Spaced: My One True Love is a Girl Called…

Spaced: My One True Love is a Girl Called…

Aug 07

Two weeks ago, I stood in a very long line. Two very long lines, actually. I know that standing in lines is an essential part of the geekly existence, but I’ve been sort of over it for the past few years. To draw me out, to get me to squash in with my nerd compatriots, fat paperback and grease-drenched fast food bag in hand, such a line would have to be for something really special.

This one was for the show that ranks second only to Buffy amongst my all-time greats. Pegg. Hynes. Wright. Say it with me: Spaced.

As part of the Spaced Invasion — a celebration/tour in honor of the show finally, finally getting a US DVD release — this mighty trio did a signing at Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, then bopped over to the ArcLight for a screening/Q&A session. I went to both.

Now here’s the thing: at some point, I realized that my steadfast line-standing was really for one person: Jessica Hynes (formerly Stevenson). See, I’ve seen Pegg/Wright before. I’ve even talked to them, all up-close-and-personal like. But I’ve never glimpsed Jessica Hynes (formerly Stevenson) in the flesh, and Jessica Hynes (formerly Stevenson) is Daisy Steiner. And Daisy Steiner is my favorite.

I think every girl who loves Spaced relates at least a little bit to Daisy and I’m no exception. She stems from a very real place of dorkiness, seemingly beamed to us directly from Jessica’s soul. She’s a fantastic creation — perfectly believable, perfectly flawed, perfectly nutty in all the right ways. And she’s not there just to prop Tim up or roll her eyes at him or whatever. She gets to be funny in her own right. She gets to flash that ill-conceived peace sign and go “Girl Powah” as the disdainful magazine execs look on. She gets to whip out the finger guns and take shit down. She gets to do the “pull my finger” joke as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. And I think in lesser hands (McG-esque hands, perhaps?), this might have been played as sort of pathetic. But it’s not. We absolutely relate to Daisy at her most socially awkward. And we worship her.

Anyway, as a Daisy Steiner fan, as someone who was mostly there for Jessica, I had to bite my tongue in frustration when some of my fellow Secret Stash line-dwellers didn’t seem to know who the frak she was. I mean, look: I understand, America. Most of you saw Shaun of the Dead before you knew those guys also had a TV show (I was lucky enough to have super-smart friends, like Chris, who clued me in early). And Shaun/Hot Fuzz are Simon/Edgar things and so perhaps you got all fannish about them first. But once you’ve moved from that to Spaced…look, it says right there in the credits: written by Simon Pegg and JESSICA STEVENSON. Do not say, “Oh, I see The Lady…what’s her name?” when you spy her in the autograph area. Do not tell a curious passerby that you are in line to see “the creators of Spaced, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright.” Jessica Motherfucking Hynes (formerly Stevenson). Learn it and give credit where credit is due.

I will say, though, that once the line moved over to the ArcLight, it seemed like the tides started to shift. During the Q&A, Kevin Smith (serving as moderator) singled Jessica out for creating such a fantastic female character (and expressed his appreciation for her execution of the aforementioned “pull my finger” joke). Edgar Wright took great pains to mention that the only awards Spaced ever won were for Jessica’s performance. And she got a few rounds of applause for various bits of witticism. (I hope the “The Lady…what’s her name” person felt like kind of a tool after that.) So hopefully, the Jessica Hynes (formerly Stevenson) awareness is growing. Cause we need more characters like Daisy Steiner in our lives. We need more Jessica magic Stateside. We need that fearless, funny, completely authentic brand of humor lighting up the big screen.

Girl Powah.