Quote: Timbo @ November 24 2008, 1:13 PM GMTFilm gags are a bit indulgent (e.g. Spaced). Beer can be quite technical, but most of the jokes are about falling over rather than hop varieties or specific gravities.
True, perhaps. But as a non-drinker, I may be in the minority, but it's still nothing I can relate to in the slightest. The point of IT gags in The IT Crowd is that that's where it's set. Remove the literary references from Black Books, or the historical quips from Blackadder. Fawlty Towers is essentially about a man who's uptight and tries to control things, but is overuled by his wife. But if you take out the references to guest behaviour and other workings of a small hotel, then the show is nothing.
The point isn't to lay down every other line with a reference to bootstrapping, internal buses or graphics card functionality. It's just the odd quip, not necessarily any more than 2 or 3 per episode, to reinstate that bit of grounding to their situation. The kind of thing which will at least make sense to non-IT types, even if they don't fully appreciate it. Moss's "Memory is RAM!" line, as noted earlier, has a bit of extra punch for us geeks, but people who don't understand that still get the point of Moss's frustration at someone using two terms for the same thing.
Quote: Godot Taxis @ November 24 2008, 1:30 PM GMTFather Ted is clearly completely underwritten by references to the workings of the Catholic church, Saints days, Ecclesiastical protocols etc.. This is used as a trade off against the silliness - which is the principal point I am making about the IT crowd. So your sarcasm is misplaced.
Prezunctly.