The I.T. Crowd

A brutally Honest Review of the British television comedy; The I.T. Crowd: I’m relatively new to British tv- I guess all the hours my old man spent watching Benny Hill put me off of it for a while. So much so, that I was even afraid to watch Monty Python for the longest time. It didn’t matter what anyone had to say about it either, I simply would not watch it. Then lo, one glorious day that all changed; let’s just say that on this particular day I was in the right frame of mind, and when I sat down and watched “Live at the Hollywood Bowl” I laughed hysterically through the whole thing. I guess you could say, that day taught me a valuable lesson about preconceived notions. So, when this recommendation came across my proverbial desk, I was hoping that this too would be a pleasant surprise.

            The IT crowd was aired in the early 2000s, when most of my class mates (who make up the bulk of my audience) were still in Huggies, as for me, I was in my prime so for me the show provides a solid dose of nostalgia; PlayStation 2, Myspace, and crackling high speed DSL internet. Ten years (give or take) removed from these aged, if not obsolete technologies, we’ve got a pretty firm grasp on how these things work; but in the 00s it’d take a special kind of person(s) to wield power over such cutting edge platforms. In the case of Reynholm Industries, That responsibility falls upon the narrow, gangly shoulders of Roy Treneman (Chris O’Dowd), and Maurice Moss.

            The bulk of the show takes place in the basement hovel of the I.T. office, where Moss and Roy “hone their skills;” by which I mean they fritter away their days aimlessly. Roy, a slightly pudgy fellow, pisses and moans about his lack of a date, and being socially awkward, and occasionally answers the phone to ask the caller, "Is it plugged in? Have you tried turning it off and turning it on again?"  And the bespectacled Moss busies himself with games or some other stereotypically nerdy activity. Of the two, Moss is definitely the foil, and Roy the protagonist, because Moss seems okay with his job, his life, and even himself even though Roy seems to be his only friend. Whereas Roy yearns for a life in the “normal world” beyond the walls of his office, and that’s where the trouble starts; especially for Moss, because he always seems to get caught in the middle of whatever scheme Roy hatches to help him/them assimilate into a regular crowd.

In what is definitely my favorite episode (so far) Roy decides that he feels left out, and out of touch with the other guys who work for the company, many of who discuss Football (Soccer). So, in order to fulfill his need for social acceptance, he and Moss go to the Pub after work. Once at the pub they ingratiate themselves with a group of West Ham United supporters by using tidbits of jargon they picked up from the guys at work. Little do they know that their newfound friends are lowly hooligans of the worst kind.  Bank robbers to be precise, and unfortunately for Roy, he ends up along for the ride.

I’ve gotta say, I don’t really have anything snarky or cynical to say about this show, I really enjoyed it.  In fact, I’m going to thank the person who recommended it to me. The fact that it at one point involves Soccer Hooliganism is just an added bonus, all and all I give The I.T. Crowd, an unprecedented 10/10