# "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:** 2
**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, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/21 "2004-05-19T23:16:48Z")
> [@Max Carnage](#): > > 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. We got Threes Company over in Australia around 1980. I remember watching it as a kid, because I enjoyed the earlier UK Man about the House and Robins Nest. Has US TV comedy been stuck in that domestic, living room setting ever since? I just found [this link to a List of British TV shows remade for the American market](http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/List%20of%20British%20TV%20shows%20remade%20for%20the%20American%20market). Wow, they remade Fawlty Towers!! Yep Black Books. That was good. We have a shop nearby just like the TV version. I keep expecting to see Manny appear from the back room. ---
**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, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/22 "2004-05-19T23:33:42Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I think that in an interview on NPR Ricky Gervaise said that he imagined it was Newark, New Jersey. Does Newark smell alternatively of Chocolate some days and Poo on other days? Does it have the biggest industrial park in Europe? and is it named after the word for a bog or marsh? I think not… ---
**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, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/23 "2004-05-19T23:34:21Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > 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) Wow from Slough to CA. So a person form Slough is a Sluff? ---
**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, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/24 "2004-05-19T23:36:12Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Does Newark smell alternatively of Chocolate some days and Poo on other days? Does it have the biggest industrial park in Europe? and is it named after the word for a bog or marsh? > I think not… … or shed skin. I suppose you exfoliated to CA. 🙂 ---
**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, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/25 "2004-05-19T23:42:48Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Does Newark smell alternatively of Chocolate some days and Poo on other days? Does it have the biggest industrial park in Europe? and is it named after the word for a bog or marsh? > I think not… I don’t know about the rest of it, but much of northern New Jersey \*is \* one giant industrial park. And the Meadowlands is not far from Newark, which is or was a big swamp. Close enough to a bog or marsh. ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/26 "2004-05-20T06:11:00Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > **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? hmmm…check out Malcom in the Middle. I can’t think of anyone I know who hasn’t laughed at that show at least once. A person need only watch it for about 2-3 minutes before deciding wether or not they like it. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/27 "2004-05-20T06:35:10Z")
> [@JoeSki](#): > > hmmm…check out Malcom in the Middle. I can’t think of anyone I know who hasn’t laughed at that show at least once. A person need only watch it for about 2-3 minutes before deciding wether or not they like it. I lasted about 4 minutes. I am very patient. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/28 "2004-05-20T10:29:59Z")
Did The League of Gentlemen ever make it to overseas TV? I suppose it could be seen as too weird to be popular, though. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/29 "2004-05-20T21:07:20Z")
At least there’s one aspect of “Office” that’s impossible for NBC NOT to improve on: the attractiveness of the cast. And in the end, isn’t that _the_ most important thing over here? This “Office” is going to be a hit. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/30 "2004-05-20T22:37:38Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > But “The Office” is a documentory of a typical Slough based buisness, where in America could compare with Slough? Selecting somewhere in New Jersey always seemed to me the obvious solution to the Slough problem. I suspect the bigger problem might be the documentary style. Has there been a US equivalent of that late-90s UK spate of fly-on-the-wall shows that _The Office_ mimics so deadpan? ---
**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 20, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/31 "2004-05-20T22:43:45Z")
Just to answer the slight hijack, yes ‘Sluff’ is the name people from Slough call themselves. (Though most who have moved away from Slough just call themselves lucky 😉 ) ---
**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 20, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/32 "2004-05-20T23:17:16Z")
I thought I heard (possibly in a previous thread here on the SDMB) that Steven Colbert of The Daily Show was going to play the David Brent character. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/33 "2004-05-20T23:32:34Z")
> [@+MDI](#): > > Did The League of Gentlemen ever make it to overseas TV? I suppose it could be seen as too weird to be popular, though. It was played here in Australia and was a very popular. Yet another great UK comedy. I wonder where the US equivalent of Royston Vasey would be. Up in the South Carolina boondocks? This is a local shop for local people- there’s nothing for you here." ---
**Author:** ![carterba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85e7bf/32.png) [@carterba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carterba)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/34 "2004-05-20T23:32:47Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I thought I heard (possibly in a previous thread here on the SDMB) that Steven Colbert of The Daily Show was going to play the David Brent character. Steve Carrell, not Steven Colbert. I’ll watch just because I like him. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/35 "2004-05-21T01:05:41Z")
> [@antechinus](#): > > It was played here in Australia and was a very popular. Yet another great UK comedy. > > I wonder where the US equivalent of Royston Vasey would be. Up in the South Carolina boondocks? This is a local shop for local people- there’s nothing for you here." I saw it in the US, i believe on BBCA but it may have been Comedy Central. I could see a US equivalent set in Arkansas or Alabama, or maybe Tennesee or West Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/36 "2004-05-21T01:44:28Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > Selecting somewhere in New Jersey always seemed to me the obvious solution to the Slough problem. > I suspect the bigger problem might be the documentary style. Has there been a US equivalent of that late-90s UK spate of fly-on-the-wall shows that _The Office_ mimics so deadpan? Arrested Development is more or less a one-camera, faux-documentary show (albeit with flashbacks and creative use of inserts). It’s a critical but not neccesarily commerical hit though it has been renewed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/37 "2004-05-21T04:59:19Z")
The problem is that most American sitcom producers insist that their characters be likable. This greatly limits the comedic potential. Two shows that have defied this principle successfully have been _Married … With Children_ and _Seinfeld_. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/38 "2004-05-21T05:00:40Z")
I thought of another, _The Chris Elliot Show_, which wasn’t as successful as the other two I mentioned but did last a few seasons. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/39 "2004-05-21T05:39:48Z")
There was a funny US comedy on here a few years ago. Only saw one or two episodes. It was a pisstake on Soap/Benson type sitcom, but set in the Whitehouse with George Bush senior?? Maybe. What was that? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920/40 "2004-05-21T05:52:31Z")
That was likely[That’s My Bush](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0268077/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-remade-for-the-usa/245920.md?page=3)