In 1998, a young BBC employee named Stephen Merchant was tasked with producing a short film as part of a training course. While his fellow trainees shot documentaries and the like, Merchant wanted to try something different...

Roping in a few actor friends, Merchant decided to film a mockumentary following everyday life in a normal office. His colleague at London radio station Xfm - one Ricky Gervais - soon came on board as a writing partner. Gervais would also play the lead role in the film, an oafish character then known only as 'Seedy Boss'...

The Office: Originally broadcast from July 9, 2001 to December 27, 2003

This 'demo pilot' quickly found its way into the hands of comedy bigwigs, winning Gervais a role on The 11 O'Clock Show and his own spoof chat show. But he and Merchant were also hard at work developing their demo into an official BBC pilot. The Office was beginning to take shape...

It almost goes without saying, but Gervais's performance as 'Seedy Boss' - now christened David Brent - is a huge part of what makes The Office work. He may not be a trained actor, but that lends his portrayal of Brent a wonderfully naturalistic quality.

Chiefly motivated by a desire to be liked and appreciated by his colleagues, most of the embarrassing situations Brent finds himself in come about as a result of his efforts to impress. It's this desperation that makes the character appealing and, at times, even relatable.

In a documentary accompanying the DVD release of the show's first series, co-creator Merchant said of its lead, "Someone asked me, 'Why is Brent such a b**tard?' - but he's not. He's a t*t, he's a twerp, he's a kn*b." It's true - Brent is smug, buffoonish and often offensive, but crucially he's never entirely unsympathetic.

Of course, The Office doesn't lie entirely on Gervais's shoulders - he's ably assisted by a phenomenal supporting cast. Martin Freeman was a revelation as Tim, the perfect everyman, but one equipped with a dry wit that few of us could hope to match.

Lucy Davis meanwhile brings a warmth and humour to the part of Tim's partner-in-crime and unrequited love interest Dawn. And as assistant-to-the-regional-manager Gareth Keenan, Mackenzie Crook is wonderfully odd, but never veers into caricature - an accusation that could perhaps be made about his US equivalent Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson).

Even the minor characters in The Office are wonderfully drawn. Ralph Ineson is terrific as loathsome bully Chris Finch and who can forget Ewen MacIntosh's deadpan performance as 'Big' Keith? This writer also has a soft spot for the stuffy Malcolm (Robin Hooper), frequently a thorn in Brent's side through the first series.

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Some have accused The Office of being painfully awkward, even difficult to watch, but the truth is that it can often be downright uplifting. For every heartbreaking moment - Tim limping home after his shoe is thrown over a pub, the moment when he's rejected in silence by Dawn - there's a burst of real warmth.

The show's final two episodes - a pair of 45-minute Christmas specials - are the ideal example of how the show deftly balanced tragedy with comedy. Watched in isolation, part one does indeed feel rather depressing - Tim awkwardly reunites with Dawn, while Brent plunges to embarrassing new depths in his shallow quest for stardom...

But of course Gervais and Merchant know what they're doing, and it's all just set-up for the wonderful finale - as joyous a piece of television are you're likely to witness. There's Tim and Dawn's famous kiss of course, but Brent finally telling Finch to "f**k off" - a moment that could so easily have been mawkish if mishandled - is perfectly played.

One of the reasons The Office is so fondly remembered is because Gervais and Merchant knew to quit while they were ahead. The series went out on a high with those fantastic festive specials and, barring the odd cameo here and there from the Brent character, the show's creators have never been tempted to revisit their success.

"There's not even a part of me that thinks, 'I wonder if we could do another one?'" said Gervais in final DVD documentary The Office: Closed for Business. "We just mustn't."

The impact that The Office has had on television comedy since cannot be overestimated. In the UK, it spawned a rash of imitators, with everything from Gavin & Stacey to The Thick of It bearing the hallmarks of the show's influence.

Its impact in the US has been different but no less profound. Most obviously, NBC's remake - which initially starred Steve Carell as Brent-a-like Michael Scott - has proved a massive success, running for eight seasons and winning a plethora of awards, including four Emmys. Re-popularising the mockumentary format in television sitcom, the US Office has inspired the likes of Parks and Recreation and Modern Family.

It's not a slight on the superb Extras or any of their subsequent work to say that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant will never make something as good as The Office again - they've practically admitted as much themselves. It was a one-off, something truly special.

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