Drop the Dead Donkey – The Christmas Party

Time for a 90s Channel4 sitcom double header and first up, in a week at the end of ’91 where the full details of the Maxwell scandal were beginning to emerge and the Soviet Union ceased to exist, here’s Drop the Dead Donkey.

The offices of Globelink News had been operating for two full seasons at this point and this is Hadyn Gwynne’s final episode as the usually sensible Alex. This means we have some clearly established characters doing what they do best – George is a grumbling hypochondriac, Henry is a grumbling senior citizen, Sally is a grumbling egotist… However the rest of the GLN team seem on fine form, even Joy. The great thing about this show was the camaraderie mixed with the almost relentless cynicism and back-biting that populated any office. However, unlike The Office this wanted to be a genuine comedy and as such features genuine jokes. All the better for it too.

Office Christmas parties rarely go as planned and the aftermath of the GLN one is particularly spectacular. They even have a Christmas Tape to watch.

A sitcom then at the top of its game and two of the best deliveries of the line “Oh shit” ever.

Stupid Channel 4 have disabled embedding from Youtube – so you can watch the ep here.