comedy show of the decade and British to boot (Office, The)

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Office, The
Date:	19/02/09 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: funny

Disadvantages: none

WHAT WAS IT ABOUT:
Ricky Gervais stars in this mockumentary: a fake documentary, that follows the day in day out affairs of a paper merchants in Slough. The premise is pretty dull, but the show is a success because of the odd characters who work there, not leastly David Brent (Gervais), the cringe-worthy, attention seeking boss from hell. The show ran two seasons and two Christmas specials, which are all available on DVD. Each episode is half an hour long, and the show was broadcast on the BBC.

WAS IT ANY GOOD:
Much like The Royle Family, this show takes a deliberately dull setting (a paper office) and produces a cracking comedy from the people within it. The setting is uninspiring and dull, yet this only serves to make the characters shine more brightly.

David Brent (played by Ricky Gervais) is a perfectly executed role, where Gervais uses subtle facial expressions and mannerisms that just get funnier every episode. The trick is that you only notice these subtle things when you re-watch the show, to the point where you burst into laughter at everything by the fourth time through, much to the bafflement of your 'first time' company! Brent is the most cringe-worthy character on TV. Despite being boss, he's so desperate for approval that he acts very unprofessionally. Most of us can probably think of a boss like him, and that's a lot of the appeal.

Some of the characters are completely bizarre, such as Gareth, who comes out with such bizarre lines as "I could catch a monkey". These pieces of absurdity always add the element of surprise to the show, which is another brilliant part of it.

The love story, between Tim and Dawn, is brilliant: not overdone, it goes through many ups and downs, and is a very realistic portrayal of love.

I find it amazing how many boss characters in recent TV and films are so obviously influenced by Brent - the guy has spawned a thousand copycats.

IF YOU LIKED IT:
The American version of the show, called 'The Office' too, is brilliant. It has the same premise and similar characters, but is much more theatrical and contains a lot more staged humour, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

IN CONCLUSION:
British comedy at its best, The Office is a genre making show that has spawned many others.

Summary: watch it