Keith: I watched that ‘Peak Practice.’
Tim: Yeah, I’ve never seen it.
Keith: Bloody repeat.
Tim: That’s annoying, isn’t it?
Keith: Not for me. I hadn’t seen it… Boring, isn’t it? Just staying in watching
‘Peak Practice’ with your life.
Tim: Mmm, yeah.
Keith: Not for me. I like it.
– Episode 1.5: New Girl.
It’s been ten years today since ‘The Office’ was first broadcast. The ‘mockumentary’ show introduced us to David Brent and his employees at paper merchants, Wernham Hogg. Furthermore, it also introduced us to Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook and Lucy Davis – and many more.
I admit that I didn’t watch it when it was first aired, although- like everyone else, right? – I knew about the dance fusion of Flashdance and MC Hammer. A further admission: I only started to like Gervais and Merchant – and obviously Karl Pilkington! – when I stumbled upon ‘An Idiot Abroad.’ Since then, I have been an avid fan of all their stuff.
For anyone who’s interested, I have a feature about ‘The Office’ on ‘The British Comedy Guide’:
http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/the_office/special/10_years_of_the_office/
It feels great to work for BCG. Let me know what you think of the article, and let me know what your favourite bit is. Like the show’s creators, my favourite scene isn’t funny; just very, very sad and directed brilliantly. At the end of the second series, Tim takes the girl he loves, Dawn, aside, takes off their microphones and there’s a long silence for the viewer. They hug and Tim goes back to his desk. Putting his mic back on, he looks at us, and says: “she said ‘no,’ by the way.”
Philip Bates, Freelance Writer 