Maurice Moss

Maurice Moss
Biographical information
Born	1972-73
Died	N/A; 2079
Alias	Word Stephen Fennel Stephen Gennel Stephen Premel Computer-man
Title(s)	Software application developer Head of the IT Department (formerly) Dungeon Master Gameskeeper Gamesmaster
Nationality	British
Physical description
Species	Nerd
Gender	Male
Height	6' 2"
Weight	12 st
Hair colour	Black
Eye colour	Brown
Skin colour	Dark
Family information
Family members	Mother Father Aunt
Affiliation
Occupation	Software application developer for Reynholm Industries
Previous Occupation(s)	Barman at New Wimbledon Theatre
Floor	Basement
Department	IT Department
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Maurice Moss, whose name is commonly misconceived to be 'Maurice Mozz' , (born c.1972-73 The series is set in 2005, meaning that Moss was born between 1972 and 1973) is a worker in the IT Department of Reynholm Industries. Of all the working staff in the IT Department he is the most hard-working and is also the most experienced and the most capable of doing his job well. He puts a lot of effort into his job, however, he does not get the credit which he deserves. Like most of the department, he is ignored and disrespected by the employees who rank above him on the upper floors.

Biography

Work for Denholm Reynholm

Sometime during his adult life, Moss was hired to work in the IT Department of Reynholm Industries by Denholm Reynholm. There, he met Roy Trenneman, who would later become his best friend. At one stage, a fire broke out in the office after Moss left a soldering iron on, resulting in a near fatality, however, Roy and Moss were left unharmed . Later on, Roy and Moss visited Amsterdam where they got so drunk that they hired prostitutes. Not knowing what to do, they brought them to a funfair, where they played various fairground games .

2001

In 2001, the former second-in-command of Reynholm Industries, Richmond Avenal, was demoted to work in the IT Department after he became a goth. After a while, both Moss and Roy got so tired of Richmond's depressing atmosphere that they told him to stay locked in a hidden room behind the department to look after some abandoned machinery. Richmond had very little contact with the other members of the IT Department for the next four years .

2005

In late 2005, Jen Barber became the Head of the IT Department and was given the title Relationships Manager. However, Jen had really sneaked her way into the job after she had falsely claimed to have had several years of experience with computers. Moss and Jen got on relatively well, and Moss once tried to teach Jen the basics of computer construction, to ill effect.

Work for Douglas Reynholm

2007

In 2007, Denholm Reynholm committed suicide after the police discovered he had been extracting money from his companies' pension fund, leaving his inexperienced, sexually frustrated son, Douglas, as his successor. At first, Moss and Roy didn't respect their new boss, giving him a phone which violently vibrates whenever rung, but both learn to treat him with respect eventually.

He briefly worked as a barman in a theatre after being mistaken for a member of staff, however, he later resigned and returned to his job at Reynholm Industries.

2008

In 2008, Moss received a severe head injury after running into a door, and forgot everything he knew about computers. Later, he was asked to fix Douglas' electric pants and while doing so, received an electrical shock which restored his memory to its original state.

2010

In 2010, Moss was arrested and subsequently used by the police in a program for teaching young people about the dangers of crime after shoplifting three DVDs of Grand Designs while bunking off with Roy.

Douglas eventually promoted Moss to the upper floor along with the rest of the IT department.

Characteristics

Personality

Moss is very hard-working and is the driving force of the IT Department. He enjoys working with computers and puts the maximum amount of effort into his job. He has little social interaction with anyone other than Roy and Jen and is often bullied and mocked by others. He is easily hurt and is extremely emotional, instantly bursting into tears whenever he is even mildly insulted. He has been described as a 'standard nerd' and a 'social piranha' (Jen coined this phrase: she likely meant to say "social pariah").

Moss is extremely intelligent and is most experienced in chemistry, physics, technology, electronics, computing, and mathematics. Despite his intelligence, Moss can be quite childish at times, having a children's astronaut-themed duvet, and can be extremely immature in social situations, where he may make rather ignorant comments. He seems, however, to be willing to talk to strangers without much hesitation.

Moss, along with Roy, were briefly affected by Jen's menstrual cycle and became overly feminine for a time. Both of them also became even more emotional and Moss, after being unsuccessful in opening a water bottle, threw his monitor at a wall but after having a 'big girl's night out', both of them recover quickly.

He suffers from many ailments and phobias, including arachnophobia (fear of spiders), virgivitiphobia (fear of being sexually assaulted) and policophobia (fear of authority figures), and suffers from asthma, myopia (short-sightedness) and a 'hot ear', which he cools down by spraying water onto it. He has an extreme fear of going to prison, as he worries that the other prisoners will 'rape the flip out of [him]'.

On his page on LonelyFaces.co.uk, he lists his likes as computers, Masters of the Universe, Tek Wars, Magic the Darkening and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and his dislikes as football, most telly, non-computer things and the countryside.

Sexuality

Moss likely identifies as heterosexual (as he states he is not "curious" whilst at Gay! A Gay Musical), despite calling Roy his wife and kissing him multiple times, but has not had as many relationships as Roy or Jen. In total, he has had three relationships, one with Jen, one with Dr. Mendall, the building's psychiatrist, and

Moss walking Margaret home

one with Margaret, a drunk. His brief relationship with Jen happened at the 'Thank-You Party' for Project Icarus. Both got so drunk that they supposedly went to bed together; Jen woke up to find Moss having just used the ensuite, however, whether they actually slept together is unknown and the plotline was dropped entirely (though Jen was naked and Moss only in, supposedly, her nightgown).

His relationship with Dr. Mendall, however, was somewhat more successful. Despite Dr. Mendall being considerably older than him, Moss seemed to get on with her well and the relationship looked hopeful until Dr. Mendall slept with Roy. It is unknown what happened afterward and Dr. Mendall was never seen again.

His relationship with Margaret was on and off, the pair met at a dinner party hosted by Jen and her new boyfriend, Peter File. Margaret got extremely drunk and started squeezing Moss' knee under the table. Moss didn't seem to like Margaret very much; however, he was seen walking her home after the party ended, the humour being them acting like a married couple (Moss actually begins to believe they are married partway through the episode). They are never shown to have slept together.

In season 4, episode 2 he is revealed to have slept with a groupie at a Countdown party named Ivana.

Although Moss has little romantic interaction with women, he does claim to 'do all right' with the opposite sex and claims to have met a woman on holiday. A female worker on the seventh floor was also attracted to him but he was unaware that she was attracted to him.

Skills and abilities

• Olfactory expert: Moss has an incredibly acute and detailed sense of smell, capable of smelling and naming all of the ingredients in a muffin and was able to smell the Rohypnol concealed in Jen's cup of tea.
• Mathematician: Moss is a very capable mathematician and able of calculating the number of cigarettes Jen smokes per year in a matter of seconds with minimal information.
• Computer expertise: Moss is incredibly experienced with computers and able to hack into Bill Crouse's personal accounts in a few of seconds. He is able to overcome viruses and repair firewalls, and also considers an amateuristic construction of a circuit board humourous.
• Machinery construction: Moss is quite skilled with machinery and technology in general, and was able to construct a 'stress machine' which could measure his stress level. He also helped Roy construct an answering machine.
• 'Five-Finger-Fillet': Moss is surprisingly talented at the 'five finger fillet', a game in which the little man spreads their hand on a flat surface and, using a knife, stabs in between the gaps, trying not to stab their fingers. Moss performed this in order to test the stress machine he had constructed and did so at a considerable speed without stabbing himself once.
• Genius-level intellect: Moss is a genius with a vast amount of knowledge in the fields of technology, science, and mathematics. He was also capable of memorising and reciting a 20-digit number seconds after hearing it for the first time.
• Inventor and entrepreneur: Moss is an accomplished inventor, creating a revolutionary bra that will "never go bad," using a certain type and volume of powder. He pitched this invention on Dragon's Den, but the bra burst into flames (he failed to fix the overheating issue, only making it worse, something he jokes he could have done shortly before leaving for Dragon's Den) while being presented and so received no funding at all. He also developed a ladder for moths stuck in baths which Roy ridiculed due to the highly unlikely nature of a winged animal using a ladder to make a 'vertical-like' movement.

Relationships

Roy Trenneman

Moss is Roy's best friend, and they often meet up together and socialise. They both have a close relationship and Moss is one of the few people Roy can confide in. Despite this, Roy has been known to exploit Moss, and sometimes insults him, and the pair occasionally gets into physical fights. Moss is under the impression that they spend so much time together that he and Roy are like a married couple; however, Roy disagrees.

Roy is always willing to help Moss, and once prepared him for facing a gang of bullies. Both have a love of technology and machinery and often play video games and watch movies together.

Jen Barber

Jen and Moss got on relatively well when they first met. Moss taught Jen some basic computer skills, but to ill-effect. Jen was quite violent towards Moss after she discovered that he had told the whole office that she was dead. However, when she discovered that Bill Crouse had been spreading rumors that he had been the last person to have slept with her, she transferred her aggression onto him.

Jen and Moss had a very brief implied sexual relationship. The night after the 'Thank-You' Party for Project Icarus, Jen woke up to see Moss standing over her in a pink dressing gown. It is unknown what happened next, but as they were both drunk at the time, the plotline did not continue.

Despite this, Jen only saw Moss as a work colleague, and never as a friend, until she went to an interview for another job. There she realised that Roy and Moss need her and that she couldn't possibly leave them. This indicates a genuine liking for both Roy and Moss, who she had originally seen as just work associates.

Jen later admitted that Moss and Roy are her friends, and on one occasion stood up for them when Douglas began insulting them.

Douglas Reynholm

Douglas Reynholm is the manager of Reynholm Industries and hence is Moss' boss. At first, Roy and Moss had little respect for Douglas, giving him a phone which vibrates violently when rung. Despite this, Moss learns to respect Douglas, to the extent that he was willing to ring the emergency services for him when Douglas accidentally shot himself in the leg.

Despite this, Douglas has called Moss an 'idiot' in the past and has been known to insult both him and Roy. In 2007, Moss was assaulted by Douglas after Douglas had accidentally consumed Rohypnol concealed in a cup of tea. Moss sued Douglas for the value of £560, although Douglas had only kissed Moss and chased him around a table.

Richmond Avenal

Moss and Richmond had a difficult relationship at first, so he and Roy made a unanimous decision to banish Richmond beyond the red door, where he was told to look after mainframes with no briefing to what he was meant to do. However, when Jen joined the office, she campaigned for Richmond to return to his original job. After Richmond came out of isolation, Moss' relationship with him somewhat improved slightly.

Moss and Roy share the idea that Richmond does nothing but 'bring the mood down'. Moss and Richmond have discussed committing suicide together. It is unknown if Moss tried to trick Richmond into killing himself, or if he genuinely had suicidal thoughts.

Physical description

Moss as depicted on a DVD cover

Moss is nearly always seen wearing classical 'geek' attire, a short-sleeve checkered shirt and tie, wearing corduroy trousers very high. He wears large glasses and may change the size of his spectacles if he gets too excited. He keeps his many glasses, of all shapes and sizes, beneath his desk.

He is of both white and black heritage, and so has a dark skin tone. He has brown eyes and he wears his black hair in an afro-style, which gives an exaggerated look to its right-side part.

Behind the scenes

• Moss is portrayed by comedian and actor, Richard Ayoade in both the British and the American versions of The IT Crowd. In the German adaption, Moss is renamed Gabriel and portrayed by German actor Stefan Puntigam.
• As of June 2010, Moss is the most popular character in the show according to a poll conducted by Channel 4, receiving 49%.
• Moss has said that he finds it very difficult to lie after a childhood experience, however, he seems to have no problem lying on his webpage on the dating site LonelyFaces.co.uk, on which he claims to be 22 years old when he is actually 32.
• Moss is approximately 6 years older than Roy, though Richard Ayoade (Moss) was born in 1977 and Chris O'Dowd (Roy) in 1979.
• The death prediction website HowLongHaveYouGot.com predicted that Moss will live to be 107 years old.

Name etymology

• he is gay
• he takes pride
• he is amazing

External links

• Maurice Moss on Wikipedia
• Maurice Moss' Profile on Channel 4