The Office

A TV crew move in to the Slough offices of paper wholesalers Vernom-Hogg to focus on how the ordinary British work place responds to change and business upheaval.

What a surprise this series was when it first came on the TV. Given that it was on BBC2 and not given much promotion you didn't expect much, but boy is this series good. Not only is there moments of absolute comic genius, but it is also very profound. Stand assured I have met all the characters on this show in real life - I have even worked alongside a few of them!

It is impossible to know what foreigners make of lead and star turn Ricky Gervais playing boss David Brent. Americans might not get the full satire of his off-centre and cliché bound management speak. Like another great British character Alf Garnett (of Till Death Us Do Part) he is not so much an invention as an acute observation of a particular type of crass over-promoted idiot that lurks among us. Incompetent and ludicrous, but full of the misplaced confidence that comes from never having to face a reality check. The office runs despite of him - not because of him.

If this was not comedy it would be considered the best portrayal of a man living under self-delusion ever put on film. His belief that he is incredibly popular and has the support of the full staff is clearly false and yet nothing can shake his beliefs. He is not blind but yet he cannot see. He is living in a land of fantasy and time-wasting - for example, inventing game shows instead of writing office reports!

Brent is a self-styled "chilled out comedian" that cracks rude or racist jokes to just the type of people that don't want to hear them. Wearing a fake wan smile he has the unerring ability to make difficult situations even worse. He is always aware of the camera and even plays to it - even lurking in the background to join in other people's on-camera moments as if he has nothing better to do.

Brent has a mini-me in the form of Gareth Keenan played by Mackenzie Crook. A wan and skinny man-youth who is chief support to Brent in the mismanagement of the office. A weekend soldier he makes constant references to this and how it applies to office procedure, as well as trying it on with spare office female talent - with no success whatsoever. He also runs the office course on safety - which is one of the funniest pieces of business I have seen in a long time. Instructing female employees on how NOT to put cups of hot coffee on the top of monitors and how to correctly lift boxes.

Only slightly more sane is Tim Canterbury (Martin Freeman) the college drop-out that is always threatening to quit and return to his books. A bored mediocrity that fills his days by winding up Gareth and flirting with receptionist Dawn (Lucy Davis) - who has less of a role, but looks on in disgust at some of the antics that the others get up to.

Special support comes from Chris Finch (played by Ralph Ineson) who is chief rep and office big mouth: Perhaps the most revolting person ever to appear on TV. His recollections of drunken evenings and stupidity being listen to with wide eyed wonder by the males - with only Dawn daring to show what he really is and even then not in words. When he leads the gang down Chasers (the local small town disco) things really hot up.

This show only ran two series (plus Christmas special - that was only so-so), but in the second series the nature of the Brent management style comes under pressure. Reality starts sweeping in to his little world and his bubble is finally popped, but not without some really funny moments - including the "Comic Relief" day episode that is perhaps the best of the whole lot.

I have seen all the shows and most of them more than once. This series warrants repeat viewings because it is just so funny and perfectly realized. This series will put off thousands of people from working in an office and maybe some of them will go off and do something more creative and interesting with their lives. Writing something as good as this, for example.

"The Office" is quite simply worth watching. I am tired of hearing people criticising it. It's not that it's not worthy of criticism, but the fact that those who label it as "overrated" and "falling short of expectations" have only ever seen one episode, or the Christmas Special, or 'The Dance'. It defies logic to make a judgment on a 14 episode programme on 2 feature-length episodes that merely act as a means of updating and rounding-off the series. I have yet to hear anyone make a solid argument as to why The Office fails in any way.

If you have not yet seen it, get Series 1 and 2 and settle down on a rainy afternoon ready to emerse and commit yourself. Forget the hype, put the dance scene that you've seen a million times out of your mind, and just watch each episode in order. Then make your own judgment. If you liked it, you will want to see the Christmas Specials; if you didn't, you won't.

Using a cast of unknown, yet perfectly chosen actors, The Office is a sharp, funny, painful, emotional and fabulous take on office life.

Even people from Slough have signs on their car windows "Happiness is seeing Slough in your Rear View Mirror". During the war the enemy was invited to bomb Slough; "Come friendly bombs rain on Slough")(no joke).

The Office is one of those programs which when you happen across it, for the first half-hour or so you're completely baffled, its format is so unusual, then before you know it you're hooked.

It's really about the horror of passing so much time with the SAME people (more than with our families). Where any minor incident like the photocopier jamming becomes a slight relief from monotony.

If you like The Office then try "Alan Partridge" like David Brent another nightmarish figure

Absolute magic! This is one of the best comedy series of recent years. It is brilliant stuff. This is a documentary about an office who make paper. What is so funny is that it is played so seriously that casual observers will believe that this is a real documentary and these characters are real. It's all larger than life in many ways and with some of the situations but it is pure genius.

The cast play their characters brilliantly. Ricky Gervais is outstanding. He, as an actor, writer, and director of this show has created one of comedies great characters. He is the imbecile and arrogant boss who we all have had experience of and who we can see some of our own traits in. It's frightening how many faux pas this guy comes out with, its cringe worthy and we all know we have said things like he has. You feel sorry for him because he acts so deluded but at the same time he can make you wince and burst out in laughter at some of his actions (remember the dance?). Also superb is Mackenzie Crook as Gareth the dorky and also deluded young worker who follows the book down to every crossed T and dotted I. He plays it to perfection, like Gervais. Also good is Lucy Davis, as receptionist Dawn. The one who I think plays it really well because his character has a more emotional element in his performances is Martin Freeman, as Tim, who has a big crush on Dawn. There is a great dynamic and he plays the lovesick worker, bored with his life with a real depth which is really evident in the Christmas special and end to the Office. The Christmas episode was the best from the Office; it was hilarious, tragic and brilliantly cringe-worthy.

It is no more and the American version will not hold a candle on this. All I can say is make sure that if you haven't seen the last episode of it, the Christmas special, then watch it. It's the best; it's beautifully done and will almost bring a tear to your eye.

Had this been a 'Britcom-proper' it probably wouldn't have been as funny as it is now.

The tragic elements woven into it make it so much greater. Admittedly, there are a lot (and I mean A LOT) of cringeworthy moments in The Office. Moments that make you put your hand over your eyes and look through your fingers, moments that make you gasp and look away, and moments that will make you go "Aaaargh! Noooo!".

Everybody (who is not David or Gareth) who has ever worked in an office setting (especially those who worked in several ..) will feel that The Office is a condensed and compressed series of events, but very true to life. Everybody knows David and Gareth, everybody wants to slap them and shut them up forever. Everybody feels for (and feels like) Tim and Dawn. And everybody knows that an office would be a downright suicidal place were it not for common foes like 'the boss' and 'the wannabe boss' to loathe.

Don't watch The Office if all you want is a quick laugh .. you would feel way too uncomfortable for that. The Office is a true slice of (office) life, a bit larger, a bit darker, a bit more painful, but ultimately more humorous than anything I've ever seen. Make sure you catch the Christmas special(s) as well, as that puts the icing on the cake and makes life slightly more bearable.