Pete Versus Life is a British sitcom written by George Jeffrie and Bert Tyler-Moore, and starring Rafe Spall. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 in 2010, with a second series the following year.
It follows the misadventures of Pete Griffiths (Spall), a twenty-something wannabe sports journalist who struggles in both his personal and professional life. He often finds himself in socially awkward situations and, as he is somewhat immature and prone to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, things seldom go well for him. The twist is that whatever he does, his life is commentated on by two sports commentators, Colin King (Simon Greenall) and Terry McIlroy (Ian Kirkby), who act as if Pete's life is a live sports broadcast - complete with on-screen graphics and slow-motion replays. They often cringe (or laugh) at what Pete does, have all sorts of statistics on him and his acquaintances, and are generally unprofessional in their approach.
Tropes present in this series include:
- A-Cup Angst: Anna suffers from this. Pete is only too happy to mock her about it when he thinks she's not listening. Which does not go well.
- All for Nothing: However hard he tries, things never go well for Pete.
- Blatant Lies. Oh, Pete. Lying about doing a poo in his girlfriend’s parents’ toilet when he left the seat up is the least of his problems. He has to make up quite a few of these to explain why he always tries to avoid talking to Anna, because he doesn't want to straight-out tell her that he just doesn't like her. He's also falsely claimed to have been a former soldier and even a drug addict in order to impress women.
- British Brevity: The show ran for two series, a total of 11 episodes (five in Series One, six in Series Two).
- Brother–Sister Incest: Heavily implied with Anna and her brother, who are seen snogging.
- Butt-Monkey: Pete, so very much.
- Can't Get Away with Nuthin': Everything Pete does (and that really does mean everything) is discussed, analysed and sometimes laughed at by Colin and Terry.
- Cringe Comedy: It's about a socially inept man whose entire life (including what he does in the toilet) is analysed in some detail by sports commentators. The show practically runs on this trope.
- Granola Girl: Chloe, who Pete gets together with after she hears him talking about his commitment environmental issues (but doesn't realise that he's actually lying in order to get out of Rob's stag weekend). Their relationship doesn't last, but he genuinely likes her and views her as the "one that got away".
- Fake Relationship: When Pete actually gets a decent job at a football magazine in "Ollie's Girlfriend", it's because of one of these.
- "Fawlty Towers" Plot: Often; Pete's Blatant Lies and his subsequent attempts to keep up with the consequences of them drive much of the plot.
- Good Luck Charm: Pete's little plastic figurine of Gazza
. Which gets nicked. - Humiliation Conga: Happens to Pete in most episodes.
- Is This Thing Still On?: Happens to Pete when he goes to an audition at a TV studio. Not only does he go to the toilet with the mic still on, he also calls a friend and mocks Anna and her brother. Since the brother is the one who works for the studio and has set the audition up, it ends badly for Pete.
- Kavorka Man: Despite his Butt-Monkey status and all-round social ineptitude, Pete gets plenty of action with the ladies. None of the relationships last very long, though, and you can be sure that Colin and Terry will have the stats on how he performs in the bedroom.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Just about everything Pete does comes back to bite him on the arse.
- Likes Older Women: Pete, at least in the Series One episode "Older Woman" when he somehow becomes romantically involved with a rich, older and (as it happens) married woman. However, he's unable to notice the fine line between being a toy-boy and being a gigolo, as Colin and Terry are only too happy to point out.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Pete’s friend Rob is this with his fiancé Anna, to the point where he’s totally OK with her coming on his stag weekend.
- Mistaken for Junkie: In "Mum's Cleaner", Pete's Dad thinks he's a heroin addict after he hears Pete claiming to be one in order to impress Gracja. This results in Pete being locked in his old bedroom in an attempt to get him to go 'cold turkey'.
- Naughty by Night: Rachel (Jake's girlfriend in "Fankoo"), apparently.
- Phony Veteran: In "Veteran", Pete falsely claims that he used to be in the Army in order to impress Mel. Unfortunately for him, Mel's brother really was in the Army.
- Stealing from the Hotel: Or from a bag left outside a charity shop in Pete's case. It is a nice leather jacket, mind you.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Kurt, Pete’s blunt, overly direct Zimbabwean flatmate in Series One, was replaced for Series Two by Manfred. Who was blunt. And overly direct. And from Zimbabwe.
- Toilet Humour: Since Colin and Terry are even aware of what Pete does in the toilet, this does crop up from time to time.
- Unknown Rival: Jake, Pete's flatmate from uni, is totally unaware that Pete sees him as his mortal enemy.
