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

[Citizen87645]

"You should have seen her when she first started."

She reminds of a Maura Tierney from ER.

 

[Hanson]

A cross between Mary Lynn Rajskub (from Mr. Show) and Maura Tierny.

 

[Bob-N]

LOL, that's what I was telling my wife. I thought for a second it was her.

 

[Patrick Sun]

New episode tonight after Scrubs at 9:30 p.m. EST.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

No, the main reason for it being remade is because the original didn't have enough episodes to fill even one US season. (Same with Coupling -- if you think about it, a 23-episode season of Friends has just as many good jokes as a 9-episode season of Coupling. They're just spread out across more episodes.)

 

[Jean D]

and that itself ruins a lot of great idea's and shows. There is a lot more filler in American television. a lot of crappy dialog that doesn't need to be there. Why is the new trend is to make hour long shows instead of half hour episodes is beyond me. Im sure the answer has something to do with $. Most of these hour long shows have far too many recaps. (example: Medium is such a show. It would be a much better show if it were only a half hour, the hour long version makes me feel smarter cause I see where the plots are headed before they happen, but dumber cause I actually wait to find out I was right all along. and by the time I find out, Ive practically lost interest all together.) Id much rather 7 or 8 HILARIOUS episodes than 21 drab drawn-out waste of times.

And I believe they kept the characters basically the same in the US version because they wanted to draw in the crowd of people who love the original. Cause lets face it, we tell everyone we know how good of a show it is and how they should give it a chance. I just hope that now that the re-used jokes are over for the Pilot, that the new jokes are just as good as the old ones. Id much rather this show not get an "American feel" to it.

 

[Phil Florian]

I do like that the shorter season model is creeping into American TV. Sopranos, Deadwood, Battlestar Galactica, etc. are shorter runs than their network counterparts clocking in at 12-13 episodes. They run them back to back in one spread so we get weekly fun. Alias is even doing that this year (so far) and I much prefer new weekly shows for a run than 4 new episodes, a few weeks off, then a couple more, than more time off, etc. Just make a good show, run it and move on. The brit-com shows just seem to run until they are out of ideas and then they stop. They don't "fill" 22 episodes just to make ad-execs happy. Why not make 3 great series of shows that fit that many weeks and keep people happy! Sopranos fans would probably want quicker new seasons but would any of them trade what they have for 22 sub-par episodes in order to meet a quota/deadline? Blah.

 

[TravisR]

The Office has a short run only because it's a midseason replacement. If it gets renewed next year, it'll have 22 episodes.

"Sopranos fans would probably want quicker new seasons but would any of them trade what they have for 22 sub-par episodes in order to meet a quota/deadline? Blah."

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only person to think that.

 

[CharlesD]

I thought the Office episode tonight was good, laugh out loud good in several places (I missed the pilot episode). The show is a direct copy of the BBC version, some of the characters even somewhat resemble the other cast. Hopefully when I get used to the new cast I'll stop constantly comparing the two versions as I watch.

"if you go, we'll only have two left". Awful but funny.



Absolutely. Quality over quantity any day.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

How about when the one guy lost his order to the coworker who was doing the shredding when it's a quarter of his comission? That's just cruel. Nice ending, though

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

You can't really compare the 22-episode American model to the shorter seasons of British shows. For one thing, most British shows don't have writing staffs; one or two people write all the episodes, as they did for the original The Office. The American model, which is used even for the shorter-run American shows like the HBO ones, is to gather a writing staff, and have each episode written by different people but with the writing supervised by the creator of the show.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both ways of doing a show. American shows, because they have more episodes per season, have more of a chance to focus on supporting characters and do different types of plots, whereas with only 6 or 7 episodes a season a show winds up with less of a chance for variety, but more of a consistent tone and fewer mediocre episodes.

It's hard to say which is better; sometimes it seems like it depends on which side of the ocean you're on. My British friends all tell me that Coupling is OK but can't compare to Friends, which they find far superior, whereas my American friends tell me the exact opposite.

Topic? I would actually like the new Office a bit better if they'd stop leaning so heavily on the mock-documentary style. It worked for the original because that was a limited-run show, but it has the effect of distancing us from the characters, whereas for a long-running sitcom (which this presumably hopes to be), I want to feel a little closer to the characters instead of feeling like I'm viewing them through the filter of the documentary device. That said, this was a very funny episode, adapting the style of the original to the specific annoyances and pathologies of an American workplace; the writing is good; and Steve Carell is magnificent. If the other characters can start to develop some of their own energy (not that I want them to be wisecrackers, just a little more vital), this should be a good show.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

That style works magnificently on Arrested Development and it could work just fine here.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I didn't like the mish-mash of bits borrowed from different episodes on the BBC version, they just didn't mesh well.

I think they need to stop making it oh-so-apparent of Jim's crush on Pam, subtlety would go a long way here.

Michael still comes across as a caricature, and not a real person.

 

[Jaime_Weinman]

The difference is that on Arrested Development the characters never talk to the camera or acknowledge it. They're just living their lives, and the narrator is just there to explain what's going on. Whereas The Office leans on the idea that this is a documentary about an office and that the characters know they're being filmed, which is what I feel creates that distancing effect.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

The fact that the characters know they are being filmed is one of the things that makes the reaction shots and awkward silences so funny, though. How the characters respond to the presence of the cameras helps to define them. I'm glad they kept that device from the original. It may be a problem in the future if the show has a long run, but it works for me now.

Regards,

 

[MickeS]

I didn't like last night's episode much. I didn't laugh out loud even once, actually I barely managed a chuckle. The funniest bit was when Michael did the Chris Rock bit... and even that wasn't THAT funny.

Michael Scott needs to change. He is way too charicaturish, not a shred of believability as a real person there. Maybe Steve Carell was not the right choice for this role after all.

I agree that the documentary style needs to be toned down. How about doing it "Curb Your Enthusiasm" style, where it has the documentary feel, but nixes the "talking to the camera" bits? That would go a long way towards making Michael Scott seem more real too, I believe.

I'll still keep watching, there is certainly a chance for something good to come out of this.

/Mike

 

[Jean D]

I think Steve Carrell is over the top. Tone it down. One difference Ive noticed between the US and UK version of his character is that Steve Carrell doesn't acknowledge the fact that he has a big mouth. the UK version had Brent try to talk his way out/downplay what offending thing he said mixed in with awkward silence. Brent looked like he knew what he said came out wrong, and looked like he regretted it. Steve just looks like, "oh well, I said it, but Ill try to play it off so they don't feel awkward".

Still, I was surprised at how many times I laughed at this 2nd episode. Ill hang on until it gets to be a bore to me or canceled, whichever comes first.

I love the Mocumentary style, its what captures the awkwardness of the reactions to the comments made. They make it seem more realistic than just creating an awkward moment with a stupid laugh track as a sitcom would to make people think "Oh hey, im sopposed to laugh at this awkwardness." It's hilarious cause its believeable and so naturally played out.

 

[Mark Paquette]

I watched last nights episode and didn't really find it funny or entertaining. I'll watch a couple more episodes beofore I throw in the towel though.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The problem with Michael Scott is that he's as subtle as a bull in a china shop. Brent was usually cognizant of the offense, and the fun was watching him try to dig himself out of the hole his mouth dug for him.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Not even at the blissful cluelessnes of the "colored greens" exchange?

Regards,