History Series / Coupling

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Unsurprisingly discussed often, given the nature of the show.
** Lampshaded throughout the episode "My Dinner in Hell" with Steve's "whistling".
** Implied in "Dressed" with Jeff:
---> '''Jeff:''' What's wrong?\\
'''Steve:''' It's Jane. She's stuck naked in someone else's flat!\\
'''Jeff:''' Naked?\\
'''Steve:''' Yeah, she's only got her coat!\\
'''Jeff:''' Can I speak to her? (''Steve hands him the phone'') Hi Jane, it's Jeff!\\
'''Jane:''' Hi Jeff!\\
'''Jeff:''' (''returns the phone to Steve'') Thanks.\\
'''Jane:''' Jeff?\\
'''Steve:''' Oh, he's gone to the loo. Might be some time.
** Discussed in "Naked":
---> '''Jeff:''' I am a prison for sperms. Those poor little tadpoles have been sentenced to life in Jeff Murdock's groin. And let me tell you, that can be a pretty lonely place.\\
'''Steve:''' I'm sure you could always... "lend a hand".\\
'''Jeff:''' Yeah, there's that, but uh... you know, that's not what the boys are wanting, is it? See, they wanna think they're going somewhere when they go. I keep thinking about my brave lads all excited on the launch pad and suddenly it's, "Oh, no, daylight!"

** Occurs somewhat literally with Jeff in "Faithless" when his co-worker asks him if he fancies her, while Julia asks him on the phone if he loves her. He simply answers, "Yes."

[[caption-width-right:333: Clockwise from top left: Jeff, Sally, Patrick, Susan, Steve, [[CloudCuckoolander Jane]].]]

%%* CannotTalkToWomen: This is one of Jeff's defining characteristics.

* RealityHasNoSubtitles: PlayedWith in the episode "The Woman with Two Breasts". The Israeli woman that Jeff is talking to speaks no English, and no subtitles are provided because he, like we, has no real idea what she's saying. Then, in the second half, when the whole sequence is run again with her speaking English and Jeff speaking nonsense, we again get no subtitles, and have to rely on our memories of what his side of the conversation was. Plus, we get to find out that some of his assumptions about what she was saying were... less than accurate. "I was looking for Shadayim."

* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: When Jane and Oliver finally open up to each other and Jane suggests that they watch some porn, while he's looking for something to watch she announces that she'll go and make tea, and leaves the room. When she returns, she stands in the doorway completely naked, and he is temporarily robbed of the power of comprehension. She talks to him casually for a couple of minutes, inviting him to her flat the following day, and when he's recovered his wits she smirks at him and saunters out to get dressed and go home, saying "You didn't have any nice tea anyway."

* UnexplainedAccent: Richard Coyle (Jeff) doesn't have a Welsh accent, and he was never asked to do one for the show. Jeff's mother has a very RP English accent, though we never hear his father speak. According to Steve Moffat in one of the commentaries, Coyle 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. Most likely RuleOfFunny - while it's pretty authentic and so isn't really a 'comedy accent', there is no denying that it gives a certain something to Jeff's bizarre sexual metaphors.

[[caption-width-right:333: Clockwise from top left: Jeff, Sally, Patrick, Susan, Steve, Jane.]]

* UnexplainedAccent: Richard Coyle (Jeff) doesn't have a Welsh accent, and he was never asked to do one for the show. Jeff's mother has a very RP English accent, though we never meet his father. According to Steve Moffat in one of the commentaries, Coyle 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. Most likely RuleOfFunny - while it's pretty authentic and so isn't really a 'comedy accent', there is no denying that it gives a certain something to Jeff's bizarre sexual metaphors.

* {{Corpsing}}: InUniverse, thanks to Jeff introducing the concept of the Giggle Loop, the other guys start having this problem at Jane's aunt's funeral.

'''Steve:''' (''after Jeff leaves'') So have you settled for me, then?\\
'''Susan:''' Oh, don't be paranoid, Steve. (''beat'') Of course I have!

(''Susan and Jane appear behind her'')\\

'''Susan:''' Well, personally speaking, I'm not in the habit of charming snakes... I just try to be polite to you. (''walks out of the salon'')\\

** In "Size Matters", Jeff rambles on about celebrities hooking up because all the people who are currently having sex and fantasizing about each of them create a kind of psychic charge. At the end of the episode, when Susan sleeps with Steve, the scene cuts to Angus Deayton and Mariella Frostrup meeting each other, being the objects of both Susan's and Steve's fantasies respectively.

