The Office (British TV series)


The Office is a British mockumentary television sitcom first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, it follows the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company. Gervais also starred in the series as the central character, David Brent.
When it was first shown on BBC Two, ratings were relatively low, but it has since become one of the most successful of all British comedy exports. As well as being shown internationally on BBC Worldwide and channels such as BBC Prime, BBC America, and BBC Canada, it has been sold to broadcasters in over 80 countries, including ABC1 in Australia, The Comedy Network in Canada, TVNZ in New Zealand, and the pan-Asian satellite channel Star World, based in Hong Kong. It was shown in the United States on BBC America from 2001 to 2016, and later on Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim from 2009 to 2011.
Two six-episode series were made, followed by a two-part Christmas special. The show centres on themes of social clumsiness, the trivialities of human behaviour, self-importance and conceit, frustration, desperation and fame. The Office is considered to be one of the best shows of the 21st century and of all time.

Premise

The show is a mockumentary based in a branch of fictional British paper company Wernham Hogg located in the Slough Trading Estate. The branch is headed by general manager David Brent, aided by his team leader and Assistant to the Regional Manager Gareth Keenan. Much of the series's comedic success stems from Brent, who frequently makes attempts to win favour with his employees and peers with embarrassing or disastrous results. Brent's character flaws are used to comic effect, including numerous verbal gaffes, inadvertent racism and sexism, and other social faux pas. The other main plot line of the series concerns the unassuming Tim Canterbury and his relationship with bored receptionist Dawn Tinsley. Their flirtation soon builds to a mutual romantic attraction, despite her engagement to dour and controlling warehouse worker Lee.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Ricky Gervais as David Brent:
The general manager of the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg paper merchants. Immature and arrogant, he believes he is a lovable rogue in the business world and a Renaissance man, talented in philosophy, music and comedy. Although he thinks he is funny, caring, and respected, others perceive him as annoying, insensitive, and embarrassing. His lack of awareness regarding his ineptitude, lack of trust from colleagues, constant need of approval, and his constant shenanigans that land him in trouble are the driving plot points of the series.
A sales representative at Wernham Hogg. Unlike David, Tim is friendly and has a good sense of humour. His antics and charm make him one of the most likeable employees in the office, but at 30 he still lives with his parents and is unhappy with his life. During Series One and Two, he also fails to further pursue a relationship with Dawn. Chosen as David's successor at the end of Series Two, he declines and lets Gareth take the position.
Tim's vindictive deskmate and enemy. Gareth is a cold-hearted jobsworth. He takes pride in being "Team Leader", not realising his title is meaningless, and he imposes the little authority he has on his co-workers. A former member of the Territorial Army, his lack of humour makes him the target of Tim and Dawn's practical jokes. After David is fired in the Series Two finale, Gareth assumes the role of regional manager.
The company receptionist and Brent's dogsbody. She frequently has to put up with his attempts at humour and social interaction. Like her friend and co-worker Tim, she is aware of the miserable state of her life – she has been in an unhappy engagement with her fiancé Lee, a boorish warehouse worker at Wernham Hogg, and gave up illustrating children's books to continue working in this job at the same company with Lee. During the Christmas special, Dawn and Lee return from their illegally prolonged US vacation. She finally leaves Lee for Tim, after he encourages her to hold on to her dream of being a children's book illustrator, an ambition which Lee sought to put down at every opportunity.

