Kontor Christmas Special: Part 2 (2001–2003) Online

The best end of any show I have ever seen. I almost cried. I won't give away any spoilers, but it does not disappoint in the slightest.

The acting, directing... all carry on beautifully from the show into the finale, which is supposed to be the reuniting of all of the characters from The Office a few years after their split. Dawn and her husband come back from America, David comes back from his colleague-imposed exile, and everything is--more or less--the same, with just as many difficulties as in the old days. Amazing, and nothing more to say of this. Dawn has annoyed tension with her husband, Tim and Dawn are both quite on edge around each other, Dave has tried to make it as a celebrity who does nothing, but has come out on the rough edge of things, and Gareth... is still the same old Gareth that we all love! I would definitely recommend a watch for anybody at all who was unsettled with the way the show actually ended. This is most definitely worth it!

This is it: the last triumph of The Office, or at least the British original, which then left the door open for the equally good American remake. Pulling the plug on their first and best creation, Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais pander to audience expectations in a way, but they do so with their typical British gusto and irony. In short: paired with the first part, this Christmas Special qualifies as a top notch series finale, not to mention the absolutely best episode of the show.

Continuing with the storyline introduced in Part 1, the Christmas Party is closer for every passing day. Tim is anxious about seeing Dawn again, Gareth keeps applying a military logic to everything, the overweight Keith will be the special evening's DJ, and David Brent, who has started using an Internet dating service, is an uninvited guest at the event, along with his rude humor which finds its soul-mate in the drunken shape of Chris Finch (Ralph Ineson). However, the night could end in a way no one had expected.

The post-modernism of Part 1 is less emphasized, in favor of a more plot-driven approach which gives the story more poignancy as the epilogue draws closer. There's a hint of a fairy tale atmosphere in the last fifteen minutes, but thanks to really clever writing one gets the feeling it's all part of every character's natural evolution. This applies even to Brent, who always came off as an unbearable, incompetent moron (which he was), but is now able to show a more human side, in spite of all the insults, stomach-churning dances, bad jokes and "Freelove Freeway". Sure, there was always a slight trace of hidden sympathy in him, all due to Gervais's careful performance; now, however, the actor finally gets the well-deserved opportunity to part ways with his iconic role in the most dignified manner.

Overall, it is a bit sad that such a great show lasted only fourteen episodes. Then again, it's wiser to end something while it's still excellent (a lesson HBO has mastered to perfection), rather then keeping it on the air far longer than its dramatic core would consider letting it live (as in the case of the long overdue ER and Law & Order, both of which started superbly and are still watchable, but no longer the same). As Jack Lemmon pointed out when hosting the Oscars: "Brevity is the soul of wit". Looks like Gervais and Merchant paid attention to those words.

The secret to writing a great comedy series that will live long in people's affections is knowing when to end it. A famous example is Fawlty Towers, John Cleese did exactly the right thing shutting the doors to that dreadful Torquay hotel when he did. Too often a hit series is milked to death until the law of diminishing returns takes over and the programme becomes a shadow - or even a parody - of its former self. Ricky Gervaise and Stephen Marchant clearly know this and chose the perfect time to draw the wonderful "Office" to a close. They also knew exactly what fans of the series wanted - Dawn and Tim together. Anything less would have been a clear betrayal of the fan base.

I am not going to deliver the plot to you here, partly because I could not do it justice and partly because you must see this for yourself. Make sure that you watch the preceding episodes and first Chrsitmas special first though. However, I will declare that in my humble opinion, this programme is likely to never be bettered as comedy on the small screen. Forget the laugh-a-line sit coms of the US and the awful canned laughter of the UK. Simply revel in the glorious dissection of the human condition, the frustrations of under-achievement and personal delusion on a grand scale, cringe at excruciating faux pas and marvel at pomposity and sexism of breathtaking scope. All without a laugh track.

This is sublime. Do not die without having watched it.

After 12 cringe inducing but genius funny episodes, The Office closed down with a two part Xmas Special. Thankfully it turned out to be a fitting closure. We catch up with the departed employees who are destined to end up at the Wernham Hogg Xmas party. As we head towards that night we are introduced to more cringe worthy sequences involving the deluded Brent, the lovelorn waste that is Tim and Dawn and Gareth's power trip. Internet dating figures prominently and brings superb comedy scenes that are typically tinged with sadness. Then the party begins and some home truths are said, some backbones are shown, and finally us fans get the punch the air moment we always hoped we would get. Brilliant. 10/10

The Christmas party is here. David was going on dates and finds a woman last minute where it actually works out. Dawn and Lee come as well. Her and Tim get along well. But when Lee gets her away from the party too early she opens her secret santa gift from Tim and knows that he is the one.

Wonderful ending. I am glad they made this Christmas special and didn't just end it on the 6th episode of second season. Happy endings might be fairy tales but it was great to see a happy ending here. Both for David who is not a bad guy at all. And especially for Tim and Dawn. Her opening that gift brought tears to my eyes. It does feel great to have someone who loves you and believes and you, and this is the moment when Dawn realized who this person for her is. Loved her coming back as well.

And of course the episode is also having a lot of good humor as through the whole show.

The Office

Christmas Special: Part 2

Probably the most wittiest and mature ending of a series ever projected on television reminding again what Ricky Gervais is and how passionate he is towards his writing, executing and acting when it comes to create and represent his concepts to the world.