The IT Crowd Gets Together For One Final Episode

[An Ceannaire]

Thank god! I've been waiting for this for years. I wish there could be another season or two but I'm of the understanding that Linehan's previous shows don't span a large number of seasons so it makes sense. The IT Crowd is one of my all time favourite shows and hopefully this finale will help send it off in a way it deserves.

Apart from Father Ted I cant think of any Linehan shows which lasted a couple of seasons. Black Books don't count because Linehan had no input post series 1 (to the shows detriment in my humble opinion).

Fr. Ted got 3 seasons if I remember correctly and was one of the few shows I've seen to remain consistent throughout. Season 1 of Black Books was just pure and utter gold though. The latter seasons were good too, but it just wasn't the same.

OT: Really looking forward to this 40 minute finale! But I swear to God, if they don't bring back Richmond.......

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

This brings me joy after hearing about Young Justice getting the axe and Transformers Prime not getting a fourth season while ponies get their 4th so this is some good news after 3 years.

 

[mdqp]

Guys, can I ask a question? How come the IT crowd and the Big Bang Theory get such a different treatment? I watched both, and while I like the IT crowd much more, the BBT doesn't look like the horrible monstruosity people claim it to be. It's a very silly sitcom, but a fun one for me, and I was looking for enlightenment in the matter.

 

[Kinitawowi]

I remember reading a criticism of The IT Crowd which consisted of some humourless shit saying "Graham Linehan needs to take a step back and realise that it's not 1995 any more".

He can go fuck himself. The IT Crowd is awesome; as somebody who grew up through the peculiarly British version of geek culture that the show loves to channel (Head Over Heels DVD menus! And dear god, Street Countdown had me in tears laughing), I was obviously dismayed when the show just stopped rather than ending. But O'Dowd had bigger things to go on to and I gather Ayoade did a fair bit of writing and directing, and Parkinson turned up in Jonathan Creek once, so maybe the time is now right to finally wrap things up properly.

No Richmond, though, please. Noel Fielding is a tosser.

Also, I'll just leave this here:

 

[Dak_N_Jaxter]

Guys, can I ask a question? How come the IT crowd and the Big Bang Theory get such a different treatment? I watched both, and while I like the IT crowd much more, the BBT doesn't look like the horrible monstruosity people claim it to be. It's a very silly sitcom, but a fun one for me, and I was looking for enlightenment in the matter.

Yeah. I always find it weird how some people are so aggressively critical of that show.

Anyway, glad the special is finally getting off the ground. Hope he isn't rusty from the big break.

 

[Daveman]

Guys, can I ask a question? How come the IT crowd and the Big Bang Theory get such a different treatment? I watched both, and while I like the IT crowd much more, the BBT doesn't look like the horrible monstruosity people claim it to be. It's a very silly sitcom, but a fun one for me, and I was looking for enlightenment in the matter.

Well as much as it opens a can of worms every time I bring up my hatred of the Big Bang Theory, I'll indulge you.

Firstly it has one of the most aggressive laughter tracks of any show there is. Secondly it's the jokes being almost insulting (canned laughter at the mention of a guy playing on a N64, when I genuinely have no idea how that could possibly be funny other than in a "laugh at the nerd" way) whilst at the same time seeming weirdly inaccurate (genuinely never met a nerd who wears skinny jeans), I find it almost reminiscent of the top my sister bought from Topshop with "GEEK" emblazoned on the front in huge letters. Finally it's worst crime is that it's just not very funny. I mean that's obviously subjective... but hey, I didn't say my hatred was rational.

 

[Steven Bogos]

I think the show is hysterical myself. Glad there's at least a little more to come.

Spoiler: One of my favorite jokes

 

[Steven Bogos]

Guys, can I ask a question? How come the IT crowd and the Big Bang Theory get such a different treatment? I watched both, and while I like the IT crowd much more, the BBT doesn't look like the horrible monstruosity people claim it to be. It's a very silly sitcom, but a fun one for me, and I was looking for enlightenment in the matter.

The IT Crowd has a lot of clever, well crafted references that mesh well with the story. An example is the Dungeons and Dragons episode, the whole episode itself revolves around dungeons and dragons as a storytelling device and it is vital to the plot. This episode also featured some good Godfather references.

In the Big Bang Theory, someone will say "Look! Sheldon is playing a Nintendo 64! Remember Nintendo 64?" and the laugh track will play.

 

[the darknees abyss]

Yes i miss this show it was one of my all time favorites. I like the big bang theory but this was better.

 

[mdqp]

Well as much as it opens a can of worms every time I bring up my hatred of the Big Bang Theory, I'll indulge you.

Firstly it has one of the most aggressive laughter tracks of any show there is. Secondly it's the jokes being almost insulting (canned laughter at the mention of a guy playing on a N64, when I genuinely have no idea how that could possibly be funny other than in a "laugh at the nerd" way) whilst at the same time seeming weirdly inaccurate (genuinely never met a nerd who wears skinny jeans), I find it almost reminiscent of the top my sister bought from Topshop with "GEEK" emblazoned on the front in huge letters. Finally it's worst crime is that it's just not very funny. I mean that's obviously subjective... but hey, I didn't say my hatred was rational.

