The Smoking Room (2004–2005) User Reviews (12)

The best (and driest) comedy in the UK in the last decade

[nuttymonk-1 · 9/10 · 22 November 2009]

It's not often that i find myself almost pi**ing myself when watching a very dry comedy such as this, but "The Smoking Room" gets me laughing my ass off every time (sorry for the Americanisms).

As a sit-com, with a very narrow set of locations (i.e. the smoking room) it can only ever rely on the characters and the script, no big budgets for explosions, morphing into other creatures, blood or CGI in this show :) It does very well with what it has.

Like a Leprechaun that manages to get to the pot of gold and becomes the CEO of a multi-national conglomerate, "The Smoking Room" achieves everything that you want from a comedy. Good characters, a great script and amazing acting that makes the script and the characters come to life.

Without the characters, script and actors to make it all possible, "The Smoking Room" would merely be a poor attempt at comedy, but when they all come together, as they do in this TV series, comedy genius is created.

:-)

Wonderful, and completely original

[chuffnobbler · 12 February 2006]

The Smoking Room (TSM) is only ever compared with The Office because both are set in workplaces! Where TSM differs is that the daily grind of worklife does not drive the story.

In TSM, office discussions are banned. Our regular set of smokers skive off their working day and discuss biscuits, holidays, Eskimos, crosswords, and any number of other topics. Characters wander in and out of the room, and leave their day job outside.

It's part of the joy of the series to try to piece together what the characters do: Annie and Sally are graphic designers; it's clearly a major company with several different branches. Occasional glimpses of the outside world are provided: a vitally important Japanese client visits, and is in need of a cigarette. No lighter or matches can be found. The tension rises as the regulars try to keep their VIP happy, and she demonstrates her dislike of all things British (notably Penguin bars and Jim Bowen's gameshow Bullseye).

There are plenty of asides regarding unseen characters (Lil's friend Tess Pownall is described as having a chest like "a pair of wizened yams"), plenty of huge laughs, scathing one-liners, running jokes, and some great ongoing stories. The story of Ben from the post room, hints about a past relationship for Sharon the non-smiling boss, Janet's desperation to be included leading her to a not-necessarily happy ending ... two series and a Christmas special have been made, and I can only hope for a third. The second series ends with a number of colossal cliffhangers: the characters are so believable and their situation so genuine that I can't wait to see them again.

Fantastic Comedy but so Underrated!

[CassiusMetal · 10/10 · 10 October 2006]

The Smoking Room is one of the simplest set ups I have ever seen for a show. All episodes have been set in a single room (with the odd exception of a shot outside the room)but to be honest I think this is a great strength.

To set up is simple, as mentioned above a Smoking Room in a workplace that is frequented by a select group of workers who's conversations and interactions go from normal to simply strange.

A run down of the regular cast is ...Theres Len the foul mouthed Security guard, Sally and Annie the best friends (or at least as far Annie is concerned), Barry who just cant handle the crossword, Heidi the woman so boring no one noticed she was on Maternity Leave, Lilian the 40 something divorcée who is rediscovering her youth, Sharon the Boss who is as mad as her employees, Clint the handyman who just isn't very handy, Robin the not very good closet gay man, Gordon who is just odd and my personal favourite Janet who is the bosses long suffering PA.

My favourite thing about this show is its so deadpan. It has not been written for laughs and this makes it all the more funny. The cast is top notch and everyone fits together like a jigsaw.

As mentioned above my favourite Character is Janet, played by the wonderful Selina Griffiths who is just fantastic and steals every scene she is in, having been in a similar job position myself, I cant believe how similar we seem, funny in one respect, quite scary in another.

Anyone who hasn't seen this show, it is repeated all the time on Digital TV or you could go and buy the DVD, series one is out now and Series 2 will be out 16th October.

So to sum up, THE SMOKING ROOM, SMOKING HOT! 10/10

dry, situational comedy of people talking to each other that's hilarious

[shindo66 · 10/10 · 9 August 2008]

This show is just what witty dialog should be. If you don't have a attention span then you probably wouldn't like it, but if you can really listen, it will have you in stitches. It's just so funny because it's what someone would really say without trying to be funny. There's no real plot, its just hilarious people who are very relate-able in a setting that's very relate-able. You can really get to like the characters after a while with a lot of running gags. The punchline at the end of the first episode is pure gold. Why can't there be more shows like this, i mean Clint is one of the funniest characters ever. Just good actors and great lines in very down to earth situations.

Supposedly a "comedy" set in the situation of a smoking room. That's it!

[PhilS · 1/10 · 9 September 2004]

The guidelines for posting comments suggest not giving away plot points. Oops, the title gives away ALL the plot points.

I wanted to like this, believe me. I thought it was very courageous of the BBC's story/comedy/script commissioners to try to create another success along the lines of "The Office" or "The Royle Family". It was good to see a new writer's work being used. Ultimately, they haven't succeeded.

