# American "The Office" might not be that bad **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2005, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545 "2005-03-21T12:59:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/121 "2005-03-30T18:10:58Z")
Ricky Gervais’ character was not played in a subtle way. I often found myself laughing while hiding my face as I cringed as to what he would do next. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/122 "2005-03-30T18:18:39Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > The meeting with Mr. Brown borrowed elements from one of the British first season episodes, where Brent kept trying to wrest control away from the visiting consultant in order to remain the center of attention. But most of last night’s episode was original material. Also, no matter how bad Brent seemed, nobody ever complained about him to his superiors, and he seemed to do whatever he wanted without reprisals. Apparently Michael Scott is not that well-off. I’m already regretting being a nitpicky asshole fangeek, but I can’t… stop… myself… People complained twice about David to his new boss, Neil, at the “merger party” that kicked off season 2. The first was the famous “Is it a black man’s cock?” joke. I think the second complaint was after he acted out what he’d do to some girl band, but I might be blurring episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/123 "2005-03-30T18:30:08Z")
> [@cricetus](#): > > I’m already regretting being a nitpicky asshole fangeek, but I can’t… stop… myself… > > People complained twice about David to his new boss, Neil, at the “merger party” that kicked off season 2. The first was the famous “Is it a black man’s cock?” joke. I think the second complaint was after he acted out what he’d do to some girl band, but I might be blurring episodes. OK, I stand corrected, but I honestly didn’t know. I need to get around to watching season 2 one of these days. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/124 "2005-03-30T18:46:21Z")
Look, guys, the sarcasm is really unnecessary. I’m all grown up and can figure out for myself how to go about enjoying a show… It’s just an issue that piqued my curiosity. I’m sure I read somewhere that not all the questions we asked here had to be of grave import. Anyway, I would have thought there were better places to set a show about a distribution center, even in a small town (and, yes, I consider 75,000 a small town – not a village, but small nevertheless). Somewhere that’s really at a transportation crossroads, like Springfield, Ohio, or Laurel, Md., or Morgantown, W.Va., or Twin Rivers, N.J. Scranton just seems too out of the way for distribution purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/125 "2005-03-30T18:55:10Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Look, guys, the sarcasm is really unnecessary. I’m all grown up and can figure out for myself how to go about enjoying a show… It’s just an issue that piqued my curiosity. I’m sure I read somewhere that not all the questions we asked here had to be of grave import. Hey, don’t worry. I’m still your biggest flan! ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/126 "2005-03-30T19:31:35Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Look, guys, the sarcasm is really unnecessary. I’m all grown up and can figure out for myself how to go about enjoying a show… It’s just an issue that piqued my curiosity. I’m sure I read somewhere that not all the questions we asked here had to be of grave import. > > Anyway, I would have thought there were better places to set a show about a distribution center, even in a small town (and, yes, I consider 75,000 a small town – not a village, but small nevertheless). Somewhere that’s really at a transportation crossroads, like Springfield, Ohio, or Laurel, Md., or Morgantown, W.Va., or Twin Rivers, N.J. Scranton just seems too out of the way for distribution purposes. Yeah, but “Scranton” is a funnier word than Morgantown or Twin Rivers, etc. Scranton, Scranton, Scranton! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/127 "2005-03-30T19:35:57Z")
I’ve realized the ultimate problem - Carrell’s Boss is simply not a sympathetic character in any way. He’s playing the David Brent character as a straight-up jerk, and overplaying it MAJORLY. I found myself wanting to turn off the second episode not because it was particularly bad (it had some moments), but because I couldn’t help but bristle at Carrell’s over-the-top “asshole boss” bit. David Brent was a brilliant mix of irritating, sympathetic, hilarious, sweet, and sad, which was the key to the character working. Carrell is a SNL “boss” caricature. “Jim” and “Pam” are far too weak to carry the show, and don’t even get me stared on “Dwight”… While Tuesday’s ep. had some hilarious moments (“You want to get high?” “No.” “I think you do, mon.” “Stop.”) some of the would-be money shot lines were awful. Carrell’s whole over-the-top “Would you like some gooby-gooby?” wasn’t funny upon first utterance, and when they had him repeat it three or four times, it was somehow made even less funny. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/128 "2005-03-30T19:57:31Z")
