The Office (UK)
A mockumentary about life in a mid-sized suboffice paper merchants in a bleak British industrial town, where manager David Brent thinks he's the coolest, funniest, and most popular boss ever. He isn't. That doesn't stop him from embarrassing himself in front of the cameras on a regular basis, whether from his political sermonizing, his stand-up 'comedy', or his incredibly unique dancing. Meanwhile, long-suffering Tim longs after Dawn the engaged receptionist and keeps himself sane by playing childish practical jokes on his insufferable, army-obsessed deskmate Gareth. Will the Slough office be closed? Will the BBC give David a game show? Will Tim and Dawn end up with each other? And more importantly, will Gareth realize what a hopeless prat he is?
![]() |
Mackenzie Crook | Gareth Keenan |
![]() |
Martin Freeman | Tim Canterbury |
![]() |
Ricky Gervais | David Brent |
![]() |
Lucy Davis | Dawn Tinsley |
![]() |
Patrick Baladi | Neil Godwin |
![]() |
Joel Beckett | Lee |
![]() |
Ewen Macintosh | Keith |
![]() |
Alexander Perkins | Ralph |
![]() |
Jamie Deeks | Jamie |
![]() |
Ben Bradshaw | Ben |
![]() |
Jane Lucas | Sheila |
![]() |
Emma Louise Manton | Emma |
![]() |
Philip Pickard | Phillip |
![]() |
Tony MacMurray | Tony |
![]() |
Stacey Roca | Rachel |
![]() |
Patrick Driver | Patrick |
![]() |
Rachel Isaac | Trudy |
![]() |
Julie Fernandez | Brenda |
![]() |
Howard Saddler | Oliver |
![]() |
Tom Goodman-Hill | Ray |
![]() |
Stirling Gallacher | Jennifer Taylor-Clark |
![]() |
Jennifer Hennessy | Jude |
![]() |
Stephen Humby | Simon |
![]() |
Ralph Ineson | Chris 'Finchy' Finch |
![]() |
Stephen Merchant | Nathan 'Oggy' aka The Oggmonster |
Director | Ricky Gervais |
![]() |
Stephen Merchant |
![]() |
|
Writer | Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant | |
Producer | Ash Atalla, Anil Gupta, Jon Plowman | |
Photography | Andy Hollis |
As a result of the Swindon merger, a group of new staff arrive at Slough branch and David wastes no time in familiarising them with his unique style of management. Meanwhile, Tim seems to be taking his promotion very seriously.
As David conducts the annual staff appraisals he discovers that the group from Swindon are less than impressed with their new boss and a lunchtime trip to the pub does little to improve the situation. The same cannot be said for Tim however, who is getting on particularly well with new girl Rachel.
A colleague's birthday provides a welcome distraction for the employees of Wernham Hogg and leads to a series of practical jokes at the expense of David and Gareth. Meanwhile, David's growing frustrations with new boss Neil constantly looking over his shoulder are somewhat alleviated by the arrival of two representatives from a public speaking company who seem keen to recruit him.
David's preparations for his first motivational training seminar that evening don't get off to the perfect start when he first discovers the staff's new nicknames for him that are doing the rounds and then receives another reprimand from Neil for neglecting his duties. Meanwhile, Tim and Rachel finally go public with their relationship, much to the dismay of Gareth.
It's Comic Relief Day and the staff of Werhnam Hogg all do their bit to raise money including Dawn, whose 'kisses for 1' stand finally provides Tim with the opportunity he's been waiting for. But when David can only produce a draft of his new gameshow concept in place of an important company report, Neil and Jennifer draw the line and inform him that he is being made redundant.
Although slightly peaved that the staff seem to be taking his redundancy in their stride, David's spirits remain high as he plans his future while also being interviewed for an article in 'Inside Paper'. Tim takes drastic action when he learns that Dawn has resigned in order to move to the USA with boyfriend Lee. However, when David is told that his services as a motivational speaker are also no longer required he sinks to his lowest ebb and begs Neil to reconsider the dismissal. But is it too late?