# "The Office" remade for the USA **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 19, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920 "2004-05-19T05:02:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/1 "2004-05-19T05:02:52Z")
It appears USA audiences do have a sense of humour. [NBC has bought the rights to the British comedy show, "The Office"](http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=522702)and has commissioned the making of six episodes. I understand that the original was very popular in the USA and won the US Golden Globe award for best TV comedy. So I hope it all goes well for the remake. By the way (this is a bit CafeSociety) - how well do other British comedies do in the USA? Ali G, People Like Us, The Royle Family, Absolutely Fabulous, Red Dwarf, Blackadder\*, Father Ted, … In Australia will are (fortunately) inundated with excellent British comedy, but the only comedies that come out of the USA are cartoons like the Simpsons and South Park (which are both great). Are there any good USA comedy shows that I could find on DVD or cable? There are a lot of ‘humourous’ sitcoms set in peoples living rooms, like Seinfeld and Friends, but thats about it. - I notice QED’s sig is a blackadder quote ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/2 "2004-05-19T05:18:23Z")
Remakes of popular UK shows using US actors have generally been huge flops. This is why I cringed when I heard that America, not famous for subtlety in comedy, wants to remake a show who’s comedy is extremely subtle. I think david brent’s deeply embarrasing british corporate boss personality is so unique that I can’t imagine a non-brit being able to replicate it. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/3 "2004-05-19T05:32:24Z")
Ricky Gervaise plays the role so well, it is scary. Although it it hard to imagine someone else playing David Brent, at least they are having a go. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/4 "2004-05-19T05:54:21Z")
After all, “Coupling” went so well… It might work, I’ve read somewhere, and kind of agree that the Burger King commercials are an American “Office” if it were 30 seconds long and dedicated to hawking fast food… I just don’t know if anyone can write it decently for 23 minutes with two commercial breaks. ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/5 "2004-05-19T08:02:58Z")
It will,not to put too fine a point on it,suck. Oh,and I loved “Coupling”,and hated “Friends”. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/6 "2004-05-19T08:12:50Z")
I just love “The Office”. Gervaise is scarily good, and the horrid part is that we’ve all had useless bastards like that around us in the workplace at one time or another. 🙂 This is extremely Café, though. So off we go! ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/7 "2004-05-19T08:19:25Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > Are there any good USA comedy shows that I could find on DVD or cable? Check out Family Guy. It’s hysterical. I can’t imagine anyone loving South Park and the Simpsons and not loving Family Guy. It’s right up there as far as funniness goes. Google it and look up some quotes. I would do it myself and give you a link, but my computer has been so insanely slow, that doing that would take me up to ten minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/8 "2004-05-19T08:24:32Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > In Australia will are (fortunately) inundated with excellent British comedy, but the only comedies that come out of the USA are cartoons like the Simpsons and South Park (which are both great). Are you kidding? We have American Sitcoms and comedy shows up the ying yang. Everybody loves Raymond, Friends, Will & Grace, Sex & the City… you cant turn on the TV in prime time without US comedy. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/9 "2004-05-19T09:44:11Z")
**JoeSki** Thanks. A googled Family Guy. Looks like it is worth checking out. It’s on Fox cable so I will watch out for it. Another cartoon though - how about a comedy with real actors? **Shalmaneese** Those shows aren’t lol comedies. They are low intensity humourous sitcoms. I am talking about hard-core comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/10 "2004-05-19T09:50:31Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > Gervaise is scarily good He is! I find myself wondering if Gervaise is actually like David Brent in real life, because he does the character so well. I’ve actually changed channels sometimes because I’ve been so embarrased by what Brent has just done/said (or I’ve predicted he’s about to say). > [@](#): > > and the horrid part is that we’ve all had useless bastards like that around us in the workplace at one time or another. 🙂 Worryingly, sadly, true! (my recently left the company boss springs to mind. Boy am I glad he left!) ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/11 "2004-05-19T10:06:44Z")
I really can’t see them doing _The Office_ well. They may make a OK sitcom based in a office with some characters sharing names but I highly doubt it will be _The Office_ if you know what I mean. As to it’s popularity in the States. AFAIK it was only on BBCAmerica which isn’t exactly one of the nations largest stations. Here’s hoping though. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/12 "2004-05-19T10:51:56Z")
