Before The Office (US) became an icon of 2000s comedy and pop culture, the original British show that inspired it became a cult comedy classic even among American audiences. More than 20 years since its debut, the toe-curling episodes of Ricky Gervais' The Office are easy to recall.
The British mockumentary had scenes of sheer sadness, but it never strayed too far from an awkward moment. The character to thank for those moments was frequently David Brent. His jokes were constantly way off the mark and that sad, relentless, signature David Brent need to impress would only land him in hot water. Still, the vicarious embarrassment felt by an audience never stifled the laughter that followed.
Charity Dance Off
The Red Nose charity day held at Wernham Hogg in "Charity" saw the employees carry out various fundraising activities. Neil and Rachel danced as their contribution to the day. In true Brent fashion, David felt compelled to one-up Neil by doing his own unplanned dance. He put himself in the middle of the crowd that had gathered for Rachel and Neil's dance, busting his dreadful moves and throwing in a couple of can-can-style high kicks for good measure. Had the routine been more slapstick, it might not have been so funny, but David's ridiculous commitment and sincerity only made for belly laughs entwined in disbelief.
Tim's Appraisal
David arranges a day for carrying out his staff's performance reviews in "Appraisals." While Keith's review is something of a struggle, Tim presents his usual, straightforward self, which should make for an easy meeting. David is pleased with Tim's work but chooses to make the appraisal exasperating by trying to pass off profound quotes as his own.
Unimpressed by the sharing of David's plagiarized philosophical sayings, Tim openly asks him if he is reading them, which, of course, he is. Being called out on camera humiliates David, but the comic effect was right there with it.
Motivating Strangers
After David is spoken to by Cooper & Webb (a consultancy firm), he agrees to deliver a motivational speech for a more than reasonable sum of money in "Motivation." David computes the opportunity as a chance to be his version of a cool guy in front of a group of people that he thinks will look to him in complete awe. Naturally, the opposite ensues, with a room full of unimpressed faces staring blankly at him. The comedy value peaks when he plays Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" as his entrance music for the presentation, leaving The Office's signature air of second-hand embarrassment behind.
Singing Instead Of Training
A staff training day takes place at Wernham Hogg in "Training," conducted by Rowan, who was outsourced to lead the day. Much to Rowan's dismay, David finds it virtually impossible to let him get on with his job and continually tries to sound as if he knows more. But even that's not enough. Before viewers can recover from his already cringe-worthy antics, David plays his acoustic guitar to show his colleagues what an able musician he believes himself to be. David's misplaced self-confidence and absurd facial expressions make the scene too funny to turn away from. Not to mention the fact that he went home to get the guitar.
Telling The Wrong News
Jennifer meets David to inform him that her job is available in "Judgement," as she has become a partner of the firm. David is offered the vacant position with the stipulations that the Slough branch will close and some of his staff will be laid off. The conditions don't faze him. He tells his colleagues what had been discussed, beginning with the bad news that some of them will lose their jobs. And then there's the good news. David gleefully states, "I've been promoted!" David's announcement is met with silence understandable to everyone in the world but David. He thought the medicine to telling people they will potentially lose their jobs was to let them know he is going to do well. The audience's by-now familiar feeling of "David, please stop what you're saying" was relieved only by the priceless facial expressions, timing and delivery of the whole conversation.
Showing Off The Magazine
It's not only longer scenes that allowed David to stumble his way into an unforgiving situation. He somehow shoehorns his unwittingly clumsy antics into smaller situations as well. One of the employees walks past David's office, and David suddenly appears out of thin air with a copy of a trade magazine that has his face on the front cover. He is blatantly showing off but doing his best to make it seem to his employee like a completely unplanned coincidence. One might say the ceaseless efforts to which David goes be impressive are almost admirable. Realistically, it's another one of David Brent's most pitiful moments on The Office.
Impressions Falling Flat
The Slough and Swindon branches merge, with the former incorporating the latter, in "Merger." David offers a few words to the group of employees, words that should be welcoming and perhaps even informative. But that wouldn't be in the spirit of a typical David Brent speech. Instead, he takes the meeting as an opportunity to deliver some comedy material, namely by doing impressions. He poorly imitates the Two Ronnies, Basil Fawlty and a man that some of them might've seen at the Coventry Conference, Eric Hitchmough. The irony here is that David Brent did succeed in getting laughs, but from the audience watching him from home, who laughed heartily at him and certainly not with him.
Prioritising The Quiz
An evening quiz is held at Wernham Hogg, as a bit of fun and lighthearted time away from work, in "The Quiz." David, however, sees it as a true competition, one in which the outcome will mean more than it really does. He pairs up with the most vulgar man of the office, Chris Finch. The cringe factor is evident from the start as David takes the quiz way too seriously. The humor ramps up when David takes a phone call from his father's doctor. The doctor has phoned him to let him know that his father is asking for him. David bats off this information by pretending to be "snowed under" at work, but manages to ask the doctor for the answer to the quiz question, "Who sang 'In the Summertime'?"
Hiring A New Secretary
Despite the grim prospect of redundancies, David decides to interview for a new secretary in "New Girl," quickly hiring Karen. As she makes her way to the reception desk after her interview, David catches up to her, dribbling a soccer ball.
While the hilarity of David trying to find out Karen's marital status escalates up, he slips on the ball, causing him to fall and headbutt her. Apparently, the answer to bruising someones cheek is a quick snippet of sexism, as he states, "That is a man's game." Not that Karen was even trying to play along. Like listening to nails on a chalkboard, David once again makes a mundane situation completely unsettling.
Making A Music Video
The show's Christmas special was filmed to catch up with the employees of Wernham Hogg three years after the series ended. After layoff from the company, David is a traveling salesman by day and makes celebrity appearances in clubs at night. Previous episodes had proven that, aside from thinking he was able to do stand-up comedy, David believed in himself as a singer. This dream evidently never wavered, as he spent £42,000 on releasing his own cover version of "If You Don't Know Me By Now." As if the knowledge of knowing he had made a single wasn't excruciating enough for audiences, they soon are made to behold the music video for the record. The doves, the white outfit, the poor editing: Everything about the video lends an extra boost of hilariousness to the episode.