Recurring

Introduced in Series 1

Previously Brent's immediate superior in Series one. At the end of series one, she is made a partner in the firm, with Neil Godwin becoming David's immediate superior in series two.
Introduced as Brent's new temp in the pilot, and a recent graduate. He was prominently featured in episode three, where he and Tim form a team for trivia night. The two end up winning, successfully answering a tie-breaker question on Shakespeare against Finch.
A boorish and bullying sales representative. David describes him as his "best friend" but his attempts to impress Finch are invariably repaid with mockery and insults. In the Christmas Special, David finally stands up to Chris.
  • Ewen MacIntosh as Keith Bishop: Keith works in the accounts department. Utterly indifferent to his job, Keith rarely speaks with other staff members and when he does, his comments can be cutting and sometimes disturbing.
  • Joel Beckett as Lee: Dawn's fiancé who works in the company's warehouse. She met him in school and they have been together ever since. Lee is humourless, dull, and controlling. He often undermines and embarrasses Dawn, and is dismissive of her ideas of being an illustrator. His idea of a romantic proposal was a four-word notice in the newspaper — "Lee love Dawn. Marriage?" It is clear from an early stage that she stays with him out of a fear of loneliness rather than real love.
  • David Schaal as Glynn, also known as Taffy: The misogynistic, sexist warehouse manager at the company and Lee's supervisor.
  • Robin Hooper as Malcolm: An older staff member, he is worried about the prospect of redundancies and often challenges Brent's handling of the situation. David alternates between bothering him with heavy-handed attempts at "humour" and coldly dismissing him.
  • Sally Bretton as Donna: Introduced in Series 1, episode 2 as the daughter of Brent's friends Ron and Elaine, who has come to work at the office. She soon starts a relationship with Ricky.
  • Nicola Cotter as Karen Roper: Brent's personal secretary, hired because he insists that he needs an assistant, even though the branch is facing downsizing and redundancies.

    Introduced in Series 2

  • Patrick Baladi as Neil Godwin: Brent's counterpart at the Swindon branch and eventually his immediate superior. He is young, suave, handsome and hard-working, a more successful manager than Brent, and respected by his staff.
  • Rachel Isaac as Trudy: Trudy is first introduced in Series Two as one of several of the new intake from the Swindon branch.
  • Howard Saddler as Oliver: Oliver is the only black person working in the office, and is the target for David's misguided attempts to show what a politically correct and racially tolerant man he is.
  • Julie Fernandez as Brenda: Brenda is a wheelchair user who suffers from David's attempts to portray himself as a tolerant and progressive person.
  • Stacey Roca as Rachel: Tim's new love interest.

    Episodes

Production

In June 1998, Merchant and Gervais made Seedy Boss, a 20-minute film starring Gervais, as part of Merchant's TV producer training for the BBC. The pair met when Merchant was hired as Gervais' assistant at radio station Xfm; neither had any previous TV experience. Gervais's character was based on one he performed to amuse staff at the radio station.
Ash Atalla showed the tape to BBC Two head Jane Root, who commissioned a series based on it. Filming took place in an office at Teddington Studios.
Unlike most British sitcoms, The Office used a single-camera setup and no laughter track. The style influenced subsequent comedies such as Peep Show, Twenty Twelve, Fleabag, and Motherland.

Music

The show's theme song is "Handbags and Gladrags", performed by Big George, based on the Rod Stewart arrangement, and originally written in the 1960s by Mike d'Abo, former vocalist for the rock group Manfred Mann. Gervais and Merchant also considered "Sitting" by Cat Stevens for the theme.
In Series 1, episode 4, a version of the theme performed by Gervais was featured over the end credits. The first series also features Gervais performing "Free Love Freeway", and the Christmas Special includes him performing "If You Don't Know Me By Now".

Reception

Critical response

The show is considered one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time. Series one currently holds a Metacritic score of 98 out of 100, based on 12 reviews. Series two received similar acclaim, holding a Metacritic score of 93 out of 100, based on 16 reviews. The Office Christmas specials were also well received, and hold a Metacritic score of 98 out of 100, based on 19 reviews. The Office, overall, scores 97 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 47 critic reviews and is labelled a "Metacritic-Must Watch".

Accolades

At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, The Office won for Best New TV Comedy. In 2002, it won the Best TV Comedy Award, and Gervais was named the Best TV Comedy Actor.
In 2003, the series won a Peabody Award. In 2004, the series won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, the first British comedy in 25 years to be nominated for a Golden Globe, and the first ever to win one. Gervais also received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy.