Richard Ayoade

The IT Crowd ran between the years 2006 and 2010 for four series (with one special finale episode in September 2013). With it being such a well-known and loved British sitcom, jam-packed with such immense comedy talent, I thought it would be a nice idea to present to you my top five moments from all of the twenty five episodes.

5) A Suicide at Reynholm Industries (Series 2, Episode 2)

Denholm Reynholm, played by the infamous Chris Morris, was the original head of Reynholm industries until one fateful day during series two of the show. Everybody already knew that Denholm was prone to getting a bit hot under the collar, with frequent moody stares and bellowing fits, so we shouldn’t really have been too surprised to see his latest smart move. Upon being interrupted in a meeting to be told that the police want to look into some “financial irregularities” in the industry’s accounts, he promptly gets up and jumps out of the window, falling quickly to his death. The promptness and simplicity of this will always make this funny for me, and it was the perfect way for the talent that is Morris to leave the show (though it’s a shame he had to).

4) Roy and his Disabled Legs (Series 2, Episode 1)

During a work outing to the theatre with Moss, Jen and Jen’s new boyfriend, Roy and Moss encounter a dreaded toilet attendant so are forced to visit the disabled toilets instead. Roy quickly regrets this decision when he mistakingly pulls the emergency cord rather than the toilet chain and is bombarded with theatre staff thinking he is in a crisis. In typical IT Crowd style, of course Roy pretends he is disabled and has, in fact, had his wheelchair stolen. He informs the staff that he is disabled “in the legs” and the reason for this is “acid”, and of course, that makes perfect sense to them and they try to help him in every way they can…

3) That’s Right, We’re Looking at You (Series 3, Episode 6)

Roy is sent to do something that a man from IT is very rarely sent to do: go and fix something IT-related. While he is there, he notices a framed picture on a girl’s desk. The picture shows a young man looking “absolutely mental” in Roy’s opinion. This is because the man is boss-eyed. In a rapid string of strange events, Roy ends up directing a “geek” calendar in order to raise money for the charity and he rakes in all of his nerd friends in to help.

2) Goth 2 Boss (Series 4, Episode 6)

When Douglas Reynholm’s wife, Victoria, returns and demands a divorce, with significant monetary payouts, he realises that he is going to need a lawyer. And who better to represent Douglas than IT Relationship Manager, Jen? (She knows about relationships, right?). So Jen is stuck trying to form some kind of defence for Douglas and is rapidly running out of ideas; that is until Richmond, renowned socially-rejected goth at Reynholm Industries, steps up with his fantastic “Goth 2 Boss” related reason for why Victoria is a fraud. Unfortunately, and typically, Richmond turns out to be mistaken but we still get remarkable insight into his new business venture.

1) She’s Dead! (Series 1, Episode 5)

When Moss is left to tell a little white lie to Jen’s new boyfriend, Bill Crouse (Adam Buxton), regarding why Jen wasn’t at the office at that present time, he accidentally blurts out that she has, in fact, died. As the lies spiral out of control, Bill continues to see Jen walking around the building (because, believe it or not, she isn’t actually dead). The circumstances are painfully poised to convince the poor man that he is being haunted by the ghost of his past lover, and he becomes increasingly terrified throughout the episode:

What is your favourite IT Crowd moment of all time? Let me know in the comments, or by tweeting me at @moodycomedy. This is also the perfect time to congratulate Chris O’Dowd on his recent announcement: that he and his wife, Dawn O’Porter, are expecting a baby!

With special thanks to Catriona Lane, Hannah Stone and Megan Walker.