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

[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.