Is Love In The Festive Air? (The Office Christmas Special)
Having lost his managerial job with paper merchant Wernham Hogg, David Brent still desperately wants to give off the impression he is successful (he is not particularly), trying to get a date for the Christmas part via a dating website to name one such mishap in the Christmas Special. Tim meanwhile has to endure the obnoxious office colleague (replacing the disturbed Gareth) while privately looking forward to the brief return of Dawn for whom he has much more than just a soft spot for. On one date Brent puts his foot in it early on, a natural comedic trait of awkwardness that was a huge part of what made the show successful, both here in the UK and across the pond in America. This is Christmas though, so without spoiling it, all is well that ends well. Like much of Ricky Gervais’ work, beyond his rather too-close-for-comfort social parody he can provide a real emotional redemption.