The American version of The Office is quite reliant on cringe comedy, but it is nothing compared to the unbearable cringe of the UK original. Unlike the American version, the UK version of The Office has little heart and warmth. It's a cold, bleak, and rather depressing glimpse into cold, bleak, and rather depressing lives - including that of the office manager, David Brent.
Unlike Michael Scott, Brent doesn't really mean well, and he's not a sweet person hidden in a flawed exterior. He's genuinely offensive and disgusting, and he's more concerned with being liked and adored than being a good boss. His behavior often results in some horribly embarrassing behavior.
Headbutting An Interviewee (After Sexually Harassing Her)
Season one's "New Girl" has to be one of the most embarrassing episodes of the show. It's just credits-to-credits cringe, and it showcases David Brent at his absolute worst. The "New Girl" in question is an attractive new secretary that David wants to hire.
David only cares about her physical looks, and the "interview" is filled with inappropriate behavior, like David sitting "seductively" on the desk and asking the woman if she's been "exploring herself." Following the interview, David accidentally headbutts the poor woman in the face while trying to impress her with his "football skills."
Bringing Rape Into A Corporate Exercise
Season one's "Training" is often considered to be the best episode of the series. Most of the acclaim stems from David's embarrassing behavior, which includes bringing rape into a simple corporate exercise. While performing a role-play to exhibit poor customer service, David is given the role of an irate hotel customer.
Rather than complaining about a lack of hot water or something, David instead complains about a potential rape, yelling, "I think there's been a rape up there!" Everyone sits in stunned silence and the audience recoils in secondhand embarrassment.
Singing Songs For The Office
The corporate retreat is a complete disaster. Not only does David shock everyone with his grossly inappropriate choice of scenarios, but he also manages to hijack the retreat so he can "impress" everyone with his musical skills.
He goes home to grab his acoustic guitar and performs a few original songs for the office. One is a cheesy and somewhat pretentious song about overcoming racism, another is about a serpent guarding the gates of Hell, and the last is "Free Love Freeway." This song is now iconic and it's always good for a laugh.
If You Don't Know Me By Now
Speaking of David's pitiful foray into music, the music video for "If You Don't Know Me By Now" is pure comedic brilliance. After David successfully sues the company, he spends his winnings on producing a single and accompanying music video.
The result is "If You Don't Know Me By Now," a cover of an R&B tune by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. The music video reeks of pretension, complete with dramatic sweeps across David's mournful face and a shot of David releasing a white dove into the air.
The Comic Relief Dance
David's Comic Relief dance is, by far, one of the most popular scenes to come from The Office. David grows intensely jealous of Neil's choreographed dance and the positive reception that it receives from the office.
Wishing to upstage them, David performs an off-the-cuff dance that "fuses Flashdance with MC Hammer." The result is one painful minute of complete secondhand embarrassment.
Trying To Make Swindon Laugh
The second series introduces the "Swindon lot," as employees are transferred over to the Slough branch. David, being David, tries far too hard to be liked by the new group and plans a comedy routine as a means of introduction.
He performs poor impressions of famous comedy bits and creates his own original jokes - some of which are dumb ("My parents owned a paper shop until it blew away") and some are which are incredibly inappropriate. He doesn't get a single laugh, and he ends the routine by getting frustrated at the Swindon lot and sulking in his chair.
Taking The Swindon Lot To Lunch
Following his disastrous comedy routine, David once again tries ingratiating himself within the Swindon lot by taking them out to lunch. He and a select few Swindon employees go to a pub, and David immediately makes things awkward.
While his failed attempts at conversation are noble, he still proves unlikable by openly berating two Swindon employees, who are talking amongst themselves and performing incredibly rude actions, like pulling an employee out of their wheelchair so he can get up.
His Failed Blind Dates
The Christmas special is filled with embarrassing moments - including David's numerous failed blind dates. The first begins well enough but quickly spirals into failure after David talks about graphic sexual positions and how the woman's deceased mother wore a necklace to draw attention to her cleavage.
The second is a disaster from the out, as David openly expresses disappointment at her appearance. The two then engage in some horrific conversation, which includes the sugar content in lemons and how cows have four stomachs.
His Celebrity Appearances
After getting fired from Wernham Hogg, David finds work as a traveling salesman. He also supplements this income by making celebrity appearances in various nightclubs around the country. These appearances are downright horrific.
No one ever knows who David is, his "appearances" are literally twenty seconds long, and in one case, he dresses up as Austin Powers. These appearances make for some horrific - albeit hilarious - viewing.
The Motivational Speech
One of David's worst episodes in series two's "Motivation." David is hired to give a presentation on effective management, and he completely wastes the opportunity through his pretension.
He wears a white t-shirt and jeans to the event, spends a minute laughing in front of the audience, tries to rouse them with Tina Turner's "The Best," and leaves (to expectant applause and cheers) with a triumphant run through the doors - before coming back after the song is turned off. It's pure David Brent, and it is awful.