Well, it was better than last week's premiere (thanks to a much better second-half, mainly) but I still think The IT Crowd's missing some inspiration, and the storytelling often jumps around like a drunken flea. Regardless, the idea of Moss (Richard Ayoade) becoming a prestigious contestant on iconic teatime quiz Countdown was great, and writer Graham Linehan certainly had fun with his bizarre take on the show's geeky subculture -- with Moss indoctrinated into the "8+" club by Benedict Wong's Morpheus-like quiz champion. The episode definitely felt confident when it was exploring a nightclub of cardigan-wearing nerds, feted by beautiful babes, using nicknames like "Word" and "Negative One". But the rest of the episode? Spluttering antics, at best.Roy (Chris O'Dowd) was stuck in one of those "mistaken identity" larks we've already seen on The IT Crowd countless times, digging a deeper hole for himself in his attempt to correct things. Remember when everyone thought he was a disabled man at the theatre? Here comes the less-funny sequel. It all started when Roy bumped into an old friend on the street who revealed he's now an award-winning programmer, only to later give his friend the wrong impression that he's a humble window cleaner. Contrivances ensued with Roy being seen riding around on a window cleaner's bike (his own, incomprehensible window cleaner had implausibly left it behind), and having to be rescued from a rooftop on a window cleaner's cradle just when his friend was passing by below. I get that the joke is sometimes how ludicrous scenarios can be on The IT Crowd, but is that equally an excuse for weak construction? Either way, it felt especially lame, laboured and predictable here.
Worse came from Jen (Katherine Parkinson), who essentially had two-minute sketch stretched over the episode. Jen found out she wasn't invited to Douglas' (Matt Berry) twice-weekly heads of department meeting any longer, which looked suspiciously lewd because Douglas was seen wearing a towel and looking sweaty in his doorway. But the twist was that Jen's boss has been holding an Eric Prydz-esque aerobics class for his employees, which Jen managed to sneak into and immediately regretted because it was exhausting. Quite why the oversexed Douglas wouldn't want hot redhead Jen to attend his class, or why he wasn't too fussed when Jen did manage to gatecrash, is anyone's guess. Or rather, the joke wouldn't have worked if it had followed the truth of the character.
Fortunately, the aforementioned storyline with Moss took antecedence this week and delivered funny lines and silly asides very well. I'm not sure how well this joke will travel overseas (Countdown's a peculiarly British phenomenon in geekdom), but I think it was handled well enough that foreign fans will understand the basic ridiculousness of a cosy intellectual quiz show inspiring a Fight Club-esque "street" version.
Overall, "The Final Countdown" was perfectly fine when focusing on Moss, but incredibly flat everywhere else. And if I'm honest, even the Countdown plot didn't go anywhere unexpected or interesting, although guest-star Benedict Wong was absolutely marvellous and effortlessly stole the show. It was just a shame his character's mysterious entrance and villainous tone wasn't built on, because I became less interested when it became clear he was a goodie and the story instead introduced a street talkin' youth to antagonize Moss.
Asides
- I hope every self-respecting geek knows Moss paraphrased Rowdy Roddy Piper's line from They Live, with "I came here to drink milk, and kick ass... and I just finished my milk." Sorry, Mr Linehan, but you can't claim that.
- Benedict Wong. You may recognize him from Look Around You, Sunshine and Moon (where he actually co-starred with Matt Berry). Or, for HD viewers of Doctor Who, he's in that kid's show Spirits Warriors that airs before it on Saturdays.
- I can't, in all honesty, hate something that at least exposes Rachel Riley to the wider world.
WRITER & DIRECTOR: Graham Linehan
GUEST CAST: Benedict Wong & Giles Brandreth
TRANSMISSION: 2 JULY 2010 – CHANNEL 4/HD, 10PM
