I'm a Friend First, Boss Second. Probably Entertainer Third. (The Office - Series 1 and 2 (DVD))

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	The Office - Series 1 and 2 (DVD)
Date:	13/07/04 (316 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent performances and writing, Original and believable style, Both series in a slipcase

Disadvantages: Not to everyone's taste, No added features

The spoof documentary series ‘The Office,’ written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, followed the highs and lows (concentrating mainly on the humiliating lows) of life at an unimpressive paper merchants in Slough. The filming style was scarily believable, the humour was original and very successful and the characters were so enjoyable to watch as they coped with the monotony of adult life in a very dull workplace.

The success of the series led to even more impressive DVD sales of the two series and it didn’t take the BBC long to release the collected set of both series in a wide cardboard sleeve in late 2003. In 2004 this was updated to an official re-release of both series under the title ‘Complete Series One & Two.’


THE WHOLE PIE


The release of this collected set is a little disappointing in that nothing new is added that wasn’t already available: the special features and menu designs are identical to the original DVD releases, apart from a ‘© 2004’ amendment to the pressings, and there hasn’t even been an effort to combine the first series onto one DVD disc rather than the two disc release that the BBC used to be so fond of. This serves to make the ‘3-disc set’ label a little less impressive than it would be otherwise, but regardless of these initial disappointments this is still an easier and more affordable way of owning both excellent series of The Office than buying the individual releases.


CAST & CREW


The series is written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and despite the very realistic and spontaneous style it is a credit to the writers that very little is improvised on set. Ricky also plays the leading role of regional manager David Brent, arguably the finest and most recognisable comedy character of the last few years, while the taller and less obese Stephen features in a small role as the Og-Monster, one of Gareth’s oddball friends, in the second series. The main characters in the Office are all different enough to keep the show interesting without it seeming too contrived and false, although none of them are completely satisfied with their personal lives or occupations.

If RICKY GERVAIS was not already responsible for co-creating the part of David Brent, I would say that the role had been made for him. But it actually was, so that doesn’t serve as that great a compliment: the giggling, somewhat childish fool would rather be popular and “have a laugh” than increase output and staff skills and his many slip-ups caused by his personality and lack of sound judgement have left many people, including myself, being forced to turn away from the television screen. Brent is hilarious in all moods and the introduction of Neil and the Swindon staff in the second series only increase this viewing embarrassment as he tries to upstage his new boss and charm the newcomers with an irrelevant and offensive comedy routine.

MARTIN FREEMAN is the honest everyman of the Office, the thirty-year-old Tim. Despite his charming and funny personality, Tim is an unfortunate loser in both of the series in his attempts to turn his friendship with Dawn into something more, but he always triumphs in his continuing feud with Gareth. The constant whining and survival tactics from his workmate drive Tim to quite petty acts that are enjoyable to watch, such as encasing Gareth’s stapler in jelly, building a wall of files and gluing his phone.

MACKENZIE CROOK plays Gareth, the ex-Territorial Army lieutenant whose obsession with the art of war parallels that of even the most ardent ten-year-old Warhammer collector. Mackenzie’s bird-like features and general goofy acting of the role makes Gareth a little less plausible than the less extreme characters but he is still rooted firmly in reality and is one of the highlights of the show. Gareth is devoted to David but also assumes that his title of ‘team leader’ actually means something and he is the butt of many a childish prank by Tim and Dawn.

LUCY DAVIS, Jasper Carrott’s daughter who decided to forego the vegetable-based stage name, is the receptionist Dawn. After a less central role in the first series, Dawn receives a lot more attention in the second year as she becomes jealous at Tim’s relationship with Rachel. Despite the fact that she is engaged herself. As well as having to carry David’s bags around and thereby experience the embarrassing horror of his motivational talks, Dawn’s finest moments come when she is involved in David’s ‘practical joke’ of the first episode and when David confides in her that he is fed up, making her sit through his impressions of the Muppets.

There are a number of regular characters who also deserve mention. Neil (Patrick Baladi) is the successful and popular regional manager of Wernham Hogg’s Swindon branch who is promoted and relocated in the second series to Slough. Although Neil’s role essentially drives Brent to even further foolishness he is a likeable character and his calm confrontations with David are one of the best aspects of the second series. Ewan Macintosh is great as Keith, the large man with practically no communication skills and exam on his feet, while Ralph Ineson plays Chris Finch, the only genuinely unlikeable character of the series who is basically a bully even to his friends. He does have some funny lines though, the swearing sexist xenophobe.


