The Office (US) - Season 1 (1 Viewer)

[John_Lee]

I agee with the esteemed Mr. Fowkes. I loved the BBC original, so much so that I felt it out spinal tapped 'Spinal Tap.' But I went from episode one [hmm, not too bad], to ep 2 [chuckles and guffaws] to this last [perhaps the funniest 1/2 hour on any of the networks this year]. They're clearly Americanizing this one the RIGHT way.

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

Its funny that you say that because just today I was saying the writers were not Americanizing it enough. After spending several months at my parent company's UK based office I noticed dramtic differences between the US and UK office. Not only that but the sense of humor between the two countries is quite different. As much as I am enjoying the US version (love the BBC version) it just seems like they are trying to hard to be like the original. They even try to make some of the characters look the same. This type of humor could be lost on J6P and mean the show might not last long.

 

[John_Lee]

Let me see if I get the conundrum right.
If they dumb it down, they're dishonoring the sublime humor of the original

If they don't dumb it down, dumb America won't get it.

Well then, how did those 12 little episodes and a follow-up special of the BBC original, that dumb America had to track down in the nether regions of their cable dial [or buy on DVD] get so popular in the first place?

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

John - you may be taking what I am saying out of context but I admit my post did a lousy job of explaining my point. I don't think they should dumb it down at all. What I was trying to say is that the UK and US office environment has many differences (sexual humor being one of the biggest). At times, especially during the first episode I got the felling they were trying to hard to follow the original when certain elements need to be tweaked to reflect US cultures and office environments. Its not about dumbing down it down.

If you were to take a poll I doubt very many people have seen the original. And I don't mean a poll on this forum but the entire US population. I would find hard to believe the average American has much interest in BBC shows. I know its a stereotype but the feeling that British humor is dry had to come from somewhere.

Again I am not doing a good job of explaining my point but its simply an opinion I have. I really want this show to succeed because I work in the corporate environment and there is a lot of gold out there in terms of funny things that happen.

 

[John_Lee]

Sorry if I took the consternation out on you. But it seemed like a lot of [BBC] Office fans were turning their noses up at this show before it even aired. "How dare they turn this sacred show into more American sitcom crap?" "Ohh, here comes Coupling redux." "They're gonna suck the life out of another great concept and leave us with pablum" etc.
And I admit, I had trepidation, as I LOVED the BBC version.
But then it turned out to be a funny show, and the first thing I see after a particularly funny episode is "this might be too highbrow for Joe Sixpack, too cool for the room."
Give them a chance, Seinfeld was 'too cool for the room' and it turned out to be a phenomonal success. Arrested Development has that 'too cool for the room' vibe, and it has some of the most vocal supporters around.

On a completely unrelated note, the shelf-life of the tension between the salesman and Pammie-pam-pam is gonna prove troublesome. The resolution of that relationship, and the inevitability David Brent's 'redundancy,' was the reason for the pre-planned short run on the BBC, more than anything.

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

John - you make excellent points about AD and Sienfeld. It almost seems that if a sitcom is too clever it dies a quick death. Luckily AD is keepig its head above water, that has become one of my all time favorite shows. And after reading my posts again I came nowhere near to saying what I meant. I just found out that I am getting laid off in May so my head is not right at the moment (plus my wife may be losing her job as well).

My only real issue with the show is the guy who has the crush on Pam, its like they said, find someone who looks as close to possible to the UK counterpart. Also, I get the feeling the writers were afraid to use the sexual harrasement angle (bbc version where someone was passing edited photos of the manager) so they went with the Health Care plan instead. Now I know US TV is much tamer than UK TV but they still could have done something - maybe they are saving that for another episode. Thats a landmine of laughs if they do it.

Considering the BBC version was 12 episodes does anyone know how long they plan to do the American version or is it simply based on ratings? I would imagine ratings would be the key factor.

 

[Patrick Sun]

There's some raunchy material on the BBC version that I doubt would ever see the light of day on the US version.

