The Office (UK) "Christmas Special, Part II" (2003)

The last episode as we know it of The Office (UK) picks up with David picking his three free introductions from the dating service Gareth signed him up for. Of course David being David makes a mess of his first two dates and one phone call which never gets to an actual date. On his second date he's caught in many of the lies he put as his interests to attract women such as his love for classical music. David really needs to learn how to be himself and more relaxed. His first date has him prattling on about how he watches the anthropological programs about women giving off signals. The woman is clearly uncomfortable and asks to change the subject but he keeps on going because he thinks it makes him sound intelligent. His best chance for a match is to find someone he doesn't have to pretend around if he's serious about finding someone to be in a relationship (and beat Neil to get married) with and not just looking to get lucky.

Luckily enough David's last date, Carol (Sandy Hendrickse) finds David both funny and oddly charming. Perhaps David realized he was being his own worst enemy and calmed down a bit for this last date or perhaps being in the office, the place he always been most comfortable allows him the chance to show a softer side of himself. Carol even provides him a better outlook on his celebrity life in that he shouldn't care what they think, just take the money and run. He had been growing increasingly more frustrated with his night club appearances and demands that his agent find more high profile work, but maybe a new relationship with Carol will allow him to just do the work and look for happiness in his personal life. Who knows, maybe a more relaxed David will be a better stage presence. I know I've railed against David a lot since the second season, but it was nice to see this turnaround in his character and a final hope for happiness. He even manages to finish it off by telling off Chris Finch and later making the entire office laugh. Took a long time to get there, but it was worth it.

While David plays the dating scene, we turn to our two other main characters with Dawn making a surprise pop into the office where Tim waits in the wings to greet her. After a few awkward moments, they pick up what they do best and wind up Gareth by getting him to talk about his army experiences using phrases that allude to homosexuality. There is still a spark there and how Dawn can continue to think she is better off with Lee I don't think I will ever understand. She admits to Tim that she has given up on her dreams of being her artist, because as Lee puts it, you have to be good to make money. Dawn has clearly settled for many things in her life. Maybe she's unsure it will work out with Tim and that's why she stays with Lee and rather than risk discovering she doesn't have the talent to be a professional artist, she's given up on trying. It's a pattern of Dawn avoiding what she really wants and settling for what she knows she already has. It's sad because it's clear how much raw talent she does have, as evidenced in her quick sketch of Tim and how great Tim and Dawn are together.

It makes sense that the final key to Dawn's heart would be Tim's secret Santa gift of an oil paint set with a heartfelt note telling her to never give up, both her dreams in one package. It's clear Tim has not given up on her despite the fact that he doesn't take the chance to ask her out yet again. It's a sad moment when Lee says it is time to leave the party as Tim and Dawn have been having such a fun time together again. In a mirror scene to how the camera stayed on Tim and Lee in the first episode when we discovered Tim harbored feelings for Dawn, now Dawn and Tim share an awkward good-bye, possibly forever this time, with tension positively palpable as you want to scream for one of them to make the first move. Alas, it was not to be . . . yet anyway. I'm sure Tim was the most surprised when Dawn returns to the party and plants their first real kiss on him and assuring him she and Lee are no longer together. A bit rushed at the end of the series, and maybe a little unlikely a gift would finally tip her over the edge, but it was another long time coming and totally worth it and great to see them wind up together before the final end.

It's a fitting end to the series that we leave our office friends at one of their signature parties. Aside from the major events such as David getting a laugh and Tim and Dawn finally getting together, we get some other small character moments such as Trudy and Oliver being caught kissing by Sheila, who's devastated that her crush on Oliver will go unfulfilled. Silent Keith, who we find out is quite the ladies man due to his ability to ability to tell them what they want to hear, is the DJ. We also get to see some of the background players pairing off and we leave for the last time with a sense that everyone is much better off than when we first met them. Gareth of course is still the butt of the jokes when his secret Santa gives him an army man toy resulting in a tirade about how he asked for a voucher and no joke gifts.

It's been an enjoyable experience watching the original British series which inspired the American one and although the two are similar in terms of characters and plots, the two are also unique in their own ways with both versions capable of standing on their own. There's not many episodes to the British series, but it makes the most of the short time and doesn't need to pad twenty episodes to get the characters where they want them from the beginning to the end of the season. Maybe we'll get another reunion sometime in the future to peek in and see how everyone is doing. As Tim says, life goes on even after the camera turns off.

Favorite moment: Our final glimpse of Anne has her at the party, again boring Tim and Dawn with her nattering on about how spoiling a child is akin to abuse, when she stops to yell at one of the warehouse guys for smoking near a pregnant woman. The gentlemen from the warehouse have never been nice or subtle, since their first appearance when they mouthed off to Jennifer. They wave off her concern and tell her no cares about her baby and how she let some guy "blow his beans up her muffin". She runs off around the corner crying and you start to feel bad for her and how upset she is. Then we get Tim and Dawn cracking up about it and we realize that the insults were a while coming since no one has yet to put her in her place because of her condition. You can always count on the warehouse guys to do what no one else would. It's also a final example of the harsh reality that is missing from American shows which try not to be too un-PC. Good-bye Office (UK), come back soon.