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

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Not all messages are displayed: show all messages (1453 of them)

the first season is on dvd.

Also, this got renewed for next year, which I can't believe. (I mean, not that it doesn't deserve it, I'm just surprised it's getting network support).

Also, up above, where I was afriad it jumped the shark when jim told Michael about Pam, turned out to not be the case at all, last week's episode took care of that.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 20:18 (eighteen years ago) link

this show is so perfect.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 01:54 (eighteen years ago) link

I am not so sure. I've watched three episodes now and it drags sometimes. I like the "Gareth"/guy from Six Feet Under though. I still think it's funnier with British people because we are uglier.

― phantasy bear (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 02:09 (eighteen years ago) link

I mean the Tim character is like a square-jawed Ashton Kutcher. It seems a bit worng.

― phantasy bear (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 02:09 (eighteen years ago) link

At this point, the American version of the show is actually superior to the original, which is kinda mindblowing but also sort of awesome given how incredible the original was.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 02:13 (eighteen years ago) link

you gotta be kidding me!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 03:38 (eighteen years ago) link

I don't know if its topped the British version just yet, but its getting closer to doing just that with each consecutive episode. Every time I think an ep drags a little bit, the next one bounces back to be even funnier. Like kyle says, I thought we witnessed a shark jumping with the "Jim confesses love for Pam" thing, but turns out the show still has a lot of life left. And weird as it sounds, I care a lot more about the Pam/Jim thing than I did with the British equivalent even if it is a lot more heavy-handed this time around.

― jonviachicago, Wednesday, 25 January 2006 03:46 (eighteen years ago) link

Also... all American male office working schlubs are square-jawed Ashton Kutchers, duh.

― jonviachicago, Wednesday, 25 January 2006 03:47 (eighteen years ago) link

No, I'm not kidding even a little bit. I think the American version is a lot less stiflingly miserable and is packed with more jokes of generally higher quality. It has its own feel and identity now, so if it weren't for the fact that it's a direct adaptation, I'd feel almost like this is an apples vs. oranges thing - they have different strengths and weaknesses.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:09 (eighteen years ago) link

Also, I guess I should mention that the painfully unfunny Extras and the consistently middling and derivative Ricky Gervais Show podcast has pretty much devastated my opinion of Gervais as a comedian. When I watch the US Office and think of the original, all of the limitations of the original come into full focus.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 12:14 (eighteen years ago) link

i think it's somewhat missing the point to complain about the original's stifling miserablism!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 16:01 (eighteen years ago) link

I think Disney should remake the US Office, just to squeeze out all of the aforementioned offending miserablism.

― phantasy bear (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 16:07 (eighteen years ago) link

i think it's somewhat missing the point to complain about the original's stifling miserablism!

C'mon, Slocki, we all live in a candy-colored world of whimsy and delight.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 16:27 (eighteen years ago) link

No Ned, apparently there's a world outside of California. I went there at christmas and everybody looks sad and the buildings are all wet and grey.

― phantasy bear (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 16:28 (eighteen years ago) link

I think this thread gives irrefutable evidence that there are still considerable differences between the American and British sense of humour

― Vicious Cop Kills Gentle Fool (Dada), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 16:29 (eighteen years ago) link

CROTCHBAT!

― D.I.Y. U.N.K.L.E. (dave225.3), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 16:30 (eighteen years ago) link

I went there at christmas and everybody looks sad and the buildings are all wet and grey.

How sad!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 16:34 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah, Matthew OTM wrt the podcast. That is pretty horrible. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't 30-40 minutes of third-rate local morning DJ style "wacky banter".

― jonviachicago, Wednesday, 25 January 2006 17:06 (eighteen years ago) link

I think it is hilarious.

― phantasy bear (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 17:09 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm British - did you know that?

― phantasy bear (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 17:09 (eighteen years ago) link

I mean, it's not completely unfunny... just not what I expected from Gervais. I just found it disappointing that he didn't try to do anything *that* much different from everyone else with a podcast. The whole humor seems to revolve around making fun of the stupid crap Karl says... and that gets old rather quickly I think.

As for Extras, I only caught the Kate Winslet episode and thought that was hilarious.

― jonviachicago, Wednesday, 25 January 2006 17:17 (eighteen years ago) link

i think the podcast is fucking hilarious too!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 17:19 (eighteen years ago) link

Really! Sometimes it's a bit slow, but it often has me making those snorting I'm-not-laughing noises at my desk at work, so that means it is funny.

― phantasy bear (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 17:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Extras is awesome but the podcast... sometimes it's great, but also jonviachicago OTM - they just make fun of Karl, who preteds to be stupid.

