WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.819 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we are taking 00:00:02.819 --> 00:00:07.080 an unflinching look at one of the most uniquely 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:10.820 awkward and just persistently brilliant comedies 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:14.320 of the 21st century. The British sitcom Peep 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:16.260 Show. Yeah, Peep Show. It's a show that's just 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:18.600 full of contradictions, isn't it? Ran for an 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:23.140 incredible nine series on Channel 4, 2003 right 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:25.940 through to 2015. Nine series. That's a long run. 00:00:26.019 --> 00:00:28.920 It is. And get this. By 2010, it was already 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:31.399 the longest running comedy in Channel 4 history, 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:34.039 just in terms of years on air. Which is pretty 00:00:34.039 --> 00:00:36.899 amazing. But, and this is the kicker, it never 00:00:36.899 --> 00:00:39.079 quite became that huge ratings hit you might 00:00:39.079 --> 00:00:40.960 expect, right? Yeah. Despite all that time on 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:42.560 air, despite the critics loving it. Exactly. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:44.320 For all its staying power, all that critical 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:46.299 loyalty, it just wasn't a ratings juggernaut. 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:48.479 Not in the way other big sitcoms were. So that's 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:50.579 the core paradox we really want to get into today. 00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:53.679 Our goal. for you listening, is to figure out 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:56.140 how this series, a show often pulling in just, 00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:58.899 what, maybe a million viewers, managed to get 00:00:58.899 --> 00:01:01.299 such glowing reviews and build this incredibly 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:04.260 dedicated, almost religious cult following. We're 00:01:04.260 --> 00:01:05.980 going to unpack the technical side, that unique 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:10.480 format, which seems to be both its genius and 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:13.500 maybe its stumbling block for mass appeal. And 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:17.939 the themes, of course, that relentless bleakness 00:01:17.939 --> 00:01:21.120 about modern life. Definitely. So structurally, 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:23.319 it's simple enough on the surface. Right. Nine 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:26.959 series, 54 episodes. And it all revolves around 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.359 these two best friends, Mark Corrigan and Jeremy 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:33.040 Osborne Chess. Total offices, totally codependent. 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:35.459 Completely living together dysfunctionally in 00:01:35.459 --> 00:01:38.579 a flat in Croydon, South London. But the show 00:01:38.579 --> 00:01:41.519 itself, it's this complex mix, isn't it? It feels 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:43.780 like a standard sitcom sometimes. But then it 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:47.120 throws in farce, pure black comedy, and oh God, 00:01:47.159 --> 00:01:49.599 the cringe. So much cringe. It's like weaponized 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:51.680 cringe comedy. It doesn't just let you watch 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:53.799 the awkwardness that forces you inside it. Yeah, 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:56.319 you're implicated. And the writers, Sam Bain 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:58.239 and Jesse Armstrong, they were pretty upfront 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:00.159 about the darkness they were exploring. What 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:02.599 did they say? Well, Bain described it as showing 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:04.959 the stubborn persistence of human suffering. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.560 Pretty heavy for a comedy. And even more provocatively, 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:11.680 he said it was about... Why ordinary people are 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:15.740 evil. Just wow. That's quite a statement. Ordinary 00:02:15.740 --> 00:02:18.419 people being evil. Yeah. Armstrong, on the other 00:02:18.419 --> 00:02:20.000 hand, kind of framed it a bit more personally, 00:02:20.199 --> 00:02:23.560 calling it an exploration of oddball male friendship. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:25.379 And you feel like those two things, the suffering, 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:27.159 the evil, the oddball friendship, they're all 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:29.020 tangled up together in the show. Absolutely. 00:02:29.139 --> 00:02:31.479 They feed each other constantly. OK, so let's 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:33.099 get into that technical side, the production, 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:35.800 the point of view thing, because that's really 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:37.240 the reason we're here. And it's even in the title, 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:40.400 Peep Show. Right. It's not about. you know actual 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:43.900 peep shows no thankfully it's because you the 00:02:43.900 --> 00:02:46.900 viewer are constantly peeping inside the characters 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:49.259 heads yeah you get their literal point of view 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:52.340 shots seeing what they see and crucially you 00:02:52.340 --> 00:02:55.000 hear their inner thoughts their voiceovers that's 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.860 the absolute masterstroke we don't just see the 00:02:57.860 --> 00:03:00.159 action unfold we see it almost entirely through 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:03.120 mark's eyes or jeremy's eyes and we hear that 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:06.139 running commentary inside their heads and the 00:03:06.139 --> 00:03:09.490 comedy comes from that gap right The huge difference 00:03:09.490 --> 00:03:11.150 between what they're actually saying you're doing. 00:03:11.250 --> 00:03:16.310 And the awful, petty, insecure, or just completely 00:03:16.310 --> 00:03:18.629 narcissistic stuff they're thinking. Yeah, like 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:20.969 Mark will be nodding politely at someone at work. 00:03:21.150 --> 00:03:24.189 And inside his head, he's thinking, God, I wish 00:03:24.189 --> 00:03:27.840 he'd just leave. Or worse. Or much worse. And 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:30.500 that's what makes the cringe so potent. It's 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.919 not just watching an embarrassing situation from 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:35.560 the outside, like in, say, The Office. Right. 