The IT Crowd was a beloved British comedy that some fans say ended too soon, this is how one episode has tarnished its legacy with viewers.
The IT crowd It was once a beloved British comedy, so how did a single episode usher in the end of the hit series? “Have you tried turning it off and on again?“has become a frequent date for UK sitcom fans The IT crowd, and its cast of quirky characters instantly wowed audiences with their nerdy antics. The show drew millions of viewers from around the world, but only ran for four seasons despite demand from viewers.
However, The IT crowd legacy has been tarnished due to season 3, episode 4 of “The Speech,“where company boss Douglas Reynholm (Matt Berry) started dating April Shepherd (Lucy Montgomery), a journalist who was writing an article about him. The two hit it off after Douglas ignores him when (he thinks ) that April tells him that she “it used to be from Iran.“When Douglas later discovers that April is a trans woman and that she had been trying to say that she was”I used to be a man“The episode ends in violence when an angry Douglas gets into a physical altercation with April.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
Throughout the episode, various jokes poke fun at trans women and undermine their identity. A musical montage shows April and Douglas doing various “manly” activities, such as drinking beer or watching sports, with the intention of making a joke that April is a “typical man” on the inside. While some viewers tried to ignore the dark undertones of this episode in light of the main plot, where Roy (Chris O ‘Dowd) and Moss (Richard Ayoade, The mandalorian) convinced Jen (Katherine Parkinson) that the “Internet elders” had allowed her to borrow the box containing the Internet for her Employee of the Month speech; it eventually became a controversial episode.
With a growing trend of violence against trans women, the public began to speak out against the episode trivializing the issue with cheap laughs. Channel 4 decided to pull this out IT crowd episode of its streaming service in 2020 after numerous complaints about the blatant transphobia it displayed. Creator Graham Linehan was furious about this and posted on his blog the decision that infringed on his freedom of expression. He also promised not to work with Channel 4 again until it was reinstalled.
Linehan, who also created Father ted, has a history of anti-trans opinions and his Twitter account was permanently suspended in June 2020 for his frequent anti-trans comments. Linehan has stated that she does not believe that trans women are women and that transgender rights oppress them. With all of this coming to light, her attitude toward the series’ only trans character came as no surprise.
The IT crowd The season came to an end after the controversial episode, and Linehan said he was no longer as excited to work on the project as before. There have been several attempts at American reboots, but so far, none have made it to the screen. While some fans fondly remember the best episodes of the show, the ugly transphobia at the heart of “The Speech“ it has stained his legacy in the eyes of many.
About the Author
Reference-screenrant.com
