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'The IT Crowd' to return for finale special
- LarryMade2 13y agoI guess they were finally able to turn it off and then on again.
- forlorn 13y agoDamn it, I though it's buried forever.
- Nrsolis 13y agoThe IT crowd, for me, is one of those happy accidents in television where the writers, producers, and actors all manage to capture the humor of a subculture without patronizing it. When I saw the first episode, I knew that these folks had done something special and I'm quite tickled that they are bringing it back for even a single episode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab8GtuPdrUQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab8GtuPdrUQ
- Nrsolis 13y agoOne of my favorite skits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=UC4vz6IbdtY&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=UC4vz6I...
- sjclemmy 13y agoBrilliant - I've love that gag.
- megablast 13y agoThe exact opposite of the Big Bang Theory.
- UnoriginalGuy 13y agoKind of the same thing as BBT. A lot of people just don't find BBT funny, which is a reasonable opinion to have, but they both manage to poke fun at their respective sub-cultures. The IT crowd subculture is generic "IT support." The subculture of BBT is the pseudo-intellectual crowd who took biology 101 and are now experts in everything "science." As I said, I would never begrudge anyone who doesn't find BBT funny (it rarely is!) but let's not pretend that IT crowd is somehow magically different, it is just better written.
- corin_ 13y agoOf course the difference is "just" better writing, but it's still results in exact opposites. In both cases they try to laugh at geeks, in one of them it's in a way that makes geeks laugh, in the other it makes geeks cringe.
- seivan 13y agoYou've probably missed the episode where they make fun off all the idiots who think the Elders of the Internet let the wireless Internet-Box leave Big Ben.
- tripzilch 13y agoInteresting you bring that one up, cause I found parts of that episode brilliant and hilarious, but other moments kind of tedious and cringy. The idiots/supposedly "normal" people, weren't quite consistent in what they were clueless/knowledgeable about, IIRC. I'd normally overlook such a thing, but with the extreme levels of clueless required in this episode, it felt a bit off-balance. Though I don't know how exactly they should have fixed it without damaging the brilliant+hilarious Internet-Box premise.
- rmc 13y agoOf course, it's wireless, everything's wireless these days!
- lutze 13y agoIt's not just better writing though, it's the difference between laughing with and laughing at. BBT isn't just "not funny", it's actually rather obnoxious.
- adregan 13y agoBig Bang Theory is not a very funny show. It does appeal to fans of Dharma and Greg though (like my mom). The only consistently funny show I would recommend is Archer.
- igravious 13y agoArcher is very crude though. I don't think I could recommend it to my Mom, I think she'd be a bit shocked. I don't get the hate for Big Bang Theory. I don't think they are laughing at or poking fun at geeks. I think it's pretty good natured. I think the science in it is meant to be above-average (is it?) but it ain't meant to be proper nuclear physics and stuff. Granted, it is not even in the same league as IT Crowd (which is easily one of my favourite shows) but it's not that terrible, is it?
- adregan 13y agoDon't recommend Archer to your mother — words to live by. I try not to hate anything — words to live by — but have to say that the writing is really poor in Big Bang Theory. I don't like poor writing. What the IT crowd has in its corner is some absolutely absurd moments that make up for the hokey bits (laugh track, etc.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN-NxyQhcP0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN-NxyQhcP0
- igravious 13y agoMy housemate hates the laugh track, I never noticed it until he mentioned it - so now I try to ignore it. I like your words to live by, I will live by them. I think the writing in Big Bang Theory is poor in parts but it is quite decent in others. Then again I do not watch much telly so I'm no official arbiter of sit-com taste.
- tripzilch 13y agoThe IT Crowd has 24 episodes, BBT has 134 and is still running. IMO that makes them kinda hard to compare. And weren't the earlier episodes of BBT a bit different? I seem to remember they had more "hard" science/tech jokes that actually made sense (jokes that seemed like they would be quite obscure without an exact/tech background). So, what if BBT had squeezed their ideas into a smaller amount of episodes? Of course one could say that it was exactly that choice, that makes the one better than the other. And I'd have to give you a sort of kind of "yes, maybe". Because I don't know, sometimes the UK format series are a little bit too short (indeed, like The IT Crowd!!), but some US format series go on for way too long[0]. I would hope there is some optimal middle road. (but then maybe not, the first example that came to mind of mixing US/UK serial styles was Torchwood: Miracle Day, the worst of the series, IMHO. There may be better examples I'm not thinking of right now, though) [0] How I Met Your Mother being a prime example. If only they would push it a little bit further, and then some more still, so it would turn back upon itself in a somewhat post-modern sense, by actually making the viewers just as bored as the "Kids, ..." at the beginning of each episode, their inner voices silently screaming at Ted to get to the bloody point and finish up the story already. This would of course kill the ratings, but they could sell the show to Belgium, the Netherlands and other countries where anti-humour is still appreciated :-P There is time ...