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:38.240 That's observational cringe. Exactly. With Peep 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:40.240 Show, you're forced into the thought process 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:42.180 that leads to the cringe moment. You understand 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:44.400 why they're making this terrible decision. You're 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:46.340 kind of complicit in their failure before it 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:48.460 even happens. It's uncomfortable. Deeply uncomfortable. 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:51.360 And making it work, production -wise, must have 00:03:51.360 --> 00:03:53.960 been a nightmare. Because that style, it wasn't 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:56.000 optional. It was everything. So how did they 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:57.919 actually do it? Single camera, obviously. Yeah, 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.159 single camera. And a lot of technical juggling. 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:05.319 In the early series, they properly experimented 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:08.520 with head -mounted cameras, like literally strapping 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:12.020 cameras to helmets or hats. Wow. To get that 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:14.639 exact eye -level perspective? That was the idea. 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:17.300 Give the viewer the identical visual viewpoint. 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:20.639 Sound incredibly fiddly. And I guess the footage 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:22.759 wasn't always great. That's what the sources 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:25.740 say. The concept was strong, but the actual footage 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:27.959 quality, especially if Mark or Jez moved suddenly, 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.220 could be pretty poor, so they gradually moved 00:04:31.220 --> 00:04:34.339 away from relying solely on that. So what did 00:04:34.339 --> 00:04:37.000 they do instead? They started using other techniques 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.100 more often. Filming scenes multiple times from 00:04:40.100 --> 00:04:42.720 different angles, sometimes holding the camera 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:44.680 right over the actor's shoulder, trying to mimic 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:46.939 the POV. Or right in their face. Or right in 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:49.319 front of their face, yeah. Which meant every 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:52.420 single interaction, every glance, every reaction 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:55.240 needed incredibly careful planning. Lighting, 00:04:55.240 --> 00:04:58.660 focus, continuity. Must have been intense. Way 00:04:58.660 --> 00:05:00.800 more complex than your standard sitcom setup. 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.439 Oh, absolutely. No wonder, David Mitchell. Mark 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:05.540 joked at a screening that filming POV is just 00:05:05.540 --> 00:05:08.019 a stupid way to film things. He probably wasn't 00:05:08.019 --> 00:05:10.199 entirely joking. Probably not. He said it was 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:13.720 much harder than the normal way. And that difficulty, 00:05:13.860 --> 00:05:15.699 maybe that's why Noby really tried to copy it 00:05:15.699 --> 00:05:17.500 wholesale. It was too much hassle. So where did 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:20.600 this stupid, brilliant idea actually come from? 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:24.000 It's quite an interesting lineage. Bain and Armstrong 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.060 saw this Channel 4 documentary in 2000 called 00:05:27.060 --> 00:05:31.160 Bean Caprice. It used POV shots. Okay. But Bane 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:33.740 himself called it a third -hand steal because 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:36.959 being Caprice had basically lifted the technique 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.740 from the Spike Jonze film, Being John Malkovich, 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:43.939 from 1999. Ah, right. Being John Malkovich. Makes 00:05:43.939 --> 00:05:46.399 sense. Yeah. So they saw that literal viewpoint 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:48.560 in the documentary and immediately thought, hang 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.360 on, we can use this for comedy. Trap the audience 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:53.860 inside someone's head. And the voiceover part, 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:56.040 the internal monologue. That apparently came 00:05:56.040 --> 00:05:58.740 from Woody Allen. Specifically, a scene in Annie 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:00.860 Hall where subtitles pop up showing what the 00:06:00.860 --> 00:06:02.379 characters are really thinking while they're 00:06:02.379 --> 00:06:04.199 having this polite conversation. Oh, yeah. I 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:05.980 remember that brilliant scene. Yeah, isn't it? 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.680 So they combined the visual POV with that internal 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:12.339 thought reveal. And Mitchell was probably right 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:14.560 when he said that without that style, the show 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:16.819 could have just felt like, you know, spaced or 00:06:16.819 --> 00:06:21.100 men behaving badly. Good shows, but different. 00:06:21.689 --> 00:06:24.310 The tech wasn't just a gimmick. It was fundamental. 00:06:24.750 --> 00:06:27.610 It was the show in many ways. It's also interesting 00:06:27.610 --> 00:06:29.790 how it developed. It wasn't peep show from day 00:06:29.790 --> 00:06:32.569 one. No, it grew out of an unproduced script 00:06:32.569 --> 00:06:35.050 called All Day Breakfast. Mitchell and Webb weren't 00:06:35.050 --> 00:06:36.930 even attached initially. And the working title 00:06:36.930 --> 00:06:40.269 was just POV. Very literal. Very literal. And 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:42.310 there was another dropped concept where the characters 00:06:42.310 --> 00:06:44.870 just watched and discussed TV, which sounds less 00:06:44.870 --> 00:06:47.850 exciting. Definitely less exciting. And originally, 00:06:47.970 --> 00:06:50.370 Olivia Colman's character, she had a voiceover 00:06:50.370 --> 00:06:53.240 too. In the pilot. Yeah, apparently so. But they 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:56.180 cut it. Good call, probably. I think so. Keeping 00:06:56.180 --> 00:06:58.519 it just Mark and Jez really doubles down on their 00:06:58.519 --> 00:07:01.180 isolation, their self -absorption. You only ever 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:03.399 understand the world through their warped perspectives. 