2003: Peep Show and the POV programme
Revisiting Mitchell and Webb's long-running cult classic
Some context… BAFTA winners 2003
Situation Comedy Award – The Office
Best Comedy Performance – Ricky Gervais – The Office
Sitcom Spotlight on… Peep Show
A bit of background
Peep Show first aired on 19 September 2003 and continued to air until 2015, for a total of 9 series and 54 episodes. It was created by Andrew O’Connor, Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain.
The show follows the chaotic lives of two friends and flatmates – anxious loan manager Mark (David Mitchell) and irresponsible wannabe musician Jeremy (Robert Webb).
My thoughts
Unlike most of the shows I’ve been looking at, Peep Show is a sitcom I’ve already watched – but when there was an opportunity to revisit the show presented itself, I grabbed it with both hands. It has been years since I watched the earlier series, and seeing these episodes again felt like I was watching for the first time again.
What sets Peep Show apart from other sitcoms is that half of the lines are the innermost thoughts of Mark and Jeremy, rather than what is actually said out loud. It’s an effective technique, particularly when it is set against the traditional dialogue. There are occasions where the two friends will speak politely out loud, but then insult one another in their heads, creating a hilarious juxtaposition.
Mark’s POV is particularly compelling; his stream of consciousness is a painfully accurate commentary of the awkward social interactions that we all experience, overthinking and narrating what his next move should be. In the very first episode, Mark realises “maybe nobody minds about things as much as me”, which is such a clever and relatable observation about anxiety.
Meanwhile, Jeremy’s POV highlights his incredible naivety. He’s often unemployed, and has little intention of getting a corporate job like Mark, but is convinced that it’s only a matter of time until his budding music career takes off and he is catapulted to stardom. His internal monologue only exacerbates this fantasy, something which is quite tragic but which you can’t help but indulge as a viewer, even though you know his music is far from good.
A great supporting cast fleshes out these two intimate perspectives, with characters such as Super Hans and Dobby who have become icons themselves. These characters have depth too; for example Sophie (an early role for the wonderful Olivia Colman) starts out as Mark’s slightly one-dimensional work crush, but Colman develops her into someone much more layered, who becomes increasingly unhinged as the show progresses. Peep Show is brilliantly cynical, with sharp dialogue and a sprinkling of ridiculous comedic set pieces cementing it as a defining sitcom of the noughties.
Viewing today
Alongside the voiceovers of the main characters’ thoughts, one of the defining elements of Peep Show is the point of view shots, to place the audience further inside Mark and Jeremy’s heads. In the earlier series, the actors even wore head cameras to produce this effect, something that eventually stopped being used as it was time consuming for production and the footage was often poor quality. It’s an example of how Peep Show took risks and tried new things, and it is this that I feel is the influence the show has had on future sitcom writers and creators over the last two decades.
But it’s also impossible not to watch Peep Show today without thinking of… Succession. Yes, you heard me right – writer Jesse Armstrong went on to become the creator of one of HBO’s most successful shows. I’m currently watching Succession as well, while the fourth and final series airs, and it’s interesting to think about the two shows in dialogue.
On one level, Peep Show and Succession could not be more different – one is about two flatmates struggling to make ends meet, while the other is about one of America’s richest, most powerful families. However I think they also share a very similar energy; after all, they’re both about fairly horrible characters who continue to make bad decisions with little consequence. Tom has glimpses of Jeremy’s self-delusion, cousin Greg seems to sometimes share Mark’s anxiety, and there are Peep Show references scattered into Succession that must be on purpose.
Peep Show was never a huge hit while it was airing, nor did it get great viewing figures, but its legacy is that it’s now widely considered a cult classic, and streaming services mean it continues to reach new audiences to this day. Plus, Peep Show’s wickedly dark sense of humour can be found in Jesse Armstrong’s more recent project – one of the biggest dramas of recent times.
Back to today…
Comic Relief took place a few weeks ago, with the biggest names in comedy coming together to raise money for charity. Among the sketches were offerings from some British sitcom favourites – if you missed the show, here are some that are worth catching up on (all sketches are available to watch on BBC iPlayer):
Ghosts
The residents of Button House, both living and dead, are visited by none other than pop legend Kylie Minogue. An extra treat for those who are still reeling from the announcement last week that Ghosts will be coming to an end with the upcoming series 5.
Stath Lets Flats
The Michael and Eagle gang are back… Stath, Al, Sophie and Katya take part in a sponsored flat viewing for Comic Relief with host Dermot O’Leary – who is baffled as to how this will actually raise money for charity. Plus, what’s this about a charity single?
People Just Do Nothing
There’s a new bombshell in this year’s Love Island villa: People Just Do Nothing’s Chabuddy G (Asim Chaudhry), who’s swapping Kurupt FM for a summer of romance. Will he turn heads?