The Office

[emsiewill]

Had to start a thread on this. Did anyone else spend half their time cringing and covering their eyes? And the other half laughing raucously?
Such a superb programme - can't wait until next week for the next installment.

My jaw aches from gritting my teeth cringing - I love it!!

What a superb programme. I spent half the time covering my eyes in embarrassment. Reminds me how lucky I am that I don't work in an office anymore.

Was just about to start this!!! Well done emsiewill. I actually can't watch most of this - soooo excruciating. Fantastic programme.

It is sooo bloody accurate though. All that 'na na na' song at the beginning and the pressure to not be seen as a misery if you don't look like you think it's funny.

Oh this was great! Friends told me to watch it and they were right, it was funny. Watched for the first time tonight. Ditto Lynne, what with that and listening to the corporate bollocks to which dp has recently been subjected I sooo don't miss an office environment. (I work now, but small friendly place, not the same). Agree Tinker, the wonderful subtlety of the guy at the beginning not finding it funny until the boss did and he then felt obliged to was excellent. It was very well done, will watch the rest now.

How much more painful can it get? Have spent the past hour trying to get my toes to uncurl. Just brilliant.

have heard so much about this program! don't feel i need to watch however, as i suspect i am actually living it

It's the best thing on TV by about a decade. David is such a fantastic monster - he just doesn't seem to have any empathy. I love the way he sat and brooded about the, erm, inappropriate 'speech' and then came out and blamed the uncomfortable atmosphere on the fact that the new people just needed time to fit in with his 'way'.

Other top moments...

"So, er, have you got a girlfriend?"
"If I had my way, the place would be full of 'em!"
The stoopid 'cookie jar'.

I hope they're planning to make him get worse and worse until he's finally sacked or something.

And there's a great subplot cooking between Tim, Dawn and her boyfriend.

Sorry to go on. You might have guessed, I love this show.

I have to have a magazine to hand so that when the wincing gets too bad I can force my eyes away from the screen. Ricky Gervais clearly worked in IT in Wokingham in the mid-eighties. The whole programme is a terrifying re-run of my brief foray into corporate office life. I just love it. It's indecently funny.

I can't believe I've missed this. Is it repeated or can u get it on DVD?

Tinker, I can't watch it at all! I saw some of one episode of the last series and had to turn it off and get someone else to unwind me.

loved the bit where Tim, having been an arse, went back up to Dawn and decided there was a twenty minute window for winding up Gareth. Maybe I'm just warped but I found it really sweet.

Croppy, series one is out on VHS/DVD. Buy, and enjoy!
Willow2, I thought it was sweet too.

Croppy, if you get BBC Choice the new series is being repeated on Thursdays at 9.30.
I might just have to watch it again.

Thanks Bettys will make sure I catch it.

Had SUCH an embarr moment yesterday. My new head of dept was watching one of my lessons as part of my appraisal. Afterwards we met in the staff room before going to his room for the feedback. He got up to go out and said "Shall we go into my boudouir?" I truely thought he was imitating David Brent, so I said "Ha ha, you sound just like him, what a tosser!" to which he replied "Sorry?"
Me: "Didn't you see The Office last night?" Him:"Er, no"
......CRINGE, or what?!

xxxxxxx classic.

Nice one, Moomin
I am hoping that none of my team will watch next week's (about annual appraisal apparently). I have been off work for several weeks and have to go back on Monday, more or less straight into appraising the four of them. At least I can take comfort that I have got to be better than Brent at this...

Moomin, dare I ask how the appraisal went after that?

A few years ago I used to have a bit of a dual work existance - office politics and the put on niceness of the office team during the week, and the up frontness and rudeness of my fellow market stall holders at the weekend. The latter was so much easier to live with.

Can I just join Willow2 in the 'warped' camp - I thought Tim was quite sweet in the last series (about the only character you could begin to work with).

The prospect of him 'going to the dark side' at the beginning of this weeks episode quite upset me. I was so relieved when he started to act like normal Tim again and chat up Dawn/annoy Gareth, it quite bought a tear to my eye!

Fabulous programme - we cringed on our sofa !!

I've got a new definition for this - it's 'pillow biting TV'. Not to mention fingers in ears, humming loudly with eyes shut.

But even missing half of it through deliberate avoidance there were some classic moments - who wants to play 'spot the plot'? Here's some starters for ten:

1. Dawn having made the mistake of admitting she finds David funny will end up being the subject of his 'romantic' infatuation that will veer dangerously close to harassment.

2. The blonde one from Swindon will probably dump poor Tim after a brief affair leading to much dirty mutterings all round

3. Gareth has got to ask Neil why Neil has a problem with him....

OK so I'm not actually much good at this game...any of you lot do better?

Oh yes, another classic. Felt sooo sorry for Dawn, sitting there listening to "Excalibur" on a Friday night!