British Comedy Guide

Peep Show - Series 6 Page 10

YouTube trolls dislike it, but hey, they hate everything.

I actually like the POV style. It makes things more visually interesting and it feels more real and cool. I miss it when I watch other shows.

I also like the style, it's never actually crossed my mind that some might find it in some way distracting, or whatever. It works, simple as that. It doesn't look strange to me at all.

Radio Times review: (Maybe the baby is Johnson's, but why would that turn Mark's world to ashes?)

Good on Channel 4 for keeping faith with Peep Show, despite viewing figures so small they can barely be seen with the naked eye. Now entering a sixth series, which makes it the channel's longest-running comedy, socially inept and emotionally stunted flatmates Mark and Jeremy (David Mitchell and Robert Webb) are trying not to think about the inescapable fact that one of them is the father of pregnant Sophie's baby. Wails Mark, "The baby is too big. You can't look at it. It's like the sun." It's up to the decrepit, drug-addled Super Hans (Matt King), who looks increasingly like a monster in a German Expressionist film, to keep the boys from one another's throats. But Mark's world turns to ashes when there's a fire drill at his office and the egregious Johnson (Paterson Joseph) makes an announcement in the car park. If you know little of Peep Show, then probably nothing short of the offer of a free cruise will persuade you to watch it. If you love it, rest assured, age has not wearied writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong's perfect little blackly comic gem.

The POV camera principle was far more apparent in series 1 & 2. By the team's own admission they became slightly less strict about the POV principle and looser with the direction in latter series. Really hardly notice it much myself now (unless I particularly watch it for direction). The POV principle's real importance (and genius) comes from allowing the character's inner thoughts to be more convincingly used as dialogue.

There are two new articles on this site.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6173383/David-Mitchell-and-Robert-Webb-on-Peep-Show-interview.html

Quote: Peep Show Fan @ September 11 2009, 5:26 PM BST

Now entering a sixth series, which makes it the channel's longest-running comedy

Aside from Bremner, Bird And Fortune, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, The Mark Thomas Comedy Product, The Sunday Night Project/Friday, Desmond's, Drop The Dead Donkey, and Heroes Of Comedy. (Although the latter is part-documentary.)

Are any of those you mentioned fiction. The ones I recognise are panel shows etc, which they weren't counting.

Quote: Aaron @ September 12 2009, 12:56 PM BST

Aside from Bremner, Bird And Fortune, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, The Mark Thomas Comedy Product, The Sunday Night Project/Friday, Desmond's, Drop The Dead Donkey, and Heroes Of Comedy. (Although the latter is part-documentary.)

It's already had a seventh series commissioned, so it will become their longest running sitcom at least.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ September 12 2009, 2:19 PM BST

It's already had a seventh series commissioned, so it will become their longest running sitcom at least.

Only in terms of series. Presuming that series seven will also be six episodes long, that will mean Peep Show will have had 42 episodes. While Drop the Dead Donkey had six series, they were longer and it had 65 episodes. Similarly with Desmond's, it had six series, but 71 episodes it has the most episodes of any Channel 4 sitcom.

Quote: Ian Wolf @ September 12 2009, 2:58 PM BST

Only in terms of series. Presuming that series seven will also be six episodes long, that will mean Peep Show will have had 42 episodes. While Drop the Dead Donkey had six series, they were longer and it had 65 episodes. Similarly with Desmond's, it had six series, but 71 episodes it has the most episodes of any Channel 4 sitcom.

I take series over episodes, it's been commissioned seven times to Desmonds or Drop The Dead Donkeys six. So it's the longest running, but not so far the greatest number of episodes.

Somehow I managed never to watch more than about 5 minutes total of the whole 71 episodes of Desmonds. I hear this show had a very loyal cache of fans, but I don't think I've ever met anyone who's admitted to watching it.

On the subject of Peep Show I'm resigned to the fact now that this sitcom will never attract the big audience it deserves. It really is a bit of a mystery to me as to why this should be. (I don't know if Peep Show has ever been run in the US, but it would be great if an established channel such as BBC America or even HBO would give it an airing and see if it takes.)

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 12 2009, 3:23 PM BST

Somehow I managed never to watch more than about 5 minutes total of the whole 71 episodes of Desmonds. I hear this show had a very loyal cache of fans, but I don't think I've ever met anyone who's admitted to watching it.

(I used to love it when I was nine)

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 12 2009, 3:23 PM BST

On the subject of Peep Show I'm resigned to the fact now that this sitcom will never attract the big audience it deserves. It really is a bit of a mystery to me as to why this should be.

I've heard people mention that the way it's shot puts people off, which just baffles me; it's not that weird looking really; is it?

Quote: Tim Walker @ September 12 2009, 3:23 PM BST

(I don't know if Peep Show has ever been run in the US, but it would be great if an established channel such as BBC America or even HBO would give it an airing and see if it takes.)

There was an attempt in 2005 by FOX to adapt the series under the title Odd Couple, but the pilot failed. Also, it did not use the point-of-view camera style.

Since then, Spike TV in 2007 announced that they were going to make an American version, with Bain and Armstrong writing the script. I don't know what became of it.

So far, only Series 1 of the original series is available as a Region 1 DVD.

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