The Office - The Christmas Specials DVD

Advantages: Wide range of features, same brand of humour as the two series
Disadvantages: that's all folks

After two series of The Office, at which point the series was quickly pressed in the “12ew” mould – 12 episode wonders for the uninitiated (cf. Fawlty Towers) - a two part Christmas special was filmed in Summer 2003 – and was broadcast as two episodes over Christmas 2003. Whilst Series 2 had been seen as the end of the series, with David Brent being made redundant from Wernham Hogg and the series' romance - between Tim Canterbury and Dawn Tinsley ...
...episode third series, which as the actors and directors (Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant) themselves conceded wouldn’t have been a good idea. Part of the problem had been of course that from relatively unknown status, the actors had been catapulted to being household names, thus making it impossible to maintain the documentary feel. The Christmas specials return to Wernham Hogg in the post-Brent era. However, Brent is still very much the focal ... Read review

Advantages: Grest conclusion to fantastic series, good extras
Disadvantages: only two episodes, the end of an era :-(

...make a third series of The Office, arguably the best British comedy ever written, would undoubtedly have been a mistake, and the writers Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant instead chose to end this fantastic comedy with a two-part Christmas special. I worried at the idea of a Christmas special but as it turned out, needlessly so. They, along with the actors, no doubt felt they would have struggled to make a third series as fresh and funny as the previous ...
...Brent after his departure from the Office? Did Dawn and Tim finally get together?), and so this two-part special was actually the perfect way to bring the story to a satisfactory end. Set three years after David Brent leaves Slough paper merchants Wernham Hogg, the documentary crew return to the Office to see how things have changed. Gareth is now the manager of the office, and Tim not only has to endure him as his superior, but also the absence ... Read review

Advantages: Brilliant comedy
Disadvantages: The end of it.

...critically acclaimed wherever they went. The only British sitcom to win a Golden Globe, even outdoing the likes of Only Fools and Horses or Faulty Towers. This is The Office…Christmas Specials At the end of series two, the boss everyone loved to hate, David Brent, had been made redundant by the powers that be at Wernham Hogg. But two years on, the 'documentary' makers have returned to see what life is like for the people that worked at the office. ...
...They managed to get all the old cast back - Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook, Lucy Davis, and did they disappoint?? Of course not. These two episodes aired during Xmas 2003 (yes, that long ago!) are brilliant, so let me explain a little bit about them… Episode one reacquaints ourselves with everyone - David is now, basically, a door-to-door salesman having lost his job, Gareth has taken up David's position behind the desk in his office, Tim is still ... Read review

Advantages: See text.
Disadvantages: See text.

This review is on the Christmas specials of The Office, and in the three years that they spaced out between the end of the second series and this one several changes have occured. Having been sacked at the end of the last series, David Brent (Ricky Gervais) now works as a traveling sales rep within Slough and its surrounding towns or thereabouts. He is banned from coming in to the office environment to see his 'friends' by UK manager Neil Godwin ...
...Keenan (Mackenzie Crooke) is now the manager in Brent's place, and it would appear that he now runs a much more tighter ship than his predessecor. Tim Canterbury (Martin Freeman) resents this, not only because Keenan is now his superior but also because his old flame Dawn Tinsley (Lucy Davies) who used to play the receptionist is now illegally living in the States with her fiance Lee (Joel Beckett) as we are lead to believe by a number of their comments. ... Read review

Advantages: More of the same side-splitting Gervais brilliance.
Disadvantages: It's the last one ever. :(

The Office has been a critical success all over the world. It has won a Golden Globe, and has been remade (read: butchered) for American audiences. And this Christmas special is your last chance to see David Brent, the boss everyone loves to hate, Gareth, Tim, and Dawn. Not to mention Finchy (Chriis Finch), who is still as vulgar as ever and hasn't shaved yet, and Neil, who is still the popular, funny boss that Brent would love to be. So, since ...
...is now in charge of the Slough branch at Wernham Hogg. Shame no-one takes any notice of him. Tim Canterbury, the office nice guy is still slaving away trying to sell paper, and Dawn, the old receptionist from series 1 & 2 now lives in America with her fiancé, Lee. Brent, meanwhile, has got himself an agent, released a single, and found a new job. By night he also makes 'celebrity appearances' in various clubs and bars around the area, using his ... Read review

Advantages: Brilliantly funny, marvellous actors
Disadvantages: A lack of extras, some dated concepts

...upon being vaguely aware of British politics and the way we see the government, and even the stereotypes we apply, hopefully in jest, though sometimes earnestly, to our European neighbours. Of course, the truly disturbing aspect of the show is that it is quite believable that this is precisely how our country is run. Yes Minister ran for three series’, totalling twenty-two episodes, including the 1984 Christmas Special Party Games, where Hacker finally makes it to the illustrious office of Prime Minister. Each series has a single DVD, with the Christmas Special thrown in with series 3. The DVDs were released as a part of the BBC Classic Comedy series, and so the fact that they have nothing in the way of extras can perhaps be compensated for by the price. Each DVD generally costs around the ten pound mark, and for over three hours... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful