Return of the horror that is David Brent

By FRANCES GRANT


'Tis not the season to be jolly, but who cares as long as we don't have to wait any longer to receive one of telly's rare gifts, The Office Specials (TV One, 8.40pm).

The Christmas finale to the faux reality series, titled Last Bow in Slough, screened in Britain last year. The show went out with a bang, winning two Baftas, for best sitcom and best comedy performance for lead Ricky Gervais' awful creation, David Brent.

The two-part finale certainly doesn't disappoint: have the squirming muscles warmed up and prepared for a marathon of hilarity and pain. The Brentmeister, without his power base as office boss, now cuts a particularly embarrassing and tragic figure.

The special is staged as a catch-up episode. Nearly three years after the BBC started filming the everyday life of a typical office, the cameras return to find out what has become of its subjects.

It begins with Brent complaining, as so many reality telly victims do, of being stitched up and deliberately made to look like a prat. "I'm not a plonker," he tells us firmly, and for a moment we believe him.

Life has not been kind to Brent since he squandered his payout on releasing his own single, which, needless to say, did not trouble the charts.

He's on the road as a cleaning products salesman by day and living the strange and desperate life of a fading reality TV celebrity in sad pub gigs at night. With plenty of time on his hands, he is forever popping into his old workplace (stalking might be a better word) to tell a few jokes and "boost morale".

Back on the job, the permanently under-developed-looking Gareth is revelling in his executive status and running the place with military precision. Where Brent ruled with humour, he uses discipline."If you are laughing in the jungle you are going to give away your position to the enemy."

As always with this show at its most absurd, there's a frightening relevance to real-world office experience.

Otherwise, not much has changed. Dawn has moved to Florida with boyfriend Lee but Tim has not moved on from his feelings for her.

Not helping matters is the fact that Dawn is returning to catch up with her former colleagues.

Be prepared, nearly every line is a gem of self-delusion. And there's a swag of heartbreak or hilarity in even the smallest cutaway shot.

Numerous highlights include:

* The music video of Brent's single, featuring a loft, doves, a model and acres of white chiffon blowin' in the wind.

* Tim's new colleague Anne's graphic demonstration of the Kama Sutra position which caused her pregnancy - the protest "too much information" doesn't even begin to cover the excess of unwanted detail on offer here.

* Keith the accountant's contributions to the Christmas party planning committee meeting.

* Brent's agency-arranged date with a fat woman who likes classical music.

* Tim's grandmother's opinion on the Lee-Dawn-Tim triangle.

Yes, the two-part finale is relentlessly excruciating. Viewers on the point of mental derangement after tonight's first part might need to know there is some relief at the end.

The Christmas joy might not be quite believable in a comedy as grim and gruellingly funny as The Office. But when even the Brentmeister scores a little good will, the show really must be at an end.