Search - Gavin and Stacey: Season One on DVD

Incredibly Funny Show! A Keeper!

Hunterann Andrews | San Diego, CA, USA | 07/31/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Absolutely adore this show. The humor, characters, storyline are all top notch.
I do not think there is someone who can't relate to one of the characters on one level or another. Sitting on the edge of seat for the release of the next season. Please make it soon."

Please Release Season 2 of Gavin & Stacey in the USA

A Jordan | 06/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Please release the Second Season of Gavin and Stacey in the USA ASAP. I purchased the first season as soon as it came out.

The first time I saw Gavin and Stacey I was so pleasantly surprised. I couldn't believe I found a show I loved even more than coupling. In a time when our American stations are so flooded with reality tv, I tend to tune into BBC America, Turner Classic Movies or Masterpiece Theatre. Ruth Jones and James Cordon seem to be the best writing team since Amy Shermam-Palladino and David, her husband, yet they surpass both and Steven Moffat.

The marriage proposal scene was the best on film proposal I have ever witnessed. Absolutely classic. This scene alone is worth the purchase. So many scenes cause one to laugh uncontrollably. British humor at its best. Ruth's character (Ness) is my absolute favorite. I love her dark humor. I like the fact that she doesn't let her weight hold her back, yet they also use her weight as a point of humor during the show. They are not so annoyingly politically correct as all American shows are, or have to be. I like Nessa's strength. She rocks and totally gets the best lines.
"

I LOVE THIS SHOW!!

B.T. | the South | 05/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was introduced to Gavin and Stacey when season one first started airing on BBCAmerica. We immediately ordered season one from the UK, followed quickly by season two (not available here yet). Ruth Jones and James Corden have created a show with loveable and laugh-out-loud funny characters. This is truly one of those ensemble casts where every single character shines. The leads, Matt Horne and Joanna Page, are so "real" in their portrayals but it is the supporting players that steal the show!! I credit the writing of Jones and Corden as well as the wonderful acting of the cast. This is a show where you will laugh until you cry but one that also has those small moments that are really heartfelt too. I love it and couldn't recommend it more highly. The first two seasons and a Christmas special have aired in the UK already and they are working on the third. We couldn't wait and ordered all three on Region 2 from the UK. (You can get a good multi-region player from Amazon so you don't have to wait so long for some of the British goodies to make it across the pond). Gavin and Stacey is GREAT!"

A remarkably good (though short) first season

Alexander M. Walker | Chicago, IL USA | 05/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You could argue that the romance of Gavin & Stacey is a whirlwind, but that depends entirely on whether or not you value the modern relationship-by-proxy. Going for months with nothing but phone and online interactions, Gavin and Stacey decide to meet one fateful evening with their best friends as back-up. What could easily have been played off as just another romantic-comedy drama series, blossoms into a delightful romp in the world of youthful love. Gavin & Stacey: Season One shines for a new series thanks to spot on comedy writing and only a few lackluster episodes here and there.

Stacey (Joanna Page) and Gavin (Mathew Horne) knew each other before they'd even met. Employees at cooperating businesses, the two go for six months before working up the courage to meet face to face. After endless coaching from her family (Melanie Walters, Rob Brydon) and his (Larry Lamb, Alison Steadman), both head off to London with their best friends in tow. After an initial first night of romance, Gavin and Stacey are swept up in a relationship that begins moving at the speed of light: a proposal, meeting the parents and planning a wedding - but obviously hitches will arise. As Gavin and Stacey run ahead full tilt, Gavin's friend Smithy (James Corden) and Stacey's friend Nessa (Ruth Jones) find themselves dancing around the one night they spent together in the first episode. The series as a whole keeps a crackling pace and only every stumbles in episodes where the great ensemble cast is unnecessarily sidelined.

What shocks me most about Gavin & Stacey is its strikingly short 22 minute episode format. The stories of each episode feel like they could easily support a 42 minute frame, and yet the series mercifully keeps them reined in, taut and lean. It's an oddly paradoxical complaint as I think Gavin & Stacey excels thanks to the episodes coming in easy to digest 22 minute bits - and yet, it's enjoyable enough that you want it to go on longer and give you more. It may be the best criticism a show can receive.

Similarly, it's hard to find something negative to say about the performances of the cast. Joanna Page bubbles with just the right amount of heart and none of the overly-sweet nature that would be all too easy to inject into a character like Stacey. Mathew Horne walks a fine line and never takes Gavin into the helpless man-over-his-head field. James Corden and Ruth Jones do superbly as the best friends who dispense advice and yet can't ever be considered the best sources for such. Where the cast truly excels is in the parental figures - especially comedian Rob Brydon as Stacey's uncle. Brydon is incessantly hilarious; the man's every line elicits laughter.

DVD Extra Features:

Apart from a reel of outtakes and commentaries on assorted episodes, the set of Gavin & Stacey: Season One really only has two featurettes to speak of. However, the commentaries are quite funny, so don't just pass them over - try the first episode's and go from there.

"How It Happened" - The cast members of Gavin & Stacey sit down and talk about their initial auditions, who they favored to play which parts and what they remember about getting the experience off the ground. I actually didn't know that Ruth Jones and James Corden were the creative forces behind the series, but it's really interesting to hear the two talk about how they cast the parts and who the parts were written for. After watching this, it becomes clear why Brydon's role as Bryn feels so perfect - it was written for him. Go figure.

"Behind the Scenes in Leicester Square" - This series of video diaries from the set of Gavin & Stacey on Leicester Square was originally available off of iTunes. Now, instead of watching them in pieces as they were originally offered, the entire series is mish-mashed into one long ADD-inflicted sequence with no warning as it breaks from one episode to the next."