Why is there a US-version of "The Office"?

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Perhaps. But I saw a few minutes of a "Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire" rerun a couple weeks ago, and 'meh' would be a huge step up for that particular sitcom. And I suspect most current hit sitcoms (although I don't really watch any others, unless you count King of the Hill, which is having a poor season.)

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 06:08 (nineteen years ago) link

Personally, I think someone should make a British version of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I think the overlooked subtleties of class comedy in that show would come out better (i.e. minus schmaltz).

― Huey (Huey), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 13:23 (nineteen years ago) link

re: a much much much earlier question: how successful was/is Iron Chef USA?

I don't know about the ratings, but I like it a lot. Esp. the episode where Bobby Flay got served by Ming Tsai. And Jeffrey Steingarten is ususally one of the judges!

― Leon Bluth (Ex Leon), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 13:30 (nineteen years ago) link

Esp. the episode where Bobby Flay got served by Ming Tsai

I still think Morimoto shoulda just chopped him off at the knees when he stood on the cooking table in the first faceoff. But this is just me. (Also, think of the blood puddings!)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 13:37 (nineteen years ago) link

Steve Carrell doing Chris Rock was truly inspired.

― Zebra, Alpha Go! (cprek), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 13:46 (nineteen years ago) link

The guy doing Chris Rock BEFORE Steve Carrell was also inspired. :D

I liked it quite a bit; moreso than the pilot, even, because I don't think I was comparing it to the original nearly as much. I 'm also glad to see them developing the characters in ways that ensure they're not just cvarbon copies of the British characters, which would be lazy and pretty awful.

― sugarpants: kind of blurry, kind of double (sugarpants), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 14:44 (nineteen years ago) link

The guy doing Chris Rock BEFORE Steve Carrell was also inspired. :D

I liked it quite a bit; moreso than the pilot, even, because I don't think I was comparing it to the original nearly as much. I 'm also glad to see them developing the characters in ways that ensure they're not just carbon copies of the British characters, which would be lazy and pretty awful.

― sugarpants: kind of blurry, kind of double (sugarpants), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 14:44 (nineteen years ago) link

whoops, sorry abt double post

― sugarpants: kind of blurry, kind of double (sugarpants), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 14:45 (nineteen years ago) link

I hear they're doing a remake of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air set in the former Soviet Union, which strikes me as an interesting twist and a good way to explore class issues a little more thoroughly. I just wish it had a better title than "Fresh Prince of Belarus."

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 15:27 (nineteen years ago) link

(FWIW, in that pretend firing scene Dawn actually called Brent a wanker, and then a sad little man, so "jerk" is a fairly accurate translation).

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 15:32 (nineteen years ago) link

"colored greens"

― Chris 'The Nuts' V (Chris V), Wednesday, 30 March 2005 15:41 (nineteen years ago) link

That was my favorite joke!

― Remy Ulysses Q. Fitzgerald (x Jeremy), Thursday, 31 March 2005 00:07 (nineteen years ago) link

finally watched these; the second episode is a gem, for the most part. still getting used to the Tim character but otherwise I think the show has built on the Office template and is creating something new (if not exactly equal, still better than most of the sitcoms on american television).

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 1 April 2005 14:24 (nineteen years ago) link

If you guys had never seen the original, you'd be falling all over yourselves praising this show.
Out of curiousity, has anyone on this thread seen the American Office but not the old one??

― Sarah McLusky (coco), Friday, 1 April 2005 14:43 (nineteen years ago) link

Sarah McLusky, I just came from watching two episodes of the American Office having not seen any of the original at all. I loved it. Thought it was hilarious. I watch next to no TV, but I thought this was really great.

― Mickey (modestmickey), Saturday, 2 April 2005 04:20 (nineteen years ago) link

finally saw the second episode tonite - CONSIDERABLY better than the first, i laffed ALOT more.

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 2 April 2005 06:17 (nineteen years ago) link

Personally, I think someone should make a British version of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I think the overlooked subtleties of class comedy in that show would come out better (i.e. minus schmaltz).

They could get Paul Gilroy as a script consultant.

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Saturday, 2 April 2005 06:44 (nineteen years ago) link

Roffles. I missed Ep 2 but this was wayyy better than 1. The actress who plays Pam is good, wtf!!

― Aaron A., Wednesday, 6 April 2005 01:02 (nineteen years ago) link

i would pay big buxx to see a british remake of the fresh prince.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 01:04 (nineteen years ago) link

dissensus would be like jonestown if that happened

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 01:12 (nineteen years ago) link

my grandmother said it sucked

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 01:52 (nineteen years ago) link

Has anyone noticed they are using the same scenes/jokes, which means, no reason for remake.

― Holly (an appletross), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 04:15 (nineteen years ago) link

i thought it was fairly funny. not as funny as the second episode but still quite good.

