MovieChat Forums > The Brittas Empire (1991) Discussion > He just seems like a pretty typical boss...

He just seems like a pretty typical boss to me

posted 17 years ago by Consul_Incitatus
7 replies | jump to latest

OK, I've only seen the first episode. But I have to ask, are bosses in England normally easier to get along with than American ones? Because I'm from the US, and to me Brittas seemed like a pretty typical boss, maybe a bit towards the annoying end of things; but the main thing that seemed unusual was how angrily everyone reacted towards him. Maybe the British work force is more uppity or something, with higher rates of unionization and whatnot.

[–] Circ81 17 years ago

If all our bosses were like that, businesses would never last

It's better to rest in the warm body of a friend, than in a cold hole in the ground.

[–] IridescentTranquility 17 years ago

What I think summed him up best was the word "paperwork". He was so keen on the paperwork side of things, in the sense that he thought he could read an idea and make it work that he forgot about the human beings involved.

One of the ironies is that he was so keen to help but, as Laura tried to tell him once, he didn't pick up on the subtext of things, he didn't hear the unspoken words people said.

I think one of the best examples is actually from his personal life. He can't see that his own personality drives Helen so far up the wall that she can't live with him unless she's on pills and he also never picked up on the fact that she was on the verge of leaving him several times because she just couldn't cope. I think again it was Laura who had to spell it out for him.

"If we go on like this, you're going to turn into an Alsatian again."

[–] Circ81 17 years ago

I think that sums it up pretty well. As they say, "His heart was in the right place, shame about his brain". He was always very caring really, but just didn't seem to understand people.

It's better to rest in the warm body of a friend, than in a cold hole in the ground.

[–] shazeroon 17 years ago

yeah he really was a lovely caring man but he just went about everything wrong

Tess - my best friend & a real character 1995 - 2007

[–] Startanew 16 years ago

I'm Australian and he doesn't seem like a normal boss to me.

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[–] Picnic-3 16 years ago

"What I think summed him up best was the word "paperwork"

"His heart was in the right place. Shame about the brain."

These comments made me think- Gordon Brittas, like Arnold Rimmer from Red Dwarf, is pendantic with ambitions that exceed his circumstances and talent.
But in other ways they are like 2 coins of the same coin- Brittas can seem too NICE to others whereas Rimmer can be too NASTY. Brittas did inspire devotion/love in his staff, some obviously so and some implicitly (not his wife though) whereas Rimmer inspires devotion in none of his crewmates and has little love life to speak of.

[–] DrNordo 15 years ago

I'm from the US and I have had very few bosses like Brittas. The one's I had who did resemble his mannerisms and managerial style were from while I was in the military of all things...

His work force, aside from a few of them like Laura, Colin, and Linda, hated him because of how (inadvertently) rude he was, such as when he was handing out work-out routine books giving people a plan to get in shape which outlined everyone's physical flaws. Carole's was 3 times as thick as anyone else's. They also dislike him because of how micro-managing he is, and that whenever he helps disaster follows such as the troupe of churchgoers getting baptized in the swimming pool that he electrocuted.

In the first episode they were merely annoyed with him (I would have been too). He never listened at all, wouldn't let anyone get a single sentence out, and generally just rubbed everyone the wrong way. If you watch the show for a while longer you will really see people start to get fed up with him, especially in Series 2 with his new secretary Julie.