# The Office has an AMERICAN version? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300 "2006-04-12T00:00:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/21 "2006-04-12T14:09:38Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > I caught part of an episode, and while I’m not in to the type of comedy they’re doing, I can certainly see it could get the laughs (Steve Carell _is_ quite the actor). > I can say it’s by _far_ the funniest show to have made it through the “Americanization” process; usually you yanks manage to suck even the tiniest bit of funny out of the most hilarious show. (Men Behaving Badly / Coupling, anyone?) Hell, I think it’s the ONLY one that’s made it through the Americanization process (see: “Teachers”) with any semblance of humor. I’m glad that NBC only got a few episodes to attempt destruction of my beloved “Coupling”. I’m enjoying the new season of The Office more than I enjoyed the first one - I think they’ve found their ‘groove’. (In fact, we’ve been waiting since October to see the Dundies episode again, which is FINALLY being rerun tomorrow night…). E. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/22 "2006-04-12T15:08:13Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I’m not saying you don’t have legitimate opinions about other things, but if you forsake _Office Space_, how can I trust you? HOW?!? Well, you can’t. But once you learn something about what actually is funny, you’ll see I’m right. I mean, how lame is it when you have to use the “hypnotist dies and leaves subject hypnotized” cliche? It may have been funny in the 1930s, but now it’s just pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Borborygmi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/borborygmi/32/217_2.png) [@Borborygmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borborygmi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/23 "2006-04-12T15:31:40Z")
Ah, it’s a 1930s style “death cliche”. Well, somebody had to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/24 "2006-04-12T15:44:31Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > We have South Park. If you want to attribute that to the BBC that’s fine with me. 😛 Some of your home-spun stuff (South Park, Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the early Simpsons (jeez, these are all cartoons here!) well whatever) is **fall-down hilarious** , but when your TV execs decide to _remake_ some of the most golden comedy every produced ('cause what, nobody understands a british accent? Words like ‘tube’ and ‘pub’ make viewers heads ache and they switch to NASCAR racing?) then I want to grab them by the lapels and shake until their toupees fall off. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/25 "2006-04-12T16:22:21Z")
Look, I’ll admit that the US has produced some absolutely hilarious, insanely funny non-stop hysterical laughter type programmes- _Futurama, Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law, Family Guy, American Dad!, My Name Is Earl,_ , and depending on your mood and what alcoholic beverages or herbal substances you may have partaken of, \*Star Trek, Batman, \* and (in the “It’s Funny Because It’s True” file), _Seinfeld_. Few, of course, compare to the brilliance that is British Comedy: _Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Not The Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Fawlty Towers, Black Books, The Young Ones, The Brittas Empire, Little Britain, Smith & Jones, Hale & Pace, Comic Relief, The Goodies, Absolutely Fabulous_ and, of course, anything involving Daleks, \* The Benny Hill Show\*, or Billy Connolly… ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/26 "2006-04-12T16:29:41Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > We have South Park. > > Nothing more needs to be said. Perhaps not, but The Simpsons, Futurama, The Venture Brothers, and Robot Chicken all deserve honorable mentions, methinks. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/27 "2006-04-12T16:31:36Z")
> [@Martini Enfield](#): > > Few, of course, compare to the brilliance that is British Comedy: _Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Not The Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Fawlty Towers, Black Books, The Young Ones, The Brittas Empire, Little Britain, Smith & Jones, Hale & Pace, Comic Relief, The Goodies, Absolutely Fabulous_ and, of course, anything involving Daleks, \* The Benny Hill Show\*, or Billy Connolly… You forgot Eddie Izzard! Go back to Russia! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/28 "2006-04-12T16:34:03Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > Hell, I think it’s the ONLY one that’s made it through the Americanization process (see: “Teachers”) with any semblance of humor. Does “Whose Line Is It Anyway” count? ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/29 "2006-04-12T16:46:01Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > Does “Whose Line Is It Anyway” count? I didn’t find the American version all that funny, so to me, not really. I’ll take Tony Slattery over Ryan Stiles any day. E. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/30 "2006-04-12T16:48:23Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > I can say it’s by _far_ the funniest show to have made it through the “Americanization” process May I offer _All in the Family_ (from _Till Death Do Us Part_). ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/31 "2006-04-12T17:02:05Z")
I agree with those who say the second season of the American \*Office \* has been better than the first. I didn’t love the British version, and I’m normally a fan of British humor. We own _Monty Python_, _Red Dwarf_, _Blackadder_, and _Fawlty Towers_, and while I “got” _The Office_, it often wasn’t laugh out loud funny so much as it made me feel nauseous. The American version balances the horrifyingly awkward with some slightly broader humor and more likeable characters. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/32 "2006-04-12T17:02:26Z")