The IT Crowd has a lot of clever, well crafted references that mesh well with the story. An example is the Dungeons and Dragons episode, the whole episode itself revolves around dungeons and dragons as a storytelling device and it is vital to the plot. This episode also featured some good Godfather references.

In the Big Bang Theory, someone will say "Look! Sheldon is playing a Nintendo 64! Remember Nintendo 64?" and the laugh track will play.

Oh yes, the laugh track is aggressive, but while I don't generally love them, they are so widespread I kind of got used to them.

The IT crowd is much better, as I said (and I believe most would agree), but reducing the BBT to a few poorly thought jokes is a bit unfair. Also, I believe the joke there isn't the fact that he is playing the N64, but that he was so dead set on doing it, that even after he was kicked out by his roommate, he is still playing it on an emulator that is by his own admission "poorly coded". It's making fun at his idiosyncrasies, rather than at him being a nerd (unless we are talking about a different scene I can't seem to recall right now).

 

[Daveman]

Well as much as it opens a can of worms every time I bring up my hatred of the Big Bang Theory, I'll indulge you.

Firstly it has one of the most aggressive laughter tracks of any show there is. Secondly it's the jokes being almost insulting (canned laughter at the mention of a guy playing on a N64, when I genuinely have no idea how that could possibly be funny other than in a "laugh at the nerd" way) whilst at the same time seeming weirdly inaccurate (genuinely never met a nerd who wears skinny jeans), I find it almost reminiscent of the top my sister bought from Topshop with "GEEK" emblazoned on the front in huge letters. Finally it's worst crime is that it's just not very funny. I mean that's obviously subjective... but hey, I didn't say my hatred was rational.

The IT Crowd has a lot of clever, well crafted references that mesh well with the story. An example is the Dungeons and Dragons episode, the whole episode itself revolves around dungeons and dragons as a storytelling device and it is vital to the plot. This episode also featured some good Godfather references.

In the Big Bang Theory, someone will say "Look! Sheldon is playing a Nintendo 64! Remember Nintendo 64?" and the laugh track will play.

Oh yes, the laugh track is aggressive, but while I don't generally love them, they are so widespread I kind of got used to them.

The IT crowd is much better, as I said (and I believe most would agree), but reducing the BBT to a few poorly thought jokes is a bit unfair. Also, I believe the joke there isn't the fact that he is playing the N64, but that he was so dead set on doing it, that even after he was kicked out by his roommate, he is still playing it on an emulator that is by his own admission "poorly coded". It's making fun at his idiosyncrasies, rather than at him being a nerd (unless we are talking about a different scene I can't seem to recall right now).

I saw that scene with the emulator when I was looking up a without-laughter-track video for this but the scene I'm talking about was a different one where it was laughter at the fact that he'd got his N64 sent up to him from home and he'd been playing on it. It may have been the same episode.

 

[Your Gaffer]

"The IT Crowd was a British sitcom about a couple of dudes (and later, a woman)"
Jen was there from the first episode.

 

[mdqp]

I saw that scene with the emulator when I was looking up a without-laughter-track video for this but the scene I'm talking about was a different one where it was laughter at the fact that he'd got his N64 sent up to him from home and he'd been playing on it. It may have been the same episode.

Right, that's before getting kicked out of the apartment. It's not the funniest part of the episode, but it's more a joke about the fact that he announces it as a "great news", while his roommate is setting the table for a date with a girl, and so is more interested in other things at the moment (and the subsequent "But it?s Friday. Friday?s always vintage game night." line, that again pokes fun at the quirks of the character, more than anything else).

Let me point this out: I would kill to own a N64 (never got the chance to buy one when I was younger, and I am still broke, so I doubt I could get my hands on one together with a good library of games). Hell, I wish my commodore 64 didn't die horribly a while ago, so that I could plug it in again, from time to time, but it is a bit silly and I know it.

Also, it's not like I want to change yours (or anyone's) mind on the series, I am just trying to understand if I am missing something obvious as to why it should be considered offensive or not fun (I would still find it fun, as I believe there are a lot of lines and situations that are genuinely entertaining, but maybe I would understand where its detractors are coming from).

I don't know if dragging it on a scene by scene examination might be boring or annoying, so let me know if you think this conversation is getting nowhere, I wouldn't want to waste your time or bother you or anything like that.

 

[Daveman]

I saw that scene with the emulator when I was looking up a without-laughter-track video for this but the scene I'm talking about was a different one where it was laughter at the fact that he'd got his N64 sent up to him from home and he'd been playing on it. It may have been the same episode.

Right, that's before getting kicked out of the apartment. It's not the funniest part of the episode, but it's more a joke about the fact that he announces it as a "great news", while his roommate is setting the table for a date with a girl, and so is more interested in other things at the moment (and the subsequent "But it?s Friday. Friday?s always vintage game night." line, that again pokes fun at the quirks of the character, more than anything else).

