Ranking the IT Crowd Episodes I recently bought the series as a Birthday gift to myself - and me being me, I decided to rank the episodes.
The IT Crowd is about the cellar dwelling I.T. workers at a company called Reynholm Industries. The cast of characters includes Irishman Roy (Chris O’Dowd), with his colorful shirts - socially awkward genius, Moss (Richard Ayoade) – Jen (Katherine Parkinson), who is often tripped up by her lack of computer knowledge (and she has a wonderful silly way of laughing). In addition to that we’ll see two different bosses (crazed father Denholm, then flamboyant womanizer son, Douglass) and a hilarious Goth guy named Richmond (Noel Fielding).
One caveat on the list: I stopped listening to Graham Linehan commentaries because he was harshing my buzz. He kept snagging on my favorite episodes and that was kind of spoiling ‘em. (I hate to say it, but he's sort of -cranky/nit-picky- and the commentaries are nowhere near as fun as those heard on shows like Red Dwarf or Firefly).
Hopefully I wont be snagging on anyone’s favorite
Here’s a list of the episodes that entertained and made me laugh the most, bottom to top!
Red=Season 4 - blue=Season 3 - Orange=Season 2 - Green-Season 1
24. Something Happened (4) An episode where the story isn’t all that interesting and the jokes aren’t that hugely funny. Roy getting kissed on the bottom by a masseuse has a few chuckles, but I dunno, it almost takes too serious of a stance and becomes absurd drama rather than funny comedy. And while Matt Berry as Douglas is good (I love his vocal inflections), the scientology parody with him never catches fire. Kind of a limp episode all told.
23. Bad Boys (4)Meh – Moss and Roy skip work, while Jen is stuck at a confusing office party. The boys make weak delinquents -- which is the point… but it wasn’t a greatly funny point. Moss’s child-like glee at finding a robot and the way he gets the girl and bests the bully at the end were wonderful moments. But that’s about all the episode offers. The sum is less than its parts.
22. Return of the Golden Child (2)Old boss dies, so his son arrives to run the business. Starts off funny, and offers a few goodies here and there - but overall this one rambles and stumbles and never gets into a good groove. The end scenes with Matt Berry as Douglas Reynholm were uncomfortably unfunny (it took a while for the character to click for me), and the bits with the guy who hates IT were a complete comedy fail.
21. Men Without Women (2)The sexual predator angle with Douglas was dicey enough, when it shifts to him trying to slip Jen a date rape drug… ugh – I like Jen, and the thought of that happening to her (or to any woman for that matter) makes me too squeamish to laugh. That ‘icky feeling’ overrode any good jokes that might have popped up.
20. Reynholm vs. Reynholm (4)We get more courtroom drama from season 4, after Douglas’s dead wife returns. The ep earns points for the return of Richmond, Moss’s nervous testimony, the hilarious Star Trek sex tape and from teasing the Fat (Flappy) Duck restaurant – but overall it just feels off. There is too much Douglas, who is best in small doses. And the script has a loosey goosey, sloppy way about it.
19. Tramps Like Us (3) Roy loses his shirt, Moss gets a concussion and Jen applies for a new job after winning her harassment suit against Douglas --- who is forced to wear sex pants, which give him a shock when he’s aroused. This one offers some giggles but overall it felt a little flat and there were some missed opportunities (The sex pants thing was funny but would have been funnier had Douglas been out and about). Homeless Roy doesn’t payoff with big laughs and “piss-off”, “F-off” punch lines weren’t funny in the least. On the plus, I thought Moss’ brain rebooting was inspired and Douglas speaks the memorable line...
“God damn, these electric sex pants!”18. Yesterday’s Jam (1) It’s a first episode so it spends time setting up the premise and introducing the characters. Though there are a few rough edges, it still gave me plenty of laughs. At first Jen is set in an adversarial role, but that is quickly toned down for the most part. The photographs at the end credits are a riot.
