The great thing about Peep Show is how many of its best episodes take place entirely within the confines of Mark and Jez's flat (just five sets, including the hallway), but that forces the script to be robust and funny enough to go the distance. I also find it amusing to imagine episodes without the hilarious "inner voices" – as the show would be a very different beast. Most episode's would look rather mundane, as so much of the comedy comes from hearing and identifying with whatever crosses Mark and Jez's mind at key moments.
In this episode, Mark and Jez decide to host a party together. Mark intends to use it as the perfect venue to make a move on Dobby (Isy Suttie) before she gets a fresh circle of friends at her new job, while Jez just wants to make Elena jealous and force her to choose between him or her lesbian lover Gail (Emily Bruni). Naturally, the festivity takes some beautiful turns for the worst: Super Hans (Matt King) arrived wearing a "rental snake" as his "USP", which he later lost; Dobby belatedly arrived after the party had peaked and ended up going home with the intubated, sickly Gerard (Jim Howick); Sophie's dad arrived with a tempting offer to fix their marriage so he can be a proper husband and father; Jez admitted to Elena he loves her, but after she agrees to dump Gail for him her long-term partner pops the question and she accepts; Mark dealt with two gatecrashers who are gorging on his homemade lasagna; and there's a mystery of Da Vinci Code proportions for Mark to solve when someone left a stinking mess in his loo.
There were a few moments that didn't quite click (like Mark's father-in-law turning up), but this was mostly another fantastically farcical episode where most things had pay-off (like those "puke points" Jez distributed around the flat) and the storyline for Jez took a big step forward. I'm still a little unsure about exactly where the Mark/Dobby situation is headed, as it never really seems to gather much steam for me. I know a lot of people find Isy Suttie incredibly funny and endearing, too, but I'm not quite onboard with that assessment. I rather wish Sophie had been given more screen-time than she has in this series, but maybe her role will increase again after giving birth. And I'm still not convinced Mark's the father of her child, either...
Overall, it almost goes without saying that this was a truly marvelous episode, packed full of memorable moments and lines of dialogue -- from Mark's iPod suddenly "shuffling" the party music to a dull speech, Jez describing Mark as "a fusty, sweater-wearing no-fly zone with a ten-foot carrot up [his] arse", the throwaway shot of Super Hans making his snake dizzy in a salad mixer, Mark's unspoken quest to discover who blocked his toilet, and Jez agreeing to be Elena's "human mannequin".)
I remain in awe at the highs this comedy achieves, week in, week out. What did you all think?
16 October 2009
Channel 4, 10pm
written by: Sam Bain & Jesse Armstrong directed by: Becky Martin starring: David Mitchell (Mark), Robert Webb (Jez), Vera Filatova (Elena), Emily Bruni (Gail), Isy Suttie (Dobby), Jim Howick (Gerrard) & Sophie Winkleman (Big Suze)