It may be how starved we are for good TV comedy, but I’m loving it. Yeah, Carell could tone it down just a little, but it works well enough as it is. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/129 "2005-03-30T20:20:48Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > Yeah, but “Scranton” is a funnier word than Morgantown or Twin Rivers, etc. > > Scranton, Scranton, Scranton! 🙂 Natives pronounce it “Scra-in” of “Scra-un” with a nasal “a” sound in the first syllable, and we make it sound more like 1.5 syllables than a full 2. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/130 "2005-03-30T20:30:53Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > Natives pronounce it “Scra-in” of “Scra-un” with a nasal “a” sound in the first syllable, and we make it sound more like 1.5 syllables than a full 2. 😉 Ah, the good old glottal stop. It’s also in Day’nahia (Dayton, Ohio). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/131 "2005-03-30T20:32:15Z")
> [@Tracy Lord](#): > > I wouldn’t call it highbrow/lowbrow, necessarily. Just that if you’re the sort of viewer who needs a laugh track, this isn’t the style of comedy that will appeal to you. I don’t normally need a laugh track to know what’s supposed to be funny and maybe this show is done a disservice by following “Scrubs” instead of, oh, “Listen Up,” but “The Office-American Style” was not the slightest bit funny. I look forward, though, to the “new season” of “The Newsroom” my local PBS station is promising. ---
**Author:** ![jfortun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2acd7d/32.png) [@jfortun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jfortun)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/132 "2005-03-30T20:36:21Z")
> [@Freejooky](#): > > I’ve realized the ultimate problem - Carrell’s Boss is simply not a sympathetic character in any way. He’s playing the David Brent character as a straight-up jerk, and overplaying it MAJORLY. I found myself wanting to turn off the second episode not because it was particularly bad (it had some moments), but because I couldn’t help but bristle at Carrell’s over-the-top “asshole boss” bit. > > David Brent was a brilliant mix of irritating, sympathetic, hilarious, sweet, and sad, which was the key to the character working. Carrell is a SNL “boss” caricature. > > “Jim” and “Pam” are far too weak to carry the show, and don’t even get me stared on “Dwight”… > > While Tuesday’s ep. had some hilarious moments (“You want to get high?” “No.” “I think you do, mon.” “Stop.”) some of the would-be money shot lines were awful. Carrell’s whole over-the-top “Would you like some gooby-gooby?” wasn’t funny upon first utterance, and when they had him repeat it three or four times, it was somehow made even less funny. It took me most of the first season of the original Office to find David Brent sympathetic so I am will to give Carrell a bit more time to fit into place. If we are comparing Jim/Pam to Tim/Dawn, well, those are big shoes to fill. If they can evoke even 25% of the sympathy I had for the original duo than they will have been more successful at grabbing my interest in a TV romance than any US show has ever been. The jury is still out on that for me. Dwight I am not so sure about- I will say that he more closely mimicks the office loner/geek than Gareth ever did, even if he isn’t as interesting a character. I think it is only fair that, as viewers who demand good TV, we give the network a chance to take the time to develop and evolve the show rather than cut it off at the knees and let it become yet another victim of our short attention span. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/133 "2005-04-01T16:01:46Z")
I’ve gotta say – I cheered when the Indian chick smacked Carell good – what in Indian English would be called “one, _tight_ slap.” But it does occur to me that the U.K. version would call for more a restrained reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/134 "2005-04-02T16:03:13Z")
Thanks to the magic of Netflix, I just watched the first season of the UK version. The first three episodes to me were a big “so what,” and left me wondering what the hell the big fuss was about. I laughed much more in the first two episodes of the American version than the first three of the UK version. _But_ the second three of the UK version were utterly hilarious, much funnier than the two US episodes that have been shown. It makes me think that the US version will get even funnier as well. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2005, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545/135 "2005-04-02T18:11:00Z")
I’d never seen the British Office (although now I’m tempted to rent it), but I definitely enjoyed the first two eps of the US series. Although I do agree that Steve Carrel is being too over-the-top; he works better when he’s being more subtle, anyway. Also? John Krasinski, who plays Jim, is really, really cute. That’s enough to hold my attention. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-the-office-might-not-be-that-bad/295545.md?page=6)