Initial reports are not encouraging: [America remakes The Office, but no one’s laughing](http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1212207,00.html) (The Guardian, registration required) > [@](#): > > Yesterday it emerged that a screening of the US remake received a cool response from viewers, who apparently sat stony-faced. “It was painfully clear that nobody was liking it. The lady next to me said she found it depressing,” wrote one reviewer on the showbiz website [imdb.com](http://imdb.com). Although it’s not clear from the article whether it was just bad, or the audience weren’t getting it. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/13 "2004-05-19T10:59:21Z")
I loved the Office, but honestly, I don’t think in its current form it would be a very big success here. As was said, it’s extraordinarily subtle, and well… subtle doesn’t always do so well in the mainstream. And honestly, I wouldn’t want to watch it if it didn’t have Ricky Gervaise, or frankly, the rest of the cast in it. It’s Gervaise’s specific brand of … unknowing assholishness that makes the show for me. He’d be one of the quickest to break the SDMB’s “Don’t Be A Jerk” rule, but truly baffled when he got banned for it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/14 "2004-05-19T12:49:55Z")
I don’t know how well they do commercially, but BritComs are a mixed bag with Pepper Mill and me. We love the Blackadder series, Coupling, Vicar of Dibley, and others, but hate AbFab and The Office. We also generally hate the US versions of these shows, which network chiefs seem to feel duty-bound to emasculate. (Except for Whose Line is it Anyway?, which they tinkered with as little as possible, even keeping two of the original cast) ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/15 "2004-05-19T13:17:28Z")
> [@](#): > > He is! I find myself wondering if Gervaise is actually like David Brent in real life, because he does the character so well. I’ve actually changed channels sometimes because I’ve been so embarrased by what Brent has just done/said (or I’ve predicted he’s about to say). I heard Gervaise in a radio interview, and fortunately he’s pretty much the opposite of David Brent. He said he based the character on a combination of personality types he’s worked with in various offices. I love the show, but just don’t see it working in an American setting. There’s a specific, subtle British touch that makes it work; it requires a certain amount of perceptiveness about human behavior on the part of the audience. I’m afraid an American version would make all the humor too obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/16 "2004-05-19T14:47:23Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Remakes of popular UK shows using US actors have generally been huge flops. This is why I cringed when I heard that America, not famous for subtlety in comedy, wants to remake a show who’s comedy is extremely subtle. Three’s Company and All In The Family did pretty well, but yeah, lately they haven’t translated well. Of course there are undobtedly dozens of adapted sitcoms I’m unaware of. Personally, I’ve not seen The Office yet, but I’ve been wanting to pick them up on DVD. I wish Comedy Central would show Black Books (was that the name of that one?) again. That show was funny! Loved the episode where Black’s bearded friend became enlightened by the inspirational book. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/17 "2004-05-19T15:03:47Z")
Some other remakes. One foot in the grave = Crosby Steptoe and Son = Sanford and Son Men behaving badly All three were WAY better in the UK IMO. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/18 "2004-05-19T17:43:28Z")
I watched one episode plus parts of a couple others of the American version of “Coupling”. Large parts of the original scripts were left in. But the acting, directing, production, etc. all sucked big time. So when it was cancelled, the blame of course fell on the script. Next time you see a bad high school production of “Romeo and Juliet”, remember to blame the writer. That’s the Hollywood Way. (Sunday’s episode of “Coupling” on BBCAmerica was the “Spiderman” one. A classic.) As to “The Office”, since the original is awful, it will be interesting to see just how much worse than awful the American version can be. I.e., how low can you go? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/19 "2004-05-19T20:11:28Z")
But “The Office” is a documentory of a typical Slough based buisness, where in America could compare with Slough? For those who don’t know Slough is that dissagreeable smell you pass on the M4 just west from London. Bippy, (born and bred in Slough, and proud of it in the insane way typical of Sluff’s who got out) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/20 "2004-05-19T22:41:55Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > But “The Office” is a documentory of a typical Slough based buisness, where in America could compare with Slough? I think that in an interview on NPR Ricky Gervaise said that he imagined it was Newark, New Jersey. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920.md?page=2)