Series four of Graham Linehan’s techno-baby The IT Crowd got off on the wrong foot for me last week. This week, however, we’re firmly back in IT Crowd country! Roy, however, isn’t faring so well after moving into a new place and having his mumbling window cleaner impose on him by leaving his ladder and bike there. While trying to return said equipment, sod’s law causes him to bump into a much more successful uni friend, leaving Roy looking like a loser window cleaner rather than a loser in IT support. Week two, then, delivers all that you’d expect from Graham Linehan at his best, taking something as mundane and regular as Countdown, then running with it to places you’d never expect. The elite 8+ operates like a nerd Fight Club – its first rule is “tell all your friends!” The IT Crowd comes into its own when it runs on these tangents, occupying the same plausible but absurd space as Linehan’s previous collaborations Father Ted and Black Books. The very last sentence pays off one plotline beautifully too – though you’ll probably groan when you hear it. This episode stands with the best. Graham Linehan weaves several threads together and manages to cram in a veritable terabyte of giggles. Moss as a suave Countdown intellectual keeps the chuckles coming, misquoting They Live and shooing away supermodels. This is one of the best episodes of IT Crowd that’s ever been.
