I'm Leaving A Tenner And A Note.

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, my goodness, the episode of Peep Show in which Mark pretends to be a university student genuinely breaks my heart. There's none of the nightmarish humiliation of most episodes; it's just sad. Mark has everything he wants - a degree he's good at and interested in, a girl who likes him - and he can't keep it, because it's all based on a lie. Oh, Mark. (It's episode four of the second series; you can watch it here on 4oD, if you're in the UK. Other links: here on YouTube (also UK-only, and you'll need an account for age verification), and here on Hulu (US-only). It's about twenty-five minutes long.)

I love Mark Corrigan. I can't think of any fictional character to whom I can relate more, and isn't that frightening? Fortunately, I don't have quite so much repressed anger, or a Jeremy to lead me into horrific situations. Less fortunately, I'd probably be a rubbish loan manager.

Er, in case anyone unfamiliar with Peep Show clicks on the above link and finds themselves confused by the unusual filming: every shot in Peep Show is filmed from the perspective of a character. You can hear the thoughts of the main characters, Mark and Jeremy, in voice-over. Which is ingenious, really, because an incredibly socially awkward character like Mark can work only when you can see inside his head. (Also, be warned that the humour is very much not to everyone's taste, although the above episode shouldn't be too embarrassment-squicky.)

I've also rewatched episode four of series one (4oD, or here on YouTube, or here on Hulu if you're in the US), the episode in which Alan Johnson inspires a massive sexuality crisis in Mark, and I have come to the conclusion that I am totally not a bad person for writing Mark/Jeremy fanfiction. That episode is clearly all about their love. Mark can never be happy unless he leaves Jeremy, and he can never leave Jeremy because their love, if awful and life-destroying, is too powerful for him to escape. (The scene in the sushi bar actually makes me 'awww' aloud. 'If I keep smiling, maybe he won't... leave.')

It's almost enough to make me want to write more Peep Show fanfiction.

I shouldn't write more Peep Show fanfiction. (Although Mark and Jeremy are, I have discovered, extremely fun to write.)

Comments

[timydamonkey.livejournal.com]

Peep Show is officially and legally on youtube now, I've noticed. I'm tempted to watch it though I'm not sure it's my thing (though I do like Mitchell and Webb)... I've seen odd bits of episodes. Maybe I should watch an episode or two now I'm not having to faff around with stupid 4 on Demand.

Youtube link is here: http://www.youtube.com/show?p=yiRE6Z5QFLo&pl=0E4453C0DDBF06E6

[rionaleonhart]

Thank you for the link!

I wouldn't be able to tell you whether it's your thing or not, but the two episodes I've linked are both relatively mild (some episodes create so much second-hand embarrassment that they're difficult to watch), so they might be a good starting point if you're interested in finding out.

[thinkpink20.livejournal.com]

I remember when I first watched Peep Show I was genuinely disturbed by how much my internal thoughts mirror Mark Corrigan's. So many times I've watched it and thought, "Oh, that's me!"

I think the episode with the dog in the bin was my favourite of all time - I cried and cried with laughter when they were on that barge. ♥

[rionaleonhart]

It's unsettling, isn't it? There are probably worse characters with whom to identify than Mark Corrigan (it could be Jeremy, after all), but I still can't help feeling it's not a good sign.

Oh, dear, is that the really, really, really horrifying episode?

[thinkpink20.livejournal.com]

Rather unsettling, yes. And as you say, it could be Jeremy... :D

Possibly! I thought as I watched it that animal lovers would probably hate such a thing but I've never been an animal lover so it didn't bother me, I just enjoyed it for the comedy. It was the episode with Katy Brand in, I think.

[serriadh.livejournal.com]

I find it truly, truly terrifying that people think Jeremy is true to life. ARE THERE ACTUALLY PEOPLE A BIT LIKE THAT? THAT CONFIDENT? REALLY?

[rionaleonhart]

Who thinks Jeremy is true to life? We're all in trouble if Jeremy is true to life.

[serriadh.livejournal.com]

Well, I know people who think Jeremy is (a comically exaggerated kind of) them in the way we think Mark is us...

[anewcitylife.livejournal.com]

Yes, you should definitely right more Peep Show fic because it's just crying out for it, really.

I watched the episode you linked (the one with Alan Johnson) and I really enjoyed it. but frustratingly I think my second-hand embarrassment is a bit too intense to watch it all through.

[rionaleonhart]

It really does cry out for fanfiction, especially as nobody is writing any. Mark and Jeremy are such well-drawn characters, and yet I could probably count the number of Peep Show fics floating around the Internet on one hand. I'm not sure I'd even need the thumb.

I'm glad you enjoyed the episode! (And I completely understand why second-hand embarrassment would be an impediment. I'm not sure anything can make me cringe as much as Peep Show.)

