The Office Special (2003)

Brilliant end of a brilliant series

Three years after the conclusion of the second series, the BBC film crew returns to follow up on the lives of the office workers they chronicled for a hilarious pseudo-documentary. Former manager David Brent (Ricky Gervais) is scraping by as a traveling salesman and making humiliating appearances as a Z-list TV celebrity. Tim Canterbury (Martin Freeman) continues to stagnate in his job, and Dawn Tinsley (Lucy Davis) pines away in the US, sponging off boyfriend Lee's (Joel Beckett) sister. The big Christmas reunion orchestrated for the TV special will be a life-changing event for all three.

This excellent series has always been more than just a brilliant comedy; it is also a closely observed study of self-delusion in many forms, never shying away from the unfortunate consequences. Although writer/directors Gervais and Stephen Merchant have always been quite brutally honest with their characters, I would have come away a bit disappointed had our final moments with David, Tim, and Dawn been as soul-crushing as most of their previous exploits. It is to the credit of Gervais and Merchant that they allow the show to end hopefully without striking a single false note.
April 13, 2008

The extras are great, too

I can only echo all the positive comments thus far..if you're an Office fan you need this "closure" eh? But I want to add that Gervais/Merchant projects are the only ones where the extra features have me laughing as hard( or harder) than the show itself. Don't skip them! January 21, 2008

Perfect wrap up

This final chapter of the Office saga is tightly written, extremely funny, and surprisingly moving. The writers are almost sadistic in their treatment of David Brent, as they throw him from one excruciating humiliation to another, but we see him eventually grow, show some introspection, find a good woman and finally get a laugh. We see the Tim and Dawn situation resolve itself in the most satisfying way possible and we see Chris Finch slapped down like everyone has been hoping he would. This is a classic piece of television, as are all the British "Office" episodes. September 17, 2007

For all Office lovers

This is a great ending to the UK series. Hilariously funny. A must see for viewers who have so far only seen the US version. Watch the first two seasons first though! January 30, 2007

bbc

Love the office. Ricky Gervais is hilarious. And thanks for sharing your comedy with the state. Cheers January 16, 2007

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