5. Are We Not Men?
The idea for the plot here is beyond genius. There's kind of this wonderful subversion. Roy and Moss getting themselves in over their heads is nothing new, but here is not only done to such an extreme, but also with a kind of a fakeout. At first, you think that they're in too deep talking about football, only for the reveal that they're a little more out of their depths than they realise. That reveal by the way is perfect. It's perfect comedic escalation. Just when you think that the episode has played it's trump card in having Roy and Moss lie to become "proper men", it completely flips the script and goes in a very odd, but still awesome direction.
Roy and Moss' quest to be viewed as "proper men" is really fun to watch. I love how quickly everything gets out of hand. It's maybe the best example of insane escalation in a show that excels in insane escalation. Because of course the men that Roy and Moss befriend turn out to be bank robbers, and of course Roy and Moss get involved in the heist. By that point in the episode, nothing from the start even matters anymore. It's not about these two trying to be seen as "proper men", it's about their shit luck, and about how they always get into the weirdest situations. And that's the cool thing about the reveal. It takes the episode in this insane direction, almost to prove that nothing these two ever do is simple. It's the ultimate example of Roy and Moss getting into increasingly awkward situations, and this is definitely the farthest I think they ever went with that idea, and one of the best because of it.
It's the logical extreme of the awkward situations these characters find themselves in, and it's done so well. Part of that comes from how unexpected a lot of the plot is. Every joke is delivered just at the right time. Pacing's a small thing but when done well it can make a serious difference, and here it's done superbly. The plot moves along at the right pace, which again, might not sound like much, but when you've got comedic reveals and unpredictable jokes, you need to know when to use them at the right time, which this episode does. Just when you think they might have run out of ways to escalate the situation, there's another reveal around the corner, and it always makes the episode that bit funnier.
And how did it take me this long to mention how funny this episode is? The football speak (with pronunciation guide), Moss' football commentary, Michael the magnificent, Cockney neck, any of the jokes about the heist, and of course, Chris O'Dowd's magnificent crying, which makes for one of the funniest tags of the series. This might be the best episode for Chris O'Dowd as Roy now that I think of it. His performance here is consistently hilarious throughout the whole thing, and he regularly has me in stitches. This also might be the most quotable episode too, with almost every line being solidly hilarious. And I think that there's only really one way to end this:
"Did you see that ludicrous display last night?"
4. Tramps Like Us
I've mentioned several episodes of the show that mock Jen for wanting to succeed, and this is probably the best one. Part of that actually comes from the fact that they actually give a reason as to why Jen stays at all. I mean, apart from the fact that she's too inept to succeed at doing anything else. The episode states that Jen is actually quite good at what she does, and is even needed to stop Roy and Moss from getting into too much trouble. It's rare that a Jen-centric plot actually focuses on the stuff she does well, as well as explaining why she stays at Renyholm at all. That's not something we see very often, and it's done really well here. Jen's interview where she realises that she belongs inI.T. not because she knows anything about computers (which they poke fun at just as much as in the pilot), but because she's only person who actually understands Moss and Roy . That's not something that's often brought up in the show, but makes a lot of sense. Don't get me wrong, they still make fun of Jen for wanting to be successful, but they balance it so well with explaining why she stays at all despite being so shit with technology. They also avoid so many of the cliches of the "this character doesn't feel needed and leaves" plot, doing it in a way that it feels fresh and original, which isn't easy to accomplish.
Moss and Roy are great here too. Roy gradually becoming a tramp is great, and features one of the greatest strings of comedic coincidences I think I've ever seen. Like in all great Roy plots, if something can go wrong, it probably will, resulting in hilarious results. Roy's over confidence and arrogance is turned against him here, and it results in an over the top dramatic downfall that gets major laughs. The idea that Roy is so inept that he can become completely down and out in the space of an afternoon is hilarious. It plays up the logical extreme of Roy being the ultimate loser, and it results in an incredibly funny plot.
Moss is even better. The dynamic between Moss and Douglas isn't one that the show utilized as much as it maybe should have. Don't get me wrong, episodes like From Hell and The Internet is Coming do interesting things with their relationship, but generally I found it pretty underused. Their screentime together may be brief here, but it results in some of the best moments of the episode. Both of them are great individually here (Moss with a concussion and Douglas with his electric sex pants could only ever be fantastic), but get them together and something truly special happens. ("You there! Computer man! Fix my pants!" "I beg your pardon?" "PULL DOWN MY TROUSERS AND DO YOUR JOB!") . It's not a dynamic that was explored enough in the show if you ask me. The scene they share together is easily the best moment in the entire episode.
Tramps Like Us is a strong contender for the show's funniest. Obviously there are three that I think do their job a little better, but it gets this position for three reasons. One: It's deeper exploration of Jen's character than usual while still mocking here for having any kind of ambition. Two: It pushes Roy's naturally shit luck to it's logical extreme, resulting in some of his best moments in the whole show. And finally: It displays the fantastic dynamic between Moss and Douglas, something that the show definitely should have done more of.
3. The Speech
To talk about how brilliant this episode is, I'm going to split it into two, talking about Jen's plot and Douglas' plot separately. These two plots work equally well for two completely different reasons, and so to talk about them properly I have to divide the episode in two.
Let's start with Jen's plot. The whole thing is basically buildup to one joke, but the joke itself is so incredible that it's worth being worked up to. The reveal of The Internet is one of the most iconic moments in the show, and the way it's built up to make the joke hit that much harder. The first time I saw this episode I was laughing for a long time afterwards. I honestly couldn't get over how good that punchline was. This is how you do a setup to a joke. The writers tease you with something brilliant over and over in this one, and the result does not disappoint. Jen's plot is just one huge joke, built on Roy and Moss taking advantage of Jen's arrogance. And honestly, this is the kind of thing that Jen would probably fall for. The Internet is something that would go on to become absolutely legendary among fans of The I.T. Crowd, and it's inception is nothing short of joyous to watch. Especially when the crowd starts freaking out, proving that, well, people are idiots. That's a nice touch though, and it adds another little unexpected twist , which definitely furthers the joke that much more. This plot is sheer genius. And it's so simple. Sometimes you don't need a ton of variety to be funny. You just need to know what you're doing enough to be able to do one thing well.
And then there's Douglas' plot. If Jen's plot was just one big joke, Douglas' is a never ending stream of them. It's the perfect Douglas plot no doubt, and probably my favourite Douglas episode. It's the perfect showcase of how much of a misogynistic, emotionally unstable scumbag Douglas is. Yes, Men Without Women did an excellent job of showing that too, but here it's just done perfectly. Douglas is generally shit person, which flawlessly displayed here. Every moment in his plot is stuffed with laughs, from his montage of happiness to his surprisingly epic fight with April. That moment adds to the already over the top crazy finale, and is packed with so many jokes that it's kind of ridiculous.
Truth be told, because the episode relies mainly on joke delivery in both plots, there's not an awful lot more to talk about. I've pretty much covered everything. Like Smoke and Mirrors, The Speech is a simple, comedy driven episode, one that is pretty much a legend among the fanbase at this point.
2. The Dinner Party
When I first got the idea to do this list, this was going to be my number one. In fact, for a good while, this WAS my favourite episode. This was the one that I'd always laugh the most at when I watched it, the one I'd always quote, the one I'd always go to when I though of the best parts of the show. It was only upon rewatching another episode that this one got knocked down a spot, But it still holds up. I haven't actually lost any love for this episode over time, in fact the opposite is true, I've only fallen in love with it more. I firmly believe that a lot of comedy can be gained from a group of characters in one place for extended periods of time. It's been done a lot (especially in Britcoms), but I think that this is one of the best examples I've seen, if not the best (though Bottom comes so close with the episode Hole). The best parts of this episode are the parts in which the characters are just talking over dinner. They all play off each other so damn well. So much of the show's charm is built off of the character's chemistry anyway, but The Dinner Party takes that and just runs with it. The conversation itself is jam packed with quotable moments. I take back what I said about Are We Not Men? being the most quotable episode, it's this one for sure.
It's a reminder of why this show worked in the first place: it's characters. This is the perfect episode to showcase why these characters are all so great. It's the perfect display of who they all are; Roy's a shallow lowlife, Moss is a neurotic oddball, Jen is an uptight wreck who thinks she's above it all, and Richmond, well he's just Richmond. He's poetic, creepy, and suave as all hell. They bounce off each other so well here, because they all have this wonderful natural chemistry. This was the moment I realised that this is one of the strongest comedic casts ever. When without any setpieces or big punchlines, that just by sitting at a table and talking, these people could have me in stitches with almost every single sentence
A lot of the gags are simple I'll admit, but that's why they work. A lot of it is just funny dialogue, but I find it impossible to watch without bursting into laughter. And I've watched this episode a lot. And never once does it get old. I know what every gag is and when it's coming, but I just don't care. That doesn't matter to me. I'll always watch Roy get progressively more shallow and desperate talking to the model, or Moss bickering with the newly divorced woman like an old married couple, or Richmond being just being an absolute savage of a flirt. I especially love how Jen becomes progressively more mortified as the party goes on, which is perfectly acted by the absolutely wonderful Katherine Parkinson.
The dialogue itself is so wonderfully written, and delivered with this natural flow. The delivery is beyond fantastic here. It's a perfect balance of the charm and humour that this show just absolutely excels at, that it's beyond impressive at doing. To make pure dialogue funny is one thing. To make dialogue that's consistently funny is something else. But to make dialogue that never loses it's comedic value no matter how many times it's returned to? That's almost unheard of. This episode is one of the few things that I can return to and always laugh at, no matter how many times I've seen it (the others being Young Frankenstein, Arsenic and Old Lace, Community's Paradigms of Human Memory, What We do in the Shadows, the Bottom episode Gas and Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century. And the next entry on this list, obviously).
I know I'm speaking high praise of this episode despite it only being my number two, but it really is that good. but not as good as...
1. Bad Boys
It was a tough call, I'll admit. The Dinner Party is incredible. It's the best showcase of each of the characters and was my favourite episode for so long. So, what changed? That's a bloody good question, and I think the answer is that while The Dinner Party is a flawless showcase of the cast as a whole, this is the strongest showcase of one character, and why that character worked in the first place. Moss is my favourite character in the show. I mean, that's not an uncommon opinion or anything, I mean he inspired like a thousand memes, but I'm getting off topic here. Bad Boys shows why I and so many people fell in love with Richard Aoyade's bespectacled manchild. Moss is a great character. He's neurotic, social inept, and just so lovably awkward. So take a character like that, and give him a rebellious streak, and you've got pure gold.
Bad Boys shows what happens when the by the book Moss decides to go a little bad. Like bunking off work, glaring at people and stealing boxsets of Grand Designs bad. Yeah, Moss is shit at misbehaving in any way, and, as you can imagine, this is hilarious, but it shows why Moss is a great character. This is a man who lives his life by a strict set of rules, and is happy to be that way. He never rebels, he never causes trouble, and when the time comes for him to break some rules, he embraces the chaos and causes mild panic like you've never seen. The opening of this episode is sheer brilliance, setting up a scenario that makes you think "how the hell did Moss get arrested?". The answer is beyond perfect. Richard Aoyade never misses a mother flippin' beat here. It's Moss at his absolute best.
Having this kind of character embrace being bad isn't just hilarious. It's endearing, and it makes you remember everything you loved about him in the first place. You're watching someone who's never done anything wrong in his life go mad, without actually doing anything that bad, because he has no idea how. This is his idea of mischief. And it's hilarious. Just like The Dinner Party, this episode has so many ingeniously funny moments that I can keep coming back to. The dialogue isn't as well written as it was in The Dinner Party, but the jokes are all better constructed. The funny moments here are usually so out thee and even unpredictable at times. And even when you've seen it many times, like I have, Bad Boys still has more to come back to. I still find myself in stitches at Moss' idea of anarchy.
And that's not even mentioning everyone else. Roy becomes aware that he has a catchphrase, and makes a bet with Jen that he can go the whole day without saying it. I love it when any show acknowledges it's own formula, and pokes fun at itself, and that's absolutely what Roy's plot is here. Roy is also the perfect foil for Moss here. Roy is rarely the voice of reason in this show, but in a situation as strange as this, I guess anything is possible. They do get some good jokes out of Roy of all people being the responsible one here. Chris O'Dowd and Richard Aoyade have this incredible chemistry, which yeah, makes every episode great, but the way that they bounce of each other here leads to some of the show's absolute best interactions.
Combine that with Douglas being the textbook definition of an absolute madman in the party scenes and you're ready to go. The party for Ben Jenderson, and then not for Ben Jenderson, and the for Ben Jenderson again, is just so nuts, and completely representative of Douglas as a character. Unpredictable, and ready to change in an instant, but always a good time, and so damn funny. And Jen. Jen's conversation with the tech support is just fantastic. That last scene with the bomb disposal is something really special.
Overall, Bad Boys is one fantastic gag after the next. It's the best Moss episode hands down, and maybe some of the best work Richard Aoyade has ever done. It's so much fun, and it's the perfect showcase of why everyone loves Moss. It's not just my favourite episode of The I.T. Crowd, it's also possibly my favourite sitcom episode in general. It's something else again, trust me.
No comments:
Post a Comment