"I sort of fused flash-dance with MC Hammer sh*t" (The Office - Series 1 and 2 (DVD))

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	The Office - Series 1 and 2 (DVD)
Date:	14/05/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: soo funny

Disadvantages: none

There are so many good DVD box-sets out there these days, that it makes sense to buy seasons in 'multi-packs' like this one, where you can get both seasons of the Office for just £27 on amazon.

In 2001, the face of TV was changed forever by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, creators or 'The Office'. It's a half hour show, with six episodes in this series, and its genre is mockumentary.

A 'Mockumentary' is a fake documentary - everything is supposed to be real life, but the whole thing is a created show. 'The Office' follows the day in day out life of a paper suboffice in Slough. That's a painfully poor idea for a TV show you would think, but the characters in that office are what make the whole thing, none moreso than Gervais' David Brent.

Have you ever had a boss who is an idiot, but so desperate for affirmation that all you have to do is laugh at his jokes and you're the best employee ever? David Brent thinks he's the funniest, most inspirational leader ever - a friend, a boss and a comedian, but really he's just an idiot who makes a fool of himself every day. It's painful to watch his cringeworthy antics, and yet there's something loveable about him.

Whilst Brent is undoubtedly the star of the show, there are still many other strong characters with their own storylines; Tim and Dawn are in love with eachother but won't admit it, and then there's Gareth! Gareth is an army obsessed teacher's pet, who is just too tempting to Tim to wind up.

So what happens when you watch 'The Office'? You sit through half an hour of a paper office's day and you laugh, a lot. It's British comedy, understated and subtle in its most part. As the show goes on you get tuned into Brent's facial expressions and body language, and it makes you laugh, hard. The US version of the show is great, but it's a clear example of what this show is not - the US show is full of staged jokes, whereas the joke in the UK version comes in the seemingly normal interactions of the characters.

The storyline for season one revolves around the threat of closure for Brent's branch. The way he handles the situation is text-book 'how not to be a manager'. It's extremely funny, but I also breath a sigh of relief that I don't work somewhere like that!

You would think that only people in the UK would get the British humour, but the show was huge around the world, so don't let that put you off if you're not in Britain.

After the huge success of season one, the pressure was on to come up with a good follow-up, and they did! The show was moved from BBC2 to BBC1, and was hailed as the leading comedy in the whole country.

The storyline is more complex than series one; the Swindon branch is joining the Slough team in Brent's office, complete with their manager Neil. This totally changes the dynamic of the show. Before, Brent was free to make an idiot of himself and the only people watching were his employees (who had no power over him). Now, Neil is David's boss, and he's a normal boss. It takes about 30 seconds for Neil to realise Brent is an idiot, and the result is six episodes of comic beauty. The clashes between these two are full of the cringe worthiness that we now expect of the show.

This series contains the infamous 'David Brent dance', where he fuses 'flash dance with MC Hammer sh*t'. It's one of TVs funniest moments to see this guy performing like a complete fool, and it's become a cult moment for a whole generation. Gervais (6 years on) is still getting asked to perform the dance - I think he regrets ever doing it.

We begin to see a more emotional side of Brent in this series, and our feelings for him are really developed; he's an idiot, but he's harmless, a lovable idiot who just needs a good cuddle really. There's a shocking end to the series, and then that's the end of 'The Office' (apart from a Christmas special later that year). It's a brave move by Gervais and co, who didn't want to milk the cash cow, but felt it right to quit while they were ahead. The public were devastated (including me) but maybe they were right.

All in all, a brilliant DVD set.

Summary: do it