My brother sent me the first season of BBC’s “The Office” as my Christmas gift this year.
Why, I have no idea.
I tried the show once, or twice on BBC America (which I don’t think my brother knows I get) and didn’t find it all that funny. So I thought, maybe it is because I never saw it from the beginning.
So tonight I watched the first episode.
Sorry, but so far, I haven’t evened grinned, let alone laugh.
Am I missing something? Does it get better? Should I keep trying?
Mind you, I do appreciate British humour, and there are quite a few small, independent British films I really like…but does The Office grow on you, or is it one of those shows you either like or don’t?
I think it does grow on you over time. It helps a great deal if you work or have worked in an office. All of the characters are sterotypical office workers. The first season especially is very subtle. The second season went for more obvious humor and wasn’t as good imho. I’d recommend watching the entire series as there is only 6 or 8 episodes. As you begin to understand the stereotypes it is disecting it gets funnier.
The Office alternates between being very funny and making me want to curl up with embarrassment. Which is exactly what it sets out to do.
You need to get into the head of office manager Brent and see the world from his distorted and deluded viewpoint. In a way similar to the classic John Cleeves comedy “Fawlty Towers” there is a vast chasm between what he believes are his abilities, achievements and aspirations and what are the awful realities. Beneath it all he is a desperate man out of his depth and frantically tredding water. But he simply doesn’t have a clue and everything he tries just makes it worse, makes him an even bigger prat than he was previously.
It also helps if you’ve met people not unlike him before. But it could be that the average American doesn’t see his behaviour as quite so unusual.
Anyways, what you doing watching your Christmas presents already???
I think here it worked out about 80/20 with The Office. About 1 in 5 people I know that watched just didn’t like it. I thought it was hysterical but the second series is full of moments of cover your head with a cushion embarassment. Whatever muscles you use to cringe will grow mighty.
I am a transplanted Texan living in Ireland and to be honest with you don’t appreciate the British or Irish sense of humour all that much. However…The Office was an absolutely unmissable, cringe-inducing, side-splittingly funny piece of comedy brilliance. On par with The Office was an Irish made pseudo/documentary comedy called “Paths to Freedom”. If you ever get the opportunity to see it do. Brilliant stuff.
I didn’t get Keeping Up Appearences the first time, but I now I have seen every episode…would love to see a show about Sheridan Bucket…and I love AbFab, Graham Norton and other shows, so maybe this will grow on me.
And to answer some questions:
I didn’t “open” my Christmas gift early, it came in a plain cardboard box in the mail from Barnes and Noble.
Yes, I have worked in many offices and do know those types of characters…
By the way, I even read recently they are thinking about doing an American version of the The Office, though with the roaring success of Couples, I am surprised they are willing to give it a go.
