I've finally turned blue! But that's Pneumonia for you......
I've finally turned blue! But that's Pneumonia for you......
Member since:28.03.2003
Reviews:34
Members who trust:4
I recently bought this boxset on the strength of watching "That Mitchell and Webb Look" on BBC 2. I'd good things about it, but that wasn't really much to go on since I'd heard loads of "good things" about "The Catherine Tate Show". I'm currently suing the BBC under the trades' descriptions act for billing that as a "comedy" show.
Now, whilst "That Mitchell and Webb Look" was scripted by David Mitchell and Robert Webb, "Peep Show" was scripted by two writers called "Sam Bain" and "Jesse Armstrong". This immediately set alarms bells ring in my head as I thought maybe of the material in "Look" which made it funny would not be present in "Peep Show" as there are different scriptwriters. However my fears were allayed. But more of that later.
David Mitchell and Robert Webb were members of the famous "Footlights College" comedy
troupe. Former members, include Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Ben Elton. A mark of the comedy pedigree of Mitchell and Webb. These people are no strangers to making people laugh, but can they do it with somebody else's material...?
Background:
"Peep Show" revolves around the lives of 2 people, Mark (David Micthell) a complete wet blanket who lusts after Sophie (Olivia Colman) and feuds with Jeff (Neil Fiztmaurice, better known as the scriptwriter of Phoenix Nights and "Ray-Von") for her affections and Jez (Robert Webb) a musician, with an odd outlook on life ("Us musicians don't answer to YOUR rules! We answer to a higher power! The power of 'If it feels good, do it!'") he is also completely void of any musical talents whatsoever! Whilst the main characters are great, by the third season I really wanted to strangle Mark and slap Jez! But this is a testament to how involved you can get into this show! Plus, by telling you WHY I wanted to do that to the characters, would involve revealing a lot of the stories in the show, which is something I do not intend to do.
The gimmick of this sitcom is the fact that you are always looking at it from someone else's perspective and we are privy to their thoughts. Hence, the name "Peep Show"! Clever, huh?
Verdict:
This sitcom does hit the mark frequently and accurately! Whilst a lot of the one-liners and jokes are very funny, what makes this truly unique is the colourful characters who you will recognise from your own life and when the characters give their innermost thoughts. I found myself saying (quite a few times!) "I thought I was the only person who noticed/said that!". Another good thing about this sitcom is it doesn't take much getting used to. Whilst I found "Phoenix Nights" brilliantly funny and sharply observed, it did take a while for me to get into. "Peep Show" doesn't have this problem and I got straight into the show after the first episode. The show does frequently swear and make sexual suggestions, so don't think for one second a couple of nuns wrote this show, think again!It does require a broad mind. If you think "Benny Hill" was "a bit racy" then maybe you should steer clear of "Peep Show". But if you enjoy a good laugh and have a broad sense of humour, buy this box set, kick back, relax and enjoy! I whole-heartedly recommend it! By the way, when this show says "they did a'bad thing'". Trust me, you won't know what hit you.......!
Miscellaneous:
When buying the "Peep Show" boxset, be sure to keep the receipt. When I bought my copy I had trouble playing certain seasons on certain DVD players on my house. After doing some research, I found out that many people have also found this problem and the levels of dud copies in circulation are high. So there is a very good chance you may buy a broken copy.
In 2007, a film is being released called "Magicians". This film stars David Mitchell and Robert Webb and is scripted by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain (Peep Show). Hopefully, we'll see their best material yet!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
(+) Because of the new series the box set isn't complete, which means it will be cheaper! (-) It isnt the complete box set so you'll have to buy the new dvds seperatly or wait for the new set!
Production Year: 2003 - Comedy - Director: John Crowley - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Colin Farrell, Shirley Henderson, Cillian Murphy, Colm Meaney, Rory Keenan, Laurence Kinlan
Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
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