Dated or Delightful? 'The Office' Christmas Specials

This time of year, I like to indulge in a little nostalgia by revisiting Yuletide TV specials from years past. In an effort to get some respite from the troubled times we’re living in, I chose to re-watch the pair of Christmas episodes that served as the finale for The Office, the sitcom that I often credit with rekindling my British telly obsession.

The Office debuted in 2001. (Yikes, right?) So now that nearly two decades have passed, I wondered how the concept of a needy, tactless, prejudiced boss as the lead character would hold up in 2020. Though my focus will be on the two 45-minute Christmas specials that aired on consecutive nights back in the Christmas week of 2003, I should reveal that I binged all fourteen episodes of the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning comedy series.

The first Christmas episode begins with this text on the screen

“In January 2001, a BBC documentary crew filmed the everyday goings on in a typical workplace. Now, nearly three years later, we return to find out what has happened to the employees of the office.”

In short order, we learn that after being made redundant, former Wernham Hogg regional manager David Brent (Ricky Gervais) has moved on…sort of. He’s a traveling cleaning supplies salesman by day and, in an attempt to cash in on his documentary notoriety, he makes celebrity appearances at night clubs that mostly involve waving and abuse from the much younger clientele.

David also spends an inordinate amount of time visiting his old workplace, distracting the employees from their work and chewing the fat with his former assistant, Gareth Keenan (Mackenzie Crook). Gareth is less in awe of David now and takes the mickey out of his predecessor for wasting his lawsuit settlement money to launch an unsuccessful music career.