'''Jeff:''' Well you know, if you fantasize about someone else during sex, and so does your partner, and you know, those two people that you're fantasizing about happen to meet while you're still doing it, you know, they're bound to sense something, aren't they? Because, you know, they're connecting on like a virtual plane! So can you imagine what it was like when Posh first met Beckham? They were the epicenter of a non-stop, nationwide, virtual shag! I mean, it's no wonder she got pregnant!

** Averted with Susan's ex Patrick. Their relationship was never serious and once they break up he almost immediately becomes friends with Steve and Jeff and is generally supportive of Steve's relationship with Susan.

-->'''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!\\

* '''Susan Walker''' (Sarah Alexander): A snarky and practical blonde with the occasional mean streak, who starts dating Steve after breaking up with Patrick.

* {{Corpsing}}: Thanks to Jeff introducing the concept of the Giggle Loop, the other guys start having this problem at Jane's aunt's funeral.

** 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, as well as various references to comic book superheroes.

* RantInducingSlight: Steve has at least one of these per series. See CharacterFilibuster.
-->'''Susan:''' ''[following Steve's rant]'' ...would you like me to put the lock back on the bathroom door, dear?\\
'''Steve:''' Would you mind?

''Coupling'' was a British SitCom from 2000 to 2004 about a circle of friends and their complicated sex lives. Written by Creator/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 Moffat would later work on "[[Series/DoctorWho some old kids' show they recently pulled out of mothballs]]".)

* 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.

* TheFriendsWhoNeverHang: The CastCalculus generally splits the gang into guys and girls, apart from the various, well, ''couplings'' that arise, plus Steve/Jane and Susan/Patrick occasionally interacting as exes. Jane also attempts to have sex with Patrick at one point (they never actually have sex, though some people mistakenly seem to think they did), leaving Jeff and Sally as the only pair who never really interact together, and she seems to fairly openly dislike him.

* BilingualBonus: "The Girl With Two Breasts" plays with this, the latter half showing the same conversation twice: once from Jeff's perspective, then again from his Israeli crush's.

* '''Jeff Murdock''' (Richard Coyle): Steve's best friend. A paranoid ManChild obsessed with women's bits who provides the show's most awkward moments.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Discussed several times, naturally.

* BelligerentSexualTension: Sally and Patrick.

* ButtMonkey: Steve and Jeff take turns in this role -- Oliver too, when Jeff leaves.
* CannotTalkToWomen: This is one of Jeff's defining characteristics.

* DistractedByTheSexy: The reason for Steve's five failed attempts to break up with Jane.

* DramaticIrony: Used masterfully for comedic effect in "The Girl with Two Breasts."

* FawltyTowersPlot: Given that Moffat's previous show was literally just Fawlty Towers in high school, this is to be expected.

* HandsomeLech: Patrick. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better.]]

* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Jeff.

* LadykillerInLove: [[spoiler: Patrick with Sally.]]

* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Jeff. To a lesser extent, Oliver.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: A large part of Jane's character.
* CompletelyMissingThePoint: From the episode "Gotcha": "Lesbians don't ''eat people'', Susan!"

* '''Steve Taylor''' (Jack Davenport): A nice, if somewhat neurotic everyman, who starts dating Susan after breaking up with Jane.

* FawltyTowersPlot
* FidelityTest

''Coupling'' was a British SitCom from 2000 to 2004 about a circle of friends and their complicated sex lives. Written by Creator/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]]".)

* UnexplainedAccent: Richard Coyle (Jeff) doesn't have a Welsh accent, and he was never asked to do one for the show. Jeff's mother has a very RP English accent, though we never meet his father. According to Steve Moffat in one of the commentaries, Coyle 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. Most likely RuleOfFunny - while it's pretty authentic and so isn't really a 'comedy accent', there is no denying it gives a certain something to Jeff's bizarre sexual metaphors.
** Conversely, Jeff's [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute replacement]], Oliver, was played by a Welsh actor (Richard Mylan) who had to do an ''English'' accent in order to avoid the character being ''too'' similar to Jeff.