Peep Show Rides Again!

It seems like a long time ago that Channel 4's Peep Show last blessed our screens with a new episode, but in fact it was less than a couple of years ago. Series 8, which has just kicked off, felt like a meeting up with my best friend from primary school that I haven't seen since. It had been ages and so much had happened since. The good thing was, my old friend hadn't changed much - he (Peep Show is definitely a 'he' I think) was pretty much exactly as I remembered him.

The first episode, 'Jeremy Therapised', did as good a job as it always does in getting straight into the action and not going over a load of old ground. Characters Jeremy and Superhans welcome us to the opening episode and we get their bad-band-backstory without clunky revelations. Being completely honest (though probably over-critical), there was a teeny bit of rough exposition, like when Mark hands over his baby to Jeff (for some reason, Neil Fitzmaurice's character is one of the ones I most like to see in an episode). The way he talks about their relationship is a bit 'on the nose', but it's to be expected that some things need a bit of a 'helping hand' so the audience doesn't spend the rest of the series under-illuminated.

Also, I felt a little bit like there wasn't as much 'stuff' in the episode as there usually is. For example, Jeremy's chat with Dr. Bendick involves a gag that goes on for quite a long time and the punchline is quite flat and not that funny. These longer scenes (most of which are funny, in the inimitable Peep Show style) just seemed to lack the punchy, dynamic, almost hectic activity of previous series. But then, after re-watching it, I'm probably being too critical, arising from having watched all other seven series and being able to judge it against all that material. There is a lot going on, so I'm being overly-picky to say that it could be better.

It's shaped up to be another great series, even though Mark seems to be less likeable (I normally see him as merely spineless, but in this first episode he's a bit darker - mirroring some dark plot points - and more of a knowing arsehole). I would recommend everyone give it a try, though I know from asking other people that it tends to be a marmite comedy; you either love it or hate it. That might sound like a disclaimer, but really I find it hard to accept that it's possible not to find it one of the best, and one of the most important, chapters in not just British comedy, but in the world's.

Did I mention I've met David Mitchell?

Here's a review of the episode over on the Den of Geek site: http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/peep-show/23577/peep-show-series-8-episode-1-review-jeremy-therapised. I think it offers a nice counterpoint to my ramblings.