― mei (mei), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 18:16 (eighteen years ago) link

My feeling on Gervais is that he had one great idea and one amazing character and he doesn't really have much else to offer aside from aping Larry David and David Letterman in a British accent.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 18:24 (eighteen years ago) link

I would love for him to prove me wrong, though.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 18:25 (eighteen years ago) link

As for the miserablism - the original Office does generally get a good feeling of a bleak reality, but I personally favor over the top misery a la Peep Show or something more absurd like Arrested Development. I think the American Office generally wins by taking the general aesthetic of the original Office and nudging it in the direction of those more stylized shows.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 18:33 (eighteen years ago) link

see, nudging it away from what i liked about it doesn't win points with me!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 18:42 (eighteen years ago) link

it seems to just belabour everything the original did so subtly

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 18:42 (eighteen years ago) link

I think Steve's Carrel is great. There's been many a cringe-worthy moment on the NBC version. Dwight's come into his own despite being a completely different physical speciman of a person than Gareth. Pam's a cutie. I look for a long run from "The Office" in the U.S.

That said, the original U.K. version is soooo much better than its offspring.

(Signed,

Pleasant Plains, American)

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 19:06 (eighteen years ago) link

At first, the American version seemed pathetic. Now, I prefer it!

But, those first few episodes that had practically the exact same script just sucked.

― Ameritijikuan, Wednesday, 25 January 2006 19:23 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah, the first season of the American version wasn't good at all.

I think part of the problem with the original Office is that like the first few Christopher Guest movies, it's getting ripped off by a lot of marginally talented people who mimic the tone and speech patterns but do not have much wit, so it devalues the currency of the originals retroactively. The American version gets better the further it gets from the tone of Gervais et al.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 22:02 (eighteen years ago) link

It has gotten better this season. But still you can't really compare the two. The US office does well standing on its own (Dwight being the standout) but pales in comparison to the UK for what Slocki says upthread.

― Miss Misery xox (MissMiseryTX), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 22:08 (eighteen years ago) link

Dwight with a concussion was fucking classic. although I think they aired that episode out of order, it should have been before the Booze Cruise.

I like the other little peripheral touches too: Dwight and Angela, the redhead and her drinking and her hookup with Micheal. The characters are more fleshed out than the UK version (but that's only because there have been more episodes I suppose).

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 22:11 (eighteen years ago) link

That bit with Michael taking a snapshot of the redhead drunk woman's breasts is probably better the entire second season of the UK version combined.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 22:14 (eighteen years ago) link

kyle OTM. the concussion/foreman grill episode was best of the series so far. and i love the dwight/angela thing, especially when he slapped her ass.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 22:41 (eighteen years ago) link

Best = Michael and Jim servin up a karaoke "Islands in the Stream"

― Joe (Joe), Thursday, 26 January 2006 01:02 (eighteen years ago) link

Now I know what happened to JJ Jackson.

― Lars and Jagger (Ex Leon), Thursday, 26 January 2006 01:41 (eighteen years ago) link

so i decided to give this another chance after this thread, and fuck... i couldn't even make it through an episode. it's still just a shitty american sitcom version of the office with terrible american sitcom jokes! they might as well have a laugh track

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 18:56 (eighteen years ago) link

which episode did you see?

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 18:58 (eighteen years ago) link

because, really, this show is a treat.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 18:58 (eighteen years ago) link

Stanley playing basketball still tickles me.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 19:02 (eighteen years ago) link

the one where steve carrell takes all the guys down to the warehouse!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 19:20 (eighteen years ago) link

If this show is just like every other sitcom out there, I apparently need to watch more sitcoms.

― jonviachicago, Wednesday, 8 February 2006 19:20 (eighteen years ago) link

i like this show!

― gear (gear), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 19:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Slocki, that really wasn't one of the better episodes!

Episodes to check out:

"Office Olympics"
"Halloween"
"The Fight"
"Christmas Party"
"The Injury"

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 20:15 (eighteen years ago) link

Cutty OTM, as usual

― sunny successor (katharine), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 20:49 (eighteen years ago) link

"what does 'second base' mean? like if michael says he got to second base with you....is that a sales thing?" her wink made it even better. I like the asides a lot; from the same episode, when all them men went to the warehouse, but one stayed behind and closed the door, looked at the camera and gave a "shhhh" and you never saw him again.

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 21:40 (eighteen years ago) link

DWIGHTDWIGHTDWIGHTDWIGHTDWIGHTDWIGHT

― Joe (Joe), Wednesday, 8 February 2006 23:43 (eighteen years ago) link

I only ever saw the first episode and it was SO INCREDI-FUCKING-BLY AWFUL that i would need someone I REALLY trust to recommend it before watching it again. like, i cannot believe the opinion of anyone who found anything REMOTELY redeeming in that first ep. not just the script and setup - the acting!? jesus christ! tim + lady were the type of people i hate, totally divorce from the majesty of the UK vsn.

Matthew P has not convinced me in the least, by his descriptions here. S1ocki, please update if you delve forward and find anything remotely worthy.

(Then again, the original Office [minus Xmas Special] is almost certainly my favour telelvision thing of all time.)

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Thursday, 9 February 2006 12:05 (eighteen years ago) link

Skipping 1353 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.