What a waste of such excellent acting talent, particularly, Siobhan Redmond, Paula Wilcox and Robert Webb - they try their best with the material, as does the director - but watching this series is like watching a single joke from an American observational stand-up comedian repeated throughout each and every half-hour episode. I actually started watching as I was hooked by the theme tune during a trailer and I thought it might compare favourably with "The Office". It doesn't even begin to.

There are good points, the set for one and the lighting, definitely leave me wheezing! But the situation and, as I have already mentioned, the actors, deserve so much better from the script. It all seems so anal, with an eighties focus in the observations and puerile usage of sexual swear words.

This *is* funnier than some recent sitcoms on the BBC, but that is mainly down to the well-drawn, if stereotypical characters; there seems to be very little development of them; as I said, they are well drawn, but it all appears in the first episode. There is a lost opportunity with Robin, the gay character, which I suspect is down to the director rather than the writer: too many of his earlier comments and answers to questions are revealing, by a knowing "look" or reaction close-up; I definitely think the script was attempting some development here.

In summary: it's worth a look - choose any episode you like, you'll pick it up in seconds, like, say "Only Fools And Horses", "'Allo 'Allo" or "Are You Being Served?", because it relies on formulaic repetition of conversations, topics and well-worn character prejudices. Script editors and commissioners have a lot to answer for these days.

Deserves much more praise and a better time slot

[Tac-Tic · 9 August 2005]

I missed this program when it first appeared on BBC 3 around two years ago. The BBC, and the UK in general have produced some dreadful "sit-coms" of late, so when I seen advertised what looked like a hybrid of The Office and The Royle Family I gave it a miss. That's not particularly true though. It's like The Office only in the fact it's set in an office and like the Royle family only because it's set entirely in real time. Few will agree but I think it's much better than both.

If I were to compare it to other sit-coms I'd say Friends crossed with Daria( MTV cartoon, very cynical.) I think you have to watch quite a few episodes to get the feel of it. Initially they all seem quite ordinary and not especially likable characters. Over the course of the series though you realise the cause of all their irritating habits. Annie is irritating and irritable because she is massively self-deluded about her life being a success. Lilan initially seems desperate but you later realise it's because she's starved of attention. Janet appears prissy and stern but she's seems to be trying to shed that image by socializing with the smokers( even though she doesn't smoke) in nearly every episode. I could go on with the other characters but they'd definitely be spoilers.

It's now half way through the second series and we now have a very well developed set of characters, excellent writing( just look at some of the quotes on this site) and brilliant actors and actresses. The sort-of-main character( he's on screen from beginning to end of every episode unlike any other character) is played excellently by Robert Webb. He seems to get bleaker every episode. Robin is clearly more intelligent than everyone else around him, but prefers to make snide( and hilarious) comments about others stupidity than do anything with his own life. It's an excellent character as it's one which is common in real life. This is true of the rest of the cast and show in general. It's strange but not a contrived way. It's the genuine oddness and humour you can find in the real world, though obviously compacted into a shorter space of time. It doesn't get bogged down in the dull realness of The Royle Family either though. Nor is it as ridiculous and pained as The Office or Friends often were.

It's probably fair to say that The Smoking Room has stolen ideas and inspiration from other sit-coms. But unlike many others it stole the best parts. A good example is the sit-com device. How many sit-coms have never seen characters, love triangles or a will they, won't they relationship? A lot, and they all have the same outcome. The Smoking Room uses a much better, though already used one,; The never directly mentioned, long running storyline. It actually makes people think a bit more about what their watching and makes people notice jokes they may otherwise have missed. The only other example I can think of was in Daria. It's a difficult thing to do correctly, it can just look blatant and stupid. The strength of the writing and acting though hold it together excellently, like the show itself. Forget Little Britain or anything Peter Kay's in: This is the best British comedy around by some distance.

Not the usual comedy.

[Stefan2damax · 28 July 2004]

Like some other similar British sitcoms of this type, you may decide to try and plug it to a friend, perhaps by retelling a joke on it, you'll find it wont have the same affect on them as it did on you. Because they are different types of jokes. There are not beautiful people sitting around, glamorous, making jokes about life, they are regular people, talking about life. The characters are ordinary, the situations they are in are ordinary, but it is the way they are portrayed and their outlook on all of this that makes the smoking room so funny.

I will not slander this hilarious show by comparing it with 'the office' or 'the royale family' because, being honest, them shows had there high points, but were never as constantly funny as the smoking room.

Go watch it. NOW!

top notch stuff! *tiny gag spoiler*

[garokev · 7 July 2004]

*contains a tiny spoiler on my favourite gag so far*

another BBC comedy set in a workplace, but unlike 'the office' this is an actual sitcom rather than a mockumentary.

all the action takes place in the smoking room, where the employees in an office block come to smoke cigarettes.

only watched the first couple episodes so far, but is already hilarious and will catch on when it eventually airs on BBC2 later this year.

best gag so far would be when the black female character talks about her trip to canada and describes it as a winter wonderland. she then asks robin, 'whats that book where they're all behind a wardrobe?' to which robin replies 'Anne Frank?' (this had me in absolute stitches, and will be a lot funier when you see it!!)

well done bbc! cant wait for the rest of the series.

