Comedy is not where it’s AT it’s where it’s IT
Graham Linehan is Irish.
He has made quite a number of very good, very substantial British comedies such as,Father Ted, Black Books, Big Train and is currently working on season 3 of one of my personal obsessions, The IT Crowd now many of you would love this show for a number of reasons. One, that Richard Ayoade, Darkplace’s Dean Lerner bares a remarkable resemblance and character to a good friend of ours, a Mr. James Atkinson.
Richard Ayoade
Well you all know what James looks like I don’t even need to post a picture ( I tried but it didn’t work) he pretty much looks like that.
This show is great. It’s got miles and miles of laughs per episode. And some great cameos of people we all know and love like Christopher Morris (Big Train and creator of Nathan Barley) Noel Fielding (Vince Noir from Boosh) and the amazingly funny Matt Berry (season 2)
It centers around two losers who work in the IT department of a giant corporate office. Moss and Roy who’s answer to every phone call they get from upstairs starts with, “Did you try turning it off and on? Okay…..Is your computer plugged in?”
They’re two nerdy, kind of slobbish losers who’s antics keep a very consistent flow of both slapstick and balls to the wall hilarity with some great quick gags and absurd situations, particularly from their boss, played by Christopher Morris. Their world is turned upside down when they are given a boss to their department and it’s a woman, Jen. What’s funny is you’d think she would be disgusted of these two and she is but when she shuts herself into her office you find out she’s as scatterbrained and clueless as Moss and Roy. Which really adds some depth to the show, they have a cute female lead character who’s not the typical office lady stereotype, she’s a bit of a mess and very self conscious, this gives an interesting dichotomy between her and Moss and Roy, while she may berate them for being awkward computer geeks, she’s actually not that far apart from them in the awkward department.
One thing though is the laugh track and while I’m not a fan, it’s barely noticeable with how funny this show is. Kind of like Young Ones and Bottom where there’s so much physical comical madness going on, that laughter in the background is hardly a distraction. It’s interesting because if you think of American sitcoms with laugh tracks and how subdued everyone is or how they’re kind of playing to the audience laughing, waiting for their moments to ring in the joke, it does serve as a distraction. With British comedy, they seem to just perform regardless of an interruption of the audience, if anything they just scream louder.
But The IT Crowd is one of the truly hysterical highlights in my British comedy escapades and I can’t wait for season 3, which I hear is coming this October.
Also Graham Linehan, the creator offered up this interesting little opportunity for fans to help dress the set of season 3
This is from Graham’s blog
Good news! I delivered the sixth and final episode of series 3 this morning. With only three weeks till we begin location filming, that’s cutting it pretty fine, but the scripts seem to be in good shape so I’m only waking up in a cold sweat three times a night rather than seven.
That said, they still need work. So I won’t have enough time to contribute as much as I would like to the look of the show. Normally, when I’m finished the scripts, I lovingly pore over T-shirt sites and visit comic shops as ‘research’. This time, that’s just out of the question. Which is what brings me to you guys…
How would you like to help in designing the look of series 3? Specifically, you’d be helping us choose the stuff that litters the main set. I’m talking about posters, comics, fanzines, T-shirts… anything you’ve seen in the last few months that you think is pretty cool or captures the spirit of the show or a particular character. By now, most of you know the kind of things I like…weird toys, indie comics, sci-fi, geek references, internet memes, boardgames…normally I’d delight in tracking down the stuff myself, but as I say, it’s just not going to happen this time round.
In the very first draft of the show I described the set as looking like “a cross between a comics shop and the batcave”. I wanted it to feel like a geek Shangri-La, and in each series I’ve felt we nearly got there. Maybe this time, with you guys involved, we’ll finally nail it.
Please send your suggestions to ben.capel@talkbackthames.tv
We also need to get legal permission to use the stuff, and we need to get it fast, so please include as much information as you can regarding contact details etc etc.
Wow. This is interesting. I wonder how it’ll go?
How cool is that? Fans get to suggest set decorating ideas. I sent mine but I don’t know if they’re clever enough, I’m guessing they’ll want objects that are going to really mirror the traits of Moss, Roy and Jen.
On a sidenote an American pilot was made for this series but wasn’t picked up
Currently they are shooting IT crowd season 3
AND I’ve included every episode below of the series.
However if you get IFC you may want to wait and watch them when they premier Sept. 30, since IFC recently bought the series and will be premiering season 3 when it’s done.
IT is AWESOME!!!!