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

Despite my embarrassment squick, I watched the Johnson episode you linked and it was quite magnificent; Mark/Jeremy basically canon from that, y/y? The end scene is apparently Jeremy insisting they watch gay porn together, after all, and Mark says he's probably bi and Jeremy's had oral sex with a man... I loved Jeremy's "I think you'd better go", with his triumphant little smile and stroking of Mark's hair after he's just destroyed his friendship with Johnson.

[rionaleonhart]

The 'hey, now that I've managed to dispose of my rival for your affections, let's watch gay porn together' aspect of the ending somehow managed to escape me! I cannot believe how oblivious I am.

And yes to all that you have said! I 'ship Mark/Jeremy a ridiculous amount, really, given that they are a) sitcom characters and b) completely going to destroy each other.

[darkest-alchemy.livejournal.com]

Write more Peep Show fanfic! Your last one was great. It makes me wish I did like the show and convinces me I need to get into it (I *think* that university episode is one I have seen; possibly that is why I didn't click with it then, it was too sad and too late on). Maybe if I begin at the beginning it will click with me.
(er, I don't have an appropriate icon so have Castiel looking terrified)

[rionaleonhart]

Thank you! Please don't force yourself to watch Peep Show if you don't like it, because it's definitely not for everyone, but if you do give it another go I hope you enjoy it.

(I think Castiel looking terrified is perfectly appropriate.)

[squeemu.livejournal.com]

It doesn't work on YouTube for me. Sigh.

[squeemu.livejournal.com]

Also! You should totally write more Peep Show fanfic, as consolation for the fact that I can't watch it.

[squeemu.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Americans can watch Peep Show on Hulu (http://www.hulu.com/peep-show). They'll have to sign up for an account because it's a "mature" show, but it's free.

[rionaleonhart]

Oh, excellent! Thank you for the link! (I'd suggest watching this episode, the second one to which I linked in the post, first, because it's a nice introduction to the beautifully destructive Mark-and-Jeremy relationship and it's not quite as 'ASFGJFHGJHGH THIS IS TOO HORRIFYING I CANNOT LOOK AT THE SCREEN' as some episodes.)

[urawrd.livejournal.com]

That episode is so heartbreaking. :( He could've had everything he's ever wanted! But no, not for Mark. :(

Write moooooooooooooore!

[rionaleonhart]

Your icon is adorable! And just inspired me to go off and look up Robert Webb's Flashdance routine on YouTube, as I'd heard about it but hadn't actually seen the entire thing.

It was possibly the strangest experience I have ever had in my life.

Also inexplicably erotic.

[saaski-moql.livejournal.com]

A-awful and life-destroying? What kind of love is that? Please tell me; I don't like being left in the dark.

[rionaleonhart]

Well, squeemu has just managed to locate the second episode in this entry (which demonstrates their awful and life-destroying love perfectly) on Hulu, so you can watch it if you're in the US. If you don't want to, highlight the spoiler blackout for details of the episode:

Mark and Jeremy live together. Mark is a loan manager; he's just got a new boss, Alan Johnson, and is panicking about whether he might be falling in love with him. Johnson asks Mark to work with him on a new business venture, which would involve Mark moving to Cardiff; Jeremy takes the news that Mark is going to move away rather badly.

At the end of the episode, Mark and Johnson are about to leave when Jeremy, desperate, tells Johnson 'MARK DOESN'T LOVE YOUR BUSINESS; HE LOVES YOU.' Johnson asks Mark whether it's true; Mark panics ('No! No, of course not! ...yes. Maybe a bit') and has a slight breakdown, and Jeremy cradles Mark's head possessively whilst Johnson leaves.

So, yes, Jeremy ruins Mark's business prospects so Mark won't leave him. I'd say that's some fairly life-destroying love.

[saaski-moql.livejournal.com]

...

;____;

[gulliblesnail.livejournal.com]

She's one of me!

I find myself thinking this possibly FAR TOO OFTEN when watching Mark Corrigan. (Which is also why I appreciate your previous post about David Mitchell, to know there's a less horrible option for identification.)

[rionaleonhart]

Exactly! I'm one of you, Mark Corrigan. You can stalk me on my university campus if you like. No, hang on, that would probably end badly.

I was so grateful when I discovered that David Mitchell was essentially Mark Corrigan, but less extreme and a slightly more acceptable figure with whom to identify. I may be awkward, but that does not mean I am necessarily condemned to eternal failure and misery!

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

I keep picturing Jeremy Clarkson when you type Jeremy, which is slightly confusing, but works alarmingly well based on the one episode I've seen.

Maybe lack of your own Jeremy is why you write fanfic about terrifying men named Jeremy?

NEW ETA: Watched the wrong episode - may have written accidentally spoilery thing that I just got rid of.

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

Also, if you decided to write fic where Mark and Johnson somehow end up in bed together (possibly as a drunken one-off) and Mark's following Johnson around like a lovesick puppy, and Jez is terminally jealous and fighting to get his Mark back, I...would not object.

