Peep Show

[gothick]

After much encouragement from lots of people I know, and bearing in mind I've liked what Mitchell and Webb I've seen, I finally got around to renting the first season of Peep Show.

And I can't stand it.

It's not that I think it's bad, it's just that it's exactly the kind of "embarrassment comedy" that makes me cringe in sympathy for the characters, and has me reaching to turn down the volume or fast forward through much of it, all whilst trying to stuff my fist in my mouth. It is, for me, literally unwatchable.

Is there something wrong with me, I wonder?

Oh well. At least I know I can't cope with it now.

Comments

[makyo.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean, I found it quite uncomfortable to watch, to start with, but then I got into it. The same happened with The Office, which I didn't like the first time I saw it, but which I persevered with after so many people recommended it to me.

I think the problem I usually have with this sort of embarrassment comedy is that I'm used to feeling some sympathy for the characters, so I end up sharing in their pain when things go progressively more wrong for them. This happened with Peep Show until I consciously switched the sympathy off - I'm nothing like any of the characters, so there's no reason I should try to empathise with them or feel awkward or embarrassed on their behalf. I found myself thinking "Oh my god, what would I do if I found myself in that situation?" but the answer I came up with was "I would never have got into that situation in the first place, because I would never have made any of the increasingly deranged and amoral decisions that led there, and anyone who did probably deserves whatever surreal, awkward or unpleasant things that happen to them."

[gothick-matt.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Maybe I'll have to give switching off the sympathy more of a try. I've got this DVD until tomorrow, anyway, and I do like Mitchell and Webb in many other things, so perhaps... Then again, I also find that if I _don't_ have sympathy for the characters, then there's not enough connection to make it worthwhile watching.

Heh. Maybe I'll just take it back and get Black Books out again.

[k425.livejournal.com]

Ah, now, there's a treat, Black Books.
Took that on holiday with us. The out-takes were fab.