> [@Nanoda](#): > > Some of your home-spun stuff (South Park, Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the early Simpsons (jeez, these are all cartoons here!) well whatever) is **fall-down hilarious** I find British comedy rather hit-or-miss…oftentimes it can be dull, but when it’s funny, it’s _very_ funny. (_Monty Python_ is a prime example.) The American “Adult Swim” shows such as _Aqua Teen_ are the same way…they can be dull often, but when they’re funny, they’re _very_ funny. The _Aqua Teen_ episode with David Cross as a suicidal action figure named Happytime Harry has got to be one of the funniest things ever aired on television. Commence the jigglin’! ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/33 "2006-04-12T17:25:04Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > With **Steve Carell**? I don’t mean to sound snarky here, but am I the only person who is amazed that the existence of an American version of this show hasn’t wiggled its way into the brains of just about every living American by now? I guess I thought it was one of those things that is just known, even by those that don’t watch the show or even watch TV. In truth, I’m a little envious. There are plenty of things that I’m sick of hearing about that I wish I could be deaf to, but they just manage to be so ubiquitous that despite my lack of interest, I know about them. More power to ya’. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/34 "2006-04-12T17:36:16Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > I’ll take Tony Slattery over Ryan Stiles any day. > > E. Me too. But Ryan was a regular in both versions, which confuses the issue somewhat. Incidentally, they’re also making a French version of The Office. Maybe one day they’ll all hold an international paper company convention, and all the casts will meet. It would be like that episode of Voltron where the lion Voltron and the vehicle Voltron teamed up. Except with fewer fighting giant robots. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/35 "2006-04-12T17:48:44Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Me too. But Ryan was a regular in both versions, which confuses the issue somewhat. True. I did like him better in the British version, but I think it was because I adored the British comics more as well (Josie…was it Caroline?..was head over heels any woman that ever appeared on the US version). Still, I don’t think anyone touches Tony Slattery in terms of Whose Line. E. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/36 "2006-04-12T17:50:30Z")
> [@Borborygmi](#): > > Ah, it’s a 1930s style “death cliche”. > > Well, somebody had to say it. I’m afraid I’m unaware of what you’re referring to. Enlighten me. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/37 "2006-04-12T18:08:17Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I cannot watch the British original of _The Office_; it’s just too painful. I think the agony is what makes it what it so brilliant. Without it, it would just be another comedy but in an office setting. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/38 "2006-04-12T18:10:34Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I’m afraid I’m unaware of what you’re referring to. Enlighten me. A while back in a thread on this board regarding lasers or something, someone responded, “Ah, they’re 1920s-style ‘death rays.’” However, he or she posted this statement two or three times in a row by accident. Since then, 1920s-style death rays have become a cliche on this board. **Borborgymi** was playing on both this cliche and **RealityChuck** ’s comment about dead hypnotist jokes not being funny since the 1930s. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/39 "2006-04-12T18:18:52Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > True. I did like him better in the British version, but I think it was because I adored the British comics more as well (Josie…was it Caroline?..was head over heels any woman that ever appeared on the US version). Mmmmm… Josie Lawrence… ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300/40 "2006-04-12T18:24:30Z")
> [@Martini Enfield](#): > > Few, of course, compare to the brilliance that is British Comedy: _Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Not The Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Fawlty Towers, Black Books, The Young Ones, The Brittas Empire, Little Britain, Smith & Jones, Hale & Pace, Comic Relief, The Goodies, Absolutely Fabulous_ and, of course, anything involving Daleks, \* The Benny Hill Show\*, or Billy Connolly… That’s ridiculous. Monty Python had a few good sketches, but really, when one of your most remembered sketches is men doing funny walks, that’s not really too high on the old comedy scale. Blackadder was OK. Fawlty Towers was funny, but not any more so than half a dozen American sitcoms - Cheers, for example, was way funnier. Absolutely Fabulous was just sophomoric drivel and I’m surprised your country didn’t bury its head in shame that it made its way across the pond. My theory is that the British actually don’t have a developed sense of humor (it was slowed by the Victorian era when you weren’t allowed to laugh), so they still think people talking in funny voices and walking oddly is the height of comedy. Tony Slattery was never particularly funny. The American casts were the best part of even the British run of Whose Line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-has-an-american-version/352300.md?page=3)