present, but in a flashback to about two years earlier he has a goatee and shorter hair. He also has 5000 fewer synonyms for 'breasts' in his collection.
* HandsomeLech: Patrick. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better.]]
* HiddenDepths [[spoiler:Jane. Compared to Susan she's still pretty shallow but she's actually [[CloudCuckooLander less insane]] and more sensitive to others' feelings than she appears to be. She is, however, still an AttentionWhore.]]
** Susan, on the other hand, is actually ''more'' shallow than she appears to be.
* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Jeff.
* HypocriticalHumor: Sally's punchline to this speech:
-->'''Jeff:''' If you're gay, see... if you're gay, masturbation is practice. Y'know, you can have a good old practice on your own, and then later, when you're ready, when you've got the hang of it, you have a go on someone else's. It's a piece of piss.... See, it's different... it's different when you're a straight bloke. When we finally get our hands on the gear, let me tell you, it's not a drill. Gays have their own practice kit, but you don't get any practice women. We're supposed to fly those babies the first time we get in 'em!
-->'''Howard:''' That's a very good point, actually.
-->'''Sally:''' No it's not, it's homophobic, you stupid queen!
* IAmSpartacus: "I'm Giselle!"
** "In that case, ''I'm'' Dick Darlington!"
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: There were several episodes titled "The [Man/Girl] With [X] [Body part]"
* IfYouDieICallYourStuff: ("Porn buddies" are a variation in which the surviving buddy has to retrieve all the porn from the dead one's flat before their family [[PersonalEffectsReveal goes through their effects]], to spare the dead man's post-mortem embarrassment and help the survivor through the grieving process.)
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Patrick, in the series 3 finale. It's '''epic'''. [[spoiler:And a subversion.]]
-->'''Patrick''': Sally, you need someone who'll love you forever, properly. You're my friend, Sally, and I wanna see you with the best. You need Mister Amazing, Mister Incredibly-Superbly-Fantastic... ness. And in your heart, I'm sure you know I'm right.\\
'''Sally''': I don't want Mister Incredibly-Superbly-Fantastic-ness, you stupid, stupid arse. I want you.\\
'''Patrick''': Oh, for God's sake, Sally...\\
'''Sally''': What?\\
'''Patrick''': [[spoiler:...I was ''talking about '''me'''!'']]
* KavorkaMan (Patrick, though it's a fine line between this and TheCasanova)
* LeftHanging (the finale of season 2)
* LifeEmbellished (Moffat calls the series "my life as told by a drunk")
** In a specific example, he says that he wrote "Inferno" based on a similar situation where he was caught with porn in his VCR; however, he admits to adding the "spanking" part because it made the whole things just a little more twisted.
* LivingInAFurnitureStore (Averted so many times by RuleOfFunny)
* TheLoinsSleepTonight (the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Melty Man]])
* MarsAndVenusGenderContrast: Plot and humour both tend to rely heavily on this, particularly Steve's {{Character Filibuster}}s.
* MenCantKeepHouse
* MissingEpisode: Only four out of ten episodes of the U.S. version aired on NBC before the show was cancelled, though the remaining episodes did air in Europe.
* MistakenForGay: Sally, by Patrick's girlfriend, probably because Patrick told her "that Sally is the sort of woman who...is a lesbian." She [[BiTheWay doesn't mind]], however, and it leads to a wacky misunderstanding, of course. See OneDialogueTwoConversations.
** Happens in an earlier episode when the gang mistakes Jane's therapist for her lesbian lover and the therapist mistakes Patrick for gay.
* MushroomSamba: Jane on the "paracetemol" in ''Jane & The Truth Snake''
* MustMakeAmends: Steve does this a ''lot''. He's actually pretty good at it.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Jeff. To a lesser extent, Oliver.
* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Sally with Patrick's GirlOfTheWeek Jennifer - Sally thinks Jennifer was fooling around with Jeff, but that she's worked out Sally is in love with Patrick. Jennifer thinks Sally is a lesbian and is coming on to her.
** The award-winning episode "The Girl With Two Breasts" is a variation, showing Jeff's cross-linguistic conversation with an Israeli woman from each of their perspectives.
** Moffat ''loves'' this trope. There's dozens of little titbits in this and other scribblings that rely on OneDialogueTwoConversations; here it's used to cement the FawltyTowersPlot.
* OneHourWorkWeek: Neatly averted, as most episodes either take place at night or show the characters at or leaving work.
* OpenMouthInsertFoot: Jeff when he talks to any woman always inserts two feet and then some.
* OverAndUnderTheTop: Steve and Susan are an {{Everyman}} couple, and their relationship is the focus of the series. Jeff and Sally are far too neurotic about relationships while Jane and Patrick are overly casual.
* PizzaBoySpecialDelivery (Jane does this in Jeff's flat.)
-->'''Jane''': He works in pizza delivery, which just answers all your prayers, doesn't it? Man, motorbike, has own food.
* PlugNPlayFriends (Oliver)
* {{Powerwalk}} (parodied: "Stop playing ''ReservoirDogs''!")
* PutOnABus (Jeff is Put On A Plane... to Lesbos)
* RantComedy: When Steve is allowed to break out of DeadpanSnarker mode, get ready to PassThePopcorn.
* RantInducingSlight (Steve has at least one of these per series)
-->'''Susan:''' ''[following Steve's rant]'' ...would you like me to put the lock back on the bathroom door, dear?\\
'''Steve:''' Would you mind?
* TheRashomon (Several times.)
-->''From Patrick's recollection of the story:''\\
'''Sally''': How did you get to the party, then?\\
'''Patrick''': BMW M3. Midnight blue. Nought to 60 in five seconds, on to 100 in another six. Sequential semiautomatic gear box, traction control, and black leather seats.
-->''From Sally's recollection of the story:''\\
'''Sally''': How did you get to the party, then?\\
'''Patrick''': Car.
** The episodes "The End of the Line", "Remember This" and "Nine and a Half Minutes" entirely revolve around this trope.
* RealSongThemeTune ("Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps")
* SadistShow (And how!)
* SceneryCensor
* ShirtlessScene (every male lead gets at least one, though Steve's are rather conservative
* ShoutOut
-->'''Steve''': But Susan, Sally, Jane, this... is a sofa. It is designed by clever scientists in such a way so is to shield the unprotected user from the way of skin abrasions, serious head trauma, and of course - [he collapses behind the sofa and reemerges] - [[Series/DoctorWho Daleks!]]
** Oliver also has Doctor Who merchandise in his bookshop, and when going to a dinner with the gang, wears a sweater reading "Bring Back Doctor Who" on the back.
*** Which became HilariousInHindsight after StevenMoffat started working for Series/DoctorWho
** The whole show is laden with these, all highlighting Moffat's geeky nature: Steve describing the deep meaning of Alien to men everywhere, the Melty Man being shown as a Darth Vader parody, all the references to comic book superheroes.
* SitCom
* SixStudentClique:
** The main character: Steve
** The Muscle: Patrick
** The Quirk: Jeff/Oliver
** The Pretty One: Sally
** The Smart One: Susan
** The Wild One: Jane
* SplitScreen
* StopBeingStereotypical: Sally gets mad when Howard, a gay friend (whom Jane believes to be her boyfriend) agrees with Jeff's bizarre views on homosexuality, and exclaims [[HypocriticalHumor "That's homophobic, you stupid queen!"]]
** In fairness, the above alluded view on homosexuality was Jeff suggesting that: (paraphrased) "Sex is easier for gay men, because all of the masturbating men do in their lives turns out to be practice. All the while they have a 'practice kit' for the real thing, but straight men don't get any practice women". While this certainly IS a somewhat bizarre view, its perhaps not as offensive as it seems without details. It's also worth noting that this was supposed to be a drunken conversation, after a dozen pints very late in the evening and both of the guys are visibly drunk acting. Howard may well have been winding Sally up anyway, because she got really snarky about him being a Tory earlier in the scene.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute (Oliver replaced Jeff)
* SwallowTheKey: Done accidentally in one episode, when Jeff Murdock holds the key to his girlfriend's handcuffs in his mouth and then does his best Darth Vader impression. He spends the episode trying to find a way to get it out before she realizes what's gone wrong.
-->'''Jeff:''' (''on laxatives'') If I take all of them at once, [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} do you think there's a danger of liftoff?]]
* TheTell: "You only say apparently when you're annoyed at something."
* ThreeIsCompany
* ThreeWaySex
* ThrowTheDogABone (see Crowning Moment of Funny)
* TwiceShy (Jeff and Julia)
* UnexpectedPositive: Sally buys three pregnancy tests because she doesn't know what a negative test looks like and asks Susan and Jane to take one each.
* UnexplainedAccent: Richard Coyle (Jeff) absolutely does not have a Welsh accent, and he was never asked to do one for the show. According to Steve Moffat in one of the commentaries, he simply showed up on set doing the accent, and since he wasn't a well known actor no-one noticed for ages until they got to know him better, by which point the first episode had been filmed and there was nothing they could do.
** The accent is pretty authentic and so isn't really a 'comedy accent', but there is not denying it gives a certain something to Jeff's bizarre sexual metaphors.
*** We meet his mother at one point, who does not share his accent. Since Jeff talks about his teenage years with her implying she was around his whole life, it seems that the show in no way wants to deal with Jeffs accent, leaving it as a genuine imponderable.
*** The most likely theory is RuleOfFunny. Quite a few of the most common words in Jeff's arsenal (breasts, genitals) sound a little funnier in a Welsh accent. Listen to the small trill in his "R's" when he says the word "breasts."
* UnusualEuphemism (Jeff has one for everything sex-related. In the first episode he introduces "The Zone" and "Unflushable" in the opening five minutes)
** There's also the Sock Gap, the Nudity Buffer and the (non-sex-related) Giggle Loop.
** The others got in on it, too. Remember the girls with "The Fuck-me Fork?"
* WordOfGod: Responding to a message board request, ''Coupling'' creator (and sole writer) Steven Moffat wrote a breakdown of the characters' lives several years after the fourth and final series. This gave Moffat the chance to write an "ending" for the character of Jeff, despite actor Richard Coyle leaving the previous year.
** Unfortunately, because the primary source (an old Series/DoctorWho forum called Outpost Gallifrey) has closed, TheOtherWiki wouldn't keep it on the show's page anymore because of lack of citation, so if it pleases the crowds, here is the text to be preserved for everyone to read:
--> "Sally said yes to Patrick, they got married and are very happy... especially as Sally beat Susan to the altar, and finally did something first. Patrick is now a completely devoted husband, who lives in total denial that he was anything other an upstanding member of the community. Or possibly he's actually forgotten. He doesn't like remembering things because it's a bit like thinking.
-->Jane and Oliver never actually did have sex, but they did become very good friends. They often rejoice together that their friendship is uncomplicated by any kind of sexual attraction - but they both get murderously jealous when the other is dating. Jane has a job at Oliver's science fiction book shop now - and since Oliver has that one moment of Naked Jane burnt on the inside of his eyelids, he now loses the place in one in every three sentences. People who know them well think something's gotta give - and they're right. Especially as Jane comes to work in a metal bikini.
-->Steve and Susan have two children now, and have recently completed work on a sitcom about their early lives together. They're developing a new television project, but it keeps getting delayed as he insists on writing episodes of some old kids show they recently pulled out of mothballs. She gets very cross about this, and if he says "Yeah but check out the season poll!" one more time, he will not live to write another word.
-->Jeff is still abroad. He lives a life of complete peace and serenity now, having taken the precaution of not learning a word of the local language and therefore protecting himself from the consequences of his own special brand of communication. If any English speakers turn up, he pretends he only speaks Hebrew. He is, at this very moment, staring out to sea, and sighing happily every thirty-eight seconds.
-->What he doesn't know, of course, is that even now a beautiful Israeli girl he once met in a bar, is heading towards his apartment, having been directed to the only Hebrew speaker on the island. What he also doesn't know is that she is being driven by a young ex-pat English woman, who is still grieving the loss of a charming, one-legged Welshman she once met on a train. And he cannot possibly suspect that (owing to a laundry mix-up, and a stag party the previous night in the same block) he is wearing heat-dissolving trunks.
-->As the doorbell rings, it is best that we draw a veil."
* YourLittleDismissiveDiminutive: Susan does this a few times, usually when annoyed at Steve talking about something with his friends.
----
->"Let me explain, Patrick. Here on Earth, there is a gap between seeing someone you like and having sex with them that we like to call conversation. In Jeff's case, it can last for up to ten years."
-->--Steve
''Coupling'' was a British SitCom from 2000 to 2004 about a circle of friends and their complicated sex lives. Written by StevenMoffat, produced by his wife Sue Vertue, and based very loosely on their early relationship. (The WordOfGod is that Steve and Susan went on to make a sitcom about their lives, and Steve is now working on "[[Series/DoctorWho some old kids show they recently pulled out of mothballs]]".)
