Pulling: The Complete First Season

Widely praised by U.K. critics, this BBC sitcom—broadcast stateside on the Sundance Channel—is both darker and more openly bawdy than its American counterparts but is still a fun watch. At the center are three twentysomething, man-crazy female friends/roommates: newly single office worker Donna (Sharon Horgan); heavy-drinking, promiscuous schoolteacher Karen (Tanya Franks); and naive, unrealistically hopeful café hostess Louise (Rebekah Staton). The six half-hour episodes from the 2006 first season kick off with still-engaged Donna joining her BFFs in a fun-filled nightclub romp, after which she decides to give her sweet but boring fiancé the heave-ho. Episode two's highlight is Karen's hilarious breakdown in front of her class, while the third manages to make attempted suicide funny, with Donna saving her ex (whom she finds hanging by a noose), only to leave the still-distraught man in the company of another friend while she goes out to party. From that point, the series just gets wackier, and before the final installment's credits roll, both the booze and the sexual hijinks have been plentiful. Pulling is, of course, more than a wee bit reminiscent of Sex and the City, but with a much sharper edge and some very black moments. The writing, acting, and direction are all solid, and while I wouldn't necessarily place the show in the top rank of Britcoms, it's definitely head and shoulders above many others. DVD extras include two audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, interviews, and deleted scenes. Recommended. (E. Hulse)