The three main characters in Ted sort of get on, most of the time, too. They're certainly not trying to outdo each other, anyway.
The IT Crowd 4.0 Page 15
I'm confused about the character name of the boss, is it Denholm or is it Renholm or what and does he have a fore-name?
<later>
Ah, forget I said that.
All I wanted to know is in the excellent guide on this very website.
A better, funnier second ep.
It is true that the dyanamic between the three leads has tended to become less ratehr than more central as the series has progressed.
For Alfred's benefit, the dynamic is that the ambitious but hapless Jen is relegated to taking charge of IT, a subject of which she knows nothing and cares less (much like Linehan). She is determined not to be dragged down to their level of loserness, but needs them. They in turn resent having her foisted upon them, and are doing nothing to make her life easy. Roy is more grounded in the real world than Moss, for whom he is a sort of reluctant carer, and more resentful of Jen, because he is more aware of his own shortcomings and failed aspirations. Moss is happy being Moss, but through an eagernes to please becomes drawn into Roy's attemtpts to be normal and Jen's attempts to climb the ladder, just as they find themsleves sucked back into his world of nerdiness.
I've only started watching this show from the last series, and missed bits of last weeks show because I couldn't stop picking up my book and writing!
I did like most of what I saw last week, the Friendface & Chitter line I thought was very good, the "Street Countdown" part was good but I felt would have been better if one of them produced a special key (complete with gasps from everyone there) to get them into the studios and it was set there rather than outside.
An audience of 200 pairs of glasses staring expressionless at them both, and people stealing letters from the pile, with the ghost of Richard Whiteley writing on the numbers board would have been good to see thrown in etc.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Just come across this: http://www.tnetennba.net/
Quote: Lee Henman @ July 5 2010, 12:02 PM BSTWhat's the obsession with rivalry? Not sure I get this - there are loads of comedies where the characters get on.
Of course there has to be conflict in comedy but rivalry is a different thing altogether isn't it?
Yes there are loads of sitcoms where the characters get on with each other but most/many of them still have rivalries, differences or competetion between them. I'm not saying they have to hate each other, tho in some sitcoms the characters do. Most of the classic sitcoms have some kind of rivalries going on, that's what the comedy in the sitcom is mostly based on, and the rivalry is the main source of conflict.
Off the top of my head, some examples of classic sitcoms where the characters get on but have rivalries -
Dads Army - Jones and Frazer; (Mainwaring and Wilson probably don't actually like each other)
Only Fools and Horses - Del Boy and Rodney, sibling rivalry, hierarchical division
The Good Life - The Goods and the Leadbetters; the Goods are determined not to be patronised by their materialistic neighbours, best friends or not
The Vicar Of Dibley - All the characters bar the miserable one like each other but compete like mad for the approval of the vicar
and many more...
Well, it's no secret that I've been an IT Crowd fan from day one ... but so far, this series seems to be lacking something and I just can't put my finger on any one thing.
There are still some good lines and bursts of genius, but overall, it seems a bit quick to conclusion and there are no lasting moments, that you can talk about, over & over again (like previous series)
Oh well, still only Ep2 ... give it time I keep telling myself!
All the best,
Siv 
Quote: SivoxII @ July 6 2010, 10:24 AM BSTso far, this series seems to be lacking something
Maybe it's because Lineham is such an original, that the other writers just can't do his 'style' well?
What other writers?
There aren't any other writers on this series, though there might be for the next.
Fair enough, I stand corrected.
I enjoyed the first episode, it had some funny moments. The second episode was weaker but still fairly good, although the final scene with Douglas/Jen dancing felt shoehorned in and wasn't particularly funny. The Gyles Brandreth cameo made me laugh.
I was slightly disappointed after watching the first two eps, but I must admit, on second viewing they get much funnier. I think the challenge for Graham Linehan is to try and recreate the brilliance of the episode in Season 2 where they go to the show, 'Gay: A Gay Musical'. The moment where Jen sees Roy in the wheelchair, turns to get him a drink and Moss is behind the bar is one of my favourite comedy moments ever, and a beautiful tie-in of three storylines.
As for more IT related stuff, I don't think it's needed. I really like that the whole IT thing is just a set up for these people to be ostracised from the rest of the office and forced to work in a basement. I could be wrong, but I don't think rooting it more in the actual world of IT would improve the show at all.
Equally, I really like that you never know what Reynholm Industries does...who cares? Would it be funny to know? I think the best description of the company comes from Denholm in Ep 1 Season 1: "That's the kind of place this is, Jen. Sexy people not doing much work, and having affairs."
Quote: Matthew Stott @ July 5 2010, 12:05 PM BSTThe three main characters in Ted sort of get on, most of the time, too. They're certainly not trying to outdo each other, anyway.
Yes true, but at least there is a strong difference in their characters and a clear heirarchy. FT wasn't a conventional sitcom either but the brilliant concept and the satire made it a classic. In BB there was also a clearer dynamic. In IT it seems Linehan's struggled to create a clear dynamic between the characters and because their environmnent is so laid back I doubt if he realised this would make the relationships appear a bit dull and poorly defined.
The whole thing looks flat to me, there's no drive about it, there is zero depth to it, it is cartoony and relies too much on cultural references instead of 'joke' based humour. For me it is a lazy, one dimensional, trend based sitcom, trendy for those in his target audience, but a bit woeful for others, like me, who aren't.
This is just my own geeky take on it, it does have some funny character based stuff in it, but for me it is not a well crafted sitcom. Linehan has always had blaring technical failings, with his iconic (sorry), strongly unconventional style, but this time he has no get out of jail card (sorry) like he did with Father Ted, I just don't rate IT and I don't like its style of humour. I know most poeple love it, I'm happy to be a relatively lone voice on this one. Good morning all.