| Genre: | Sketch comedy |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes |
| Creator: | Charlie Brooker Ben Caudell Peter Holmes and Neil Webster |
| Starring: | Rob Rouse Kevin Bishop Josie d'Arby Tom Goodman-Hill Rosie Cavaliero Simon Farnaby Elizabeth Bower and Kerry Godliman |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Network: | Channel 4 |
| Num Series: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 6 |
Spoons is a British comedy sketch television show, first broadcast on Channel 4 from September to November 2005. It focuses on characters in their twenties and thirties, and stars an ensemble cast of British actors. It lasted one series of six episodes.
Channel 4 described the show as follows:
Amid a tangled web of fragile relationships and crippling insecurity, a colourful cast of spot-on characters muddle their way through life's overrated 'middle bit', traversing the familiar pitfalls of babies, marriage and just getting dumped.[1]The majority of sketches featured recurring characters and catchphrases, including:
Produced by Zeppotron, Spoons was announced in July 2005 and was filmed in the summer that year, with some scenes shot at the BBC Television Centre.[2] Broadcast between September and November 2005, it received mixed reviews. The New York Times described it as having a "tight thematic focus" which "captured the moments – awkward, destructive and banal – of young dating and married life".[3] However, Sam Leith of The Daily Telegraph was less positive. He compared it to a similar comedy sketch show entitled Swinging, writing of both: "They've nothing new to say about the actual experience of serial monogamy and single life, instead peddling - more or less amusingly - the noughties equivalent of mother-in-law jokes. They are, truth be told, about as edgy as Ovaltine."[4]
According to BARB, the first two episodes of the series received 1.64 million and 1.86 million viewers respectively, both appearing Channel 4's top 30 programmes of those weeks. However, the final four episodes did not appear in the top 30 programmes.[5]
After six episodes were broadcast, the show was not renewed for a second series, reportedly due to "low ratings".
The complete series featuring all six episodes was released on DVD in the UK on 20 August 2007.[6]
In Germany, TV network ProSieben adapted a German-language version of Spoons. Filmed in 2006, it broadcast eight episodes beginning in March 2008.[7]