The TV series Spaced is coming to Blu-ray for the first time – and it’s as much a surprise to those who made it as it is to fans. Plus: AI. The much-loved, and hugely consequential TV series Spaced, the show that basically introduced us properly to the likes of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Jessica ... Spaced | Edgar Wright had no say in AI being used to remaster series
The TV series Spaced is coming to Blu-ray for the first time – and it’s as much a surprise to those who made it as it is to fans. Plus: AI.
The much-loved, and hugely consequential TV series Spaced, the show that basically introduced us properly to the likes of Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes and Nick Frost, is finally making its way to Blu-ray over the coming weeks or months. However, it turns out there’s a sting or two in the tail.
The release has been announced by All3Media, and it’s the first time the show has enjoyed a Blu-ray outing. Due around February next year, the thing is the announcement was as much a surprise to the creatives involved as it was to fans.
The official announcement declares that ‘This global first Blu-Ray collection has been upgraded to a brand new 4K master using a combination of traditional and proprietary tools in a multi-step process of non-commercial and algorithmic corrections that are additionally enhanced frame by frame by a manual operator – guaranteeing the most state-of-the-art upconversion possible.’
Straight off the bat, that’s telling us that AI has been used to upscale the series. But also, in terms of putting extra features or artwork together? Well, Edgar Wright has taken to his social media account to have a few words about that.
He wrote, in response to a fan query about the release, that “I had been pushing to do a Blu-Ray of SPACED for years, so to find out that someone just went ahead without our involvement is…. a bummer. Not authorized by anyone involved in making the show.”
Simon Pegg also added a statement to Variety’s report on the release, stating that “I was completely unaware. We had no say in it. Jess, Edgar and I were heavily involved in all previous releases. I would have rejected the cover art for a start.”
Previously, the team have been heavily involved in physical media releases of the show. This time, questions it seems are being asked about how it snuck by without them even knowing about it. More as we hear it.