- nodata 13y agoWas The IT Crowd shown in the US? (at the same timeslot?)
- dhughes 13y agoThere was a US version of the IT Crowd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNPj3jXhzgw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNPj3jXhzgw
- orangethirty 13y agoIt felt like I was watching The Soup.
- tekromancr 13y ago
- orangethirty 13y agoBBT makes fun of nerds and geeks (without mentioning Science itself). I still watch it, because you gotta be able to laugh about yourself. Now, the IT Crowd, along with Futurama, are shows that celebrate nerds and geeks. Our quirks, our good parts, and our bad parts. But its not us who are being made fun of, but the world around us.
- oneeyedpigeon 13y agoI really don't understand the hate for Big Bang - is it because I'm British? I think the characters are actually quite sympathetically drawn. Sure, it's not as sophisticated - it's just a very straight sitcom - but it's still funny, has some relatively intelligent references, and Jim Parsons' acting is often outstanding.
- orangethirty 13y agoWell, I don't hate it. Its a funny show. What you must understand is that is it not a show for nerds, but for regular people. The IT crowd is for nerds. Otherwise you would not understand the humour. Take for example the episode where Jen is fooled into thinking a black box with a blinking red light is "the internet". Everyone believes her, because he is the head of IT (which itself is quite funny, given how she is clueless about IT, something many IT managers have in common). Watch the episode. On the other hand, BBT humour seems to be about nerds. But look at the main characters. A somewhat functional genius (sheldon) with the social skills of a rock, a socially shy astronomer (or is it cosmologist?), an engineer (portrayed as being smart but puny and weak), and Leonard which is the bond that ties nerds between normals (his relationship with Penny portrays this). He constantly explains the context of the situation or of the characters. And let's not forget the comic book shop owner ( I forget his name). He is portrayed as a weak loser who has no other option in life. All of them stereotypes. Real to some extent, but stereotypes.
- oneeyedpigeon 13y agoI'm just not sure I buy that. Maybe it's because I DO know non-nerds that like The IT Crowd; like all sitcom, the situation is merely a vehicle for the humour on top of it. in just the same way that you can find Father Ted funny without being a catholic priest. And there are plenty of non-nerds who would get the 'Internet as small black box' joke. And there ARE gags in BBT that non-nerds wouldn't get (not a huge number, but they are there)
- SolarUpNote 13y agoI checked out the Pirate Bay's top 100 section the other day, and was astounded to see that The Big Bang Theory was the top TV show. A lot of sitcoms aren't funny, but Big Bang Theory is like being held down by your older brother while his spit drips on your face. Maybe it's supposed to be ironic? Like it's so bad it's good? In high school my friends and I had bad-movie nights, where we'd do our own Mystery Science Theater. Is it like that? Do friends get together and smoke pot and have a Big Bang Theory marathon where they make fun of how terrible the jokes are? Just trying to understand.
- xeper 13y ago>bad movie night This is how/why my family and I watch it. It's fun(ish) if you go in with that mindset. Even so, it can be a complete cringe-fest at times.
- tripzilch 13y agoIt's 20 minutes of cheap entertainment and it's still better than a bad sitcom that is not about geeks. Maybe it helps that I can't really identify with the characters because everything is so American (and I'm not)? (it's hard to explain, I never exactly realized which parts of US series--comedy or not--were "show" and which parts are just how US culture is, before I visited the USA. Maybe imagine all the tiny things that are slightly "different" when you watch a European series? Related, there's probably a lot of scenes in European series that make me cringe because they're a little bit "closer" than for a US viewer who maybe assumes it's just part of the show's quirkiness. Dating culture is one of many examples)
- lutze 13y agoIs it bad that I can still recite that number from heart? Rhetorical question, of course it isn't!
- phlyingpenguin 13y agoIt's /definitely/ not my password for anything super important...
