The Office is a British mockumentary-style comedy television series created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough, Berkshire branch of the fictitious Wernham-Hogg Paper Company.
Although fictional and scripted, the programme takes the form of a documentary (a fictional documentary, i.e. a mockumentary), with the presence of the camera often acknowledged.
The series originally aired in the UK on BBC Two from 9 July, 2001 to 27 December, 2003. There are 12 half-hour episodes in two seasons, as well as two 45-minute Christmas specials.
The Office originally aired in South Africa on SABC3 from 1 April to 17 June, 2003, on Tuesdays at 22h00. It later aired on DStv's BBC Prime channel and on TopTV's Fox FX channel. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Synopsis
The Office is a hilarious view of a grey, boring office and it's inhabitants as seen through the eyes of a documentary film crew.
Chief inhabitant and manager of this particular branch Wernham Hogg, is David Brent, who is best described as The Boss From Hell.
His right-hand man is Gareth Keenan. Tim Canterbury is the disillusioned office worker who is struggling to find meaning in his life. To make matters worse, he is completely head-over-heels in love with co-worker, Dawn Tinsley.
The documentary team follows Brent around as he tries his best to appear to be the most efficient manager whilst doing absolutely nothing at all.
He is also hell-bent on being the most loved person in the office, a goal that leads to some disastrous personal moments for Brent.
The theme song for the show is "Handbags and Gladrags", arranged by Big George and originally written in the 1960s by Mike D'Abo, former vocalist for the pop group Manfred Mann.
Seasons
Season 1 (6 episodes)
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 1 Apr 2003 | Finale: 6 May 2003 | Tuesdays, 22h00
Channel: BBC Prime | Premiere: 16 Mar 2004 | Finale: 23 Mar 2004 | Tuesdays, 22h00
Channel: Fox FX | Premiere: 28 Apr 2012 | Finale: 29 Apr 2012 | Daily, 21h15
Season 2 (6 episodes)
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 13 May 2003 | Finale: 17 Jun 2003 | Tuesdays, 22h00
Channel: BBC Prime | Premiere: 30 Mar 2004 | Finale: 6 Apr 2004 | Tuesdays, 22h00
Channel: Fox FX | Premiere: 3 May 2012 | Finale: 7 Jun 2012 | Thursdays, 21h35
Christmas Special (2 episodes)
Channel: Fox FX | Premiere: 14 Jun 2012 | Finale: 21 Jun 2012 | Thursdays, 21h40/22h00