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So Mr Corrigan, we've examined your loan application and I just have one question for you. Are you a pathetic, worthless punk?

—Johnson, ""Mark Makes a Friend""

Mark Makes a Friend
Series 1, episode 4
Peep Show Mark Makes a Friend
Episode details
Date aired 10 October 2003
Previous episode On the Pull
Next episode Dream Job

Mark Makes a Friend is the fourth episode of Peep Show's first series which was first broadcast on the 10th of October 2003.

Summary[]

Jeremy wakes up from a crazy night with Super Hans. He knows he did "a bad thing" but doesn't know what it is. As he's cleaning up, he begins to remember possibilities of what the bad thing was, which includes strangling Super Hans with floss while yelling "Floss is boss", and smoking many spliffs at once. He still doesn't think either one of those things is "the bad thing".

Johnson beemer

Mark meets the handsome and arrogant Johnson and later runs into him at a business conference, when Mark has to walk from the hotel alone because Sophie ends up giving his seat in her vehicle to Dave who was assisting Debbie who is in a wheelchair. Much to Mark's disappointment, Jeff is also seen in Sophie's car, thus establishing his position as a rival for Sophie's affection.

Johnson sees that Mark is walking alone, and offers him a ride, and the two strike up a friendship - albeit it may be one-sided. Johnson begins influencing Mark negatively with regard to women. When Mark tells Johnson he likes Sophie, Johnson points out that Sophie isn't as attractive as "a supermodel, like Giselle", and that she has a "fat arse". Mark begins acting like Johnson, which includes growing a mustache. When he sees Sophie in the kitchen back at JLB, he acts rude towards her when she apologizes about the car ride, and then decides to make his move and kiss her, but gets hit in the head with the cabinet door.

JLB conference S1E4

Johnson visits Mark at his apartment to talk business, where Jeremy embarrasses Mark by telling Johnson all the immature and uneducated things they do, like "picking teams" when it comes to Israel and Palestine because it's more fun. He remembers that he created a "mega tsunami" of bath water onto Mark's computer the night before, and purposefully spills Mark's wine on the computer so Mark will think the spilled wine is the reason it isn't working.

Mark eventually decides to take up Johnson’s offer to relocate to Cardiff to go into business with him, and tells Jeremy about this over a sushi lunch, where Jeremy snaps and begins breaking his chopsticks in half, pretending to be happy but looking extremely manic. Mark begins to wonder if perhaps he has romantic feelings for Johnson, or if he is gay altogether. He rents some gay pornography to see if he would enjoy it, and winds up getting turned off and freaked out when he sees a naked penis.

Johnson leaves his car (a BMW 5 series) parked near Mark’s flat and leaves Mark with his keys. Mark can't drive, but Jeremy convinces Mark to drive Johnson’s 5 series to the JLB office to retrieve Mark’s now-fixed laptop from the IT guy. Mark winds up driving well (albeit slowly) and when he sees Sophie and Jeff he tries to show off, saying the car is his, but ends up accidentally shifting the BMW into reverse and scraping the side against a dustbin.

Jeremy tells Mark it's okay and that he will take the blame for the car, in hopes that this will make Mark appreciate him and their friendship. When Johnson arrives and tells them he doesn't care about the car since it's insured, Jeremy tells Johnson that Mark crashed the car, and that in addition, Mark is in love with him. Johnson is visibly freaked out, especially when Jeremy shows him Mark's gay porn.

Later, Jeremy flashes back and realizes "the bad thing" was that Super Hans gave him oral sex while they were on drugs, and then said "Okay, your turn now", implying that Jeremy returned the favor.

Trivia[]

  • The only episode to show flashbacks of an earlier memory (Jeremy's attempt to recall "the bad thing").
  • At the start of act two, you can see the real life name of Mark and Jez's flats. The real name is Zodiac House, with the Apollo House sign placed over it.
  • First appearance of Paterson Joseph as Mark's boss, Alan Johnson.
  • First mention of Mark's book, Business Secrets of the Pharaohs. This book will not be completed until series 8, Business Secrets of the Pharaohs
  • Several JLB employees are mentioned by name but do not appear: Barbara Bingham (the HR manager who is harassed by Johnson, cries, and will leave in the following episode Dream Job), Debbie, Lucy, Dave, and Mica.
  • In the hotel room, Jeff is watching the popular British show Inspector Morse, which ran from 1987-2000.
  • The only episode of Peep Show that has been given an 18 certificate by the BBFC. Consequently the Series 1 DVD is labelled with the 18 logo. This is because of the gay porn video featured in it.
  • The "Stokport contract" is referred to in this episode.
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