STYLE


There have been a number of spoof fly-on-the-wall comedy series in the last decade, but The Office truly perfects this art. As the writers explain on the enjoyable interview on the series one DVD, none of the characters are ever able to show the full extent of their feelings because of the camera observations: in the ongoing lack of relationship between Tim and Dawn, Ricky Gervais says, “a touch becomes a kiss, and then a kiss becomes a shag.” The characters do reveal a lot more about themselves however in the ‘talking heads,’ the brief discussions with the characters by themselves in a small room that are interspersed between scenes. “When a camera is filming you, it’s flattering,” explains Gervais.

The humour is often very subtle and is kept within the confines of reality, especially as it is almost entirely character-based rather than plot-based, as was the trend for earlier sitcoms such as ‘Fawlty Towers’ and ‘Red Dwarf.’ The humour will not appeal to everyone but it is very clever and well-written, and this is a programme I can watch repeatedly without getting bored. It’s not really a question of ‘getting’ The Office as it’s quite straightforward, but I had a long laugh when my brother told me his friend’s reason for not liking the series: “that boss, his jokes are rubbish.”

Both series follow the same brief period of time in Slough, but by the 2003 Christmas special the characters had all ‘seen’ the earlier series and are able to offer their comments. Most enjoyable is David Brent’s accusation that the BBC deliberately edited the events to make him appear like a bumbling incompetent, but you only have to watch any episode for three minutes to see that this was no fault of editing – the man is an idiot, but we love him.


DVD FEATURES


All twelve episodes are presented in a very clear widescreen format and have simplistic animated menus retaining the bland black-and-white look that made ‘No Frills’ crisps so popular in the playground. The second disc of series one contains a documentary exploring the creation and development of the series and includes scenes from the original pilot episode, as well as a whole load of bloopers and a section answering frequently asked questions. Deleted scenes are enjoyable to watch, especially those that were cut for time purposes, but some were clearly removed as the style is a little different than the ‘realistic’ tone of the show. The series two disc contains an interesting video diary, more out-takes and deleted scenes.


VERDICT


Some people may think that The Office is over-hyped but I feel it completely deserves its success. Some people find it unbelievable that David Brent could remain in charge for so long when he lacks certain management skills and the desire to succeed, but it’s obvious that he has been a good employee in the past to rise to such a position, even earning the trust of the board of directors after he increases efficiency without losing any staff. It seems to be a combination of playing up to the cameras and, of course, his attitude towards Neil that leads to the conclusion of series two, resulting in scenes that are both depressing and wickedly hilarious.

This collection sells on Amazon.co.uk for £18.99 and is a very worthwhile purchase, especially as I always feel like watching more than one episode at a time. The excellent Christmas specials from last year that ended the series will be available on DVD in the autumn and the BBC may even decide to release another ‘collected’ release of The Office, but for now this is a tidy and affordable way to own the most inventive and engrossing comedy series of the century so far.


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I resisted the temptation to litter this review with quotes, especially as they don’t really convey the sense of the programme to anyone unfamiliar with it, so here are some brief glimpses into life at Wernham Hogg:


GARETH: I’m assistant regional manager…
DAVID: Assistant to the regional manager.

KEITH: I watched that Peak Practice.
TIM: Yeah, I’ve never seen it.
KEITH: Bloody repeat.
TIM: Annoying innit?
KEITH: Not for me, I hadn't seen it. Boring isn’t it? Just staying in, watching Peak Practice with your life.
TIM: Mmm, yeah.
KEITH: Not for me. I like it.
TIM: Yeah, I just stayed in, had a big w**k.

TIM: Team leader is just a title someone’s given you to get you to do something they don’t want to do, for free. It’s like making a div kid at school milk monitor. No one respects it.
GARETH: Um, I think they do.
TIM: No they don’t Gareth.
GARETH: Er, yes they do, because if people were rude to me then I used to give them their milk last. So it was warm.

DAVID: I don’t look upon this like it’s the end, I look upon it like it’s moving on you know. It’s almost like my work here’s done. I can’t imagine Jesus going ‘Oh, I’ve told a few people in Bethlehem I’m the son of God, can I just stay here with Mum and Dad now?’ No. You gotta move on. You gotta spread the word. You gotta go to Nazareth, please. And that’s, very much like...me. My world does not end within these four walls, Slough’s a big place.

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