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Peep Show

Started by rue the polywhirl, December 29, 2019, 01:10:45 PM

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rue the polywhirl

Anyone a fan of this show? Series 2-5 are best evah. Slight but noticeable downturn in S6. S7 a bit gruelling to get through - cringe factor up, laugh factor down. Have a feeling S8 and S9 will be a bit of a chore yet kinda want there to be more spin offs. Peep Show The Movie? Mark and Jez - The Younger Years? Peep Show - In Space?



Lisa Jesusandmarychain

I like it when the male actors suck each other off.

bigfatheart

Watched the first three series on DVD as a teenager, back when there was a long gap between 3 and 4 and there was talk that it might not be coming back. I absolutely adored it, watched it to death, became convinced that I was Mark, as teenagers are wont to do.
Obviously it came back, but I ended up giving up halfway through the first episode of the 7th series, with the 'paedophobe' exchange, which just seemed like an awful, contrived attempt at edginess that made the characters look like cartoon idiots, rather than just the regular idiots (like you and me!) that they had been before. Went back and watched the rest years later and it's worth watching, even if it's not as good as it once was. There's some clunkiness and cartoonishness but it's still good.

ajsmith2

Consensus on here back in the day (ie when episodes first went out) was that S7 was a return to form after S3-5 decline that reached its nadir in S5 and only slightly recovered in S6.

rue the polywhirl

I'm up to S7 E4 where they're trapped inside the building of Jez's book club lover's flat and it's easily the worst episode in the show's run and one of the weakest 'trapped' episodes of any sitcom so maybe it's time to rewrite the consensus.

Noodle Lizard

I'm still of the mind that everything up to Season 4 was a pretty solid run, and the S4 finale would have been a good series finale. Anything after that beers between watchable and unforgivable. Best to just pick and choose episodes from S5 onwards.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Series 4 was when it really became clear they were not very good at plotting episodes, but there was enough character material and amusing contrivances to see it through, most weeks.

It gets ropier in 5 then really ropey, almost threadless in places during 6. 7 is when they seem to have sat themselves down and really made an effort to try and salvage the show. The episodes are tighter, albeit less funny overall, but the new characters breathe some life into it. 8 and 9 back to patchy.

I really can't stand anything involving Sophie from 5 onwards, likewise Johnson had gone transadlandic and unfunny by then. They seem to have missed what was funny about him in the original episode. Not that he was a sleazy lothario but a weirdly intense angry man fuelled by motivational bullshit that only washes in the company of weaker easily led men. The scene where Sophie criticises him and he just goes 'Yeah whatever' to shut her down highlights his total disinterest in women (beyond ostentatiously feigning interest in SUPERmodels) and perfectly sets up why Mark might think he and Johnson have a chance of being an item.


The first two series remain superb; bleak and realistic, and tertiary characters like Johnson & Super Hans haven't yet become cartoon characters.  The final episode of series 4 is where the long term story threads come to a close - everything after Mark's failed wedding feels like an afterthought.  That doesn't mean that there aren't some fantastic episodes - but the comedy gets broader, and there is a feeling of repetitiveness. 

ajsmith2

Quote from: Fried Egg Sandwich on December 31, 2019, 09:48:07 AM
Dated quite badly.

Indeed both Jez and Mark were seen to go on many disasterous dates throughout the 9 series!

Sorry couldn't resist that rubbish pun.

Series 6 is the one I've blanked out my memory. I can't remember anything about it, other than Jez had a European girlfriend and it ended with them driving a pregnant Sophie to give birth.

EDIT: I remember that series had the party episode too with the snake and the pooping mystery.

idunnosomename

Funnily enough i know look at robert webb and think what a pretentious dumb fuck cunt he is even more when i simply knew him as Jez

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: Fried Egg Sandwich on December 31, 2019, 09:48:07 AM
Dated quite badly.

The first series is so redolent of a particular place and time I think it has aged quite well as a historical document to the death of Blairism, threadlessness of existence and quashed sense of optimism for the future.

greencalx

We Netflix binge-watched the whole show over a couple of months earlier this year, having a dim memory of the first series from about 10 years ago when a friend leant us the DVD. My initial impression at that time was not good - I had very unfairly lumped it in with all the post-Office non-comedy of the time that was an exercise in replacing punchlines with awkward pauses. I think this was mostly on the strength, if you can call it that, of Mitchell and Webb's acting, which I don't find particularly convincing.

