The Best of British Comedy

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In only two short seasons, the BBC comedy-cum-faux documentary The Office vaulted into the public consciousness, becoming the first British series ever to win the Golden Globe for Best Comedy. Fans consider it not only the best British sitcom ever made but the best from any country, period. With these kinds of accolades, creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant could have kept the show going forever but instead decided to go out on top -- but not before wrapping up the series with this hilarious final trip to The Office that originally aired in the U.K. as a two-part Christmas special in 2003. It's been three years since we last visited the offices of Wernham Hogg, and things were left in disarray: Bumbling middle manager David Brent (Gervais) had been made "redundant" (that's "downsized" to us Yanks), and Tim (Martin Freeman) had finally made a play for receptionist Dawn (Lucy Davis), only to be rebuked and have her move to the States with her loutish boyfriend. In that time, the original within-a-show documentary series has aired, and the producers are filming a "where are they now?" follow-up. Brent is now milking his 15 minutes by making appearances as a D-list celebrity, though he makes ends meet as a traveling office-supply salesman. He still makes time -- too much time, perhaps -- to visit his old workplace, seeing himself as a returning hero. Filling his position at Wernham Hogg is wiry, efficiency-obsessed Gareth (Mackenzie Crook), much to the annoyance of Tim, who is still pining for Dawn and suffering from a dead-end job existential crisis. The story culminates around the annual Christmas party, to which Brent has weaseled an invite and resorts to online personal ads to find a date for it. Meanwhile, Dawn isn't quite finding the American Dream in Florida, and when the documentary producers offer to fly her back for the party, she jumps at the chance. While The Office Special offers many of the painfully funny, cringe-worthy moments fans have come to expect, Gervais also allows a little sunshine to come into these characters' lives, including one genuine lump-in-the-throat moment. A happy ending for The Office? That might be a stretch, but if a series this funny and perfect has to come to a close, we can't imagine a better finale.