The series was notable for its meticulously-crafted plots, revolving around lies and misunderstandings in the FawltyTowersPlot and ThreeIsCompany veins, and hilarious cases of DiggingYourselfDeeper. Each episode was very detailed and expansive on matters such as impotence, masturbation, pornography and lesbianism. It's different to other 'traditional' British comedy and certainly isn't anything like ''{{Blackadder}}'' or ''FatherTed''.
The characters are intended to represent a spectrum of confidence and paranoia in relationships among men and women. They are:
* '''Steve''': A nice, if somewhat neurotic everyman, who starts dating Susan after breaking up with Jane.
* '''Susan''': A snarky and practical blonde with the occasional mean streak, who starts dating Steve after breaking up with Patrick.
* '''Jeff''': Steve's best friend. A paranoid ManChild obsessed with women's bits who provides the show's most awkward moments.
* '''Sally''': Susan's beauty-obsessed best friend. Although originally written as a one-note character, she gets plenty of serious character development after the first series.
* '''Patrick''': A laid-back casanova who ''does'' have his heart in the right place on occasion. Although he's not too bright, he has his serious moments.
* '''Jane''': Steve's ex. A walking mess of crazy with many hidden layers of even more crazy, although hidden underneath all of ''that'' crazy, she seems to be a very sweet, very scared woman.
* '''Oliver''': The final series' replacement of Jeff. Owns a fantasy/sci-fi store and is worse with the opposite gender than the rest of the cast combined.
It had a US remake that lasted about four episodes before being chased off the face of the Earth. (The Greek version ran for a whole series.) YourMileageMayVary, though.
The central cast of three male and three female characters inevitably invited comparisons with ''{{Friends}}'' and led to a certain amount of disappointment among some viewers when it wasn't in fact much like ''Friends'' at all. This comparison, along with the short-lived American remake, were {{Lampshaded}} in series 4, when Steve states that their lives are not "an American sitcom".
Came fifty-fourth in ''Series/BritainsBestSitcom''.
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* AbortedArc ([[spoiler:Jeff and Jane were implied to have an interest in each other at the end of series 3, but Jeff's actor left the show and this was never mentioned again.]])
** This was, however, [[spoiler:salvaged for [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Oliver]] in the fourth series]].
* AnthropomorphicPersonification (we do not talk about [[spoiler:[[TheLoinsSleepTonight the Melty Man.]]]])
** We do talk about Captain {{Subtext}}, but only when we mean something else...
* AttentionWhore: Jane
* AuthorAvatar: Steve.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:Steve and Susan.]]
* TheBabyTrap: [[spoiler: Susan attempts this with Steve]]:
--> "We never really got 'round to organizing a wedding. Thought maybe a whole human being would be easier."
* BetterThanSex: Jeff once said this of a childhood activity that involved writing the word "naked" hundreds of times on a sheet of paper and rubbing his face in it.
* BigBrotherMentor (Jeff tries to be this to Steve, even though they're the same age)
* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Patrick, so much so that a former girlfriend used him as a model for a sex aid--without his knowledge.
-->'''Steve:''' I think you may have been had, mate.
-->'''Jeff:''' And a lot more often than you realized!
** In his personal opinion, he's also "got technique". His ex Jane disagrees, advising him that, when kissing, he should stop considering the epiglottis at the back of the throat a target and that he should stop trying to make nipples revolve like the knobs on an etch-a-sketch.
* BirthdaySuitSurpriseParty: Oh, ''Geoffrey''.
* BiTheWay: Jane mentions early in the show that she's bisexual, and mentions it often, but Susan thinks [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians she isn't bisexual at all]]. At one point she claims that being bi means she can go out with gay men, and simply won't believe the gay man in question when he tries to [[IncrediblyLamePun put her straight]]. However, when Susan later snogs her in order to turn on Steve, Jane is very obviously affected by it.
** Later in the series though, Oliver points out to Jane how these claims are all part of her tendency to [[AttentionWhore do anything to get attention]]. When she denies it, [[SubvertedTrope he shows her a foldout from a lads mag and she squeals and turns away in horror]].
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Susan, Jane, Sally.
* BritCom
* BritishBrevity: Four seriess, and a total of 28 episodes, just barely more than a single American season of 22.
* ButtMonkey (Steve and Jeff take turns in this role -- Oliver too, when Jeff leaves)
* CannotTalkToWomen: This is one of Jeff's defining characteristics.
* TheCasanova: Patrick
* CategoryTraitor: Sally accuses a gay man of being a traitor because he supports the Conservatives.
