The Brittas Empire/YMMV

• Acceptable Targets: Europe. This show was hitting out at Brussels regulations, bureaucracy and red tape way before the press decided it was cool.
  • Gordon gives his deputy managers two different whistles; one for when a leisure centre rule is broken, the second for when an EU regulation is broken.
  • He also orders the "Europeanization" of the centre, giving Tim and Linda the arduous task of translating all leisure centre signs into over 25 different languages, including little-known or spoken Gaelic, Walloon and Swiss dialects.
  • Perhaps the most damning, agonising, brutal blow? In one episode Brittas gets offered the post of European Commissioner for Sport, which Laura and Councillor Druggett both agree fits him absolutely perfectly, implying that Europe is full of Brittases (which it is).

Laura: Brussels has nothing to do with people, it's perfect for him!

• The Woobie: The show was pretty prone to turning characters into Woobies whenever it decided to play them straight for a while:
  • Carol the receptionist. Her style of parenting does manage to make her a tad less sympathetic.
  • Also, Gordon Brittas himself. While he has moments of Comedic Sociopathy, his only consistant crime is being well-intentioned but incompetent. In an episode where the staff believe Brittas plans to make them redundant, they begin their counter-scheming - only to have Gordon step out of nowhere looking hurt, remind them that he is human too and lay all of their fears to rest.
  • Also also, Colin, the only member of staff who truly believes in Mr. Brittas' "Dream", is loyal to him beyond reason and well-liked by all the staff except Brittas, who roundly dismisses and abuses him on a regular basis.
    • Well, to be fair, Colin is a walking disease factory with numerous permanent blisters and lesions, as well as not being the brightest bulb in building. Would you want him to be very visible at a leisure centre?