The rewatch led to a big revision of opinion. I still think that both M and W have a limited range, but luckily there is a strong supporting cast that lets them get away with it. Pretty much all the supporting characters in the first four series (Sophie, Jeff, Johnson, Big Suze, Superhans, Nancy etc) have a purpose to them and there are sufficient permutations to generate a lot of storylines.

I like the fact that the writers tried to move the characters lives on, rather than inhabiting the weird stasis that tends to characterise a traditional sitcom. So Mark getting to marry Sophie is an interesting development, compared to forever trying (and failing) to get the girl. Like others have said, ending at this point, with an anti-happily-ever-after ending, would have left things on a creative (if not emotional) high.

There was a really noticeable dip in quality after this point, though - not sure what might have been responsible for that. Personally I felt things lost their way when JLB went bust - this seemed to have the effect of stagnating rather than reinvigorating the storyline. I remember some nice laugh-out-loud moments in the latter series, but overall it felt a shadow of its former self. The last series perhaps redeemed things slightly.

Oh and the original theme tune pissed over the one that came later.

idunnosomename

Wouldve been classic if they stopped at two series and kept the original theme toon too

jobotic

Didn't Jez end up being Mark's manager at the bank or some shit? I remember it getting a bit "Homer gets a new job" but that might be unfair because I haven't watched it in years.

SteK

Quote from: idunnosomename on December 31, 2019, 12:00:20 PM
Wouldve been classic if they stopped at two series and kept the original theme toon too

The original theme is excellent for bingewatching or more accurately for me, falling-asleep watching, nicely sends me off before before the Netflix 'Are You Still Watching' thing comes up.

However the later theme just wakes me up and stops me drifting off. I say 'wakes me up', I mean 'scares the shit out of me'

SteK

Quote from: jobotic on December 31, 2019, 01:10:39 PM
Didn't Jez end up being Mark's manager at the bank or some shit? I remember it getting a bit "Homer gets a new job" but that might be unfair because I haven't watched it in years.

Super Hans become Mark's boss at the bathroom showroom.

Don't think Jez ever had a job ever apart from one morning as a phone-pig at JLB when he became king of the farmyard.

idunnosomename

Quote from: SteK on December 31, 2019, 01:10:43 PM
The original theme is excellent for bingewatching or more accurately for me, falling-asleep watching, nicely sends me off before before the Netflix 'Are You Still Watching' thing comes up.

However the later theme just wakes me up and stops me drifting off. I say 'wakes me up', I mean 'scares the shit out of me'
just as well its a shit song because if it was any good the merciless repetition of the same tiny segments of it would ruin it

Jim Bob

#20
As others have noted, I consider series 1 to be the highlight of the entire run.  It's wonderfully bleak and grounded in reality, capturing the mundane grimness of life in general.  In fact, I don't think they ever did another episode on par with the 1st and 3rd episodes of series 1 ("fuck off, clean shirt" and the bowling alley episodes respectively.  Series 7 and 8 were the low point for me; it felt like it was running on fumes by then and that the writers had run out of ideas.

Quote from: SteK on December 31, 2019, 01:12:33 PM
Super Hans become Mark's boss at the bathroom showroom.

Don't think Jez ever had a job ever apart from one morning as a phone-pig at JLB when he became king of the farmyard.

There's definitely something involving Mark working at a bank and Jez being there too.  Not sure if Jez worked there too though, or if he came into the bank for other reasons.  A robbery or something takes place.  It's all a bit fuzzy in my mind, but I think it was from the last series.

SteK

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 31, 2019, 02:28:11 PM
There's definitely something involving Mark working at a bank and Jez being there too.  Not sure if Jez worked there too though, or if he came into the bank for other reasons.  A robbery or something takes place.  It's all a bit fuzzy in my mind, but I think it was from the last series.

Thats the one, Mark got Jez a job as a phone-pig, after half a day fire alarm goes off and while everyone is outside the building is locked and JLB Credit closed. Was quite an early one that.

Chance wound be a fine thing. A fine thing indeed......