* CerebusSyndrome (started rearing its head in series 3 with the increasing Patrick/Sally tension, but became more noticeable after Jeff left)
** Jeff himself was going through this just before he left, especially in his last conversation with Jane - it's filled with plenty of jokes but it slowly becomes clear just how lonely and deeply unhappy they both are, especially when they get onto talking about their love interests who are supposedly 'exploring their feelings' which as Jeff sadly points out means they are actually being dumped.
* CharacterFilibuster: Steve, about [[OneAnEpisode Once A Series]] - topics include pornography, the pointlessness of cushions, and [[HappyPlace the sanctity of the toilet]].
* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds (the finale of series 3 had [[spoiler:Patrick and Sally finally getting together]], and series 4 gave [[spoiler:Jane a love interest in the form of Jeff's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute]])
* {{Cliffhanger}}: Every series ends this way.
* CloudCuckoolander: Jane and Patrick both have their moments.
* ClusterFBomb: Sally's reaction to [[spoiler: discovering Patrick's engagement ring]].
* CountryMatters: When Susan is in labor in the series finale, she wants to have a natural birth, but tells Steve to ask her three times if she wants the drugs. Midway through, though, she changes her mind about this:
-->'''Nurse:''' She said "you can't."\\
'''Steve:''' Yeah, trust me, the word wasn't "can't."
* DidNotDoTheResearch - On one of the DVD commentaries, Steven Moffat mentions how the above mentioned 'Jeff in the Gimp Mask' scene was the subject of complaints from fetishist groups - who stated that in S&M, the person wearing the gimp mask is always the one chained to the bed, not the one doing the chaining.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Though in the scene in question]], Jeff was impersonating Darth Vader, who is a villain with a dominant personality.
*** Also entirely possible that the ''characters'' didn't do the research, given that they don't appear to be what you would call experts in it.
** Steven Moffat also criticised himself for having a character mention that he found religion whereas a religious person would say that he found God.
* DepthDeception: Jeff being dragged up to the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny miniature]] [[GroinAttack guillotine]].
* DramaBombFinale (in a rare HappyEnding version of the trope)
* DiggingYourselfDeeper - Jeff, in spades - the trope was formerly [[TropeNamer named]] for Jeff's epic "Bucket of Ears" speech in "The Girl With Two Breasts". Steve has his moments, too.
* DistractedByTheSexy: The reason for Steve's five failed attempts to break up with Jane.
* EarpieceConversation: Jeff gets talked through a possibly-a-date with a co-worker.
* EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench: In one episode, it's mentioned that Susan has a bad weakness for an Aussie accent. According to Sally, when they were visiting Australia, they always knew it was time to leave town when a new bar was named after her.
* FawltyTowersPlot
* FidelityTest
* FreudianExcuse (Jeff's mental stability is largely a result of the way his mother raised him)
* FreudianSlip Lampshaded with Captain Subtext.
* FreudianSlipperySlope:
-->'''Jane:''' I do not say "penis" when I mean penis! I mean, penis! Penis, car, penis, car...
* FreudWasRight: The whole show - note the fact that we've just listed every single trope with "Freud" in it.
** Jane's "Jake the Snake" puppet:
-->'''Sally:''' Oh my god, it's a penis!
* FridgeLogic: Which leads to a CrowningMomentOfFunny. During the episode "Inferno," after Jane's very vague grasp of what vegetarianism is, we get this exchange between her and her therapist at dinner:
-->'''Jill:''' A vegetarian is someone who does not eat meat, you insane '''bitch.'''\\
'''Jane:''' I get enough of that language during our sessions.
** Realize that Jane is so screwed up, she has sent a licensed health professional so over the edge, she's insulted her repeatedly. It was our first major glimpse into how messed up Jane really is.
-->'''Jill''': We agreed two months ago to end your therapy, it was going nowhere.
-->'''Jane''': I thought that was just an exercise to help me cope with rejection!
-->'''Jill''': No, that ''was'' rejection.
* FullNameUltimatum: Jeff's mother's reaction to the (very many) times she [[CaughtWithYourPantsDown caught him doing something embarrassing]] was always "Oh, ''Geoffrey''..."
* TheFunInFuneral: The "Giggle Loop"; also the memorable "Will you three stop playing ''ReservoirDogs''?"
