This wasn't a great episode, but I do enjoy the IT Crowd in general, even though it is clunky and a bit silly. I enjoy it as a bit of light entertainment rather than anything enormously clever, but I do think there's a certain tension between the simple, traditional style that Linehan writes in, and the more surreal kind of comedy that most of the cast seem to work best with - particularly Ayoade and Berry. I actually find those two the funniest, maybe because I prefer that surreal kind of humour, but I do think it seems at odds with the more simple nature of the writing itself.
Also, a TERRIBLE subplot for Roy, and you're right that more could have been made of the bullying. The scene where Douglas shot himself couldn't help but remind me of Alan Partridge's foot on the spike, so sort of pailed in comparison really. It wasn't a great episode, but I still have faith in the show as a whole.
Dan
· 1 year ago
I just find that IT Crowd never meets my expectations. It should be much, much funnier than this. There are occasional moments, but they rarely stick in the mind. If you asked me to list 10 great moments in IT Crowd, I'd struggle to get past 2. There are usually 2 decent episodes per series -- where the stories all work well and the characters aren't just feeding each other lines and behaving in ways that set-up ideas and jokes that are referenced or paid-off later.
dirty yankee
· 1 year ago
I don't know if any of you actually work in IT but I find the show spot on. Sorry that I can't get more upset that its a ridiculous sitcom but it seems most sitcoms are just set up for obvious payoffs. When Rehnolm's son puts the revolver in his mouth and pulls the trigger like 5 times, I almost died. I swear that is how people must shoot themselves.
Dan
· 1 year ago
I have worked in IT. I don't see any similarities. They had that "have you tried turning it on and off again" line in S1, but that was about as close to accurate as I can remember IT Crowd being. There's nothing wrong with pay-off and set-up -- but watch One Foot In The Grave to see it done cleverly...
IT Crowd just has some random element introduced that signposts itself as "very important" and you spend the rest of the episode waiting for that to become relevant. Which is fine, I guess. But when its relevance is also disappointing and unfunny (the £20 note gag) it just irritates me.
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Also, a TERRIBLE subplot for Roy, and you're right that more could have been made of the bullying. The scene where Douglas shot himself couldn't help but remind me of Alan Partridge's foot on the spike, so sort of pailed in comparison really. It wasn't a great episode, but I still have faith in the show as a whole.
IT Crowd just has some random element introduced that signposts itself as "very important" and you spend the rest of the episode waiting for that to become relevant. Which is fine, I guess. But when its relevance is also disappointing and unfunny (the £20 note gag) it just irritates me.