Cast: Chris O'Dowd (Roy), Richard Ayoade (Moss), Katherine Parkinson (Jen), Noel Fielding (Richmond), John Snowden (Theatre Photographer) & Belinda Stewart-Wilson (Barbara)
Roy and Moss accompany Jen on a date, to a gay musical, and cause chaos through a series of misunderstandings with the theatre staff...Last year, The IT Crowd became a modest hit on Channel 4, but subsequently sold very well on DVD and generated enough good word-of-mouth for a more successful repeat run. Now, with an American remake due next year, the show returns for a second season. Or Version 2.0 as creator Graham Linehan prefers to call it…
If you're not yet aware, the show is set in a messy IT department, deep in the bowels of a corporate building, run by three social misfits: Roy (Chris O'Dowd), a lazy pessimist; Moss (Richard Ayoade), a socially-awkward nerd; and Jen (Katherine Parkinson), their befuddled line manager.
The Work Outing finds Jen going on a date with a man whose sexuality is in question, particularly when he takes her to a musical called "Gay!" Even worse, Roy and Moss have invite themselves along and proceed to cause chaos around the theatre: Roy's search for a toilet results in him being mistaken for a disabled man, and Moss accidentally becomes theatre staff when he uses the staff loo.
Linehan's script has parallels to a Father Ted episode he wrote with ex-writing partner Arthur Matthews, about racism. This episode tackles sexuality, with Roy and Moss essentially having their identities dictated by circumstances. The episode contains some rather on-the-nose gay references and stereotypes (gay's read Heat magazine being just one), but manages to balance it when a theatre luvvie is condescending to wheelchair users and immediately stereotypes "the Irish" in one scene.
Nobody's free from prejudgment here; gay or straight, disabled or otherwise. The first half of The Work Outing isn't that good, as it's just setting up all the pay-off, which was a little disappointing. The return of cult character Richmond (Noel Fielding), a bizarre goth who lives in their office like a phantom Edward Scissorhands, also felt a bit shoehorned in for fans.
It's also sad to hear that arch-satirist Chris Morris won't be appearing as company boss Denholm now, as he stole many scenes last year as the hard-nosed boss. Some critics found it depressing Morris was "slumming it" in a studio sitcom, but I think it just proved his versatility as a comedian.
The main cast are as great as ever, particularly Katherine Parkinson, who I think is the real star in many ways. Sure, Richard Ayoade is given the most memorable comic creation (he's even been cast in the US remake), but I find Parkinson more engaging, quirky and… oh yes, utterly adorable. But seriously, she's one of the better comic actresses around at the moment.
Chris O'Dowd has the hardest job on the show, as Roy isn't a very three-dimensional person. He's just a lazy IT engineer, pure and simple. There aren't many hidden depths to Roy, which is a missed opportunity because O'Dowd is very good at looking lovable and innocent.
Overall, this is a decent start to series 2, although the first 15 minutes are a bit stale and the whole "mistaken identity" plot could have done with a trim. But it's nice to have a more traditional sitcom on the air, in the wake of all those Office imitators with their naturalistic style. It's just a shame The IT Crowd has one of the most intrusive and manipulative laugh-tracks in recent memory, despite being filmed in front of a real audience.
For writer Graham Linehan, the show isn't much of an evolution, as it's essentially "Father Ted in an office", but who really cares when it's spitting out absurd one-liners and silly visuals with such glee?
24 August 2007
Channel 4, 9.30 pm