17. Italian For Beginners (4) Jen tells her boss that she can act as an Italian interpreter, which of course is a lie. Thankfully Moss rigs up a translator to her computer – and it works great...
at first. In the end there’s poor Jen doing what she does best, calmly trying to salvage as much dignity as she can when it goes sour. Katherine Parkinson’s deft comedic hand is in full display throughout -- she’s a joy. In addition to that, Roy is trying to figure out how his girlfriend’s parents died in a fire at a sea park (which includes a funny Close Encounters gag), and Moss winds up stuck inside an arcade game. All told, pretty fun though not a dazzling -top 10 level- effort.
15. Calamity Jen (1)There’s a lot of stress at work so the employees have to go to a class to learn how to deal with it -- of course Roy and Moss only add to the tension. The funniest part of the episode is Jen falling in love with a pair of shoes that are way to small for her. The sight gag associated with that premise is a hoot. This is a chaotic one, with lot of yelling and panic, but it still has many notable moments.
15. From Hell (3)Roy is convinced that Jen has hired a guy who was featured on a show called “Builders From Hell”. Meanwhile: Bullies plague Moss, and Douglas is in financial trouble (loved the scene with Reynholm reading a letter from dad). This is a cute episode with a few rough spots (the “Roy/Money” thing wasn’t all that funny). The episode is mainly a lot of setup for a couple of punch lines. Of Note: The guy who plays the builder can be seen as a boat captain in the Dark Knight.
14. Smoke and Mirrors (2)“Who am I Roy? I’m a ghost, I’m a shadow, I’m gone, Pfffft!” – Moss. Jen’s trouble with a bad bra inspires Moss to invent the AbracadaBra - a wonder bra with one fatal flaw. Richard Ayoade shines throughout – from the way he passes out upon hearing the word “bra” to his accidental guest appearance on a news show. Linehan spent his commentary pointing out the episodes flaws, but why quibble over trifles when it offers up so many gleeful moments. If you laugh, and I did, that’s what matters most.
13. Are We Not Men? (3) Great laughs from Roy and Moss, but Jen’s tale -where she dates a guy who looks like a magician- is throwaway. It’s too bad those bits couldn’t be made funnier, or even scraped all together - because the main storyline is a gas. In it, Moss and Roy try to act like regular guy, guys and that gets them into a sticky situation. The sequence where quick-witted Moss helps the duo avoid the cops is hysterical.
12. Moss And the German (2)Though the premise is inspired by a disturbing true-life incident. Richard Ayoade brings such a light, child like spirit to the proceedings, that it never gets too dark and uncomfortable. The storylines: Moss befriends a cannibal, Roy is trying not to find out the ending to a movie and Jen learns the downside of smoking. Lots of funny scenes: The piracy parody, Moss shouting at Roy, “You’re my wife!” And the Soviet sequences with Jen.
11. The Final Countdown (4)While the storylines for Roy (mistaken as a window washer) and Jen (excluded from meetings) were fair – it’s Moss -who becomes a contestant on Countdown- that carries the episode. Drawing from The Matrix and Fight Club, the plot sees Moss gain membership in an exclusive nerd club – where he is soon challenged to a game of Street Countdown. Richard Ayoade is at his best throughout the episode and spouts some great lines...
“An un open door is a happy door”. And Benedict Wong is superb as the Morpheus-like, Prime, who guides and advises Moss.
10. The Speech (3)Jen wins employee of the month and gets a big head about it. When she learns she has to give a speech, the boys decide to take her down a peg, write it for her, and fill it with false information. Meanwhile, Douglas falls in love with a man. Solid episode through and through - Matt Berry sparkles in his section and the break-up fight is priceless. So too is Jen’s speech, in which Moss and Roy allow her to show off the actual Internet (a box with a blinky light).
9. Fifty-Fifty (1)This one is noted for Roy on a date with sht (?) on his forehead. Following this experience he winds up in a bet with Jen after making the statement that, “women only want bastards.” To prove it he’ll act like a jerk to win a woman over. The biggest laughs I received from this episode came from Roy and Moss setting up profiles on a dating service, in which they describe their bad natures. Jen on the other hand is interested in a security guard – but she ends up costing him a lot of money and the relationship sours.
