A workplace comedy that veers into absurd situations and surreal jokes, The IT Crowd is set in the IT department of a British company that has no real clear mission or business model. Socially tone-deaf slacker Roy (Chris O'Dowd), computer geek and oblivious social misfit Maurice (Richard Ayoade), and their boss Jen (Katherine Parkinson), an aspiring corporate officer who padded her resumé with fake tech credentials, are hidden away in the cluttered basement dungeon of a corporate high rise. While Jen attempts to escape nerd hell, Roy and Maurice are content to play games, kill time, and otherwise avoid actual work. "Have you tried turning it on and off again?" is their mantra when answering the phone. The show stumbles through a spotty first season but gets more creative and silly as it progresses, with Matt Berry joining the cast as company CEO Douglas Reynholm, a shamelessly sexist idiot who is singularly unqualified to run a major corporation. Created by Graham Linehan, much of the series' offbeat humor revolves around the social dysfunction of its tech nerds, whose failures crank up to 11 when their oblivious behavior is caught on video and goes viral, making them hated pariahs on social media. Although never a hit in the U.S., it has a following among fans of the more absurdist brand of British comedy. Compiling all 24 episodes from the 2006-10 four-season run, extras include a 2013 finale reunion special, episode commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, an interview with Linehan, a music video, deleted scenes, and outtakes. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)
The IT Crowd: The Complete Series
MPI, 5 discs, 617 min., not rated, DVD: $59.98 Volume 32, Issue 1
The IT Crowd: The Complete Series
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