In a past article focusing on great programs that are under represented on the WWW I mentioned one of my all time favorite British Comedies, Nice Day at the Office, the Paul Shearer and Richard Turner series that played a few years back on the BBC. I received a few episodes from a friend and fell in love with the show, though I seem to be the only one. Searching for information on the web I came up empty, not even the esteemed Internet Movie Database gave any real help. In the face of such indifference I've decided to champion this, and in the future, other unfairly forgotten series and, create mini-unofficial homepages for these fine shows.
Nice Day at the Office
Episode One:Action, Excitement, Adventure
"God just sent you a fax?"
The premier show in the series introduces us to Phil Bachelor (Timothy Spall) and his fellow inmates, umm officemates, in the data department at 'the Company" . Bachelor, a disheveled office hack who drinks his lunch hours away has a crisis of conscience when he realizes he's spent ten years slaving away for the company and all he has to show for it is a hundred pound bonus. He decides he needs something more, though his workmates are appalled and terrified that he wants to abandon their safe, predictable, color coded world. Dave (Brian Pettifer), the harried family man, Janis (Anna Massey), the "neurotic old bag", Lizzy (Nicola Stephenson), the scrummy but vacant secretary, and Chris Selwyn (David Haig) the overwrought Head of Data
Phil finds an add promising Action, Excitement and Adventure and applies immediately to Operation Congo. But when he gets the job he finds out it's not quite what he's been looking for.In fact it's eerily familiar.
This first episode also introduces John Sessions as Tippet the psychotic chief of security whose greatest obsession is to catch the Phantom Scribbler, the villain who's been writing in false names on the inspection card for the men's toilet, unless you really believe everyone from Noddy to the 1982 Italian World Cup teams been in the.men's toilet.
Episode Two: Petty Little Things
Umm, haven't seen this one. Yet.
Episode Three : The Enemy Within
"...a gaggle of pixies made off with the final figures of this months accounts"
There's dirty dealing at the company as the computers are sending Janis messages of the apocalypse, the paychecks are going to be late, Lizzy's acting spacier than normal and the "Worlds Top Computer Virus Inspector" is in the house, in full Grand Inquisitor mode and, worst of all, Phil's just given up ciggies.
Episode Four: Acting Up
The other episode I've missed. That's how strong the series is - only 2/3 is
