THE IT CROWD YESTERDAYS JAM

How are the characters constructed?

Jen and Denholm are presented as people who are very inept at anything computer related as both of them seem as very basic users. For example: Jen speech contains a lot of repetition within it to make it seem like she knows more than she actually does;
'The web. Using a mouse, mices, using mice. Clicking, double clicking. The computer screen, of course. The keyboard. The... bit that goes on the floor down there.'

In addition, when she talks about 'The bit that goes on the floor', she's inclining that she doesn't know what a hard-drive is, which is truly amazing as you don't need to be a nerd or a computer genius to know that! This really shows us how bad she is about dealing with computers and also why she shouldn't get the job.

However, funny thing is that she DOES get the job, which comes as a real surprise to us, as a person who doesn't know what a hard-drive is or what it looks like is really pushing the boundaries of IT ignorance! This makes us turn our gaze towards Denholm, as he is the one that accepted Jen's job application. Denholm is presented slightly differently to Jen (even though his computer knowledge is equally bad) as he seems more like a bully who tries hard to be nasty but turns out to simply being awkward. We see an example of that when he starts the conversation with Jen:
'Hope this doesn't embarrass you Jen, but I find the best thing to do with a new employee is to size them up with a long hard stare.
(Denholm stares long and hard)'.

Normally it is imitating, to be stared upon by a person with a power, however  in this situation it just seems weird and comical.

In what ways are Ross and Moss are constructed as typical nerds?

After that scene has finished, we cut to the basement where the companies IT department is situated. We start the scene with Ross speaking with one of the members of staff who has experienced a technical problem. The member of staff seems to be also very inept with computers and we see Ross trying to hammer in the real basics of what he should do. We know that Ross doesn't like doing that as he is very unenthusiastic about the whole deal which we see in his responses, for example this one:
'OK, well, the button on the side. Is it glowing?
Yeah, you need to turn it on. Err, the button turns it on.

Yeah, you do know how a button works, don't you? No, not on clothes'

His responses make him look and feel like a child, who is very bored and tired of what he's doing,  in an adults situation. This is a semi-typical trait for nerds as they are so immersed in their own world that they never learn to grow up.


Then we see Moss enter. Now he is the real soul and spirit of what a nerd should; look, sound and feel like! Moss also gets a phone call and he starts to talk about stuff that even I don't know about! (and mind you I assembled and took care of my own computer! Here is a line that in my opinion that really expresses how deeply nerdy he is:
'You see the drive hooks a function by patching the system core table so it's not safe to unload it unless another thread is about to jump in there and do its stuff. And you don't want to end up in the middle of invalid memory'.

So he's got the knowledge it takes to be a real nerd. However, he also looks like a classic nerd with his massively overgrown afro, glasses and a very straight pose. He, you'll need to see the extract for that, also sounds like a nerd as he tends to speak slightly through his nose.

Analysing Audience Pleasures the Balancing Broom Extract QI BBC

One of Steven Fry’s characteristics on the QI show is that he’s very smart and usually knows the answers, since he has the answer cards. Because of that, it is very unusual to see him wrong, which comes as a surprise to the audience when he is wrong and Alan Davies can very easily balance a broom on the palm of his hand, brush side down. The audience likes this moment of Steven Fry rip up his cards as it isn’t a thing that you see often and comes as a new experience. This then makes the programme more pleasurable as the audience can expect anything.

Another thing that was very pleasurable about that clip is the how Steven Fry makes mature men do very childish thing, which is trying to balance a broom whilst moving your hands. This makes the audience not only to relate to their childhood, but also it makes them laugh at the whole dumbness and weirdness of the situation, as if those men who should be able to do it easily are having some problems with doing that simple task.

Alan Davies’ comic relief is also very entertaining, as he is usually the child of the show, however he really proves the audience is right by doing ridiculous things like balancing the broom on his face.

Click here to watch the clip