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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

The IT Crowd

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13:37 / 06.02.06

I'd forgotten about the Amsterdam thing. I thought that was nice, especially the photos at the end.

13:47 / 06.02.06

Yeah, I particularly liked the way that joke was telegraphed in. From the 70s.

Whisky Priestess

14:05 / 06.02.06

It's just shatteringly odd to me that Chris Morris is appearing in what amounts to a fairly MOR sitcom. Surely he lives in a dark tower on a remote island, surrounded by bubbling retorts and alembics filled with his own distilled bile, brooding over the idiocies of the world and venturing forth only to destroy the tiny minds of vapid minor celebrities who never realise that they're just one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan?
All right, that was too much.

Not at all; I've been to dinner at Chris's and that's exactly what it's like. Except he also has a moat full of guard penguins.

Mr. Burns/
Schneider? Release the penguins!
/Mr. Burns

Regrettable Juvenilia

14:26 / 06.02.06

It is 90% rub, and the fact that it was written as a vehicle for the supremely irritating, one-shit-trick-pony Ayoade tells you a lot about why it is so rub.

14:53 / 06.02.06

[elderly judge]

Rub?

[/elderly judge]

14:59 / 06.02.06

I believe it to be a derivative from the slang phrase 'Rubbish', m'lud. Evidently the plantiff has a busy schedule that does not allow him time to type 'bish'.

ONLY NICE THINGS

15:39 / 06.02.06

But... but... his monotonous delivery in a Croydon accent adds class to any guest-star role!

Admittedly, I'm not quite sure how a series starring him woudl work...

Our Lady Has Left the Building

15:39 / 06.02.06

Well, I'll leave you to wallow in your wrongness, I like a show that isn't based around on how utterly repellant the main character/s is/are, it's a nice change to have a comedy show where you laugh because the characters are funny.

16:02 / 06.02.06

Yeah, it’s such a breath of fresh air to have a comedy show based on lazy, insidious, out-dated stereotypes instead.

Nelson Evergreen

19:26 / 06.02.06

Ep 1 felt like the product of a patchy Linehan impersonator, Ep 2 felt like Linehan (Jen's mangled feet, the stomping businessman, etc). You can see why C4 plumped for a double bill. Not quite 'Ted', but way above the kind of desperate, draining, primetime arse some folk might be tempted to lump it in with.

Ayoade's comedy persona *is* kind of... limited. Nevertheless, he brings me giggles.

19:44 / 06.02.06

a comedy show based on lazy, insidious, out-dated stereotypes instead

Heaven forbid! We could have ended up with one about stupid, venal and drunk priests, instead.

Mysterious Transfer Student

20:16 / 06.02.06

< jawdrop > Whisky P, have you really been to dinner at Morris's house? Or are you making sport with us poor no-longer-metropolitan types? Or, more relevantly, should I stop before being summarily Barb-ejected and consigned to the bitter old men's Skid Row that is www.cookdandbombd.co.uk?
< /jawdrop >

Whisky Priestess

20:24 / 06.02.06

I am, of course, lying for comic effect.

Except about the penguins.

Mysterious Transfer Student

20:40 / 06.02.06

(shakes fist out of cab window) Why I oughtta...

04:17 / 08.02.06

I don't think it's fair for me to criticise this show because I haven't liked sitcoms (to me its just forumalaic stale laughtrack comedy) in years and have always had a problem with canned laughter. I think after watching/hearign the same kind of comedy for about a hundred years people can spot which bits are the funny ones. I think it's purpose might be teaching a basic concept of american comedy to third worlders with very little understanding of english.

Comedy that needs a laugh track sort of reminds me of Rupert Pupkin from King of Comedy doing his "shows" in the basement.

I think of the shows that I enjoy (Extras, Curb Your Enthusiasm) as comedies because they dont have laugh tracks. Is that a fair distinction? I'm not too familiar with many supposedly good british comedies but I'm very familiar with the american sitcom.

I don't mean to offend anyone who consistently enjoys sitcom but I'm curious. What's the appeal of the sitcom after the formula is ancient and reused every day on prime time western television?

miss wonderstarr

06:55 / 08.02.06

Comedy that needs a laugh track sort of reminds me of Rupert Pupkin from King of Comedy doing his "shows" in the basement.

that made me laugh. Perhaps if I watch The IT Crowd and imagine the actors are Jake LaMotta rehearsing his stand-up routine in the dressing room, it'll be funnier.

12:13 / 08.02.06

I watched the first two after being tipped off by boingboing.net (whose made suggestions for dressing the set; hence stickers for FSM, EFF, F/LOSS etc.). Funny, after borrowing the Black Books DVDs from a friend at work last month, I wondered when a helldesk sitcom would turn up.

The first episode was kind of weak. It didn't start off as roaringly as the first episode of Black Books did. Roy's almost as bumptious as Dylan, but Moss doesn't have a lot to do. Jen's not as insane as Fran. Chris Morris makes sort of makes up the difference by being a high-function psycho. The laugh track was annoying, because the jokes weren't funny enough to rate peals of laughter.

The second was damn good. The characters started to play off each other, and there were more layers to the comedy. Still a bit of cliche' and long-telegraphed gags, but now it seems to be going somewhere.

I've downloaded the third, but haven't watched it yet.

Obviously there's a lot of material they can use--decades of geek war stories, reminiscences of the dot-bubble glory years, nine-day net wonders, moral panics.