- anonymous 13y agoIt's funny how the number is both really long and sort of easy to remember due to the repeating patterns.
- jiggy2011 13y agoI thought that the first season was much better than the others. The first seemed full of unique humour that captured the frustrations of IT support rather well, the subsequent seasons seemed to just move towards generic sitcom territory. I think it went downhill when they brought Matt Berry in, as too much screen time was just devoted to him doing silly things.
- zcam 13y agoTrue there are a few gems in the other seasons though: like the piracy Ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzg
- pessimizer 13y agoI agree with you, but I love Matt Berry doing silly things. Losing the "straight" Chris Morris did wacky-sitcom everything up, though.
- tripzilch 13y agoAgreed, it was taking Morris out rather than bringing Berry in that appears to have changed the show (a tiny little bit) for the worse. OTOH I doubt the show could've handled both of them :) (without losing too much sight of the IT nerds in the basement)
- tripzilch 13y agoEspecially the earlier episodes with Chris Morris in it :) Not that the other characters weren't good, I just enjoyed the spark of absurdism he brought to the show--but WHAT an exit! hahaha
- irtefa 13y agoBeen waiting for this for a while now
- jimmy_wobbles 13y agoBest geek TV show ever made!
- sergiotapia 13y agoI'll never forget the first time I saw this show. It was 3am, had insomnia for some reason and saw the episode "Gay! A Gay Musical"[1]. I laughed so hard I cried and woke up my wife, it was fantastic! Just utterly brilliant! "I'm disabled..." has become sort of an inside joke with my brother because of this episode. I'm glad they're bringing it back for one last run, it certainly deserves it. [1] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TQJILoFd5o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TQJILoFd5o
- marknutter 13y ago"Gay! A Gay Musical" is by far my favorite episode. Really solidified the quality of the show for me.
- darrenkopp 13y agoI really liked the episode where Moss is trying to get an iPhone from one of those crane games. "No Jen, I'll be getting an iPhone without giving any money to Apple. I'll be living the dream" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPqk_eKwVLY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPqk_eKwVLY
- igravious 13y agoFor me my fave scene is Chris Morris and his fondness for Teams. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGFGD5pj03M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGFGD5pj03M "Well it's just not working out" --- I once sent this link round our tech department after a team motivation email from management, it helped me hold on to my sanity.
- CmonNoReg 13y agoA KickStarter campaign for another season or two would've been even better!
- sneak 13y agoI deal with enough miscalibrated sperglords on a daily basis that the absolute last fucking thing on Earth I'd do in my small amount of free time is willingly watch a sitcom wherein they are depicted accurately.
- cobaimelan 13y agoBest scene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJXww8aizAM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJXww8aizAM
- mig39 13y agoDid you see that ludicrous display last night?
- igravious 13y agoWhat was Wenger thinking sending Walcott on so early?
- tnuc 13y agoI always enjoyed their take on piracy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzg
- fpp 13y agoGreat news and really looking forward to see it. Will not be that easy for them to be as successful again, but there is certainly still enough to laugh about in corporate IT today. Just remember how much time has changed since their first series was aired and how much influence they had - "Have you tried turning it off and on again" is basically a common term in UK English today and almost everybody will know today that you wont break the Internet when you type Google into Google ... [comment approved by the Elders of the Internet]
- anonymous 13y ago"have you tried turning it off and on again" was popularised by windows 95 and having to turn it off and on again when something failed. Or when you changed your IP. Also, the day there's nothing left in corporate IT to laugh at is the day we have neither corporations nor IT any more. I'm expecting some smoking hot episodes about clouds.
- slig 13y agoIf you enjoy that kind of humor, be sure to check Father Ted and Black Books.
- desigooner 13y agoA shout out to Black Adder is warranted here.
- oneeyedpigeon 13y ago"Blackadder" is a very different beast from the others mentioned, all of which are written / cowritten by Graham Linehan, who has a very specific surrealist style. Don't get me wrong: I do think Blackadder is brilliant!
- rmc 13y agoFather Ted is a great, and shockingly accurate, satire of Ireland. UKians might not get that at first...
- shimfish 13y agoI had the good fortune to contribute a few of the alternative subtitles for the first season DVD. Unfortunately, I don't think anybody noticed them, even with a BB writeup. http://boingboing.net/2006/11/15/it-crowd-dvd-has-sub.html http://boingboing.net/2006/11/15/it-crowd-dvd-has-sub.html