watching the office for the first time

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Tim reminds me a little of Dougal (Magic Roundabout not Father Ted) due to his hair, face and round head.

[dead-ced-dead]

I can't stand Gervais today and I still think The Office is wonderful. Working in an office, the exaggerations are only slight and the bleakness of the whole thing is extremely well observed.

[Jockice]

Yeah, I've rewatched that bit, too. I might rewatch that bit from the Christmas special now, where he tells Finchy to fuck off, and Finchy is shocked into silence. Very realistic scene that, that is definitely what would happen.

That made me laugh too!

[poodlefaker]

I watched the first episode at the time because Charlie Brooker had given it such a good write-up in his column in the Guardian Guide the Saturday before. Different world, man.

[kalowski]

"Putting this poison in my mind. with your bloody Four non Blondes"

[Captain Z]

The IT guy is, of course, Matthew Holness off of Garth Marenghi. He was doing a similar character in the sketch show "Bruiser" which features several of the future stars of The Office and Peep Show.

[kalowski]

He's brilliant. The whole "I've not seen Chuck Norris in Enter the Dragon. I've seen him in Way of the Dragon" is just my dad to a T. He's exactly that pedantic.

[dead-ced-dead]

He's brilliant. The whole "I've not seen Chuck Norris in Enter the Dragon. I've seen him in Way of the Dragon" is just my dad to a T. He's exactly that pedantic.

"You know Bruce Lee's not dead, right."

Such a brilliant deadpan.

Also, that scene is important, because he's the only person in the series other than Lee (who pushes Tim when he sees him flirting with Dawn) to rattle Tim. It's probably the first time Tim isn't able to float on by and challenges him.

[sutin]

I love that Matthew Holness' character was only in it once. A lesser show would have milked that character for all he was worth.

[notjosh]

"Putting this poison in my mind. with your bloody Four non Blondes"

Honestly, there are shows that run for 10 seasons that still don't have as many quotable lines as The Office. Almost every other line is a gem.

[badaids]

Honestly, there are shows that run for 10 seasons that still don't have as many quotable lines as The Office. Almost every other line is a gem.

Six legs eight legs! Six legs eight legs!

[sevendaughters]

"Fray Bentos" is such a great wrong answer.

[MrsWarboysLover]

Holness as the IT guy is brilliant.

Moreso than any othe tv show I've watched, the Office is the one where throughout my life I keep getting reminded of it by people I meet. "That guy is exactly like Brent/Gareth/finch/Neil in X way".
The IT guy is a great example of how they did realism - any other show would make their IT guy act like Moss from the IT crowd. Instead they went for realism and absolutely nailed a kind of person that really exists, that never gets portrayed accurately on TV. He probably only has about two minutes screen time total but I think about that character all the time.

Even the little details about these characters, like the IT guy and Gareth being into go karts, it's perfect. Again, a writer less focused on accuracy and realism would've had them talk about DnD or star wars or some other nerd stereotype.

Initially I thought Brent was a little bit far fetched but since then I've had a boss who, in a Venn diagram with Brent would produce significant overlap. I used to agree with the assessment that The Office wasn't really a realistic depiction of working in an office, as others have said, but as I get older I'm reassessing that

[Jockice]

think my favourite minute of the Office is the failed 'headliner' speech after Neil has them chuckling in S2E1, from defensiveness about being gay to the Eric Hitchmough stuff to crumpling with defeat at it all. Perfect capture of hubris. That's how I feel about his stand-up now.

That scene's okay but I think if it happened in real life the staff would have made more of an effort to at least laugh at or join in with Brent. And I also think the out-of-office motivational speech later in that series is the second-least realistic thing in the entire show (after...er...I can't remember). Because there is no way a room full of people would just sit there in stony silence during that, especially if there were TV cameras there and (presumably) some of the audience had been sent by their own bosses or even paid to take part in it themselves. And even if it had done there is no way that Brent would not have noticed them not laughing along with him. It's bollocks.

[markburgle]

That scene's okay but I think if it happened in real life the staff would have made more of an effort to at least laugh at or join in with Brent. And I also think the out-of-office motivational speech later in that series is the second-least realistic thing in the entire show (after...er...I can't remember). Because there is no way a room full of people would just sit there in stony silence during that, especially if there were TV cameras there and (presumably) some of the audience had been sent by their own bosses or even paid to take part in it themselves. And even if it had done there is no way that Brent would not have noticed them not laughing along with him. It's bollocks.

That's one of those early showings of later a later glaring Gervaisian flaw. I thought that scene was ok (stony silence could be said to fit with the general theme of the show - that everyone apart from maybe Gareth would rather be anywhere else).

But the stony silences at the gigs in the Brent movie were ridiculous. The band sound decent and people would just blithely go along with it, and be amused by the odd bloke at the front

[notjosh]

We've had this chat before, and I believe I comprehensively answered all your concerns and put the whole thing to bed.

It's a stitch-up. The production crew have had a word with the audience beforehand and asked them not to react to his speech as it will "ruin the take". The shots of them staring at him blankly are inserts shot before/after Brent is in the room to ramp up the awkwardness. It's pretty obvious throughout the series that the producers have edited it to wring maximum comedy value out of Brent, as he points out himself in the Christmas special.

The redemption in the final episode is partly Brent having a small epiphany and partly the producers cutting him a bit of slack after he only agreed to appear again if they didn't "keep making me look like a tit". The date to the Christmas party was probably cast specifically so she would get along with him and humanise him a bit.

