At first glance a descendant of The Office with
its exploitation of work-place banality for laughs, The Smoking Room really has more in common with Are You Being Served?, with its broader sitcom humour and class-ridden caricatures. A high gag-count and resolute disregard for political correctness raise plenty of laughs and offset the potential tedium of everything taking place in the same smoke-filled interior, although like Nicorette, the banter between the generally miserable denizens only really works in patches. Entertaining first time around, but hasnt got the layers to reward more than one viewing.