10 out of 10

Great Characters, Great Show

[greatdonno · 30 August 2004]

The characterastion of The Smoking Room is the best I've seen in a sitcom since The Royle Family. For example the character of Robin evolved over the course of the series from a mild-mannered trivia fiend to a man whose afraid of his fellow smokers finding out that he's gay and also afraid that Ben from the Postroom isn't in love with him. The character of Annie is afraid that she's going to end up alone so she'll go to any length to get a man even if that means dressing up like a policeman. Lilian on the other hand is afraid of getting older and being alone

And Janet is afraid that because she's the boss' P.A. and she's a bit more well-bred than the other characters than she'll never be accepted as one of them. On the surface Sally seems like an easily irritated loudmoth but on the inside she is very caring. She is the only person who realises that Robin is gay and doesn't tell any of the other smokers. She comforts Annie at any point when she's about to break down and in her last scene of the series she even cheers Janet up by agreeing to having a girlie chat with her.

And while Sharon likes to stamp her authority on the other smokes she's as insecure as the rest of them. She doesn't know how to communicate with any of the others and in the last episode they rejected her social advances.

There are some stereotypes Barry the guy who can't do the crossword, Heidi the most boring woman you'll ever meet and the foul-mouthed security guard Len. I Hope this comes back for a second series because its enjoyable and a good concept. 9/10

special effects

[matt-1059 · 12 February 2005]

This is an excellent Show but what the hell is it with this 'The Office' fixation that so many reviewers have? it is nothing like 'The Office' except for the fact that there is probably one around. Is 'Dad's Army' like 'Mash' like 'Green Wing' 'cos they share a military kind a thing and a medical kinda thing? This like that cos it's about life. If one must compare shows do it for more than something superficial. Otherwise judge on the shows merits, of which getting to the point SR has may. brilliant well observed writing, brilliant well observed acting, brilliant well observed direction, to say nothing of props, lights, SFX, casting and subliminal mind control.

Finally a good britcom!!!

[bestsitcoms-1 · 21 July 2004]

Located somewhere between The Royle Family and The Office, The Smoking Room has it all. Although many of the characters are stereotyped the jokes come thick and fast. As in The Royle Family the episode usually starts with a joke and ends in the punchline. For example in the first episode the characters were trying to remember the theme from Little House on the Prarie and in the end someone remembered it and in the most recent one everyone was looking for a light and in the end they found one. Robert Webb seems to be proving himself as a breakout sitcom star after starring in the underrated Peep Show. While veteran actors such as Paula Wilcox and Leslie Schofield are joined by lesser known actors who are just as funny. In the end this isn't as good as The Royle Family or The Office but better than most of the sitcom dirge that is churned out at the moment.

Well done BBC!!!

Funnier than most sitcoms but not as sharp as 'The Office' and it was a mistake to align it with that

[bob the moo · 19 July 2004]

In every workplace there is a place where the shunned go – a place where people go who have only one thing in common but spend several times a day together nonetheless. They are the office smokers; some hang around outside the building but in this office they have a room together. As the smokers come and go on their various breaks we are treated to all manner of inane discussions, banter and office politics.

Although it doesn't help to compare this show to the vastly superior The Office it is hard not to. Not only is it set in the 'real work' much more than most BBC sitcoms but the marketing for it all tried to make sure that we came to this off the back of The Office's fame. Initial disappointment is pretty much guaranteed because this is not as sharp as the observation from The Office and is funnier in a different way. Once I realized that this had been mis-sold and is really just a normal sitcom then I was able to settle into it a lot more. As a sitcom it is better than the norm as it is at least recognisable (as opposed to forced family sitcoms) and the jokes are quite good and pretty much match the sort of banter you wish you could have. In reality most smoking room conversations are just small talk and b*tching but that wouldn't make for much of a series, so the pop culture references and the amusing dialogue keep it moving much better.

The lack of a sharp edge on the material is a problem and I didn't feel that the series managed to build characters and stories as well as it should have done. The cast are all OK but I was never really sold on them as 'real' people – rather they were always actors albeit actors delivering some funny lines. In The Office (sorry to keep comparing – but the BBC started it!) the people were all recognisable and the laughs were tempered by the horror of seeing our workplaces slightly condensed into this one. Here performances are OK from Ayres, Webb, Marshall and the others but they feel like a sitcom cast and it is only the funnier than normal material that makes them rise above the genre.

Overall this is not The Office and it is important to know that and not be sucked in by the attempts by the show and the BBC to align it with that. Rather this is a sitcom that is set in an office environment – it is not as sharp or as well observed as it could have been but it still manages to be funny. Watched as a sitcom it is funnier than the genre and blessedly free of canned laughter but this is just a sitcom and comparisons to The Office will only help it get an audience at the start – not keep it.