The "fuck off Finchy" moment works because Finchy has had two years of being treated as a local legend in pubs and clubs around Slough, especially after his LEGENDARY car-park shag in the nightclub episode (which racked up dozens of complaints and a page 7 splash in the Daily Mail). Both Neil and he had been told that the Christmas special would focus more around them, with Brent as a cameo appearance, so they felt emboldened in taking the piss out of him. Having Brent reject this dynamic was therefore genuinely unexpected, and as they didn't realise they were being filmed at this point they didn't have the nous to respond more quickly. Finchy of course made a face-saving remark a couple of seconds later but it didn't make the cut as the producer wanted to give Brent a minor victory.

[MrsWarboysLover]

I agree that the motivational speech was unrealistic - in the crowd's reaction only. I've been unfortunate enough to have to hear a motivational speaker or two, and Brent was honestly not far off what you get, and crowds are polite enough to play along.
Also, Gog from peep show is in the audience!

edit: used to think the Finchy thing at the end was unrealistic, but I don't anymore.
It's not that Finchy is surprised someone stood up to him or fought back - it's that Brent did, because their entire dynamic is Brent hero worshipping him and being a bit afraid of him at the same time. It would be a shock to the system to find out a guy that, in your mind, thinks you're the absolute shit and praises you constantly, actually thinks you're a total wanker. And that you're not as tough as you think, because you can't even intimidate a pathetic toady like Brent anymore.

[Jockice]

We've had this chat before, and I believe I comprehensively answered all your concerns and put the whole thing to bed.

You did! I'm sorry!

[mippy]

I watched it all on the original run, and for the first series it was still this almost culty thing rather than something seen through the lens of adulation that came later. The latter has put me off watching it as it's difficult now to watch on its own terms. Especially with David Brent now being played by RICKY 'atheist, does that offend you?' GERVAIS rather than a bloke in a series.

I was living in a student house when Series 2 aired and my housemate said 'it's clearly written by someone who's never worked in an office' and thought the preceding Big Train was far superior.

[mippy]

"It's the end of the financial year, so let's party on down' has stuck in my head for two decades, though.

[Proactive]

Honestly, there are shows that run for 10 seasons that still don't have as many quotable lines as The Office. Almost every other line is a gem.

I think about lines from The Office constantly...

"That's it then is it? The old team, on the scrapheap?"

"Now you do not punish someone, Dutch or otherwise, for having big boobs"

"Boring isn't it, just staying in, watching Peak Practice with your life. Not for me; I like it"

Any time I can even vaguely apply any of those to the situation I'm in, I'll be thinking of it.

[dead-ced-dead]

I think about lines from The Office constantly...

"Now you do not punish someone, Dutch or otherwise, for having big boobs"

If anything they should be rewarded.

[paruses]

If anything they should be rewarded.

They should be equal

[paruses]

I worked somewhere where a standard response to any disaster or misfortune (work or otherwise) was a pause then "get the guitar". Worked particularly well with senior managers in meetings who would think that shouting and bullying solved problems. Still makes me laugh to this day.

[Glebe]

I remember first watching it and thinking Tim and Gareth's characters were a bit broad. But it grew on me.

[gotmilk]

I agree that series 2 goes overboard with the blank stares in reactions to Brent. Series 1 is much more real with the variety of reactions he provokes. I always thought this scene in episode 2 was an overly broad misstep however:

"Who's seen this filth?" (Everyone raises a hand) "You don't even have a computer. Who printed it out for Joan?" (Everyone raises a hand again)

[Menu]

The back-slap-a-thon is how they presented a repeat of series 1 for the tenth anniversary, yes, and if you ever bought the complete series 1-2 and specials on DVD, that augmented version is how series 1 is presented on it.  The opening titles and credits often end up with someone talking over them even if you are trying to skip all the self-congratulation; it's quite weird.

God that sounds awful. It reminds me of that period when Paul McCartney used to release a new album and, for some reason, go into great detail as to the meaning and background of each song. Shut the fuck up ffs.

[Menu]

I think Stirling Gallacher also deserves an equal mention. She doesn't get as much screen time (from memory) but she nails the part and the part is brilliantly written too. I think @Sebastian Cobb had a friend who described the show as "about an office but written by people who have never worked in an office" and I've come to agree with that (will have to rewatch to check my terrible memory). But having said that Merchant and Gervais do get The Types down really well.

Funny you should say that because I was working in an office when this was first aired and it was PAINFULLY like the one I was in. It made me more determined to get out while I was still young and I never returned to that kind of working environment ever again. I thought it was exceptionally well observed but, of course, all our experiences are different.

I'd also say that the type of character that Gervais plays is a really interesting one. I remember Michael Parkinson introducing Gervais onto his show around this time and in his intro he described David Brent as the 'monster' of The Office. And it really struck me at the time how wrong that description is. Brent isn't a General Melchett or a Hyancinth Bucket - he's not really a bad guy at all. What he is is just someone who (1)really wants people to find him funny and (2) wants to be on TV. I can't think of that sort of character being portrayed before and yet it probably resembles many (frustrated and basically unfunny)people who do work in offices across the country. I guess Colin Hunt is a distant comedy relation but Brent is a far more subtle rendering.

[Menu]

We've had this chat before, and I believe I comprehensively answered all your concerns and put the whole thing to bed.

That's very good. I wonder if any of it was thought of like that.

[Noodle Lizard]

I agree that series 2 goes overboard with the blank stares in reactions to Brent. Series 1 is much more real with the variety of reactions he provokes. I always thought this scene in episode 2 was an overly broad misstep however:

"Who's seen this filth?" (Everyone raises a hand) "You don't even have a computer. Who printed it out for Joan?" (Everyone raises a hand again)

Yeah, that's a weak bit. I always thought it would've been far funnier if it had only been one of the quieter background characters, or perhaps Lee down in the warehouse.