Review of episode 4 series 4 of 'The IT Crowd'

Beware! Here be spoilers for episode 4 series 4 of ‘The IT Crowd’.

A theme that runs through ‘The IT Crowd’ is the extraordinary yarns that the characters spin and the lengths they go to in order to maintain their little white lies. Usually, these porkies end up blowing into huge convoluted messes with unexpected consequences.

This week’s episode is no different. Jen’s blagging has now branched out from her knowledge of I.T. to her extensive linguistic skills. Over-worked and under-appreciated, Jen convinces Douglas and her senior colleagues that she can speak Italian. Her apparent skill makes her vital to Reynholm Industries' efforts to build a relationship with Silvio Bernatelli, the most successful business man of the year. As per usual Jen lands herself in trouble but sadly her fibbing has all too predictable results which are just not as funny as they could be.

While Jen is busy blagging for her life Roy has developed an obsession with the death of his girlfriend’s parents. It’s not as grim or as dark as it sounds. His new girlfriend, Julia, explains that her family were killed in a fire at Sea Parks, a water park like Sea World. However, after recounting the tragic tale of her parents’ demise she refuses to talk about it ever again, sparking Roy’s morbid curiosity.

Roy’s quest to discover “the truth” about Julia’s parents is hilarious, particularly when he re-creates a model of Sea Parks from mash potato and gravy. Also, Roy’s excuse for a late night internet session is explained away by masturbation in order to hide the real reason he is sitting in front of his laptop in his underwear. Even though his explanation is more than credible it couldn’t be further from the truth.

One final touch of genius worth mentioning is the iPhone worship. Douglas congratulates a female colleague not on the birth of her baby but the fact that she has an iPhone. The satire shows the unnecessary sycophancy and awe that surrounds Apple’s smart phone, something which has been happening in meeting rooms across the country.

‘Italian For Beginners’ is a memorable episode more for theme parks made out of mash potato than anything else. Although Moss takes more of a back seat in this episode it is still a cracker with Roy’s storyline trumping Jen’s Italian misadventure.

It is nice to see Roy has finally found a girlfriend after his crippling heartbreak at the start of the series. Now I am waiting for the episode where Moss gets a long-term girlfriend and I still have high hopes for a Roy-Jen relationship.

Quotes that will live in infamy:

“I so think of her as Julia the orphan.” – Moss

“Maybe they’re not really dead. Maybe she doesn’t know what the word ‘orphan’ means. Maybe she just thinks it means ‘house proud’.” – Moss

“First you make me want to go to the toilet, now you make me want to be a better person.” – Douglas

“All these lies Jen, this is exactly what happened with the Iraq war.” – Moss (in comparison to Jen’s fib about speaking Italian)

“It’s not that much of a lie because I have always wanted to speak Italian and I can sound like I’m speaking Italian, so it’s more or less the same thing.” – Jen

“If she said her parents had drowned I would be the happiest man in the world.” - Roy

“But it’s an iPhone Jen. I may be able to get an iPhone without giving any money to Apple.” – Moss

Review of episode 3 series 4 of 'The IT Crowd'

Beware! Here be spoilers for episode 3 series 4 of ‘The IT Crowd’.

Roy’s bottom seems to be getting a lot of action this series. In ‘Jen the Fredo’, he got his behind smacked following a pimp-prostitute-style pep-talk. This week Roy gets his arse kissed by a masseur and not metaphorically.

After the incident Roy naturally files a sexual harassment suit and prepares to make his case in court. While Moss and Roy are busy playing law and order, it seems that Jen’s time down in the basement of Reynholm Industries is having an effect on the type of men she goes out. She ends up dating Norman, a bespectacled keyboard player in a band, who is even more socially inept than her colleagues in the I.T. department.

Jen’s relationship with Norman turns her into a wannabe rock star and makes her sing endlessly in a shrill voice that could shatter wine glasses. However, and I may be alone in thinking this, but Katherine Parkinson’s high-pitched warbling is not too bad, and in fact, “there might be something there”, as Simon Cowell sometimes says.

Then there is a small subplot involving Douglas who has discovered Space Star Ordering, founded by Beth Gaga Shaggy, a relation neither to Lady Gaga nor Shaggy. The concept involves stars representing wishes and if a person wishes really hard then they might just get what they want, or something along those lines. It's all a bit wishy-washy. It would appear this is Linehan’s knock at Scientology, and he takes aim at the shaky authoritative scientific principles and spawning information centres.

