The IT Crowd quickly became one of the monuments of British pop culture. If you don't know Roy, Jen and Moss yet, now is the time to discover a real TV gem.
The IT Crowd is a series made in England, created by Graham Linehan (Black Books, Father Ted) in 2006. It features Roy and Moss, the two and only members of Reynholm Industries' IT department. They are associable, lazy (as far as their job is concerned anyway) and very geeky. They are joined, in the first episode, by Jen Barber, who becomes the manager of the service. Small problem: the young woman is a compulsive liar who knows absolutely nothing about computers.
The basic scenario is quite simple. And it was hard to predict, in 2006, that The IT Crowd would become a cult series in the UK (and elsewhere!). Its episodes and lines have become classic internet memes, and fans keep petitioning to revive the series. Because indeed, after a season 5 containing a single episode (almost 1 hour), the series stopped, at the peak of its glory.
It is therefore legitimate to wonder how The IT Crowd became so popular.
1. The IT Crowd, the anti Big Bang Theory
Launched in 2007, the series Big Bang Theory tells the daily life of Leonard and Sheldon, two roommate-researchers at the University of Pasadena, and their neighbor across the street, Penny. No need to explain how much the series has aroused a real craze among viewers. The filming of its final season, the 12th, is currently underway.
But, at Big Bang Theory, the line between caricature – and pure mockery – is sometimes blurred. Penny is the archetype of the brainless blonde. Even if her character evolves (and fortunately), she owes this evolution only to the help of Leonard and Sheldon. The latter have also become the very symbols of the very intelligent geek but completely unsuited to life in society. Especially when it comes to Sheldon, whose OCD and other atypical phobias sometimes border on pure illness (and can we laugh so freely at problems related to an illness/disability?).
In The IT Crowd, it's not about basing the whole story on the characters' flaws. It is the situations in which they find themselves that make all the comedy of the episodes. We don't laugh for 5 seasons at Roy's blatant inexperience with women. The character changes, and ends up being in a relationship. For their part, Moss and Jen are not left out. Moss, whose reactions are often out of step with the situation, is not mocked for this. On the contrary, he has become the figure of the eccentric scholar and class that we would all like to resemble. And Jen, who has not hidden his disinterest in computers and everything around him, keeps his own identity while accepting the universe of his two friends. She doesn't need them to be independent. On the contrary, it is it that brings them a gateway to the world.
2. Wacky humor at its peak
As previously reported, the humor of The IT Crowd lies in the situations in which the three protagonists are immersed. A date, at 4, to go see a gay musical, the discovery of a secret room housing Richmond, a sensitive gothic (played by the talented Noel Fielding!), the suicide of the big boss of Reynholm Industries and the arrival of his pervert son (played by the brilliant Matt Berry). On paper, it doesn't look like much, but people who have seen the episodes concerned probably already have a smile on their faces.
The characters created by Graham Linehan are often not very complex, but it is their interactions that form the central core of the screenwriter's works.We also find the same dynamic in Black Books: three characters, few moves/scenery, but dialogues rich in puns and misunderstandings. Linehan is part of the purest British tradition, offering its actors roles that they must really inhabit to bring the viewer into the universe of the series.
3. Moss
If there is one character who perfectly symbolizes The IT Crowd, it is Maurice Moss, known as Moss, played by Richard Ayoade. The latter has also seen his side of popularity explode since his interpretation of the character so adored by fans. Moss is the big kid of the series. A kind of Peter Pan in suspenders and high socks. He does not always understand the second degree or irony, which gives cult lines.
Moss is even more important in the universe of The IT Crowd because he is the link between Jen Barber and Roy Trenneman. He cares about his friends and does his best to provide solutions to their problems. Sometimes making them worse, but the intention is there!
4. A heroine without a "mandatory" love story
In the comparison with The Big Bang Theory , Penny's evolution, intimately linked to her relationship with her neighbors, was reported. Indeed, Penny becomes an indispensable member of the group when Leonardo falls in love with her. It is her vision of Penny that transforms her throughout the series. Of course, the young woman is able to oppose her partner and have her own opinions, but how many times have these really been respected? Leonardo often has the role of "the voice of wisdom", for both Penny and Sheldon. It has therefore become normal to see his ideas pass over those of his now wife.
Jen Barber, the female lead character of The IT Crowd, turns out to be different. From the first episode, Jen places herself as a link between the two computer scientists and the "real" world. She decides her role, so she often mediates Roy and Moss, pulling them out of funny but scary situations. The evolution of his character does not go through the blessing of his male acolytes. On the contrary, Moss and Roy spend quite a bit of time trying to ridicule her, at least initially. With Jen's primary goal being to get a better job, she quickly realizes that her two male sidekicks will be unable to help her in her professional ascent: they are themselves stuck in the basement.
That's not to say Jen is just a careerist character, devoid of any feeling. On the contrary, she is seen several times as a couple. And this is never mocked. At no point is the fact that Jen had more partners than Roy and Moss highlighted or shown as shameful. His romantic partners are only there to serve the comedy of an episode, and are quickly forgotten. And most importantly, you don't force Jen to fall in love with Moss or Roy. This would have been ridiculous and might even have ended the series, as the possibility of a couple in the central trio is unthinkable.
5. A series that knew how to say goodbye
Even if we loved watching the adventures of Jen, Moss and Roy, we must admit that what makes the charm of the series today is the nostalgia that surrounds it. We know there won't be any more seasons and, even if it's hard, it's better this way.
How many TV shows have lost their essence by multiplying the seasons, just because it was possible? Who here has not frowned at the last seasons of How I Met Your Mother, wondering what was the point of this or that episode? Sometimes it is good to know how to say goodbye when it is still so much.
Fortunately, it is still possible to see, review and re-watch the 4 seasons of The IT Crowd on Netflix. And please, there is only one golden rule to follow when you want to watch a British series: ESPECIALLY NO VF. The world thanks you.
