A hit in the UK, Graham Linehan’s Emmy award-winning show The IT Crowd has enjoyed some success here in the States on the IFC channel and on DVD. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing the first two seasons, which can be read here and here, and I’m happy to say that with the third season the show continues to be absolutely hilarious.
For those of you who are unaware of the show, The IT Crowd is about the lives and misadventures of the IT department for Renholm Industries. Sequestered down in the basement are Moss and Roy, two socially-inept tech geeks, and their not-quite-as-socially-inept boss, Jen. On the whole they are rude, lazy, and not a little bit stupid. To make matters worse their boss, Douglas, is even stupider (he calls up Roy because he can’t open his laptop), and a borderline sexual predator. Add in healthy doses of British absurdism and you’ve got comedy gold.
Nothing has changed since Season Two except that the character Richmond is absent, but seeing as he was a minor character his absent isn’t missed too much. The main actors Chris O’Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry have all returned and are just as funny as ever. And while I think they are all great, Matt Berry really steals the show for me as Douglas Renham. Berry speaks with a pseudo-Shakespearean voice which makes everything he says overly-dramatic, and it adds just an extra bit of comedy to his incredibly stupid lines. It’s hard to describe this affectation or how vital it is to his performance, but just about everything he says just cracks me up.
But that’s just me, and I don’t want to slight the performances of O’Dowd, Ayoade, or Parkinson in any way, because it’s all four of them who make this show so great. Each of them are great comedians in their own right, but they have good chemistry onscreen. It helps, though, that the writing is just as good. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, The IT Crowd is a fun mix of geek chic and British absurdism, and is actually, I think, more accessible than other shows about nerds such as The Big Bang Theory because it’s about more than just about nerdish inside jokes about Batman or Intel processors. Instead it relies on skewing rather basic sitcom plots, like in the episode “Friendface” where Jen hires Moss to pretend to be her husband at her class reunion, but taking them to ridiculous levels. Really the nerd aspects are a bit of necessary flavor to a greater comedic goal, not the end-all be-all of the entire show.
Now that being said, The IT Crowd won’t appeal to everyone. The nerd aspects, while not as heavy-handed as other shows, will keep some away, as will the very British nature of the show. British comedy in many ways is an acquired taste; it relies heavily on nonsensical, absurd situations or characters, and often breaks the conventions of genre and even physics. Probably the best analog we have here in the States is 30 Rock, which is another show that I really enjoy. There’s a definite cartoonish quality to this type of comedy which I quite enjoy, but others may not. So unless you are a fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, 30 Rock, Fawlty Towers, or any other comedy in that vein then I would recommend this show. If you’re not then you’re probably better off passing on this one.
Each episode is presented in 16×9 anamorphic widescreen with the audio in 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo. The episodes looked and sounded fine with no discernable problems in either the audio or the video.
Audio Commentary with Graham Linehan – This is your standard-issue commentary by the writer/director. He gives plenty of interesting little tidbits on the show, but on the whole it’s just too dry and un-entertaining to make it worth watching.
An Interview with Graham (6:48) – I’ll be honest, as much as I like the show and everyone involved, this was pretty boring. Skip this unless you’re just that interested in hearing what he has to say.
Original Title Sequence Animatic (00:40) – This is pretty much filler, as far as I’m concerned. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s forty seconds of something I’ve already seen plenty of times before, only in its rough stage.
Deleted Scene 1: ‘Look After Yourself” (00:46) – This is somewhat funny, but like the other extras on here it’s really not worth taking the time to watch.
Deleted Scene 2: ‘Roy’s Sex Life’ (3:28) – Funnier than the other deleted scene, but really there aren’t enough deleted scenes to really bother watching.
Set Tour (6:16) – Pretty much this is just Linehan and friend going through and listing all of the various toys, artwork, and various gewgaws around Roy and Moss’s office that have been given to them by artists and fans. It makes me want to start up a TV show of my own just to get free stuff, which probably wasn’t their intention.
Out Takes (8:45) – I did enjoy this extra, but I tend to have a soft spot for outtakes. At any rate, this was fairly funny, but nothing great, which pretty much sums up the extras on this season.
My only complaint with this season is that it didn’t have the wonderfully imaginative opening sequence to the DVD’s main menu as did Season Two. Of course, that’s a minor issue and didn’t really affect my enjoyment of this collection. I should point out, though, that there are only six episodes on this season, which is common for British television shows, but because of the comparatively short number of episodes by American standards, some people may balk at paying $24.98. I should also reiterate that this is not comedy for everyone; although I think this show has more appeal than other nerd-oriented series out there, the nerd jokes and just the British style of humor may be offputting to some. I suggest renting this or the previous two seasons before buying if you’re not familiar with this show. Recommended.
MPI Home Video presents The IT Crowd: The Complete Third Season. Directed by Graham Linehan. Starring Chris O’Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Written by Graham Linehan. Running time: 137 minutes. Rated NR. Released on DVD: September 15, 2009. Available at Amazon.
