I haven’t seen the BBC show.
I thought it was brilliant.
I’m white as white can be, and not only did I get the flan line, I laughed hysterically at it. “I still love that after seven years.” :dies laughing: And then when Dwight taps Jim on the shoulder? HAHA! Funny stuff. I have a habit of watching the first episode of a show, loving it, and then forgetting to ever watch it again. I hope that doesn’t happen here.
I thought it wasn’t terrible. My biggest worry is that the Tim/Dawn thing was absolutely key to making the BBC version the fantastic show it was, and that was due in large part to the fantastic acting the two actors did. I wasn’t terribly impressed with either of the American actors filling those roles.
I have to say that I just watched the first episode of the Americanized office and it was not bad. I was expecting it to be terrible. But I was pleasantly surprised.
First let me be clear that I think the twelve episodes of the original British series are the best 12 episodes of any television show ever. And they are right up there along with “This is Spinal Tap” and “Lost in America” as among the funniest things that have ever been filmed.
So… I was really expecting that the American version would be a pale imitation and a crappy, forumlaic, sitcommy pale imitation at that. But, as I said, I just watched it, and I thought it was pretty funny in parts. I thought the acting was pretty good, and I thought it was interesting to see how they translated many jokes from the original British idiom into an American idiom.
I will definitely give it a chance.
I loved it! Mr. singular and I laughed out loud a lot, cringed in simpathy a lot and rolled our eyes a lot. This is a beautiful snapshot of office life. My favorite part is the fact that the cast all looks so normal. There’s no wacky gay guy, there’s no supermodel, there’s no caustic redhead with snappy one-liners, there’s no constant witty reparte, just average people and their average annoying coworkers, trying to get through the day with each other because they’re paid to! I loved the original, and I’ll love this one, if it keeps up this level of excellence. I know these people. I am these people. I work with these people, and avoid most of them when I’m not being paid to interact with them! Very, very impressive. Steve Carrell did a fine job.
And as a bonus, since he was in NY pimping the show, he did a correspondent report on The Daily Show! God, I love this man! I knew he was destined for greatness when he stole Bruce Almighty (I know, a wretched film) away from Jim Carrey.
I watched it, not too bad at all. I love scrubs too, so I’m excited to see something good on TV for a change.
I agree with that. Lucy Davis is brilliant on the original; her facial expressions and eyes do a lot of the acting. I think the Tim-Dawn relationship was the only one in the history of romance in film and television I cared about.
I lasted about 8 minutes. I was embarrassed for the writers.
You do realize it’s the same writers as wrote the first one, right? The script really wasn’t much different from the original pilot.
It was different enough.
I will admit I laughed a few times, but the translated show suffers from a failure of nerve. The Tim character is too good-looking, for example.
And the Gareth character? Well, you know, in the original Gareth was in the Territorial Army. The nearest equivalent to that in the US would be the National Guard. But NBC wouldn’t have dared to have an unsympathetic Guardsman character at this moment in history.
So they made him a “volunteer deputy,” a concept just vague enough to have no satirical teeth.
Eh, it wasn’t as bad as the previews but I don’t think I’ll watch the rest of the series. Dawn & Tim were well cast, I think I actually prefer mousy, timid dawn to the british version. But I just couldn’t suspend disbelief for Gareth and Brent. They seemed a little too wacky and a little too mugging for the camera.
I had the same speculation about the Gareth character, that some producer was anxious about having a non-heroic guardsman on the show. Would have been better just to drop that aspect of his character.
I can see being critical about one or two points, but the changes are not so drastic that it goes from being brilliant to embarrassing. That’s all I’m saying.
I’m a huge fan of the original, but I thought the American version was pretty good. I really want to like it, so hopefully it will improve over a few episodes.
Agree with a lot here. . .I thought it was funny, funnier than most other shows.
There’s a certain difficulty watching it because you invariably are drawing the lines in your head to the British show.
But, great potential. It seems like they’re going to keep true to the spirit of the British one.
I think it could be excellent when the characters sink into their roles a little more and the scripts become original.
These endless comparisons with the original are pointless. As confirmed by the folks who are weighing in to say they never saw the British series, and thought last night’s show was great.
The Tim and Dawn actors seem just right to me; Dwight I’m not entirely sold on yet but I’m thinking he’ll grow on me. Carrell could blink and I’d shoot beverage out my nose.
Come on, folks. Someone pointed out how rare the really smart comedies are these days. Even if it didn’t make you laugh, you have to admit its trying harder than 90% of the television comedies left. Give it another episode or two to get used to the new actors before you scrunch your face up and doom The Office to the same ignoble fate as that modern martyr of comedic brilliance, Arrested Development.
It was ok. I’ve never seen the BBC version. Probably the funiest thing was how the one guy put people’s belongings in Jello. The bit with the papers migrating to the other guys desk and the pencil palisades was pretty funny. As was the conference call with “Hillzilla” or whatever she was called.
Basically, it’s a great take on modern office life for those people who have never seen the BBC version…or Office Space…or Dilbert, or Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Fight Club, Chandler Bing’s office in Friends, Clockwatchers, Working Girl, an ESPN commercial, etc, etc
By the way, I’m on the verge of opening a GQ thread about this: how the heck do you suspend something really heavy (like that huge coffe mug) in a jello mold? It seems to me it would sink to the bottom before the jello had time to set…
I think you’d let it set partially before putting in the mug, so there’s some resistance.
I did not have high hopes for the American version, but I watched the first episode last night and was pleasantly surprised. I thought they did ok with it. I mean, sure, it’s not the original, but no remake ever is. I actually liked the guy playing the boss (Farrell?), I thought he did a good job and had a very “American” take on the role. Simply mimicking Ricky would never have worked.
I hope they do put it on with Scrubs. I was recently complaining that there is no support for that show, and it’s one of only two that are any good. I can’t stand Committed; another boring neurotic-boy-meets-wacky-girl. And what is with her voice?! She wasn’t nearly so annoying on Crossing Jordan.
My only complaint, I think, is that this version didn’t seem to have any “teeth”. The original Office was almost painful to watch. This one seemed a little bland.
I will give it a couple more shots, to let the characters developer, but so far, it bored the piss out of me.
I thought it was pretty good. Sure it’s not the original, but no other show can be.
And I really hope they tone down some of Brent’s (Scott’s) embarrassing “he thinks he’s so funny but doesn’t get that everyone thinks he’s a joke” schtick. It was great in the first two seasons, but by the Christmas Special I wanted to put an icepick through his brain.
So that’s what I’m hoping the new direction will bring.