You can thank me later

RECOMMENDATION:

For some reason or another, I can not pick out my favorite TV shows without the help of my brother. Two of my absolute favorites came to be that way because of his recommendations. Obviously one of those shows is How I Met Your Mother. I feel like whenever I make an actual blog post, I’m mentioning it somehow! Anywho, this post is NOT about HIMYM. This is about the IT Crowd.

Let me state for the record that I’m talking about the British version of the show, NOT the US version with Joel McHale (whom I can’t stand) that didn’t even make it past production. Airing since 2006, a sixth season has been ordered and it just keeps bringing the laughs!

I have no problem admitting that I always root for the underdog, so it’s a no-brainer that Moss is my favorite. Aside from the fact that Richard Ayoade is hilarious in everything he does, he can play the role of a nerdy computer tech with an aversion to social situations like no other. Obviously producers thought this same thing when trying to make the US version come to life – they asked him to play Moss for that series too! It’s hard for me to pick a favorite Moss moment, but one of them is from episode three of season three (“Tramps Like Us”). Moss gets a concussion and stays at work. Jen (the relationship manager) is talking to him and he’s just facing the wall, laughing. His head is wrapped but his parted ‘fro is still making its appearance known. His concussion is reversed when he is electrocuted while being forced to remove the “electric sex pants” his boss was ordered to wear to prevent sexual harassment.

Roy, an Irishman that works with (and is a friend of) Moss, is also hilarious. He tries so hard to be cool that it just doesn’t quite work. He sports a different witty t-shirt every episode and tries to do as little work as possible. My favorite Roy moment is from episode one of season two (“The Work Outing”). He and Moss tag along with Jen on one of her dates because they believe the man that asked her out is gay, a suspicion they think is confirmed when he tells her that they’ll be seeing “Gay! – A Gay Musical!” Roy really has to use the bathroom but finds out the regular stalls are out of order, so he pretends to be disabled to use the handicap restroom. He accidentally pulls the “assistance” handle instead of flushing the toilet and a group of workers bust in, ready to help. Watching him try to pretend he is “leg disabled” is probably one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

The thing I love most about Jen involves how she interacts with people… I love how Moss & Roy use her lack of IT knowledge to their advantage. Jen is somehow put in charge of IT as a “relationship manager,” much to the chagrin of Moss & Roy and so they constantly come up with ways to make her look silly. In episode four of season three (“The Speech”), they convince Jen that the “whole internet” is held in a tiny little lock box… She begs them to let her use it at her speech in front of the shareholders. They tell her that they double checked with the elders of the internet and Stephen Hawking himself gave her his blessing. They convince her that if the lockbox falls or is damaged in any way, the world would basically go into panic mode and nothing would ever be the same. She takes the box to the meeting, shows the shareholders and tells them the importance of maintaining the integrity of the box. Moss & Roy are absolutely HORRIFIED to find out that all of them believe her… Until it accidentally gets knocked over and the shareholders go ape-shit. They start beating each other up, making out and running amuck through the building.

(I LOVE these Moss inspired Keep Calm posters!)

I thought I'd end this post with a few of my favorite clips:

Jen, for being the IT department's relationship manager, knows absolutely nothing about computers.


Moss and Roy decide to play hooky from work and end up in the middle of a crime scene. Probably one of my all-time favorite moments in this show!


As part of Douglas' settlement, he has to wear electric underwear that give him a shock whenever he gets "excited." Love this!