The Office Christmas specials The Office Christmas specials "The Office" Christmas Specials are the two-part final episode of the British mockumentary comedy television series "The Office". The specials were commissioned after the series' creators, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, announced that they would not write a full third series of the show. The first 45-minute part was broadcast on BBC One on 26 December 2003, and the second 50-minute part was shown the following evening. The episodes are presented in the style of "revisited" documentaries common on British television, in which popular "docusoaps" (e.g. "Airport"), are brought back for one-off specials several years after
Christmas by medium past year and giving her own reflections and advice. Many long-running British soap operas have Christmas specials, usually involving a dramatic storyline developed over several weeks which culminates at Christmas. Often these stories are tragic, involving a death, divorce, a dramatic revelation or similar event. Most Christmas specials in the UK are specially commissioned separately to a production season, and many are extended from the usual episode length. For example, the 2007 "Doctor Who" Christmas special was 71 minutes as opposed to the standard 45 minutes, was broadcast six months after the third series had finished and four months before