For many years I felt I understood the basics of the original Star Wars trilogy, taking into consideration all different outlooks, including that of Dante and Randal in Clerks. Even with the recent collection From a Certain Point of View, I still did not consider one important factor that outlined the entire trilogy. 

“The gunner on the Star Destroyer in the first film… if he’d shot the pod with Artoo and Threepio in, they wouldn’t have made it to Tatooine, they wouldn’t have met Luke, Luke wouldn’t have met Ben, they wouldn’t have met Han and Chewie, they wouldn’t have saved Princess Leia, none of it would have happened.”

This point of inspiration comes from Tim Bisley, portrayed by Simon Pegg, in Spaced. Another britcom, Spaced is a Friends-like comedy about Tim and his new friend Daisy (Jessica Stevenson) who rent a flat under the guise of a couple when they find an ad stating it is only for couples.

Like many Simon Pegg comedies, the show features Nick Frost as Mike, hopeful member of the British territorial army. Brian (Mark Heap) their downstairs neighbor is an anger artist, while the landlord, Marsha (Julia Deakin) is an overbearing snoop of an alcoholic. These characters form the basis of the show, but are only the start. With Tim a comic book artist and salesman, and Daisy a magazine journalist and novelist, the series is filled with pop culture references, mainly relating to the horror and science fiction genres. Adding in the crew of most Simon Pegg films and series, the “what were they in” game can be played for any episode.

Both seasons of Spaced can be watched on Hulu, but for those without a subscription it is also available on the Dead Parrot YouTube channel.