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 05:13 (nineteen years ago) link

The only thing that keeps bugging me about this show is, why doesn't someone fire this guy? I mean, bosses can be jerks and get away with it sometimes, but this guy is a nightmare. Don't they have an HR department to complain to? Can't the office get together and formally complain? I mean, IRL, they would.

― happy fun ball (kenan), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 05:18 (nineteen years ago) link

this show is going nowhere fast.

― don weiner, Wednesday, 6 April 2005 11:01 (nineteen years ago) link

Like the characters - maybe that's the point.

― caitlin (caitlin), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 11:09 (nineteen years ago) link

I think it's shaping up to be a decent US version of the popular BBC show, for those people who haven't seen the British version. Except that I don't think most Americans will think it's funny.

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 6 April 2005 11:17 (nineteen years ago) link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/news/2005/04/01/18254.shtml

Looks like it might be getting the chop. It's a shame as I think they've done an excellent job. The second episode had me in stitches.

― wombatX (wombatX), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 03:23 (nineteen years ago) link

nuh-uh- I worked at a firm wherein HR and the Guy Like Dwight colluded in sucking. I think that may be more common than it would seem- preservation of the status quo and all

― Morley Timmons (Donna Brown), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 04:07 (nineteen years ago) link

Particularly in the offices of small companies in mining towns in Pennsylvania (or on industrial estates in Slough.)

― wombatX (wombatX), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 04:37 (nineteen years ago) link

EXCUSE ME
The American Queer as Folk was way better than the brit one.

― Nellie (nellskies), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 04:39 (nineteen years ago) link

last night's ep was i v good.

― seriously, Friday, 15 April 2005 17:35 (nineteen years ago) link

This version sucks so bad. sorry.

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Friday, 15 April 2005 18:17 (nineteen years ago) link

i laffed non-stop and so did dr vick

― seriously, Friday, 15 April 2005 18:54 (nineteen years ago) link

It was good this week... The alliance between .. um .. Jim and Ger-rareth (whatever their names are) was pretty dasmnfunbny. (beautiful, beautiful typo, I adore thee.)

― dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 15 April 2005 18:58 (nineteen years ago) link

I just don't think the acting's as believable or the characters as convicing.

We haven't laughed at any of the three episodes we've watched.

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Friday, 15 April 2005 19:01 (nineteen years ago) link

four weeks pass...

According to CNN it seems to be coming back next fall which is actually pretty nice.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/13/television.networks.reut/index.html

― svend (svend), Friday, 13 May 2005 13:18 (nineteen years ago) link

ah I just searched for this thread to post that same news. Good news!

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 22:28 (nineteen years ago) link

NBC is DESPERATE.

― d'ngullberry (noisemeltdown), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 22:34 (nineteen years ago) link

Nah, this was actually good. I wish ABC'd decided to give "Blind Justice" another shot.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 00:22 (nineteen years ago) link

I was really all set to hate the US Office, but I thought it turned out to be pretty funny. It was funniest when I managed to enjoy it without thinking about the original Office. I'm glad it's coming back, anyway, because it was a lot better than most of the godawful crap on American TV.

― kirsten (kirsten), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 00:32 (nineteen years ago) link

it IS funny. it's totally in the spirit of the first office, and yet totally detached from it as well.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 00:34 (nineteen years ago) link

it will get way better if they have a second season to develop. the Dwight character is gold.

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 00:49 (nineteen years ago) link

one month passes...

now showing on BBC3. (first one is shown again tonight and episode 2 is tomorrow). first episode not that far from english original, what i remember of it anyway.

s/jelly/jello/

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 20 June 2005 09:59 (nineteen years ago) link

I'll be really curious to see what UK folks think of this.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 20 June 2005 15:27 (nineteen years ago) link

I keep missing it. But it strikes me that having the boss be a relatively attractive man misses part of the point.

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Monday, 20 June 2005 15:31 (nineteen years ago) link

i enjoyed it and am interested to see what it does when it moves away from the british version. i think it might help that i don't know the actors (except, of course, that that's the bloke out of six feet under, and Monk, and CSI and L&O:SVU...) whereas we all knew that twunt Gervais (used to pop up in mary-anne hobbs' radio show from time to time years ago, before 11 o'clock show even...).

[JT]im's Hair was interesting.

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 20 June 2005 15:37 (nineteen years ago) link

I thought the series got funnier and farther from the original as it went on. Is it coming back next seaon? There were only a handfull of episodes, really.

― La Monte (La Monte), Monday, 20 June 2005 15:38 (nineteen years ago) link

it gets better, it really does. i was very surprised.

― Jams Murphy (ystrickler), Monday, 20 June 2005 15:39 (nineteen years ago) link

The American Dawn is CUTE.

It blows my mind somewhat how it looks like English TV. I've never seen anything shot in the USA and then broadcast here that wasn't at 60hz (presumably what the difference amounts to). So how/why have they done this? It just doesn't seem like America!

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Wednesday, 22 June 2005 09:45 (nineteen years ago) link

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