Spaced North America DVD Set for July

For those of us who love Simon Pegg, good news. North American fans of Spaced, his surreal, pop-culture-saturated sitcom, will finally have access to both seasons of the show in a collector's edition DVD due out in July, seven years after it went off the air.

The three-disc set features all 14 episodes of the BAFTA award-winning show, described by Pegg as "a cross between The Simpsons, The X-Files, and Northern Exposure." Spaced aired on Britain's Channel 4 between 1999 and 2001.

In tribute to Spaced's street cred with the hippest and coolest of sci-fi geeks, Spaced: The Complete Series features eight hours of content including all-new commentary from Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith ("Watching Spaced is kinda like watching a Kevin Smith film if Kevin Smith had any real talent," says Smith), Matt Stone ("I watch and re-watch Spaced from time to time to remind myself how good television comedy can be"), Bill Hader, Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille), and Diablo Cody (Juno) alongside series director Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes.

This comes as rumors circulate that a long-bruited pilot for an American version, starring Will Sasso and produced by McG (Charlie's Angels, Supernatural, Chuck), may not be happening: Fox is reported to have passed, though it may resurface elsewhere. The American version, which was being created without Pegg's involvement, was derided by fans, so it's a good thing the real deal is coming out instead.

Pegg, who had a memorable turn in the season 1 Doctor Who story "The Long Game," appears next year as Montgomery Scott in the feature film version of Star Trek.

Spaced: The Complete Series will arrive in stores on July 22, 2008 for suggested retail price of $59.98 ($74.98 Canada) and is slated to be available for preordering on June 17. Click here to compare prices.