Let me point this out: I would kill to own a N64 (never got the chance to buy one when I was younger, and I am still broke, so I doubt I could get my hands on one together with a good library of games). Hell, I wish my commodore 64 didn't die horribly a while ago, so that I could plug it in again, from time to time, but it is a bit silly and I know it.

Also, it's not like I want to change yours (or anyone's) mind on the series, I am just trying to understand if I am missing something obvious as to why it should be considered offensive or not fun (I would still find it fun, as I believe there are a lot of lines and situations that are genuinely entertaining, but maybe I would understand where its detractors are coming from).

I don't know if dragging it on a scene by scene examination might be boring or annoying, so let me know if you think this conversation is getting nowhere, I wouldn't want to waste your time or bother you or anything like that.

Well I don't see it as silly or funny to enjoy games consoles, even old ones. If I were to say "Great news! For our regularly scheduled vintage game night I got my N64 sent up!" to one of my friends and somebody standing next to me laughed at that I'd feel like they thought my hobby was pathetic and I would feel insulted. Similarly, with a lot of the laughs the show gets I feel like it's laughing at "quirks" that I just see as standard stuff that nerdy guys do (not that there aren't also funny quirks, which are fine). As I therefore don't find these things inherently funny I feel like the show or it's viewership is being condescending a lot of the time. tbh it took me a long time to really notice it and I was a big fan when it first came out, but I started noticing these sorts of things right from the first episode and it eventually got to the point where my annoyance from those moments outweighed my enjoyment of the actually funny parts. In fact it put me off watching the IT Crowd for a really long time because I expected it to be the same, meaning I didn't get into that until it's final season.

Anyway, scene by scene breakdowns aren't especially useful as I haven't seen it in ages so I couldn't really present any arguments, the one I mention is kind of the stock one I remember for arguments sake. I mean this argument wouldn't get anywhere in that I'm not going to turn around and say I enjoy it just as I doubt your opinion would change, but I've said my piece about why I dislike it really.

Oh, and I hate fucking "bazinga!" as a catchphrase. I can't exactly pinpoint why.

 

[mdqp]

Well I don't see it as silly or funny to enjoy games consoles, even old ones. If I were to say "Great news! For our regularly scheduled vintage game night I got my N64 sent up!" to one of my friends and somebody standing next to me laughed at that I'd feel like they thought my hobby was pathetic and I would feel insulted. Similarly, with a lot of the laughs the show gets I feel like it's laughing at "quirks" that I just see as standard stuff that nerdy guys do (not that there aren't also funny quirks, which are fine). As I therefore don't find these things inherently funny I feel like the show or it's viewership is being condescending a lot of the time. tbh it took me a long time to really notice it and I was a big fan when it first came out, but I started noticing these sorts of things right from the first episode and it eventually got to the point where my annoyance from those moments outweighed my enjoyment of the actually funny parts. In fact it put me off watching the IT Crowd for a really long time because I expected it to be the same, meaning I didn't get into that until it's final season.

Anyway, scene by scene breakdowns aren't especially useful as I haven't seen it in ages so I couldn't really present any arguments, the one I mention is kind of the stock one I remember for arguments sake. I mean this argument wouldn't get anywhere in that I'm not going to turn around and say I enjoy it just as I doubt your opinion would change, but I've said my piece about why I dislike it really.

Oh, and I hate fucking "bazinga!" as a catchphrase. I can't exactly pinpoint why.

Acting like something it's a big deal for the world, when it's actually something mundane it's kind of silly, I think. Just because I like old videogames, it doesn't mean that they can't be the butt of a joke. I find going to the stadium half-naked painted with the colors of your team silly, and I find equally silly the way Sheldon is obsessed with certain parts of his life. It doesn't negate their value to those who like these things because that... Would be silly. ^_^

Associating those quirks with something inherently part of being a nerd is probably what I am missing. You don't need to be a nerd to be a little OCD, nor to like certain videogames, movies or comicbooks. Even being socially awkward isn't exclusive to nerds, and the reverse is also true. Not all nerds are socially awkward, OCD comicbook lovers. In the series there are also "average" persons, they aren't the protagonists just because they would make for a lousy sitcom, most likely (usually, memorable characters aren't the "vanilla" ones. Who cared about Richie when you had the Fonz? Richie was there to offer something we could relate to, but he hardly meant anything to the meat of the narrative, most of the times, and could have been replaced easily). It plays some stereotypes a bit too straight, but in all honesty, their stereotypes are the same that plague the IT crowd guys, which brings me back to my question about why they are treated so differently (I mean, aside from the better writing, which is clearly there).

I guess I kind of get where you are coming from, though, which was my goal, so I learned something from this.

All catchphrases are more or less dumb, at best we like the characters that use them, so I can imagine you hating "bazinga!". ^_^

 

[Indy_no]

I think I'll do my happy dance now! This is so great! I love that series!

 

[GiantRaven]

ITT: People who don't know Big Bang Theory is filmed in front of a live studio audience.