LATEST SERIES IT CROWD

[ChrisM]

No doubt, many of you know this already, but I thought it worth mentioning.

I’m tempted to shout “WOOHOO!” But I won’t.

Topic

[ChrisM]

I was tempted to purchase the past DVDs. (Probably the boxset for 1 and 2… assuming you don’t lose any extras.) However, I see that the boxset including series 3 is already advertised, so I think it might be worth waiting.

Mind you, at this rate, it looks like they’ll create a new boxset every time a new series DVD comes out. ;)

[Pete Part Three]

The Boxset is just a boxset with the regular DVD’s inside, isn’t it? Typical Channel 4 technique (they’ve done the same with Peep Show).

[pfm]

But surely that ‘technique’ is the best way of going about things? At least it gives people the option of displaying the series DVDs individually if they want. Anyway they’re hardly going to do anything more major with shows like Peep Show and The IT Crowd which aren’t finished yet (at least I don’t think Peep Show is over).

[Pete Part Three]

Does “typical” mean “bad” now?

[John Hoare]

Speech, then: and that was the least funny so far this series for me, at least on first watch. Fun – The IT Crowd is ALWAYS fun – but slightly disappointing.

And yet again, when they focus on a pure Douglas storyline, then the show feels like it’s moving away from what the show should really be about…

Great Linehan cameo, though!

[pfm]

Worst episode ever. Though it was still funny and included a great fight.

[Andrew]

Has anyone seen the “your transsexual girlfriend – a partner and a blokey best mate in one” gag done before? I think it’s great concept, and so obvious that I can’t believe it’s done first here. Yet I can’t recall ever seeing it.

Didn’t care for the ‘mishearing’ stuff for wet liberal reasons, but I liked the fight a lot. Another variation of the face slap and blokey “fuck off” gags done in previous eps, and my favourite by far.

Hit and miss, then – and the Douglas stuff feels SO isolated until the climax – but I think I’d STILL take it over episode one…

[Phil]

Come on, youtube, help me out here!

[hummingbird]

Yeah, disappointing. The Douglas plot started and ended well, but seemed pretty predictable otherwise. And the other stuff seemed almost sidelined.

However, the Internet was lovely.

[Phil]

You’re all wrong, the episode was great, fuck you and goodnight.

[Pete Part Three]

>Has anyone seen the ?your transsexual girlfriend – a partner and a blokey best mate in one? gag done before?

Blackadder II : Bells?

[TheLeen]

I really like this one. A lot! More than the third episode, I think!

[John Hoare]

Didn?t care for the ?mishearing? stuff for wet liberal reasons

I didn’t have any issues with any of the material with the episode… but I think that Douglas actually not caring would have been far more interesting than the mishearing reveal. I thought that was an interesting character moment, which was then entirely undermined. But you have to move the plot on somehow, and I’m not sure where you could have gone if he didn’t actually care.

Hit and miss, then – and the Douglas stuff feels SO isolated until the climax – but I think I?d STILL take it over episode one?

Structurally, I think this episode works better than Ep 1 – two separate plotlines (Douglas, and then Moss/Roy/Jen) works better than four. And I’m not especially sure I have an issue with the two plotlines being entirely separate, and then coming together at the end per se, in terms of how to structure an episode of sitcom.

But I always have this nagging feeling with Douglas stuff when it doesn’t relate to Moss/Roy/Jen at all throughout the episode. I think it comes down to the fact that Linehan is now treating Douglas as a proper fourth character… and I’m not entirely sure that fits in with my view of the series. I see the core of the show as Moss/Roy/Jen, and every time it moves away from that, I’m not as keen. That may be my issue more than the episode’s, though.

I did just plain think there weren’t enough hugely funny moments in this ep, which didn’t help. Which is the real reason why I’d probably place it below even Ep 1. (Although yet again, I’d stress to point out that I *did* find the episode funny…)

[Andrew]

> Blackadder II : Bells?

Ah, okay, yes – close enough.

> I thought that was an interesting character moment, which was then entirely undermined.

Ditto.

> I?m not sure where you could have gone if he didn?t actually care.

Just have to have them split up over another issue. Pretty much anything, since Douglas is known to be as random as his father. Supporting different football teams could have led to the same MASSIVE FIGHT.

[ChrisM]

This episode had me chuckling all the way through… almost. For some reason I found the punch up disturbing. I might be getting a bit sensitive in my old age… I think it’s the image of a bloke laying into a woman (although s/he was giving as good as she got, and she wasn’t just a woman. It was the imagery really. That’s not a criticism, just my own hang up if that makes sense.)

The whole relationship thing made me smile. Even the mishearing gag worked for me as it suits that character down to the ground, i.e. he’s a self obsessed shallow so-and-so, and his attention wandering is believable with him. However he is also extremely horny, and considering how he chased Mos and…Irish guy (why do I never remember his name?) around the room last series (granted he was drugged, even so) I’d get the impression he’s pretty sexually liberal . Hence ‘doing it with a had-been- fella’…would that really bother him? (From an alpha male ego point of view, maybe.)

And the internet gag was a good one. I think it would have been funnier if it had gone as they planned, with Jen waffling away on a lot of blather whilst the audience smirked… but I can see what they were going for and it worked. Particularly taking the punchline (squished box) into account. In other words, it paid off, but I had to wait.

I think the second episode is still my favourite, but this was better than last weeks.

None of them have been bad though, have they?