[rionaleonhart]

My first reaction was 'that is a brilliant idea', then I thought about it and realised that, save the sleeping together, that's actually exactly the plot of the Johnson episode I linked. Hmmm.

(I've seen all the Peep Show episodes aired so far, by the way, so don't worry about spoiling me.)

Jeremy Usborne is a bit like Jeremy Clarkson, in the 'has terrible, terrible ideas and then drags his friends into carrying them out' sense. They should never meet.

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

Now that I've seen it, true.

(What about the one where Johnson was all "Jeremy, I would like to offer you five hundred quid to have sex with Mark," only strictly speaking that didn't happen, but it looked like was about to? You know, that one?)

You're right. Fortunately, at least one of them is fictional.

Also, you should do a crossover, where Jeremy plots to trade James and/or Richard in for Mark, as Mark's more compliant, and Jeremy's all "Can I have the Stig? You can have him if I get the Stig."

[rionaleonhart]

(I know the episode to which you are referring, but I don't remember it looking as if Mark was the one Johnson wanted to, ahem, purchase. Clearly I need to rewatch!)

Usborne actually references Clarkson in the Mark's-sexuality-crisis episode, doesn't he? 'Will you walk, like some stupid... duck, or will you drive, like Clarkson?'

Jeremy of Peep Show admires Jeremy Clarkson. This probably doesn't bode well for poor Mark.

Being traded for James or Richard wouldn't be great for him, either; between the fear of public speaking and the inability to drive, I don't think he'd much enjoy being a Top Gear presenter. (Usborne would totally demand the Stig.)

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

(It looked that way in my head. Of course, in my head, Johnson appears to be flirting with everyone within a ten-mile radius, Mark included. Maybe he should meet up with Captain Jack.)

Jeremy would demand the Stig, and Jeremy would refuse on the grounds that the Stig is useful and not rubbish, and end up going "Look, you can have Hamster. There isn't much of him, but your Mark looks a bit rubbish to tell the truth." And Jeremy would go "Only if you get the Stig to autograph him!" and Jeremy would agree. And then Jeremy would try to sell Richard on eBay, and Jeremy, who'd discovered that Mark is a completely rubbish Top Gear presenter would try to get him back and end up bidding ten times as much as everyone else, and Jeremy would go "A thousand pounds!" (because no one else would believe it was real, the bids would stay low) and promptly ship Richard off. And Jeremy would be all "Hamster! I own you now!" and get in some huge mad argument about the illegality of slavery. And Mark would slink off back to Jeremy, hoping he could get some of the thousand pounds to pay for back rent, only by the time he got back, Jeremy had spent it all on drugs, and possibly video games.

Except it's against the rules of eBay to sell humans, or portions thereof, so that might not work.

[bubbles-san.livejournal.com]

Now see, the first time she mentioned "Mark and Jeremy" I thought she meant Mark Owen and Jeremy Clarkson and that... was a very strange thought indeed. (I realized almost immediately that I was off by a bit, but, you know, once seen can't unsee.)

[dracothelizard.livejournal.com]

That's the thought I had when Riona wrote about a dream a couple of days ago where Peep Show Mark and Jeremy snogged and Mark was horrified, and I went 'well, of course Owen would be horrified, it's Clarkson.'

I do vote Jeremy Clarkson/Peep Show Jeremy now, mostly because it'll scare Peep Show!Mark half to death.

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

I thought that as well. I nearly said something, but I wasn't sure if Riona would have any idea of who Mark Owen is.

[dracothelizard.livejournal.com]

Now I think that all interpretations of Mark/Jeremy are just completely horrifiying to Mark, be it Peep Show Mark/Peep Show Jeremy, Peep Show Mark/Jeremy Clarkson, Mark Owen/Peep Show Jeremy or Mark Owen/Jeremy Clarkson.

Maybe it's something about the name Jeremy.

[amy-wolf.livejournal.com]

And Mark Owen does not seem like he'd enjoy being involved with Peep Show Jeremy, either.

[dracothelizard.livejournal.com]

I think Mark Owen should just get involved with Peep Show Mark and then leave the two Jeremys with each other.

[misplacedmarble.livejournal.com]

Mark can never be happy unless he leaves Jeremy, and he can never leave Jeremy because their love, if awful and life-destroying, is too powerful for him to escape.

Does this sounds exactly like the Holmes/Watson relationship, or is that just me?!

I remember watching the first episode of Peep Show and not enjoying it, but I watched an episode of the most recent series this September and really liked it, so I'm definitely going to check it out again some time...

[rionaleonhart]

The comparison hadn't occurred to me, but they really are a bit Holmes-and-Watsonish. That might explain why I 'ship them so much more sincerely than anyone should really 'ship anything from Peep Show. Although, in the Mark-and-Jeremy relationship, Holmes is a bit of an idiot, Watson has somehow acquired Holmes' social impairment, and God help us if they ever try to fight crime.

[misplacedmarble.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, how much do I want to see Mark and Jeremy fighting crime now? Though nowhere near me. :P