The Office (UK) Christmas Special - Part 1 Review


Stitch Up.

David Brent returns along with the whole Wernham Hogg crew for one final outing, split into two parts. This first part feels like an improved, extended episode of the regular season and is all the better for it.

We return to our beloved characters 3 years after the events of season 2. David is now an EXTREMELY minor celebrity thanks to The Office (UK), who does door-to-door sales during the daytime and public appearances at clubs in the evening, all whilst haunting Wernham Hogg, the only place he seems to feel at home. Gervais is just as brilliant as usual and David is funnier than he has ever been, although it was upsetting seeing how poorly his life had turned out. That's an evident theme in this episode - disappointment at current situations (Tim still stuck in the same dull job with an annoying co worker, David still desperately seeking friends and now, a girlfriend and Dawn doing sh*tty odd jobs whilst acting full time babysitter at her fiance's sister's house in Florida), which was a powerful way of showing how real life doesn't always have happy endings.

 Tim and Dawn seem destined to hook up finally now that Dawn has agreed to return to Slough for Christmas. Lee was at his most vile in this episode, perhaps showing that the writers are aiming to write him off as an awful person to allow Dawn to get with Tim? Who knows, we will find out next episode. Tim is clearly disappointed at his failure to do more with his life, especially now that he lacks a partner in crime in the office and his new desk-mate is even more irritable that Gareth ever was! Speaking of Gareth, the new boss is clearly doing a better job than David, although in a much more authoritarian manner, which falls flat naturally as the workers of Wernham Hogg can't take him seriously.

 The main push of this episode was David taking us through his life. It allowed for a number of hilarious set pieces, particularly the catastrophic blind date competition. There were so many laughs in this episode, which drew smartly on what had come before to create a satisfying and really funny Special.

 Overall, this first part still threatens an unsatisfying finale, whilst hinting towards a potentially happy ending. It's wider in scope and its jokes are sharper and wittier, thus it is probably the best instalment of The Office (UK) so far.

 DID YOU KNOW?!

  • The voice behind the camera interviewing David Brent is actually Ashley Jensen, Gervais' co-star in Extras
RATING: 8.4/10

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