So I'll definitely stay tuned.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

14:36 / 08.02.06

Waliullah's Whimsy, you have a problem with canned laughter in a show even when it's not canned laughter? That's tragic!

That said, there's probably an interesting seperate discussion to be had on the whys and wherefores of laughter tracks on shows.

22:25 / 08.02.06

I should've pointed that the distinction between canned laughter and "filmed in front of a live audience" with real laughter makes any difference to me. But that's just me.

Whisky Priestess

15:07 / 09.02.06

The best things about this so far have been
a) the initial trailer with pretty people soaking themselves in champagne
b) Chris Morris in a cycling suit

16:35 / 11.02.06

Oh, dear god. Noel bloody Fielding turns up in Ep4 (now online in spectacular DRM-o-vision) and kills it stone dead; along with it my enthusiasm for the show.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

19:47 / 12.02.06

Oh dear. A few good jokes, the shit on the head, Moss and the spider, his dating video, but otherwise it was really bad, as though inspiration for stories had dried up already. It was just so badly structured, maybe the whole thing of Jen being a liar would have worked if a big thing had been made of the fact that she lied, as it was she managed to answer two questions correctly and only lied by not stating unprompted that she guessed the answers. How exactly was this 'lying' responsible for her getting the answer wrong on 'Millionaire'? And what was forcing them to still go out on a date if he hated her so much?

Damn, and last week I had such high hopes for this show. Hopefully this will just be the IT Crowd version of that episode of Father Ted with the romantic novelist. Now that was diabolically awful.

Jawsus-son Starship

20:30 / 15.02.06

So is it just Richard Ayoade that polorises people, or everything about this program. While it's not completely original or even funny, I do find myself belly laughing through each episode, and then not being able to remember why...

Jawsus-son Starship

19:48 / 17.02.06

Though I think that "would it blow everybodies mind if I ate my dessert first" followed by a little body popping is genius on so many layers.

And Vince Noir as a Goth made me laugh.

And Chris Morris saying bloody to everyone at a funeral is funny.

And Jen in it is dead fit, fella.

Desk Rabbit will become a proper phrase by tommorow morning.

"Flash, flash, flash, then nothing for a while, then double flash. Brilliant.

Fuck it, this programs great.

ONLY NICE THINGS

21:09 / 17.02.06

I really like everyone involved in this, but I think about 5 actually funny things happened. Too many easy set ups. Noel Fielding was at the heart of a lot of the good stuff, also, which may not bode well.

Nelson Evergreen

10:03 / 18.02.06

It was only through sheer idleness that I stayed around for the second half of that episode, so thankfully Part 2 was where all the good bits lived.

Ooh! it's patchy. You can understand why writers who've hit the heights as part of a team might want to go it alone after a while, get their own thing off the ground and keep all the royalties. Sadly, co-writers have their uses. A good one will come up with lots of jokes to fill out the gaps where there presently aren't any, and perhaps even tighten up and enhance some of your promising but dodgy plot orchestrations.

It continues to be occasionally hilarious, but The IT Crowd really could do with a Dylan Moran or an Arthur Matthews on second pen.

Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!

10:33 / 18.02.06

I have to mention - I just watched episode 5 online and I thought it was actually hilarious. This may have been due to... well, beer. But it seemed great at the time.

Except for the Judy/Julie thing. That was awful.

But yeah, it's crazily patchy. Did anyone notice Graham popping up in the restaurant band in, what was it, episode 2? I notice he's the director, as well... he really wants to go it alone. In much agreement with Nelson here.

Jawsus-son Starship

11:37 / 18.02.06

Can anyone think of any jokes that fell completely flat on thier faces? Even Ayoade's whole laughing at the circit board got funny by the third line. And the cups with pictures worked throughout the episode.

I agree that most of the jokes are forced. But then they're also funny, so that doesn't bother me.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

23:20 / 18.02.06

I've been really enjoying it... but then, I've always had a soft spot for old-style sitcoms anyway. Characters who are in the main nice, but bumble into ludicrous situations.

But yes, episode 5 was the one I think I laughed out loud the most at. I think its chain of events was probably the most old-style sitcommy yet, which may have something to do with it. (The Judy/Julie thing was indeed bollocks, though). Calling the episode "The Haunting Of Bill Sprouse" was a stroke of genius too. As was "I don't think that's really Elton John". Cheap gags, well-delivered both.

Jawsus-son Starship

13:32 / 19.02.06

I thought this episode was weaker than the others I've seen, less for Moss to do, much less irish fella, but the loads of Jen stuff kinda made up for it. Great pay off at the end of the episode however, really worked well.

And Adam (but not Joe) getting some work for a change.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

13:54 / 03.03.06

So, it's almost at an end and then, presumably, it'll be time for Green Wing season two. I have to say that I've been consistently revising my opinion of this downwards as things have progressed. And tonight, presumably in order to round of the various series of things that could possibly happen to her, Jen has her period. I can't wait as I bet hilarity will ensue and Moss and Roy will be strangely underused.

Regrettable Juvenilia

14:00 / 03.03.06

Neither Moss nor the chump who depicts him can ever be underused.

04:12 / 02.05.06

So, it that it? 6 episodes? Was that a season or the whole show??

I've just discovered this show. Much better than the sit-com crap spewed out over here.

I want more.
And suggest other sit coms I should be watching.

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