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:06.579 Adding Sophie's thoughts would have, I don't 00:07:06.579 --> 00:07:08.540 know, maybe deleted that focus. Made it more 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:12.680 balanced, less intensely claustrophobic. Exactly. 00:07:12.980 --> 00:07:15.560 Which wouldn't have been peep show. Okay, one 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:17.139 last thing before we dive into the characters 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:20.420 themselves. The setting. Yeah. Croydon, South 00:07:20.420 --> 00:07:24.060 London. Specifically Zodiac Court, a .k .a. Apollo 00:07:24.060 --> 00:07:27.360 House. That's the nominal setting, yeah. But 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:29.420 Jeremy Wooding, the director on the first series, 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:32.060 apparently made a conscious effort not to make 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:35.639 it feel too specific. How so? He aimed for a 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.699 kind of Nowheresville and Anywhereville vibe. 00:07:39.079 --> 00:07:42.620 Like it could be any slightly grim suburban block 00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:45.259 of flats anywhere. Which kind of fits the theme, 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:47.939 right? Generic modern failure. Perfectly. It's 00:07:47.939 --> 00:07:50.240 the anonymous backdrop for their very specific 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:52.639 kind of misery. Or the theme tune. We should 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:54.519 mention that change, too. Oh, yeah. Good point. 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:56.920 Everyone knows Flagpole Siddha by... harvey danger 00:07:56.920 --> 00:07:59.860 iconic total earworm but that only came in for 00:07:59.860 --> 00:08:01.920 series two the first series used a different 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:05.279 track pit pop plop by daniel pemberton pit pop 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:07.959 plop doesn't quite have the same ring to it not 00:08:07.959 --> 00:08:10.720 really maybe switching to the more upbeat known 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:13.639 song was a little nudge towards trying to get 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:16.259 more viewers early on before it really found 00:08:16.259 --> 00:08:19.800 its uh its cult groove could be okay let's get 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:22.629 into that groove let's talk mark and jazz Right, 00:08:22.670 --> 00:08:24.629 so we've got this unique technical setup forcing 00:08:24.629 --> 00:08:27.269 us inside their heads. Now we need to look at 00:08:27.269 --> 00:08:29.949 the minds themselves. The voiceovers show us 00:08:29.949 --> 00:08:32.070 everything. Everything. And what they show is 00:08:32.070 --> 00:08:34.470 that while Mark and Jez seem like polar opposites 00:08:34.470 --> 00:08:37.029 on the surface. One's uptight and anxious. The 00:08:37.029 --> 00:08:39.809 other's laid back and irresponsible. Functionally, 00:08:39.809 --> 00:08:42.429 they're two halves of the same broken mechanism. 00:08:42.830 --> 00:08:45.149 Completely codependent. They need each other 00:08:45.149 --> 00:08:48.110 to maintain their own specific brands of dysfunction. 00:08:48.529 --> 00:08:51.629 Let's break them down. Mark Corrigan. David Mitchell. 00:08:52.250 --> 00:08:54.610 He's the sensible one, right? Sort of. On paper. 00:08:54.769 --> 00:08:57.149 He owns the flat. He has the job loan manager 00:08:57.149 --> 00:08:59.950 at JLB credit. He presents himself as intelligent, 00:09:00.110 --> 00:09:02.090 tries to be hardworking. But he's riddled with 00:09:02.090 --> 00:09:06.590 anxiety. Deeply pessimistic, socially just. Painful. 00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:09.610 Painful is the word. And he has this desperate 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:12.710 lifelong dream of being seen as an intellectual. 00:09:13.470 --> 00:09:16.429 Morally superior. Reads history books, listens 00:09:16.429 --> 00:09:18.909 to classical music, judges everyone. But the 00:09:18.909 --> 00:09:21.559 voiceover. Oh, God, the voiceover. It just reveals 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:24.419 this pit of petty resentment and malice, doesn't 00:09:24.419 --> 00:09:27.360 it? Absolutely. His moral superiority is just 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:31.159 a flimsy cover for intense self -interest, cowardice, 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:34.159 and just plain meanness. He thinks terrible things 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:36.299 about everyone. He's the king of passive aggression. 00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:39.399 He rarely does anything. Truly awful, not directly, 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:42.120 but he fantasizes about it constantly. And his 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:45.259 inaction, his little acts of cowardice and spite, 00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:47.860 they just slowly poison everything around him. 00:09:47.960 --> 00:09:50.179 He lets things fester until they explode. Then 00:09:50.179 --> 00:09:53.440 you've got Jeremy, Jez, Robert Webb. The fun 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:55.820 one. The supposed fun one. Unemployed, naturally. 00:09:56.059 --> 00:09:58.340 A self -proclaimed musician destined for fame, 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:00.899 obviously. Lives in Mark's spare room, pays no 00:10:00.899 --> 00:10:03.820 rent, contributes nothing. Total work -shy freeloader, 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:06.919 as the show puts it. Exactly. And Jez has this 00:10:06.919 --> 00:10:09.059 veneer. of social confidence. He thinks he's 00:10:09.059 --> 00:10:12.120 cool, desirable, charismatic. But the voiceover 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:14.940 again, it just exposes him as utterly juvenile, 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.440 selfish, arrogant, and just as socially inept 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:20.299 as Mark, really, just in a different way. He's 00:10:20.299 --> 00:10:22.440 a narcissist. Totally. Where Mark's failures 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.639 are often internal, stemming from anxiety and 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:27.500 overthinking, Jez's failures are external, driven 00:10:27.500 --> 00:10:30.559 by pure impulse and vanity. He just does stupid 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:33.019 things without a second thought. And they need 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:36.419 each other for this to work. Mark needs Jez's 00:10:36.419 --> 00:10:39.840 chaos to feel superior and justified in his own 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:43.169 miserable caution. And Jez absolutely needs Mark's 00:10:43.169 --> 00:10:45.490 boring stability, the flat, the occasional loan 00:10:45.490 --> 00:10:47.929 to avoid any semblance of adult responsibility. 