‘The Office’: Revisit Big Keith’s appraisal, an iconic moment in British comedy
When The Office first hit television screens in the summer of 2001, the sitcom changed the face of British comedy indefinitely. Following the mundane lives of paper merchants working in Slough, the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant-penned comedy was something of a phenomenon, as was the character of Keith Bishop, played by Ewen MacIntosh.
Throughout the series, Keith is utilised as something of a side character, with the main storyline focusing on Gervais’ bizarre office manager, David Brent, and the ‘will they, won’t they?’ romance between Tim and the receptionist Dawn. Nevertheless, the few moments where Big Keith takes centre stage form some of the best-loved moments within the entire series.
Keith’s defining moment is undoubtedly the moment he receives his appraisal from Brent. Coming within the second episode of the second series, the cutaway scenes which see Keith attempting to fill in an appraisal form for an increasingly frustrated David Brent are equally hilarious and depressingly accurate for anybody who has ever had to work within an office.
MacIntosh played the character perfectly within this exchange, with his unbothered and continuous chewing of gum acting as the perfect counter to Brent’s stunned frustrations. Keith’s appraisal also forms one of the only moments within the series when the usually fun-loving David Brent is at risk of losing his cool in front of the mockumentary film crew.
The vast number of bloopers available online, specifically surrounding this scene, makes the appraisal all the more lovable. Even within the final cut, you certainly get the sense that both Gervais and MacIntosh are seconds away from corpsing with laughter. The fact that the pair were able to keep straight faces for these scenes is nothing short of a miracle.
In many ways, Keith’s appraisal is the perfect encapsulation of The Office as a whole. A light is shining on the painful, grey monotony of dead-end office work – something that most people can relate to in some form. Despite the somewhat depressing surroundings, Gervais and Merchant are able to make the banal office life intensely funny.
Over two decades since The Office first aired, Keith’s appraisal remains one of the most iconic moments within British comedy and one that has certainly stood the test of time. Although it could be argued that its US counterpart has somewhat overshadowed the success of the original, The Office, and Big Keith’s appraisal, will surely remain in the hearts and minds of British comedy fans for years to come.
See the clip below.
