"Golden Years" is the sixth episode of the second series of British comedy

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

Comedy Lab ''Comedy Lab'' is a British television series which showcases pilots of experimental comedy shows. Series have been aired irregularly on Channel 4 and E4 since 1998. Several pilots first shown on ''Comedy Lab'' have gone on to spawn full serie ...

''. It first aired on 8 September 1999 on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

. Written by Ricky Gervais and

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

, it stars Gervais as the co-owner of a video rental company who has a

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

obsession. The episode follows him as he prepares for his appearance on the talent show ''

Stars In Their Eyes ''Stars in Their Eyes'' is a British television talent series, based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format ''Soundmixshow''. It featured a singing contest in which members of the public impersonate showbiz stars. The show premiered on 21 July 1 ...

''.

Production

Plot

Gervais plays Clive Meadows, the main character who has a

obsession. Clive Meadows is the 32 (or 37, he is somewhat unclear) year old co-owner of 'Video Zone', a video rental company based in Reading. The show follows Clive as he prepares for his appearance on the ITV talent show ''

''.

Reception

Legacy

The documentary style of the show and in particular the behaviour of Gervais' character present like prototypes for ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

'' and its lead character

David Brent David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary ''The Office'', portrayed by the show's co-creator, co-writer and co-director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of ...

References

External links

"Golden Years"
at channel4.com * {{Ricky Gervais 1999 British television episodes Comedy television episodes Ricky Gervais