00:10:48.370 --> 00:10:51.230 It's a perfect storm. The self -sustaining failure 00:10:51.230 --> 00:10:53.470 loop. Couldn't put it better myself. And that 00:10:53.470 --> 00:10:55.830 loop is constantly fueled and complicated by 00:10:55.830 --> 00:10:58.029 the supporting cast. They aren't just background 00:10:58.029 --> 00:11:00.669 characters. They're like catalysts for disaster. 00:11:00.909 --> 00:11:03.850 Emotional punching bags almost. Or aspirational 00:11:03.850 --> 00:11:06.629 figures who just highlight Mark and Jez's inadequacy. 00:11:06.710 --> 00:11:08.470 Exactly. And the prime example of collateral 00:11:08.470 --> 00:11:11.450 damage has to be Sophie Chapman. Olivia Colman. 00:11:11.529 --> 00:11:14.090 Oh, Sophie. Her journey is just heartbreaking, 00:11:14.330 --> 00:11:16.429 isn't it? It starts off as Mark's office crush, 00:11:16.570 --> 00:11:18.990 his big romantic goal. Becomes his colleague, 00:11:19.129 --> 00:11:21.389 his fiance, his wife, his ex -wife, the mother 00:11:21.389 --> 00:11:24.429 of his child. And her arc is just this slow, 00:11:24.450 --> 00:11:26.789 tragic decline. Because Mark treats her like 00:11:26.789 --> 00:11:29.370 an object. Right. A goal to be achieved rather 00:11:29.370 --> 00:11:32.450 than a person. Pretty much. His obsession combined 00:11:32.450 --> 00:11:35.070 with his... Utter inability to be honest or brave 00:11:35.070 --> 00:11:37.649 just grinds her down. It pushes her towards instability, 00:11:38.149 --> 00:11:41.149 the drinking, the drugs we see later on. She's 00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:43.629 like the walking embodiment of the damage Mark 00:11:43.629 --> 00:11:45.710 and Jez inflict when they try to interact with 00:11:45.710 --> 00:11:47.889 the normal world. Good, yeah. Then on the other 00:11:47.889 --> 00:11:50.129 end, you've got the person Mark wants to be, 00:11:50.250 --> 00:11:52.850 Ellen Johnson. Ah, Johnson. Patterson Joseph, 00:11:53.070 --> 00:11:55.789 brilliant performance. Mark's boss, his senior 00:11:55.789 --> 00:11:58.730 manager at JLB. And Mark absolutely worships 00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:01.409 him, sees him as this incredibly suave, confident, 00:12:01.570 --> 00:12:05.009 successful alpha male. He's desperate for Johnson's 00:12:05.009 --> 00:12:07.330 approval. But we, the audience, and even Mark 00:12:07.330 --> 00:12:11.159 deep down, can see Johnson is just... Yeah. He's 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:13.259 reckless, completely self -absorbed, kind of 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:15.620 predatory. He's just another type of failure, 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:17.980 really. Just one wrapped in a nicer suit. He's 00:12:17.980 --> 00:12:20.200 the hollow male fantasy Mark chases. Exactly. 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:23.019 Then there's the agent of pure chaos. Super Hans. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:26.100 Super Hans. Matt King. Has to be mentioned. Jez's 00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:28.340 bandmate, main drug buddy, appears in, what, 00:12:28.379 --> 00:12:30.980 36 out of 54 episodes? Practically a main character. 00:12:31.240 --> 00:12:33.279 We don't even know his real name for ages. Until 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:38.149 series nine. Turns out it's Simon. But yeah, 00:12:38.230 --> 00:12:40.250 Hans is just this force of nature, constantly 00:12:40.250 --> 00:12:43.470 dragging Jez, and by extension Mark, into more 00:12:43.470 --> 00:12:45.429 and more ludicrous and dangerous situations. 00:12:45.710 --> 00:12:48.950 He's Jez's id unleashed. Can't forget Jeff Heaney 00:12:48.950 --> 00:12:52.230 either. Neil Fitzmaurice. Jeff. Mark's office 00:12:52.230 --> 00:12:55.389 nemesis. The manly one. Always competing with 00:12:55.389 --> 00:12:57.870 Mark, especially over Sophie early on. Mark hates 00:12:57.870 --> 00:13:00.210 him because Jeff is everything ever. Mark isn't 00:13:00.210 --> 00:13:02.789 outwardly confident, reasonably socially functional, 00:13:03.009 --> 00:13:05.789 blokey. He represents that uncomplicated masculinity 00:13:05.789 --> 00:13:08.809 that Mark both despises and secretly envies. 00:13:08.889 --> 00:13:11.309 And later on, there's Dobby, IZ SETI. Right, 00:13:11.389 --> 00:13:14.580 Dobby, the IT worker. Mark sees her as a kindred 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:17.419 spirit, another misfit, his chance at real connection, 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:20.740 the one. Which, naturally, leads to another incredibly 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:23.259 dysfunctional relationship, largely because Mark 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:25.340 can't help but sabotage any chance of happiness 00:13:25.340 --> 00:13:27.220 he gets. It's par for the course with Mark. If 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:28.980 something seems good, his internal mechanisms 00:13:28.980 --> 00:13:31.240 kick in to destroy it. Hashtag tag tag tag five. 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:33.919 The nine series of struggle and humiliation series 00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:36.460 overview highlights. So across these nine series, 00:13:36.620 --> 00:13:38.720 it's not really about growth, is it? It feels 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:40.899 more like a downward spiral, or maybe running 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:43.320 in circles in mud. That's a good way to put it. 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:47.120 It's a chronicle of escalating failure. Mark 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.980 and Jez constantly try to achieve normalcy, love, 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:53.799 career, just basic stability. But their inner 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:56.100 flaws, the ones we're constantly hearing in the 00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:58.539 voiceovers, they just guarantee self -destruction, 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:01.460 often in the most spectacular public ways. Let's 00:14:01.460 --> 00:14:03.440 track some of those key moments of self -implosion. 00:14:03.620 --> 00:14:06.159 The early series really set the pattern. Series 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:08.639 one, you've got Mark's consuming obsession with 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:10.440 Sophie. While Jez is chasing their neighbor, 00:14:10.580 --> 00:14:13.779 Tony. Typical jazz. And we get that early glimpse 00:14:13.779 --> 00:14:16.580 of Mark's moral slipperiness with the whole teenage 00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:19.399 goth one -night -stand incident. Very awkward. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:21.460 Ends terribly, obviously. Of course. And the 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:23.500 series culminates with Mark getting trapped in 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:25.899 the engagement. Sophie finds the ring he bought, 00:14:26.019 --> 00:14:28.480 and he just doesn't have the guts to admit he's 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:30.100 already realized he doesn't want to marry her. 