This very English sit com contains a series of under-performing human beings who spend 8 hours a day together in a small law office. We all recognise elements of them either in ourselves or in others yet how to describe them? Why do the English not have the exact words? Because we would consider it unkind to give harsh labels to the harmless. The Dalmation-dotty hopeless young Colin. Bumbling Bob - permanently paralysed by a mixture of passion and embarrassment. Stella: the real engine of the establisment but never getting work and a love-life in sync. Young Darren - his school friends would be out stealing cars but Darren has, relatively, a conscience and some ambition, and has risen to the level of office dogs-body. Alison a bored, beautiful bitch. Dick - posh senior partner, clever, clubbable and terminally lazy. An excellent and often accomplished cast.
This is at times hilarious comedy. Its because we don't have the words to precisely categorise every kind of fool that it remains kind and not judgemental. We get to like them all in different ways. There is a self-effacing quality about Simon Nye's writing too - clever but never flashily so.
Oddly it reminds me a little of "King of Queens" - entirely different setting but similarly human and not unkind.
This is at times hilarious comedy. Its because we don't have the words to precisely categorise every kind of fool that it remains kind and not judgemental. We get to like them all in different ways. There is a self-effacing quality about Simon Nye's writing too - clever but never flashily so.
Oddly it reminds me a little of "King of Queens" - entirely different setting but similarly human and not unkind.