* GayConservative (Howard, Jane's "date")
* GenderEqualEnsemble: Three guys (Steve, Patrick and Jeff) and three gals (Sally, Susan and Jane).
* GirlOnGirlIsHot (Noted by ''every'' main male character, Steve in particular.)
** So crucial is lesbianism to Steve's (ahem) solo sex life that he finds himself unable to give a sample at a clinic until Jeff fetches some porn from home to supplement the material provided.
* AGodAmI (Jane has a strange moment like this in "Faithless".)
* GranolaGirl (Jane)
** It's debatable though in how far this is just another mask she uses to manipulate the people around her.
*** TwoWords: "Bi-Vegetarian".
* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: Jeff is clean-shaven in the present, but in a flashback to about two years earlier he has a goatee and shorter hair. He also has 5000 fewer synonyms for 'breasts' in his collection.
* HandsomeLech: Patrick. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better.]]
* HiddenDepths [[spoiler:Jane. Compared to Susan she's still pretty shallow but she's actually [[CloudCuckooLander less insane]] and more sensitive to others' feelings than she appears to be. She is, however, still an AttentionWhore.]]
** Susan, on the other hand, is actually ''more'' shallow than she appears to be.
* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Jeff.
* HypocriticalHumor: Sally's punchline to this speech:
-->'''Jeff:''' If you're gay, see... if you're gay, masturbation is practice. Y'know, you can have a good old practice on your own, and then later, when you're ready, when you've got the hang of it, you have a go on someone else's. It's a piece of piss.... See, it's different... it's different when you're a straight bloke. When we finally get our hands on the gear, let me tell you, it's not a drill. Gays have their own practice kit, but you don't get any practice women. We're supposed to fly those babies the first time we get in 'em!
-->'''Howard:''' That's a very good point, actually.
-->'''Sally:''' No it's not, it's homophobic, you stupid queen!
* IAmSpartacus: "I'm Giselle!"
** "In that case, ''I'm'' Dick Darlington!"
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: There were several episodes titled "The [Man/Girl] With [X] [Body part]"
* IfYouDieICallYourStuff: ("Porn buddies" are a variation in which the surviving buddy has to retrieve all the porn from the dead one's flat before their family [[PersonalEffectsReveal goes through their effects]], to spare the dead man's post-mortem embarrassment and help the survivor through the grieving process.)
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Patrick, in the series 3 finale. It's '''epic'''. [[spoiler:And a subversion.]]
-->'''Patrick''': Sally, you need someone who'll love you forever, properly. You're my friend, Sally, and I wanna see you with the best. You need Mister Amazing, Mister Incredibly-Superbly-Fantastic... ness. And in your heart, I'm sure you know I'm right.\\
'''Sally''': I don't want Mister Incredibly-Superbly-Fantastic-ness, you stupid, stupid arse. I want you.\\
'''Patrick''': Oh, for God's sake, Sally...\\
'''Sally''': What?\\
'''Patrick''': [[spoiler:...I was ''talking about '''me'''!'']]
* KavorkaMan (Patrick, though it's a fine line between this and TheCasanova)
* LeftHanging (the finale of season 2)
* LifeEmbellished (Moffat calls the series "my life as told by a drunk")
** In a specific example, he says that he wrote "Inferno" based on a similar situation where he was caught with porn in his VCR; however, he admits to adding the "spanking" part because it made the whole things just a little more twisted.
* LivingInAFurnitureStore (Averted so many times by RuleOfFunny)
* TheLoinsSleepTonight (the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Melty Man]])
* MarsAndVenusGenderContrast: Plot and humour both tend to rely heavily on this, particularly Steve's {{Character Filibuster}}s.
* MenCantKeepHouse
* MissingEpisode: Only four out of ten episodes of the U.S. version aired on NBC before the show was cancelled, though the remaining episodes did air in Europe.
* MistakenForGay: Sally, by Patrick's girlfriend, probably because Patrick told her "that Sally is the sort of woman who...is a lesbian." She [[BiTheWay doesn't mind]], however, and it leads to a wacky misunderstanding, of course. See OneDialogueTwoConversations.
** Happens in an earlier episode when the gang mistakes Jane's therapist for her lesbian lover and the therapist mistakes Patrick for gay.
* MushroomSamba: Jane on the "paracetemol" in ''Jane & The Truth Snake''
* MustMakeAmends: Steve does this a ''lot''. He's actually pretty good at it.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Jeff. To a lesser extent, Oliver.
* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Sally with Patrick's GirlOfTheWeek Jennifer - Sally thinks Jennifer was fooling around with Jeff, but that she's worked out Sally is in love with Patrick. Jennifer thinks Sally is a lesbian and is coming on to her.
** The award-winning episode "The Girl With Two Breasts" is a variation, showing Jeff's cross-linguistic conversation with an Israeli woman from each of their perspectives.
** Moffat ''loves'' this trope. There's dozens of little titbits in this and other scribblings that rely on OneDialogueTwoConversations; here it's used to cement the FawltyTowersPlot.
* OneHourWorkWeek: Neatly averted, as most episodes either take place at night or show the characters at or leaving work.
* OpenMouthInsertFoot: Jeff when he talks to any woman always inserts two feet and then some.
* OverAndUnderTheTop: Steve and Susan are an {{Everyman}} couple, and their relationship is the focus of the series. Jeff and Sally are far too neurotic about relationships while Jane and Patrick are overly casual.
* PizzaBoySpecialDelivery (Jane does this in Jeff's flat.)
-->'''Jane''': He works in pizza delivery, which just answers all your prayers, doesn't it? Man, motorbike, has own food.
* PlugNPlayFriends (Oliver)
* {{Powerwalk}} (parodied: "Stop playing ''ReservoirDogs''!")
* PutOnABus (Jeff is Put On A Plane... to Lesbos)
* RantComedy: When Steve is allowed to break out of DeadpanSnarker mode, get ready to PassThePopcorn.
* RantInducingSlight (Steve has at least one of these per series)
-->'''Susan:''' ''[following Steve's rant]'' ...would you like me to put the lock back on the bathroom door, dear?\\
'''Steve:''' Would you mind?
* TheRashomon (Several times.)
-->''From Patrick's recollection of the story:''\\
'''Sally''': How did you get to the party, then?\\
'''Patrick''': BMW M3. Midnight blue. Nought to 60 in five seconds, on to 100 in another six. Sequential semiautomatic gear box, traction control, and black leather seats.
-->''From Sally's recollection of the story:''\\
'''Sally''': How did you get to the party, then?\\
'''Patrick''': Car.
** The episodes "The End of the Line", "Remember This" and "Nine and a Half Minutes" entirely revolve around this trope.
* RealSongThemeTune ("Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps")
* SadistShow (And how!)
* SceneryCensor
* ShirtlessScene (every male lead gets at least one, though Steve's are rather conservative
* ShoutOut
-->'''Steve''': But Susan, Sally, Jane, this... is a sofa. It is designed by clever scientists in such a way so is to shield the unprotected user from the way of skin abrasions, serious head trauma, and of course - [he collapses behind the sofa and reemerges] - [[Series/DoctorWho Daleks!]]
** Oliver also has Doctor Who merchandise in his bookshop, and when going to a dinner with the gang, wears a sweater reading "Bring Back Doctor Who" on the back.
*** Which became HilariousInHindsight after StevenMoffat started working for Series/DoctorWho
** The whole show is laden with these, all highlighting Moffat's geeky nature: Steve describing the deep meaning of Alien to men everywhere, the Melty Man being shown as a Darth Vader parody, all the references to comic book superheroes.
* SitCom
* SixStudentClique:
** The main character: Steve
** The Muscle: Patrick
** The Quirk: Jeff/Oliver
** The Pretty One: Sally
** The Smart One: Susan
** The Wild One: Jane
* SplitScreen
* StopBeingStereotypical: Sally gets mad when Howard, a gay friend (whom Jane believes to be her boyfriend) agrees with Jeff's bizarre views on homosexuality, and exclaims [[HypocriticalHumor "That's homophobic, you stupid queen!"]]
** In fairness, the above alluded view on homosexuality was Jeff suggesting that: (paraphrased) "Sex is easier for gay men, because all of the masturbating men do in their lives turns out to be practice. All the while they have a 'practice kit' for the real thing, but straight men don't get any practice women". While this certainly IS a somewhat bizarre view, its perhaps not as offensive as it seems without details. It's also worth noting that this was supposed to be a drunken conversation, after a dozen pints very late in the evening and both of the guys are visibly drunk acting. Howard may well have been winding Sally up anyway, because she got really snarky about him being a Tory earlier in the scene.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute (Oliver replaced Jeff)
* SwallowTheKey: Done accidentally in one episode, when Jeff Murdock holds the key to his girlfriend's handcuffs in his mouth and then does his best Darth Vader impression. He spends the episode trying to find a way to get it out before she realizes what's gone wrong.