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:33.179 He just sort of goes along with it. Setting himself 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:35.879 up for disaster down the line. That inability 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:38.940 to face small awkwardness leads to huge catastrophe 00:14:38.940 --> 00:14:42.779 later. Textbook Mark. Then series two ups the 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:45.580 ante. Jez gets into that bizarre relationship 00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:47.980 with Nancy, the American free spirit. The one 00:14:47.980 --> 00:14:50.720 who's supposedly celibate. Supposedly. And Jez, 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:52.659 because he can't resist the idea of marrying 00:14:52.659 --> 00:14:55.320 an attractive American woman, ends up in this 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:59.220 sham visa marriage with her. Pure ego and terrible 00:14:59.220 --> 00:15:02.259 judgment. Meanwhile, Mark tries making a normal 00:15:02.259 --> 00:15:06.370 friend at work, Daryl. Oh, God, Daryl. And then 00:15:06.370 --> 00:15:09.110 the voiceover drops the bombshell. Daryl's a 00:15:09.110 --> 00:15:11.929 neo -Nazi. And Mark's dilemma is just perfect. 00:15:12.169 --> 00:15:15.649 Is the awkwardness of dumping a Nazi friend worse 00:15:15.649 --> 00:15:19.000 than the crushing loneliness? For a while. Loneliness 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:21.480 wins. Until he just can't take the guilt anymore. 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:24.639 Classic Mark paralysis. Series 3 is all about 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:27.139 the engagement grinding him down. He's so scared 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:28.740 after getting mugged he starts carrying an illegal 00:15:28.740 --> 00:15:30.919 knife. Which obviously horrifies Sophie when 00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:33.399 she finds out. Peak Mark cowardice leading to 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.860 disproportionate reactions. And Jez's being Jez 00:15:35.860 --> 00:15:38.299 getting jealous of Big Suze's boyfriend Stu leading 00:15:38.299 --> 00:15:41.000 to that pathetic fight. And trying to run a pub 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:43.100 with Super Hans which involves a magic mushroom 00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:46.940 party. Naturally. Naturally. But the real crux 00:15:46.940 --> 00:15:49.889 of Series 3. is that proposal trip to the Quantox. 00:15:50.149 --> 00:15:53.070 The Quantox. Mark gets lost on the hills with 00:15:53.070 --> 00:15:55.470 Jez and has this moment of horrible clarity. 00:15:55.789 --> 00:15:58.850 He realizes he finds Sophie incredibly annoying. 00:15:59.149 --> 00:16:01.330 He almost tells her. He almost breaks free. Almost. 00:16:01.710 --> 00:16:04.230 But he chickens out or gets interrupted and then 00:16:04.230 --> 00:16:06.190 she finds the ring anyway and boom, trapped again. 00:16:06.490 --> 00:16:09.009 The writers are just relentless in showing how 00:16:09.009 --> 00:16:11.950 Mark engineers his own misery. Okay, series four. 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:15.080 This is where things really peak in terms of 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:18.240 pure, unadulterated chaos and horror. Oh, series 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:20.659 four is legendary. Jez sleeps with Sophie's mom. 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:23.259 Just because. Because he's Jez. Then Mark tries 00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:25.379 to escape the wedding by getting a job transfer 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:28.500 to India. His big escape plan. And Jez completely 00:16:28.500 --> 00:16:30.720 screws it up by accidentally killing the dog 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:33.159 belonging to the guy Mark needs to impress. Accidentally 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.759 kills Mummy, the dog. And the cover -up. Oh god, 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:39.700 the cover -up. Eating the dog. Jez, in a complete 00:16:39.700 --> 00:16:42.419 panic, tries to dispose of the cremated remains 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:45.000 by... Yeah, eating bits of turkey, pretending 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.379 it's the dog. Yeah. It's one of the darkest, 00:16:47.419 --> 00:16:50.320 most infamous moments. Truly shows the depths 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:52.990 of his self -preservation and delusion. It's 00:16:52.990 --> 00:16:55.470 horrifyingly funny. And then the wedding day 00:16:55.470 --> 00:16:58.710 itself. The climax. The inevitable train wreck. 00:16:58.929 --> 00:17:01.549 Mark literally hides in the church attic. Can't 00:17:01.549 --> 00:17:04.690 go through with it. But can't admit it. Jez tries 00:17:04.690 --> 00:17:07.950 to cover, fails spectacularly, gives away their 00:17:07.950 --> 00:17:10.730 hiding spot. Mark is dragged to the altar. They 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:12.990 actually get married. For about five minutes. 00:17:13.450 --> 00:17:15.990 Before Sophie realizes the full extent of how 00:17:15.990 --> 00:17:19.170 horrible Mark is and runs out, demanding an annulment. 00:17:19.630 --> 00:17:21.910 Finally, a moment of truth, but only because 00:17:21.910 --> 00:17:24.809 Mark's cowardice reached critical mass. So after 00:17:24.809 --> 00:17:27.670 that peak, where do they go? Series 5, Mark's 00:17:27.670 --> 00:17:30.069 back on the hunt for the one. Ender Dobby. Ender 00:17:30.069 --> 00:17:33.059 Dobby, and Sophie drops the bombshell. She's 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:35.680 pregnant. Oh, right. But is it Mark's? Exactly. 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.359 Because Jez, with his impeccable timing, immediately 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:41.359 confesses he slept with Sophie around the potential 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:44.000 time of conception. Maximum chaos from minimum 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.339 impulse control. That's Jez. Textbook. Mark also 00:17:47.339 --> 00:17:49.480 gets a promotion, but it's all overshadowed by 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:51.500 the pregnancy drama and his new obsession with 00:17:51.500 --> 00:17:54.519 Dobby. Jez also briefly joins a cult with super 00:17:54.519 --> 00:17:58.319 Hans, as you do. Standard Tuesday for Jez. Series 00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:01.339 six, the paternity gets resolved. Yes, Mark is 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:04.799 confirmed as the father. Baby Ian arrives. But 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:07.339 Jez, still refusing any personal growth, falls 00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:09.559 head over heels for Elena. Who is already in 00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:12.500 a serious relationship with Gail. Yep. Leading 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:14.539 to the dramatic climax where Sophie goes into 00:18:14.539 --> 00:18:17.220 labor, Mark, surprise, surprise, has lied about 00:18:17.220 --> 00:18:19.960 passing his driving test. Of course he has. So 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:23.079 a very drunk Jez has to drive her to the hospital. 