[hummingbird]

> but I think that Douglas actually not caring would have been far more interesting than the mishearing reveal

Agreed. It would have been great character development, but as it was it told us nothing about Douglas that we don’t already know. The mishearing seemed a bit of a too-easy way to resolve the story.

Not that I didn’t enjoy the ep – I did – but it feels like a bit of a lost opportunity.

> For some reason I found the punch up disturbing.

Me too. I find very difficult to watch male-on-female violence (even when it’s not *supposed* to be a woman)

[Phil]

Review for you all to bitch about:
http://noisetosignal.org/2008/12/the-it-crowd-the-speech

[pfm]

> and I?m not sure where you could have gone if he didn?t actually care

Simple. She lied about being a transsexual so he just ditches her despite the fact that she’s all woman.

[ChrisM]

>Simple. She lied about being a transsexual so he just ditches her despite the fact that she?s all woman.

Now THAT would be a twist. (Yeah, you were probably joking but just for fun): Why would she pretend she was transexual though? To put him off? To make sure he really was interested in her, as in, if he hops that obstacle, it’s a sure thing? Cos she’s a bit of a kinky wench?

[si]

I can’t believe people don’t like this! I thought it was hilarious! The fight was great, and despite it being a Douglas story, it was nice to see Roy and Moss doing stuff together. And plenty of Moss, too. Great stuff.

[Tarka Dal]

Wouldn’t Oman have been a better choice than Iran? It having the word ‘Man’.

[Phil]

Or Tasmania.

[Tarka Dal]

Clever boy.

[John Hoare]

Oh, I never said I didn’t like it. My least favourite so far this series, sure, but that still puts it way above most comedy on at the moment…

[pfm]

Yeah it was definitely still funny, even though everyone believing the little box was ‘the Internet’ just infuriated me more than anything, partly because it was so obvious it was coming, but also because the sheer THICKNESS of people in reality means this idea is too close to the bone.

[si]

Last night’s was fantastic! Although, unlike last week’s, Douglas felt almost crowbarred in – there wasn’t really much need for him to be there. Moss was on top form though.

[Squeaky Gibson]

Actually watched it this week and what was a great one this week. like Father Ted, series 3 seems to be the shows peek, bar the theatre episoe from series 2, fingers crossed bad luck won’t strike down this show in its prime.

[ChrisM]

I found myself laughing outloud more last weeks episode, but this week’s storyline seemed more satisfying. I think the scenarios seemed like something I had seen before (particularly the fake marriage to impress friends thing) but Moss certainly brought something ‘unique’ to it. ;)

[pfm]

I love sitcom episodes like this where you end up with the awkward situation where no-one can tell the truth. Well, no-one apart from Douglas, that is… Again we’re talking massive Seinfeld influence, especially with the ‘Joker’ girl (I was waiting for some kind of ‘Heath Ledger over there’ line but it never came, probably for the best…but I would have thrown it in) whom I actually quite fancied.

Who else thought the whole Roy/Jen thing was going to come into play here? Even though I know it would kill the comedy I found myself willing it to happen. They should maybe at least hint that it COULD happen.

[Ben Paddon]

I really didn’t like the most recent episode (which is, so far, the only episode of series 3 I’ve seen). The Friendface ad was pretty funny, but wasn’t anywhere near as good as the “0118 999 881 999 119 725 3” or “You wouldn’t steal a baby…” ads from series 1 and 2. The social networking thing was, I thought, a brilliant foundation but that they used it to launch into a typical sitcom “Pretend we’re married!” storyline was, to me, uninspired. Most of the jokes fell flat for me as well, although Moss was brilliant as usual.

[hummingbird]

http://www.friendface.co.uk/

No, I wasn’t sad enough to google for this. Honest.

[si]

Class! I wonder if there are any more Reynholm Industries websites out there..?

[Andrew]

I agree with Ben.

[si]

Which bit?

[Andrew]

> Which bit?

The bit that starts with “I really” and ends with “as usual”.

[si]

What about the bit that says “(which is, so far, the only episode of series 3 I?ve seen)”?

If you agree with this bit, then somewhere along the line, you’ve been lying to us.

[Andrew]

How confusing you must find day to day life.

[Phil]

Some very funny moments, but all the good stuff started appearing 2/3 of the way through the episode. Certainly the least entertaining of all first acts in IT history.

As with episode one, though, I won’t complain. I laughed enough to justify the half hour, even if I did most of it toward the end.

[hummingbird]

Well, I liked it. :P

[TheLeen]

Me too.

[si]

There is a Friendface facebook page. I know, the irony.

[TheLeen]

Wow. The internet is fast. Wow. Okay.

Anyone up for scrabble? John has miraculously stopped making moves.

[Dave]

>John has miraculously stopped making moves

Maybe you spurned him once too often.

[ChrisM]

Great last episode (although not entirely great AS a last episode… if that makes sense.) I liked most of it, although the ending fell a bit flat for me.

[si]

Yeah, it was a case of ‘…oh.’

There had better be another series. If such a great show ended like that then God help us.

[Phil]

God help us, every one!

[TheLeen]

Is it impolite to ask whatever happened to the episode 6 review? :D

[Tanya Jones]

No; John took it on, but has been really poorly ever since it was aired, so hasn’t been able to marshal his thoughts, or anything else…

[TheLeen]

Get well soon, John! Thanks Tanya!

[Phil]

>or anything else?

Say no more.

[Author]

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