Peep Show and The Superiority of British Comedy

I'm not completely new to British comedy, but having spent more time watching contemporary British comedy on Youtube in the past year, I'm more aware of how deprived I've been all these years. The United States has funny people too, but our culture is so focused on political correctness, we've lost sight of focusing on value in entertainment. Our culture is also far more conservative. There are other things amiss that I have not completely pinned down, but for whatever reasons, as the years pass, The United States is more adamant about churning out a plastic sort of humor that is actually not very funny.

So, I would like to introduce you to a very funny British sitcom called, "Peep Show", which follows the lives of two roommates named Mark and Jeremy.

Mark is employed at JLB credit where he works in an office job, far from anything related to his passionate interest in history. Mark is socially awkward with a lot of repressed frustration and very low self-esteem, but he's very intelligent.

Jeremy is Mark's college friend, who spends his time using drugs, attempting to gain the attention of women (which he often does), and talking about his inevitable future as a musician (though he makes little actual effort). Jeremy takes advantage of Mark, and spends most of the series without a job. Mark seems to seek social guidance from Jeremy, though Jeremy completely lacks any sense of ethics and has little sense of appropriate social behavior.

At the beginning of the series, Mark is infatuated with Sophie, a woman who works in his office. Sophie is far more socially successful than Mark, and she is positively acquainted with most everyone in the office. Another co-worker, Jeff, becomes competition for Mark in gaining Sophie's affection, and he and Mark become enemies throughout the series.

Johnson is the very aggressive and domineering boss at JLB. He charms Mark from the beginning, and makes Mark question his own sexuality. Mark changes his mind in the end, mainly because his secret feelings are exposed, but it's likely he only finds in Johnson attributes he wishes for himself.

Super Hans is Jeremy's drug-addicted, unhinged, and often unloyal friend. Together, the two form a band whose name is constantly the subject of angry debate.

Peep Show follows Mark and Jeremy as they attempt to successfully gain the attention of women and acheive some semblance of happiness in their lives, despite their connection to each other and their utter social ineptness.

Check out Peep Show on Youtube. Unless you enjoy the recycled humor and annoying laugh track found in most U.S. sitcoms, you will not be disappointed.