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:25.299 He nearly runs over Gail in the process and then 00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:27.440 blurts out his affair with Elena in the car. 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:30.339 Just utter carnage. And again, you see how their 00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:33.799 flaws enable each other. Mark's lie puts Jez 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:36.140 in the driving seat, literally. Their codependency 00:18:36.140 --> 00:18:39.400 is actively dangerous. Okay, series seven. Mark 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:41.299 finally gets together with Dobby properly. This 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:43.319 should be good for him, right? You'd think. But 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:46.500 no. Mark being Mark, he ruins it. At Christmas 00:18:46.500 --> 00:18:48.900 dinner with his parents, his social awkwardness 00:18:48.900 --> 00:18:51.519 is so extreme he pretends Dobby is just a platonic 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:55.160 friend. Oh, Mark, no. His dad then humiliates 00:18:55.160 --> 00:18:57.460 Dobby, she leaves heartbroken, and Mark's response 00:18:57.460 --> 00:19:00.720 is, well, iconic. He shreds his entire Christmas 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:03.059 dinner in the waste disposal. A perfect visual 00:19:03.059 --> 00:19:05.579 metaphor for his emotional state. Yeah. Grinding 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:08.190 everything good into mush. Pretty much. That 00:19:08.190 --> 00:19:10.309 series also has that great plotline where Jez 00:19:10.309 --> 00:19:12.450 pretends to be really intellectual to impress 00:19:12.450 --> 00:19:14.769 Zara. Leading to them getting locked in her flat. 00:19:14.950 --> 00:19:17.470 And Mark missing his own son's christening as 00:19:17.470 --> 00:19:21.049 a result. See? Their friendship actively sabotages 00:19:21.049 --> 00:19:23.430 any chance either of them has at a normal life 00:19:23.430 --> 00:19:26.910 event. Okay, nearing the end. Series 8. What 00:19:26.910 --> 00:19:30.349 fresh hell awaits? Well, Gerard, Mark's other 00:19:30.349 --> 00:19:32.569 nerdy colleague and rival for Dobby's affection, 00:19:32.930 --> 00:19:36.569 dies. which complicates things. Mark is waiting 00:19:36.569 --> 00:19:39.549 for Dobby to move in. Jez tries therapy, paid 00:19:39.549 --> 00:19:41.849 for by Mark. Briefly, then immediately tries 00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:43.890 to become a life coach himself, using a fake 00:19:43.890 --> 00:19:45.990 certificate Mark helps him make. It's always 00:19:45.990 --> 00:19:48.390 one step forward, three steps back into delusion. 00:19:48.529 --> 00:19:50.569 And how does the Dobby situation resolve? It 00:19:50.569 --> 00:19:52.849 culminates with Dobby deciding she's had enough 00:19:52.849 --> 00:19:54.630 of both of them and taking a job in New York. 00:19:54.769 --> 00:19:57.690 She literally runs away as Mark and Jez are declaring 00:19:57.690 --> 00:19:59.650 their love for her while simultaneously having 00:19:59.650 --> 00:20:02.390 a physical fight. That sounds about right. A 00:20:02.390 --> 00:20:04.609 fitting end to that whole saga. Utterly fitting. 00:20:05.049 --> 00:20:07.910 Which brings us to the final series. Series 9. 00:20:08.269 --> 00:20:11.789 The final act. The final rut, perhaps. It's definitely 00:20:11.789 --> 00:20:15.009 the final rut. Jez has to move back in with Mark 00:20:15.009 --> 00:20:17.410 after an incredibly bleak period living in Super 00:20:17.410 --> 00:20:21.029 Hans' bathroom. Mark, incapable of learning, 00:20:21.190 --> 00:20:23.390 becomes obsessed with finding April, that woman 00:20:23.390 --> 00:20:25.430 from Series 2 he thought was perfect even though 00:20:25.430 --> 00:20:27.849 she's now married. He even tracks Dobby down 00:20:27.849 --> 00:20:30.349 in New York, doesn't he? He does. Flies all the 00:20:30.349 --> 00:20:32.509 way there only to get beaten up by her new American 00:20:32.509 --> 00:20:34.910 boyfriend. Mark's failure goes international. 00:20:35.470 --> 00:20:38.569 And the finale. How does it all unravel? Predictably. 00:20:39.109 --> 00:20:42.460 Catastrophically. All the wise catch up. Mark 00:20:42.460 --> 00:20:45.460 loses his job at JLB finally because of a dodgy 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:48.480 loan he approved for Jez using fake ID. Their 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:50.920 codependency literally costs him his livelihood. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:54.079 Jez loses his latest partner, Joe. Super Hans' 00:20:54.220 --> 00:20:56.400 life implodes after he kidnaps April's husband, 00:20:56.539 --> 00:20:59.220 Don't Ask, and his wife leaves him. So he flees 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.059 the country to start a moped rental business 00:21:01.059 --> 00:21:04.680 in Macedonia. Macedonia. A truly Super Hans exit. 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:07.680 It had to be somewhere random. And after all 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.960 that, after nine years, 54 episodes, countless 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:14.039 humiliations, moments of genuine horror, where 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:15.940 did Mark and Jez end up? Right back where they 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:19.500 started. Exactly. In the flat, on the sofa, watching 00:21:19.500 --> 00:21:22.839 TV, trapped. And that final voiceover exchange 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:25.339 is just perfect, isn't it? It sums up the entire 00:21:25.339 --> 00:21:29.119 show. Jez, ever the optimist, or perhaps just 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:32.240 deeply deluded, thinks, we love each other, really. 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:34.720 While Mark's final thought, after everything, 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:38.819 is just... Cold, quiet desperation. I simply 00:21:38.819 --> 00:21:42.039 must get rid of him. The cycle remains unbroken. 00:21:42.299 --> 00:21:45.460 Failure persists. Hashtag tag tag V. Critical 00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:48.400 acclaim versus commercial realities. That theme 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:50.240 of persistence, it applies to the show's own 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:52.380 life too, doesn't it? The persistence against 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:55.019 commercial odds. Because the critics adored it. 00:21:55.279 --> 00:21:57.599 Unanimously, really. Oh, completely. The Guardian 00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:00.099 called it the best comedy of the decade. The 00:22:00.099 --> 00:22:02.599 Times praised the scorching writing, put it in 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:05.359 their top TV shows of the 2000s. The acclaim 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:07.500 was consistent and widespread. It wasn't just 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:09.420 broadsheet critics either. You had big names 00:22:09.420 --> 00:22:11.700 in comedy championing it. Right. Ricky Gervais 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:14.160 was a massive fan, called it the best sitcom 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:16.440 since Father Ted. High praise indeed. And he 00:22:16.440 --> 00:22:18.359 actually called it a debacle that it wasn't winning 00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:20.380 more awards early on, specifically mentioning 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:23.019 the 2005 British Comedy Awards. He felt it was 00:22:23.019 --> 00:22:25.500 being overlooked. But its reputation has only 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:27.660 grown since it ended. It still pops up in best 00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:30.539 ever lists. All the time. Like 13th greatest 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:33.539 British sitcom in a Radio Times poll in 2019, 00:22:34.019 --> 00:22:37.619 The Guardian ranked it the ninth best TV show 00:22:37.619 --> 00:22:40.839 of the entire 21st century so far. Wow. And the 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:42.619 industry did eventually catch on with awards. 