1. Show Basics
1.1. 2001-2003
1.2. Ricky Gervais
1.3. BBC2
1.3.1. Jane Root
1.3.1.1. First Female Channel Head
1.3.1.2. Partnership with HBO
1.4. 'real'
1.5. Mockumentary
1.5.1. This Is Spinal Tap
1.5.2. People Like Us
1.6. Slough
1.7. Spin-offs
1.7.1. American
1.7.2. French
1.7.3. German
1.7.4. Chilean
1.7.5. Canadian
2. Reception
2.1. Awards
2.1.1. Two Golden Globes
2.1.2. Six BAFTA TV Awards
2.1.3. Three British Comedy Awards
2.2. Ratings
2.2.1. Low at first
2.2.2. fastest selling non-feature DVD
3. Historical Context
3.1. Election
3.1.1. "quiet landslide"
3.2. Blairite Britain
3.2.1. "New Labour"
3.2.2. Support for US foreign policy
3.2.2.1. Presidentialism
3.2.2.2. "Bush's Poodle"
3.2.3. Freedom of Information Act 2000
3.2.4. "Spin"
3.2.5. Monthly Press Conferences
3.3. America
3.3.1. George Bush
3.3.2. 9/11/2001
3.3.2.1. War on Terror
4. Connections
4.1. Reality TV
4.1.1. Airline
4.1.2. Pop Idol
4.1.3. Big Brother
4.2. Internet
4.2.1. Official Website
4.2.1.1. Blogs (in character)
4.2.1.2. Links to American Version
4.2.2. YouTube (2005)
4.3. Film
4.3.1. Office Space
4.3.2. Christopher Guest