Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

simon-894 This works as a short sketch only. It is a single gag that is repeated ad nauseam and after only three episodes I could take no more. It is painful to watch and frankly not worthy of fine actors, Hugh Bonneville and Jessica Hynes. For example, the conference suite scenes have the same structure and outcome every time - only the dialogue (such that it is) varies. The Head of Security character is unbelievable and just isn't funny, the Intern is just annoyingly hopeless. Several scenes are just a waste of time and banal in the extreme. It's altogether unbearable and unfunny.

Andrew Hamilton (hi_and) A hilarious skewering of both the BBC and the mindset of corporate lackeys everywhere. Absolutely crammed with great characters, many of whom, in the British manner, have their distinctive and increasingly wonderful catch-phrases. It seems impossible that this got made by the same organization that is portrayed in the show, but it is very pleasing that it was. It's just a shame that the number of episodes per season is small even by UK standards.

peter-1708 I found this very funny and very true. I worked at BBC Future Media (and other parts of the BBC) and recognise a number of these senior managers. The caricatures are not far removed from reality. On the creative side, you might think the show was cruel. Not really, they used to have weekly "creative sessions" in my kitchen area. There's nothing like the sight of desperate 40-somethings trying to come up with something young and hip to make you wish you were far, far away from the commissioning process and the necessary obliges noblesses! The meeting rooms, "Strictly Come Dancing" and "Top Gear" and so on, and Syncopatispace is beyond parody. This show is almost exactly like working there.

droopsnout I suspect that some of the reviews here have been made by people who are perhaps too close to the BBC, or are amongst a significant section of the British population who regard the licence fee as the wrong way to fund the Corporation.I didn't see "Twenty Twelve" (but have just ordered the DVDs of Series 1 & 2), and in fact have only managed to see the first two episodes of "W1A". That clearly leaves me open to criticism for reviewing a series I haven't fully seen. On the other hand, it meant that I had no particular expectations before I viewed.What I did see I found to be hugely funny - certainly one of the most wryly observed and succinctly written comedies of recent years.Yes, I am sure that what it portrays is desperately close to reality! And indeed, that is what makes it all the funnier. The characters are, of course, caricatures with little depth, but in a light-hearted series of just four episodes, I doubt we would be expecting serious character development, especially when some of them speak the same (or similar) lines in every episode.As a Brit who loves the BBC, despite its weaknesses and failings, and who thinks the licence fee is truly excellent value for money, I admire the organisation all the more for its willingness to have the mickey taken in this way.Reading the other reviews, you might think that there was little to laugh at in this short series. Far from it. I very rarely laugh out loud, but this had me chortling more than most.