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:45.160 Yeah, it picked up some big ones. The Rose Door 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:48.200 for Best European Sitcom back in 2004. And the 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:51.180 BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy in 2008. Plus, 00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:53.400 David Mitchell won personally for his performance 00:22:53.400 --> 00:22:57.019 a couple of times. So, glowing reviews, industry 00:22:57.019 --> 00:23:00.940 respect, longevity, awards. But the ratings just 00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:03.329 never matched up. That's the core puzzle. It 00:23:03.329 --> 00:23:06.009 is. How could something so lauded never garner 00:23:06.009 --> 00:23:08.009 consistently high viewing figures? It really 00:23:08.009 --> 00:23:10.309 struggled. Often hovering just over that one 00:23:10.309 --> 00:23:12.450 million viewable mark, which for Channel 4 even 00:23:12.450 --> 00:23:14.930 then wasn't huge for a flagship comedy. That 00:23:14.930 --> 00:23:16.950 is amazing. I read it was genuinely close to 00:23:16.950 --> 00:23:18.769 being canceled around Series 4. Yeah, the rumors 00:23:18.769 --> 00:23:20.910 were strong. Low ratings were biting. So what 00:23:20.910 --> 00:23:22.950 saved it? What did save it? It wasn't a sudden 00:23:22.950 --> 00:23:27.309 surge in viewers. No. It was the DVDs. Its cult 00:23:27.309 --> 00:23:30.029 following expressed itself through sales. The 00:23:30.029 --> 00:23:33.250 sources mention around 400 ,000 DVD sales being 00:23:33.250 --> 00:23:36.470 cited at one point. The old physical media lifeline. 00:23:36.589 --> 00:23:39.150 Exactly. It proved that even if people weren't 00:23:39.150 --> 00:23:41.109 watching live, there was this incredibly dedicated 00:23:41.109 --> 00:23:44.109 audience willing to pay money to own it. It gave 00:23:44.109 --> 00:23:46.390 the execs a different way to measure success, 00:23:46.630 --> 00:23:49.069 a nontraditional metric. It basically bought 00:23:49.069 --> 00:23:51.869 the show more time repeatedly. It's a fascinating 00:23:51.869 --> 00:23:55.369 early example of how. Viewing habits were changing. 00:23:55.529 --> 00:23:57.809 Finding an audience outside that traditional 00:23:57.809 --> 00:24:00.750 broadcast slot. Definitely. And ask anyone involved 00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:03.470 why the mainstream ratings were low. They all 00:24:03.470 --> 00:24:05.670 point to the same thing. The POV filming style. 00:24:05.829 --> 00:24:08.309 The POV style. The very thing that made it unique 00:24:08.309 --> 00:24:10.369 and brilliant was also its biggest commercial 00:24:10.369 --> 00:24:12.869 barrier. That's the irony. Producer Andrew O 00:24:12.869 --> 00:24:15.880 'Connor, Bane, Armstrong. They all basically 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:17.680 said that while the POV got it commissioned, 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:20.619 maybe even saved it after Series 1, it actively 00:24:20.619 --> 00:24:23.279 stopped it from being a breakout hit. It just 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:25.200 prevented it from crossing over into the mainstream. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:27.279 Because it's demanding, right? You can't just 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.019 have it on in the background. It forces you to 00:24:29.019 --> 00:24:31.180 engage, and it's often uncomfortably intimate. 00:24:31.460 --> 00:24:33.799 Exactly. Too much effort, maybe too much psychic 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:36.460 discomfort for casual viewing. Did changing the 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:38.859 time slot help at all? A little bit. When they 00:24:38.859 --> 00:24:41.299 moved it to 10 p .m. for Series 6, it did get 00:24:41.299 --> 00:24:44.259 its highest ratings, about 1 .8 million. But 00:24:44.259 --> 00:24:46.539 that was kind of a blip, not the norm. Still 00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:49.059 not huge numbers, really. Not compared to the 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:51.720 big hitters. Just one final point on its media 00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:54.980 life. Even cult classics aren't immune to changing 00:24:54.980 --> 00:24:59.259 times. How so? Well, in 2020, a scene from series 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:02.759 two, the one where Jez wears blackface as part 00:25:02.759 --> 00:25:05.200 of a doomed relationship plan. Oh, right. That 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:07.640 scene. That was removed from Netflix due to concerns 00:25:07.640 --> 00:25:09.859 about racism. Yeah. Shows how even established 00:25:09.859 --> 00:25:12.980 works get reassessed through modern lenses. Hashtag, 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:15.380 hashtag, tag six. The American Adaptation Challenge. 00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:18.700 OK, so critically adored. Cult hit in the UK. 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:21.980 Surely America came calling. They love adapting 00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:24.700 British shows. Oh, they tried. Repeatedly. The 00:25:24.700 --> 00:25:26.779 story of the U .S. Peep Show adaptations is a 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:29.339 story of consistent, almost comical failure. 00:25:29.660 --> 00:25:31.750 Really? None of them even got to series. Not 00:25:31.750 --> 00:25:35.069 a single one, which maybe tells you everything 00:25:35.069 --> 00:25:37.869 you need to know about how uniquely British or 00:25:37.869 --> 00:25:40.650 perhaps just uniquely peep show the formula was. 00:25:40.809 --> 00:25:43.009 When was the first attempt? Way back in 2005. 00:25:43.670 --> 00:25:46.410 Carsey Verner, the company behind huge hits like 00:25:46.410 --> 00:25:49.089 Cosby Show and Roseanne, they made a pilot. And 00:25:49.089 --> 00:25:52.069 who was in it? Johnny Galecki. Before the Big 00:25:52.069 --> 00:25:54.829 Bang Theory, he played the Mark character. Wow, 00:25:55.029 --> 00:25:57.750 okay. So they had recognizable talent. What happened? 00:25:57.809 --> 00:25:59.950 Why didn't it fly? You have to imagine it just 00:25:59.950 --> 00:26:02.859 didn't translate. That specific flavor of British 00:26:02.859 --> 00:26:05.779 awkwardness, the deep -seated pessimism and self 00:26:05.779 --> 00:26:08.819 -loathing of Mark Corrigan, it's hard to picture 00:26:08.819 --> 00:26:11.519 that landing in a mainstream U .S. sitcom format. 