I can't get past the canned laughter... does it continue throughout the series or just in the first episode? I can't watch

Oh gag! Another anglophile preaching the superiority of British Humor..You know, Benny Hill is British humor. Regardless, the laugh track ruined this. A pox on whoever approved its addition - yank or brit.

This is comedy, not real life !!

I totally agree. Isn't it funny? Some actors just make the show even though they are not the 'lead' character. It happens in American TV, too.

We must remember that humor varies from culture to culture. Americans prefer physical humor (like food fights and pie-in-the-face gags). Also, we become bored if required to think too much during our comedy. Now, the Brits seem to like specific sight gags (such as men dressing as women, etc.); otherwise, they like the intellectual approach. If a person is not well-read, they will not understand this type of humor. COUPLING is typical intellectual British humor; if you don’t understand its innate references, you won’t understand the gags. This is probably why this particular reviewer could not 'get' the humor, and also why the American version flopped ignominiously - the writers tried to be intellectual instead of physical hence, failure. I found the British version to be hilarious and refreshing; I loved it, as unrealistic as the situations tended to be. But then, I do not like my comedy to be realistic; I can get reality from the History Channel. I give the show four and a half stars!