SomethingToDo2

Peep Show, one of the best shows on TV that you’re not watching, is about the decline of civility in modern civilisation. Embracing the popular cringe-comedy that has characterised UK television over the past decade, each episode of Peep Show is an exquisitely painful delight.

What allows Peep Show to transcend other examples of cringe-comedy is that it has a point of view. Well, two point of views, actually. We follow Mark and Jez, a modern day UK odd-couple. Mark is very traditional and very British. He’s an inward-thinking man in pursuit of a relationship with a woman to love, or at least one that he doesn’t mind. Jez serves as his antithesis. He’s loud and brash, caring only about his music and his own s-xual satisfaction. Mark is about the intellect, while Jez is about the physical. Neither, however, are emotionally driven, which means that they are both genuinely horrible people.

And yet, you can’t help but be on their side through every horrible act they are involved with.

Much of the horrible behaviour on the show is a direct result of the fact that both characters on the show have expectations in life that are not met. Mark, in his quest to be in a relationship with the “beautiful Sophie”, finds that she’s not the idealised woman he believes her to be. Through the six seasons so far, we’ve seen Sophie emotionally destroy Mark through her own selfishness, Mark eventually bedding and “romancing” Sophie, and their wedding. The wedding itself ended in a horrible mess involving tears, Mark jilting Sophie, and an unfortunate physical expulsion of urine over the church pews.  Meanwhile, Jez is dealing with the fact that his electronic music career hasn’t yet made him a superstar.

Mark and Jez are played by David Mitchell and Robert Webb, respectively. They’re best known for the popular sketch comedy show That Mitchell & Webb Look (“That’s Numberwang!”), which has aired previously on ABC1. But it’s Peep Show that demonstrates their true value as comedy icons.

Peep Show certainly isn’t for everyone. Its comedy is dark, the cast isn’t filled with pretty young things, and the characters are so damn bitter. But for those of us frustrated by the way that the world functions (most Crikey readers, I’d imagine) and the continual disappointment that it can bring, Peep Show resonates strongly.

Peep Show airs tonight on ABC2 at 10pm. The finale is next week. Catch up with the series from the very beginning with the DVD — available here.