It was always going to be tough to follow up on Moss’s foray into ‘Countdown’ with something just as comically brilliant. Although ‘Something Happened’ has some great lines, it is merely an average episode when compared to ‘The Final Countdown’ which is undoubtedly the best episode of series 4. I would go so far as to say that it is a contender for the best episode ever of the ‘The IT Crowd'.

There is far less action in this instalment and the parody of Scientology could be taken much further, possibly with a slight nod to BBC Panorama journalist John Sweeney losing his cool. Despite this, it is not at all a write-off and is still funny with quirky, surreal humour.

A highlight was the courtroom scene where Roy is indicating exactly where on his posterior he was violated via a version of pin the tail on the donkey. I even learned that “the line that goes down the middle” is called the Cleftal Horizon, although after a quick Google search I am unsure as to whether it is an actual term. Also, the use of “Did you see that ludicrous display last night?” from ‘Are We Not Men?’ in series 3 fitted in perfectly. The phrase has become Moss and Roy’s filler when caught in awkward social situations involving other men and brings to mind so many embarrassing moments for the pair.

Even though ‘Something Happened’ does not hit the same heights as ‘The Final Countdown’ it has some golden nuggets.


Quotes that will live in infamy:

“You’re right, it’s not music I hate, it’s swimming.” - Moss

“Jen’s going out with a geek.” – Moss

“When did mosh pits become so unruly?” – Roy

“Did you see that ludicrous display last night?” – Roy after being sexually violated

“You’ve just got to ask yourself one thing: if you don’t take the stand, how many more unsolicited bum kisses will be administered by that lip-happy b*****d?” – Moss answering Roy’s question of whether he has to testify in court about getting a smacker planted on his behind

Review of episode 1 series 4 of 'The IT Crowd'

This post is about three weeks late due to academic commitments but here is my review of episode 1, series 4 of ‘The IT Crowd’.

After the third series I did worry whether the show had run its course but episode 1 soon put those thoughts to bed.

This instalment revolved around Jen (Katherine Parkinson) becoming Reynholm Industries’ resident pimp to visiting businessmen. But it was also about Roy (Chris O'Dowd) dealing with heartbreak and Moss (Richard Ayaode) helping his friend via a 20-sided dice and the medium of RPG (role-playing games for the uninitiated).

For the first time the audience was shown Roy’s sensitive side. He could barely make it through a sentence without breaking down which was hilarious to watch probably because it cut close to the bone.

As a recent casualty of heartache myself, I was welling up during the “goodbye” scene between Roy and Moss as Queen Eliza Eldridge of the Elves. I found it genuinely touching and was slightly frustrated by the canned laughter. Saying this, the scene worked well because of the swings between comedy and tragedy and I did find myself caught on a see-saw of laughter and tears.

I think O’Dowd’s performance in that scene just goes to shows his versatility as an actor and it is probably the best audition for any straight roles he may want to pursue in the future.

The idea that Jen is a pimp was used cleverly during her pep talk with Roy. The key is in the reversal of the gender roles. Roy is vulnerable while Jen is the one with the power. The scene was played out brilliantly by Parkinson who flits between affection and aggression: it is all wonderfully sinister. One moment she is whispering to him and in the next she is grabbing his face, and in another she is stroking his head before sending him to face the Johns.

Keeping on the subject of role-playing, the innuendo surrounding RPG was another good touch. In my mind it reinforced the notion that ‘The IT Crowd’ is a tribute to nerds everywhere and that geek is chic.

I have no doubt that following this episode there will be a resurgence of popularity in ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ and RPG, the likes of which hasn’t been since ‘The Lord of the Rings’.

After watching ‘Jen the Fredo’ I have high hopes for the rest of series 4. It appears that the characters have developed and will continue to do so. Moss and Roy in particular have moved away from the stereotypical anti-socialites we first met. All in all, a great start to series 4.

On a side note, was it just me or did John 2 (Ed Weeks) look suspiciously like Steve Mangan from ‘Green Wing’? I had to do a double take just to make sure it wasn’t him.

Quotes that will live in infamy:

“It’s like someone broke up with Stalin” – Moss referring Roy photo-shopping his ex-girlfriend out of his pictures of them. The photos end up looking like Roy is by himself.

“Oh shut up Dumpo, the elephant that got dumped!” - Moss

“Eiffel Tower!” – Phil, John 1, John 2

“Goodbye.” – Moss as Queen Eliza Eldridge of the Elves

“No...there were rumours that there was a rumour but that was bull****.” – Douglas Reynholm