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

I know and its to bad. I just dont get why as a whoel the US is freaked out by sexual themes on TV. I mean is that hard not to watch if you dont agree with it. TV is not meant to be a babysitter but thats a topic for another day.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Yup, it'll run as long as it can sell ads.

BTW, sorry to hear about your job situation. Good luck! (My cousin, who lives not too far from you, just got canned by an evil, evil corporation after many years of good service -- the execs above him left, and the new crew just treated him like crap because he doesn't have an MBA. Without naming names, let's just say that I don't plan on shopping at a certain ubiquitous yellow and blue store any time soon. . .)

 

[Hanson]

I think that the problem with sexual harrasment is that they already did racial diversity. Conceptually, they'd be treading the same ground.

By going with health care, they can do things that they wouldn't do in the UK, what with socialized medicine and all. Having to choose a health care provider is a familiar American experience.

I sort of doubt that anyone on the writing staff is squeamish about anything in light of the jokes made at the expense of hysterectomies and vaginas. Are people just looking for stuff to criticize?

I think it's a great show, one of the highlights of my TV watching week, and although my wife hates it, it's a must see for me. At what point do we stop putting it down for not being the BBC version or being too much like the BBC version or not daring enough or too daring for US tastes or whatever? I mean, no show is fre of criticism, but it seems like most of the negative comments focus on what the show is not rather than what it is.

 

[John_Lee]

What I was trying to say, perhaps stated more clearly by Mr. Yoo.

 

[David Galindo]

Yet another funny episode (4/12). You gotta love when Michael brings the whole office into a totally awkward and embarassing situation...and watching him squirm out of it.

My new favorite show.

 

[RAF]

This version of The Office is coming into its own. Some very funny stuff tonight. "The Donald" impersonation, the "Survivor" alliances takeoff, the introduction of the receptionist's boyfriend's jealousy, the whole birthday party fiasco, etc. etc. The show is really beginning to hit its stride. Will Dwight find out that blondes have more fun?

 

[Steve Felix]

This show is much better when it's on its own scripts. I'm enjoying it now that I can't compare it directly.

The camera needs to show some restraint so as not to double underline reactions with quick zooms, and of course Carell won't be hitting Gervais's heights without some serious rethinking, but other than that, not bad at all. The writing is impressive.

 

[Dave_Brown]

I was able to identify another character last night from at least one other show. The guy who plays Oscar on the The Office also had an apperance on Reno 911 as the federal officer testing the department for homeland security readiness.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Still not loving it. Carell makes my teeth grind at times watching him trying to be loved, but it's too painful at times.

The cat-n-mouse games between Tim, Dwight and Pam is almost getting there, but Pam's acting doesn't quite play right to me so far.

 

[David Galindo]

AH! I thought I saw him somewhere. Thanks!

 

[Hanson]

Really? Because I like her, or rather her character, better than her BBC counter part. That one line, something like, "She didn't want to flip a coin because it would be gambling. But she was already gambling that I wouldn't smack her in the face" was awesome. She looks almost like a zombie around Michael and pretty much everyone else in the office, but she blossoms when she's around Tim or addressing the camera.

The whole "alliance" thing was the highlight for me. Dwight is so much more malevolent and psychotic than Gareth, who just had a huge chip on his shoulder. Dwight is a sociopath.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Dwight's a freak. Oh, the blonde dye job was okay, but didn't quite make me bust a gut.

 

[Bill Catherall]

After watching Ep. 1 of this season I immediately put the BBC edition DVDs on my Netflix queue. I just finished both seasons and the special and I fell in love with it. Excellent writing and the characters are believable and real enough that by the end I was really feeling for them.

But I like the US version too. One thing I found about the BBC version is that it took a few episodes to really warm up to it. I'm seeing the same thing with the US version. The US version is different, yes, but I don't feel the need to compare them. I like the US version for its differences. If it was exactly the same then I'd have no need to watch it.

Anyways, that's the last you'll see me draw any comparisons.

Great episode last night. I'm a big Survivor fan too so that "alliance" thing had me totally busting up.