8. Friendface (3)Biting observational satire at its best. Jen signs up with a Facebook type network and becomes obsessed. The scene where she and the boys converse via the page -even though they’re in the same room- is a clever slap to social networking. Jen is eventually invited to a party with old school mates she’s friended and convinces Moss to be her date. While this is an old sitcom ploy, Linehan gives it a fresh and funny spin. Roy winds up on a date with a gal who looks like the Joker when she cries. Hilarious!
7. The Dinner Party (2)Jen reluctantly has the guys over for dinner and it becomes her worst nightmare. Moss is paired up with a drunk and the two become a version of “Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf”, Roy is seated next to a model… who was involved in a face scarring crash and Richmond has the best of times with a jittery gabby gal. To top it off Jen’s fellow is named Peter File! Though Roy was a little too rude, the rest of the show is mad fun.
6. Aunt Irma Visits (1)It’s Jen’s time of the month and male geeks all over the world are having sympathy periods. Silly and smart -Roy explains to Moss what Aunt Irma means by reminding him of the first scene in “Carrie”- it also has some great visual humor. It was nice to see the 3 do a little bonding in this episode. A side plot has Moss seeing a psychiatrist who looks like Roy’s mother. Funny zinger at the end, but Graham Linehan, who struggles with character development and running storylines, never again addresses this thread.
5. Jen the Fredo (4)Season 4 was shaky at best; and the gigantic guffaws I was used too were in short supply. One notable exception was this brilliant episode, which opened up the year. Jen takes a new job where she has to entertain out of town business partners. They expect raunchy - she gives them role-playing games with Roy and Moss. Katherine Parkinson was her chameleon-like best as she slips into the role of Fredo (of Godfather fame) - and her reaction when she finds out what happened to her namesake was brilliant. But the whole gang was wonderful and there’s a funny, yet strangely touching bit during the game, where Moss helps Roy get over a breakup (Chris O’Dowd actually does some nice acting in this scene. I felt for him)
4. Calendar Geeks (3)Roy stumbles into the chance of a lifetime…only Jen spoils it. And instead of photographing nude women for a charity calendar, he has to take shots of the geeks at work. This was’ tears in the eyes’ funny from the get-go. Chris O’Dowd’s reactions throughout are priceless. The looks he gives in each situation are enough on their own to leave me doubled over with laughter. Moss’ photo shoot was great fun too. Outstanding episode!
3. The Haunting of Bill Crouse (1)Completely whacked, and though the situations here are contrived and silly, who cares when I’m breathless from laughing so hard. The story? Jen goes on a bad date with a co-worker named Bill Crouse. She later asks Moss to tell Bill that’s she’s out, if he should come looking for her. Moss is a bad liar and instead tells him that she died. From there chaos ensues. This is simply put - a mad, giddy episode. Ridiculous situations see Bill haunted by Jen’s ghost, while Roy winds up attached to a troll like cleaning woman. This is an absolute laugh riot from beginning to end.
2. The Work Outing (2)Jen is dating a guy that Roy and Moss are convinced is gay. She argues against this, until he takes them all out to see a show titled, “Gay: A Gay Musical”. Work Outing features some pitch perfect comedy writing – the timing and delivery couldn’t be better. Even a simple trip to the restroom is made funny. Roy’s plight takes center stage, and while Moss takes a back seat in these scenes, he’s part of a hilarious visual punch line. Classic IT Crowd.
1. The Red Door (1) “Do I amaze you?” – yes, yes you do. This episode is a riot of joy, a skewed tale that left me dizzy. Roy’s story of being trapped under a desk is a kick, but the strength of the episode comes from what we find behind the red door. Here we get our first, and best look at the Goth named Richmond (Noel Fielding). His appearance, body language and dialog are deliciously surreal. The Work Outing is arguably a better overall episode, but Richmond is such an exquisitely rendered character that his presence bumps this one to the top of my favorites list. (There’s also a funny deleted scene from this one, with a baby in makeup)
And that’s all she wrote for now: All told, Season 1 is my favorite, while I feel season 4 is the weakest.