The Office (UK) S2 E2 - 'Appraisals' Review


The Wheat From The Chaff.

 Season two of The Office (UK) once again improves upon all that has come before with another brilliant episode, in which David attempts to connect with the Swindon branch to be more popular than Neil. Petty squabbling and well written interviews result in a blend of comedy and drama which keeps the show moving forwards.

 David's goal to get the Swindon recruits to like him ends in catastrophe when they all end up sat around one table at a pub, staring in silence at Keith eating his chips. It's both amusing and upsetting seeing Neil just naturally get along so much better with the employees than David, as the viewer has been lightly pushed into sympathising with the boss and his misguided aloofness. No matter how hard he tries, the poor man only ever ends up accidentally making an inappropriate comment and offending people. Gervais also had the better scenes and funniest moments this week, such as when David agreed with Gareth's ranking of efficiency and later when he gave Keith his appraisal (one of the best scenes in the show, just hilarious!). Seeing Brent be berated by Neil was oddly satisfying, but also helped us to sympathise with the manager who can't seem to please his workers no matter how hard he tries.

 Meanwhile, there was progression in the Dawn/Tim romance story. Lee began by apologising for his behaviour at the end of last episode, which was unexpectedly nice for a man capable of such bullying. I almost even felt a bit of warmth towards Lee for a moment, before I remembered that the rest of the time he is a tw*t. Later, we also see sparks flying between Tim and new girl Rachael, who invites the former out drinking with her friends. Dawn instantly becomes jealous, leading to a few awkward interactions and interesting comments as she adjusted to the idea of Tim seeing another girl. These developments helped the pace to feel much faster (another pro of this new and improved season), creating a sense of progression and an underlying storyline to keep the viewer interested.

 With plenty of heart and a lot of comedy, episode two keeps the ball rolling and continues to convince me that this show is just getting better and better.

 DID YOU KNOW?!

  • According to IMDB, the scene in which David gives Tim his appraisal took 74 takes!
RATING: 8/10

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