Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The Smoking Room (TSM) is only ever compared with The Office because both are set in workplaces! Where TSM differs is that the daily grind of worklife does not drive the story.In TSM, office discussions are banned. Our regular set of smokers skive off their working day and discuss biscuits, holidays, Eskimos, crosswords, and any number of other topics. Characters wander in and out of the room, and leave their day job outside.It's part of the joy of the series to try to piece together what the characters do: Annie and Sally are graphic designers; it's clearly a major company with several different branches. Occasional glimpses of the outside world are provided: a vitally important Japanese client visits, and is in need of a cigarette. No lighter or matches can be found. The tension rises as the regulars try to keep their VIP happy, and she demonstrates her dislike of all things British (notably Penguin bars and Jim Bowen's gameshow Bullseye).There are plenty of asides regarding unseen characters (Lil's friend Tess Pownall is described as having a chest like "a pair of wizened yams"), plenty of huge laughs, scathing one-liners, running jokes, and some great ongoing stories. The story of Ben from the post room, hints about a past relationship for Sharon the non-smiling boss, Janet's desperation to be included leading her to a not-necessarily happy ending ... two series and a Christmas special have been made, and I can only hope for a third. The second series ends with a number of colossal cliffhangers: the characters are so believable and their situation so genuine that I can't wait to see them again.

The characterastion of The Smoking Room is the best I've seen in a sitcom since The Royle Family. For example the character of Robin evolved over the course of the series from a mild-mannered trivia fiend to a man whose afraid of his fellow smokers finding out that he's gay and also afraid that Ben from the Postroom isn't in love with him. The character of Annie is afraid that she's going to end up alone so she'll go to any length to get a man even if that means dressing up like a policeman. Lilian on the other hand is afraid of getting older and being aloneAnd Janet is afraid that because she's the boss' P.A. and she's a bit more well-bred than the other characters than she'll never be accepted as one of them. On the surface Sally seems like an easily irritated loudmoth but on the inside she is very caring. She is the only person who realises that Robin is gay and doesn't tell any of the other smokers. She comforts Annie at any point when she's about to break down and in her last scene of the series she even cheers Janet up by agreeing to having a girlie chat with her.And while Sharon likes to stamp her authority on the other smokes she's as insecure as the rest of them. She doesn't know how to communicate with any of the others and in the last episode they rejected her social advances.There are some stereotypes Barry the guy who can't do the crossword, Heidi the most boring woman you'll ever meet and the foul-mouthed security guard Len. I Hope this comes back for a second series because its enjoyable and a good concept. 9/10

Located somewhere between The Royle Family and The Office, The Smoking Room has it all. Although many of the characters are stereotyped the jokes come thick and fast. As in The Royle Family the episode usually starts with a joke and ends in the punchline. For example in the first episode the characters were trying to remember the theme from Little House on the Prarie and in the end someone remembered it and in the most recent one everyone was looking for a light and in the end they found one. Robert Webb seems to be proving himself as a breakout sitcom star after starring in the underrated Peep Show. While veteran actors such as Paula Wilcox and Leslie Schofield are joined by lesser known actors who are just as funny. In the end this isn't as good as The Royle Family or The Office but better than most of the sitcom dirge that is churned out at the moment.Well done BBC!!!

*contains a tiny spoiler on my favourite gag so far*another BBC comedy set in a workplace, but unlike 'the office' this is an actual sitcom rather than a mockumentary.all the action takes place in the smoking room, where the employees in an office block come to smoke cigarettes.only watched the first couple episodes so far, but is already hilarious and will catch on when it eventually airs on BBC2 later this year.best gag so far would be when the black female character talks about her trip to canada and describes it as a winter wonderland. she then asks robin, 'whats that book where they're all behind a wardrobe?' to which robin replies 'Anne Frank?' (this had me in absolute stitches, and will be a lot funier when you see it!!)well done bbc! cant wait for the rest of the series.10 out of 10