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The It Crowd: The Complete First Season

Review by Dan MacIntosh

Anybody who has ever worked in an office knows the IT department. They’re a breed unto themselves. Unlike the rest of the desk-job-based business world, these computer geeks tend to dress down for their roles, mostly interest themselves in computer software and hardware (rather than sales figures, for instance), and dream about favorite sci-fi movie characters. So it should come as no surprise Ash Atalla (from the original The Office) is this program’s series producer. You might say The IT Crowd is the dark underside of The Office.

This British series centers on two bumbling IT guys, Roy and Moss. Of this pair, Roy is the most hapless, unfulfilled half. Unlike Moss, who appears to be perfectly happy with his checkered shirt, tie, and daily electronic tasks, Roy has greater aspirations; ones that actually reach far beyond the basement where they slave together. For instance, he’d like to have some sort of a relationship with a girl, which is seemingly completely off of Moss’ radar. In one memorable episode, Roy goes out on a date, only to realize at the end of the evening he has something brown on his forehead. This “something” innocently turns out to be chocolate. But because his date suspects this “something” is poop, his little faux-pas completely spoils Roy’s chances of getting a goodnight kiss.

IT people do not just lack social skills; they’re also sometimes completely deprived of any common sense. In one hilarious situation, Moss discovers a fire in the office. But after a fire extinguisher fails to do the trick, he decides he must contact emergency personnel. Thus, he composes an email. The first message he writes is a little too formal, so he scraps that and begins again. All the while, the fire in the room gets larger. Eventually, satisfied with his wording, Moss goes back to work, happily smiling as the fire rages on.

The pilot episode puts a big monkey wrench into Roy and Moss’ predictable little world at Reynholm when Jen is hired as the IT Manager. Jen, who may be a real girl, doesn’t know thing one about computers. But because she’s a pretty girl, these nerdy and romance-less boys reluctantly accept her. Later, in the episode called “Ant Irma Visits”, Jen admits to having her period, only to witness Roy and Moss also exhibiting similarly emotional PMS symptoms.

“The Red Door” episode is yet one more big highlight in season one, as it is here we are introduced to Richmond, the Gothic guy even the IT guys must keep hidden away. Richmond is a friendly young man, despite his black clothing and white face. The episode also includes a montage revealing Richmond’s past days as a rising company executive. Unfortunately, Richmond discovered the band Cradle Of Filth, began dressing like a Goth, and then was eventually demoted to IT, to be (hopefully) forever kept out of the public eye. It makes one wonder just how many Richmond-like folks are out there in the world; climbing the corporate ladder one day, but working at Amoeba the next.

I read a short while back that NBC was planning to make an American The IT Crowd, just as they’d done with The Office, but I don’t know whatever happened to that plan. For now, at least, we have this wonderful import to enjoy. Watch it and compare it to your own IT crowd experiences.

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