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In the fictional country of Tazbekistan, there is, like every other country in the world, a British embassy. Ambassador Keith Davis, Deputy Head of Mission Neil Tilly, and the other staff have to balance their bosses in London, the Tazbek President and their own consciences.

Since this is a Brit Com, Hilarity Ensues.

This work contains examples of:

  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The Tazbek dissident Amir Zarifi was accused by President Karzak's regime of plotting treason, sexually assaulting young boys, and... stealing a hedge trimmer from a monastery.
  • Artistic License – Linguistics: The Tazbeks all speak 'Russian' — even when dedicating a memorial to Tazbek victims of the Gulag. This is particularly confusing in the scenes showing them listening to bugs at the Embassy. There is a reason for it. Tazbek is the official language of the country (e.g. all the official documents are written in it). Russian is simply the common language i.e. the one that most people speak in public. The ending scenes of each episode show Keith learning Tazbek from a local woman, so it's implied that it is a different language from Russian (which he speaks quite well)
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Prince Mark is a singularly dim upper-class twit (q.v.). Then, in the space of a single evening with the President, he fixes every problem the embassy has faced in that episode.
  • British Brevity: The series is only three episodes long.
  • Cliffhanger: The series ends with Keith and Neil reacting in horror when POD announces that he'll be coming to Tazbekistan to see what's happening for himself. As there was no follow-up, the audience doesn't get a resolution to this storyline.
  • Countrystan: The series is set in the fictional Central Asian country of Tazbekistan.
  • Crappy Carnival: The Embassy stages a "Best of British" festival with the aim of impressing the Tazbeks and the other foreign ambassadors. In the end the "Best of British" consists of a medieval folk group, a pork pie making demonstration (in a Muslim country!) and a one man, unabridged adaptation of Frankenstein starring the world's most egotistical and least talented actor.
    Caitlin: Should we change the name to "The Best of British Shite Festival"?
  • Dramedy: Whilst there are several very dramatic moments and plot points, the overall tone is humorous.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Several, but Neil reigns supreme.
  • The Dreaded: POD (short for "Prince of Darkness") for the British Ambassadors. The thing they fear the most in the world is screwing up bad enough that he makes a personal visit
  • Fluffy the Terrible: Prince Mark's towering ex-army bodyguard is called Treasure - or 'Treas' as a pet name from Mark
  • French Jerk: The French Ambassador, who is almost always in direct competition with the British. To be fair, Keith, the British Ambassador, is frequently as much of a jerk towards the French Ambassador as the Frenchman is towards him.
  • Hereditary Republic: The President's daughter Fergana is expected to succeed him.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: Whilst Keith isn't exactly incompetent, Neil has the makings of this. Unsurprising since he's been in Tazbekistan for years whereas most of the others are new.
  • Insufferable Genius: Isabel. Neil says that she'll be Ambassador to Paris before she's thirty, and clearly doesn't like her.
  • Jerkass: Simon Broughton (the human rights activist who was imprisoned in the first episode) is a smug Holier Than Thou prick, who ignores the Embassy's advice and expects them to pick up the pieces when he messes up.
  • Jerkass Has a Point:
    • In the final episode, Mr. Jackson makes the point that Neil really has been giving important documents to people he shouldn't.
    • Keith in Episode 1 as he points out that Simon (a human rights activist, who has been imprisoned) ignored their advice and brought his imprisonment (and potential execution) on himself.
  • Job Title
  • Kangaroo Court: In the Tazbek justice system to be accused of a crime is equivalent to be being found guilty.
    Jamatt: ...because if they were not guilty, we would not have accused them.
  • Lethal Chef: Ludmilla, the Ambassador and his wife's Tazbek cook.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed:
    • Prince Mark is, apparently, a thinly veiled one for Prince Andrew.
    • The Prince of Darkness, a.k.a POD, is the real life nickname for Lord Mandelson, a high-ranking member of the Labour Party and frequent Cabinet minister from 1997-2010.
  • Noodle Incident: Any mention of the previous British Ambassador.
    Neil: I dunno... I mean, he was a keen walker.
    Keith: But isn't it strange they never found the body?
  • Number Two: Jamatt, President Karzak's nephew, is Karzak's "representative on Earth".
  • People's Republic of Tyranny: The full name of the country is the People's Republic of Tazbekistan.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: A great one is given by Keith to Simon Broughton, the human rights activist that he gave up a helicopter contract to free from Tazbek jail, and Stephen Pembridge, the insufferable no-name actor brought in for the "Best of British" festival, as he's taking them to the airport.
    Keith: (To Pembridge) You come out to this country expecting Her Majesty's Government to pay your way, feed you, get you pissed, and drive you around... and in return you give one of the worst performances of anything I've ever seen and molest one of my staff. I still have no idea who you really are apart from a monstrously untalented sex tourist masquerading as a fifth-rate actor! (To Broughton) And as for you, you shithead! If you want me to take you back to the prison, believe me nothing would delight me more. You have no idea what we're trying to achieve on a wider scale here. You ignore our advice and then you expect our busy, underpaid, under-resourced, overworked staff to pick up the pieces when you inevitably fuck up and find yourself in the shit. So how's this? We help you. You say "thank you". And then you clear off! Or if that's beyond you I will leave you both here and you can find your own way to the airport!
  • Rich Bitch: Fergana Karzak, the President's daughter, has shades of this.
  • Ripped from the Headlines: Ripped from the back rooms of the Foreign Office, the creators apparently had over 200 pages of research when they sat down to write the show.
  • Shout-Out: In the episode involving the visit of minor royal Prince Mark, one of the secret policemen remarks that his favourite royals are the Earl and Countess of Grantham with the other agreeing that they were "so brave during the war".
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Steven Pembridge (the actor who gives a one man, unabridged adaptation of Frankenstein for the Embassy "Best Of British" festival) seems to think that he is a great British actor when, actually, most people have never heard of him and those that have think he's an egotistical, untalented Jerkass.
  • Those Two Guys: The two Secret Police agents assigned to monitor the bugs installed in the embassy by the Tazbek government. (The staff are aware of the bugs and always use the debugged secure room within the embassy for sensitive conversations).
  • Truth in Television: Prince Mark and the Tazbek President bonding over their shared love of the British comedy Last of the Summer Wine is actually a reference to the fact that members of the British Royal Family (Prince Charles and the Queen Mother) and the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, are self-confessed fans of the show.
  • Upper-Class Twit: Prince Mark, who is unable to process the idea that his favourite hotel chain does not have a location in Tazbekistan, or that the fact that the country is landlocked means it doesn't have any beaches.

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