Jim Bob

Quote from: SteK on December 31, 2019, 02:38:02 PM
Thats the one, Mark got Jez a job as a phone-pig, after half a day fire alarm goes off and while everyone is outside the building is locked and JLB Credit closed. Was quite an early one that.

Chance wound be a fine thing. A fine thing indeed......

No, no.  I'm not talking about that episode.  There was an episode in the last series where Mark gets a job at a bank and a robbery is going to take place and Jez comes into the bank to warn Mark about it.  I may be wrong on the details, but it was something like that.

EDIT: Just looked it up.  It's S09E02.

SteK

Quote from: Jim Bob on December 31, 2019, 02:41:29 PM
No, no.  I'm not talking about that episode.  There was an episode in the last series where Mark gets a job at a bank and a robbery is going to take place and Jez comes into the bank to warn Mark about it.  I may be wrong on the details, but it was something like that.

EDIT: Just looked it up.  It's S09E02.

Ahh, I get you now! You're right.

Ferris

My enjoyment of peep show game primarily from the sharp situational writing rather than the believability of those situations or character arcs. It's heightened reality, Super Hans screaming "I listened to the Strokes before you!" while very high on speed is funny, even if the straight edge stag do is a silly concept. I'm fine with silly concepts, it's a sitcom.

As a result, I enjoyed pretty much all of them with the exception of the first season which felt a bit dull and ponderous.

There, that's the thread Hot Take looked after. Shoot my opinion to pieces at will.

SteK

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on December 31, 2019, 03:06:11 PM
My enjoyment of peep show game primarily from the sharp situational writing rather than the believability of those situations or character arcs. It's heightened reality, Super Hans screaming "I listened to the Strokes before you!" while very high on speed is funny, even if the straight edge stag do is a silly concept. I'm fine with silly concepts, it's a sitcom.

As a result, I enjoyed pretty much all of them with the exception of the first season which felt a bit dull and ponderous.

There, that's the thread Hot Take looked after. Shoot my opinion to pieces at will.

I'm 100% with this, some highs. some lows, but series 1 for me was a bit lame, like they hadn't even decided how the POV part would work....

undeliberated

2>1>>>3,4>>7>6>5>9>>8

8 is the only actively bad series - slapdash and incoherent, whereas 9 was frantic and messy in a fun way - but the real problems begin in series 4, where the first 20 minutes of almost every episode (not 4.2, that's ropey throughout) is really good (better than series 3 on average) but they focus too much on building up to SHOCKING or GROSS endings which have no particular interest on a rewatch once you know what's coming.

And they stop doing interesting things with the inside-head perspective surprisingly early in the run - the camera-work for this in series 1 is so much more inventive and world-making than in the whole rest of them put together. There's nothing after series 2 that's as in-head-feeling as Jez poking the toast with a knife then jerking back when it's done. Series 1 and 2 are where it's a genuinely new and brilliant thing: after that it's just an excellently written normal sitcom.

But those are quibbles - it's still comfortably the best UK comedy thing of the millennium.

ajsmith2

Quote from: undeliberated on December 31, 2019, 03:16:35 PM
2>1>>>3,4>>7>6>5>9>>8

8 is the only actively bad series - slapdash and incoherent, whereas 9 was frantic and messy in a fun way - but the real problems begin in series 4, where the first 20 minutes of almost every episode (not 4.2, that's ropey throughout) is really good (better than series 3 on average) but they focus too much on building up to SHOCKING or GROSS endings which have no particular interest on a rewatch once you know what's coming.


Replying just to say that's pretty much my order too. Se8 just seemed largely pointless running on the spot. Then Se9 was better partially cos they knew it was the last one but six episodes wasn't to wrap it up entirely satisfyingly. Ideally I think they shouldn't have made 8 in 2012 and instead done two planned out 'final arc' series back to back in 2014/15 to wrap it up at their leisure.

sutin

I'm generally cool with Peep Show's entire run, although i'd agree that the ending of series 4 would've been the perfect place to end. One thing that really jarred with me though is when April from that perfect series 2 episode reappears again. That was so lazy and wrong in the spirit of the show. Am I recalling correctly that April doesn't remember Mark from their previous interaction at the uni?

imitationleather

Mark changes from a realistic character to a collection of sitcom tropes who dresses older than my dad.