-->'''Jeff:''' (''on laxatives'') If I take all of them at once, [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} do you think there's a danger of liftoff?]]
* TheTell: "You only say apparently when you're annoyed at something."
* ThreeIsCompany
* ThreeWaySex
* ThrowTheDogABone (see Crowning Moment of Funny)
* TwiceShy (Jeff and Julia)
* UnexpectedPositive: Sally buys three pregnancy tests because she doesn't know what a negative test looks like and asks Susan and Jane to take one each.
* UnexplainedAccent: Richard Coyle (Jeff) absolutely does not have a Welsh accent, and he was never asked to do one for the show. According to Steve Moffat in one of the commentaries, he simply showed up on set doing the accent, and since he wasn't a well known actor no-one noticed for ages until they got to know him better, by which point the first episode had been filmed and there was nothing they could do.
** The accent is pretty authentic and so isn't really a 'comedy accent', but there is not denying it gives a certain something to Jeff's bizarre sexual metaphors.
*** We meet his mother at one point, who does not share his accent. Since Jeff talks about his teenage years with her implying she was around his whole life, it seems that the show in no way wants to deal with Jeffs accent, leaving it as a genuine imponderable.
*** The most likely theory is RuleOfFunny. Quite a few of the most common words in Jeff's arsenal (breasts, genitals) sound a little funnier in a Welsh accent. Listen to the small trill in his "R's" when he says the word "breasts."
* UnusualEuphemism (Jeff has one for everything sex-related. In the first episode he introduces "The Zone" and "Unflushable" in the opening five minutes)
** There's also the Sock Gap, the Nudity Buffer and the (non-sex-related) Giggle Loop.
** The others got in on it, too. Remember the girls with "The Fuck-me Fork?"
* WordOfGod: Responding to a message board request, ''Coupling'' creator (and sole writer) Steven Moffat wrote a breakdown of the characters' lives several years after the fourth and final series. This gave Moffat the chance to write an "ending" for the character of Jeff, despite actor Richard Coyle leaving the previous year.
** Unfortunately, because the primary source (an old Series/DoctorWho forum called Outpost Gallifrey) has closed, TheOtherWiki wouldn't keep it on the show's page anymore because of lack of citation, so if it pleases the crowds, here is the text to be preserved for everyone to read:
--> "Sally said yes to Patrick, they got married and are very happy... especially as Sally beat Susan to the altar, and finally did something first. Patrick is now a completely devoted husband, who lives in total denial that he was anything other an upstanding member of the community. Or possibly he's actually forgotten. He doesn't like remembering things because it's a bit like thinking.
-->Jane and Oliver never actually did have sex, but they did become very good friends. They often rejoice together that their friendship is uncomplicated by any kind of sexual attraction - but they both get murderously jealous when the other is dating. Jane has a job at Oliver's science fiction book shop now - and since Oliver has that one moment of Naked Jane burnt on the inside of his eyelids, he now loses the place in one in every three sentences. People who know them well think something's gotta give - and they're right. Especially as Jane comes to work in a metal bikini.
-->Steve and Susan have two children now, and have recently completed work on a sitcom about their early lives together. They're developing a new television project, but it keeps getting delayed as he insists on writing episodes of some old kids show they recently pulled out of mothballs. She gets very cross about this, and if he says "Yeah but check out the season poll!" one more time, he will not live to write another word.
-->Jeff is still abroad. He lives a life of complete peace and serenity now, having taken the precaution of not learning a word of the local language and therefore protecting himself from the consequences of his own special brand of communication. If any English speakers turn up, he pretends he only speaks Hebrew. He is, at this very moment, staring out to sea, and sighing happily every thirty-eight seconds.
-->What he doesn't know, of course, is that even now a beautiful Israeli girl he once met in a bar, is heading towards his apartment, having been directed to the only Hebrew speaker on the island. What he also doesn't know is that she is being driven by a young ex-pat English woman, who is still grieving the loss of a charming, one-legged Welshman she once met on a train. And he cannot possibly suspect that (owing to a laundry mix-up, and a stag party the previous night in the same block) he is wearing heat-dissolving trunks.
-->As the doorbell rings, it is best that we draw a veil."
* YourLittleDismissiveDiminutive: Susan does this a few times, usually when annoyed at Steve talking about something with his friends.
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