00:26:12.009 --> 00:26:13.809 Which often needs characters to be, you know, 00:26:13.829 --> 00:26:16.390 fundamentally likable or at least redeemable. 00:26:16.549 --> 00:26:19.309 Mark and Jez are challenging on that front. Very 00:26:19.309 --> 00:26:22.029 challenging. And the POV style, the slower pace 00:26:22.029 --> 00:26:24.630 compared to typical U .S. comedies, it probably 00:26:24.630 --> 00:26:26.970 just felt weird. So that 2005 pilot went nowhere. 00:26:27.269 --> 00:26:29.970 But they didn't give up. Nope. In 2008, Spike 00:26:29.970 --> 00:26:31.930 TV, remember Spike TV, they commissioned another 00:26:31.930 --> 00:26:34.490 version. This one had some serious behind the 00:26:34.490 --> 00:26:36.829 scenes talent initially attached, like Robert 00:26:36.829 --> 00:26:40.789 Wide from Curb Your Enthusiasm. Eventually, Bain 00:26:40.789 --> 00:26:42.589 and Armstrong themselves were brought in to write 00:26:42.589 --> 00:26:44.910 it. So the original creators were involved. Still 00:26:44.910 --> 00:26:47.250 no dice. Still no dice. Never got past the development 00:26:47.250 --> 00:26:49.789 stage. It just seemed uncrackable. Then silence 00:26:49.789 --> 00:26:52.789 for a bit or more attempts. More attempts. In 00:26:52.789 --> 00:26:56.829 2016, Starz had a go. That fizzled out quickly. 00:26:57.150 --> 00:26:59.269 It felt like the networks just couldn't figure 00:26:59.269 --> 00:27:01.829 out how to replicate the magic or maybe how to 00:27:01.829 --> 00:27:04.549 sell Mark's particular brand of miserable inertia 00:27:04.549 --> 00:27:07.410 to American audiences. Maybe they thought changing 00:27:07.410 --> 00:27:09.690 the leads might work. Gender swapping it. That 00:27:09.690 --> 00:27:12.529 was the next phase. In 2019, Sam Bain confirmed 00:27:12.529 --> 00:27:14.930 they were trying again, this time with FX networks. 00:27:15.309 --> 00:27:18.630 And the plan was for two female leads. Interesting 00:27:18.630 --> 00:27:21.019 idea. Did that get anywhere? Nope. Failed to 00:27:21.019 --> 00:27:22.799 materialize like all the others. It's becoming 00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:25.720 a pattern. A very clear pattern. But the most 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:28.000 recent attempt seemed like it might finally break 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.059 the curse. FX ordered another pilot in 2022, 00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:35.039 announced in 2023. Also female -led. Yeah. Written 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:37.019 by Stefani Robinson, who's done great work on 00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:39.359 things like Atlanta and what we do in the shadows. 00:27:39.660 --> 00:27:42.619 And it starred Minnie Driver and Amanla Jehovah. 00:27:42.859 --> 00:27:45.700 That sounds like a strong team. FX Robinson driver. 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:48.079 That feels like it should have worked. You'd 00:27:48.079 --> 00:27:49.799 think so. There was definitely more buzz around 00:27:49.799 --> 00:27:53.140 that one. But yeah, no. In September 2024, the 00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:55.480 news came out. FX confirmed it wasn't moving 00:27:55.480 --> 00:27:58.819 forward either. Wow. So after almost 20 years, 00:27:58.980 --> 00:28:02.700 multiple networks, big names, different approaches, 00:28:02.980 --> 00:28:06.279 gender swaps. Nothing. Nothing. It's kind of 00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:08.420 the ultimate proof, isn't it, that the specific 00:28:08.420 --> 00:28:10.839 chemistry between Mitchell and Webb, the exact 00:28:10.839 --> 00:28:13.380 tone of that British self -flagellation, and 00:28:13.380 --> 00:28:16.799 that difficult signature POV style, they were 00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:18.839 inseparable. You couldn't just transplant it. 00:28:18.940 --> 00:28:21.259 It really seems like peep show is just peep show. 00:28:21.859 --> 00:28:24.500 Unadaptable. Hashtag tag tags is the outro. So 00:28:24.500 --> 00:28:26.839 stepping back from it all, this deep dive really 00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:28.859 highlights a few key things about Peep Show. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:30.980 It's fundamentally about those dark things, isn't 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:33.400 it? That stubborn persistence of suffering, as 00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:35.940 Bain put it. The sort of everyday ordinary evil 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:38.500 born of cowardice and self -interest. And it 00:28:38.500 --> 00:28:40.559 channels all of that through this incredibly 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:43.660 specific, innovative technical approach. The 00:28:43.660 --> 00:28:46.319 POV shots, the voiceovers. That technique was 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:48.460 the engine. It created the unique humor, that 00:28:48.460 --> 00:28:52.299 uncomfortable intimacy. But it was also... paradoxically 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:54.700 what held it back from huge mainstream success. 00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:57.680 Yeah. It made it a critical darling, a cult classic 00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:01.279 saved by DVD sales. Yeah. But maybe too demanding, 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:04.079 too weird for a massive audience. And ultimately, 00:29:04.099 --> 00:29:06.420 after all the schemes and disasters, Mark and 00:29:06.420 --> 00:29:09.980 Jez end up stuck. Yeah. Right back where they 00:29:09.980 --> 00:29:12.220 started, trapped by their own failures and their 00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:14.359 toxic dependence on each other. The journey was 00:29:14.359 --> 00:29:17.059 entirely circular. Nine years of chaos leading 00:29:17.059 --> 00:29:19.529 precisely nowhere. It was kind of the bleakly 00:29:19.529 --> 00:29:21.289 brilliant point of it all. It perfectly illustrates 00:29:21.289 --> 00:29:23.890 that theme, the stubborn persistence of failure, 00:29:24.130 --> 00:29:26.890 zero progress. And that circularity, that final 00:29:26.890 --> 00:29:29.410 scene, Jez thinking they love each other, Mark 00:29:29.410 --> 00:29:32.170 thinking he has to get rid of them. That's what 00:29:32.170 --> 00:29:34.690 sticks with you. It ends on this note of profound, 00:29:34.869 --> 00:29:38.509 unresolved stagnation, which leaves us and you, 00:29:38.569 --> 00:29:40.829 the listener, with a final thought to chew on. 00:29:41.529 --> 00:29:43.609 The show puts us right inside their heads. We 00:29:43.609 --> 00:29:46.549 know everything they think. So is the stubborn 00:29:46.549 --> 00:29:48.910 persistence of this oddball male friendship, 00:29:49.009 --> 00:29:51.269 as Armstrong called it, is that bond actually 00:29:51.269 --> 00:29:53.369 more profound? Or is it just more tragically 00:29:53.369 --> 00:29:55.410 inescapable than the persistent suffering it 00:29:55.410 --> 00:29:58.250 clearly causes both of them? Are they bound by 00:29:58.250 --> 00:30:01.309 affection deep down? Or just by mutual failure? 00:30:01.529 --> 00:30:02.230 Something to think about.