History YMMV / TheOfficeUK

* ValuesDissonance: The UK's more relaxed view of alcohol is apparent when comparing with ''Series/TheOfficeUS''. One UK episode involves Brent taking all of his new employees out for quite a few beers in the middle of the workday, which wouldn't fly in most American companies. By contrast, nearly every time alcohol is introduced to the American show, there are serious consequences: Pam throws herself at Jim despite being engaged, Roy smashes up a bar, Michael and Jan get in a fight where the cops get called, and Meredith sets her hair on fire.

** Dawn, to a point, since she's such a doormat when it comes to Lee that she rejects the much nicer Tim ''twice'' and ends up wasting three years in America being a glorified babysitter because she couldn't muster up the courage to leave him. Yes, her situation sucks, but she makes her own bed by refusing to stand up for what she really wants. It takes a very heartfelt present from Tim in the series finale for her to finally put her foot down and choose the guy who doesn't treat her like shit.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Anne getting a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech when she complains about the warehouse employees smoking around her is supposed to be funny, but even though she was portrayed unsympathetically up to that point, at the end of the day she is a pregnant woman and is right to complain about people smoking around her. For that matter, even if she wasn't pregnant, she'd still be right to complain about them spreading second-hand smoke indoors. It doesn't help that the TheReasonYouSuckSpeech comes from the warehouse employees who have been completely loathsome in their previous appearances, as opposed to Tim who she has been annoying throughout the Christmas special to this point.
** That said, smoking indoors ''was'' allowed at the time. Granted, it was increasingly seen as being socially taboo, especially in a workplace like an office, but when Anne complains about the smoking, it's during the Christmas party as opposed to regular working hours. It was only banned in Britain in 2007, four years after the Christmas specials were broadcast.

* FridgeBrilliance: Gareth offhandedly mentions that Brent sued the company after his redundancy, settling out of court for a good deal of money (which he wasted trying to launch a music career), following which ''he still shows up at the office on a regular basis''. Really, is it any wonder Neil's tolerance for the man had utterly plummeted as of the Christmas special?

** Karen Roper has to deal with Brent's incredibly [[CasanovaWannabe creepy and inappropriate behavior]] and even gets a rather nasty accidental headbutt from him; even worse, he's knowingly stringing her along by offering her a job when he ''knows'' Wernham-Hogg is making redundancies, meaning she ultimately quit her previous job for David's position only to be left jobless within a few weeks.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The warehouse guys smoking at the Christmas party, given that smoking indoors was outlawed in Britain four years after the show ended.

** Neil gets some of this too. Gervais admitted that the character was intended to be as unlikable as Chris Finch, but some viewers feel that he dealt with David fairly for the most part and that his low tolerance for Brent's disruptive behaviour was usually justified.

* AcceptableTargets:
** The [[LowerClassLout working class warehouse employees]] are depicted as obnoxiously sexist and homophobic brutes, and David is portrayed negatively for fraternizing with them.
** David's irritation that one of his blind dates is an obese woman. He's no prize himself.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Anne getting a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech when she complains about the warehouse employees smoking around her is supposed to be funny, but even though she was portrayed unsympathetically up to that point, at the end of the day she is a pregnant women and is right to complain about people smoking around her. For that matter, even if she wasn't pregnant, she'd still be right to complain about them spreading second-hand smoke indoors. It doesn't help that the TheReasonYouSuckSpeech comes from the warehouse employees who have been completely loathsome in their previous appearances, as opposed to Tim who she has been annoying throughout the Christmas special to this point.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The warehouseguys smoking at the Christmas party, given that smoking indoors was outlawed in Britain four years after the show ended.

* FridgeBrilliance: Gareth offhandedly mentions that Brent sued the company after his redundancy, settling out of court for a good deal of money (which he wasted trying to launch a music career). Really, is it any wonder Neil's tolerance for the man had utterly plummeted as of the Christmas special?

** That said, smoking indoors was allowed at the time -- although it was increasingly seen as being socially taboo, especially in a workplace like an office (and bear in mind that when Anne complains about the smoking, it's during the Christmas party as opposed to regular working hours), it wasn't illegal. It was only banned in Britain in 2007, four years after the Christmas specials were broadcast.
** Gervais has stated in the past that we were meant to dislike Neil... which ended up surprising all of those viewers who thought that his only crime was doing his job properly.

** Tim as the series wears on, particularly in the Christmas Specials, as his SnarkKnight tendencies [[{{Flanderisation}} become exaggerated]] and he starts sniping at Gareth over the tiniest thing. It doesn't help that much of his often unprovoked pranks on Gareth in season 2 are calculated to impress Rachel if anything. He actually behaves more like his new deskmate Anne, who is ''supposed'' to be irritating and unlikeable.

* SignatureScene: David's utterly embarrassing dance following a relatively decent duet; he describes it as 'Flashdance meets MC Hammer shit', but it's largely a lot of him grunting, waving his arms and pointing at his captive audience. It's very much the ultimate example of David desperately wanting to be liked.

** Creator/MartinFreeman (Tim Canterbury) is also this, thanks to the stateside fame he achieved through ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' and ''Film/TheHobbit''.

** The second series opens with an impromptu rendition of Mahnamahna, which Brent joins in. Creator/RickyGervais would later co-star in ''Film/MuppetsMostWanted''.

** Karen Roper has to deal with Brent's incredibly creepy and inappropriate behavior and even gets a rather nasty accidental headbutt from him; even worse, he's knowingly stringing her along by offering her a job when he ''knows'' Wernham-Hogg is making redundancies, meaning she ultimately quit her previous job for David's position only to be left jobless within a few weeks.

** That said, smoking indoors was allowed at the time -- although it was increasingly seen as being socially taboo (especially in a workplace like an office, although not long after the office there was a work-based sitcom called ''Series/TheSmokingRoom'' which was [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin all about]] smoking at work), it wasn't illegal. It was only banned in Britain in 2007, four years after the Christmas specials were broadcast.

** That said, smoking indoors was allowed at the time -- although it was increasingly seen as being socially taboo (especially in a workplace like an office), it wasn't illegal. It was only banned in Britain in 2007, four years after the Christmas specials were broadcast.

** Tim as the series wears on, particularly in the Christmas Specials, as his SnarkKnight tendencies [[{{Flanderisation}} become exaggerated]] and he starts sniping at Gareth over the tiniest thing. He actually behaves more like his new deskmate Anne, who is ''supposed'' to be irritating and unlikeable.