# The Office (U.S.) is not funny **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961 "2010-03-26T23:17:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/61 "2010-03-28T10:09:08Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > The Office isn’t funny and _News Radio_ is? OK, you can safely be discredited. Wait, are you saying that, overall, News Radio isn’t funny (disregarding the last season)? Fie! I say! curses upon you! May Joe Rogan choke you out! ETA: I can’t reconcile Andy Dick’s funniness with Jon Lovitz’s assessment of his personal worth. I don’t want someone that funny to be a drug-addled waste of carbon. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/62 "2010-03-28T10:17:33Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > _NewsRadio_ is a good show, IMHO. The US version of _The Office_ doesn’t really appeal to me. I don’t think the OP is out of line at all. > [@Cardinal](#): > > Wait, are you saying that, overall, News Radio isn’t funny (disregarding the last season)? > > Fie! I say! curses upon you! May Joe Rogan choke you out! > > ETA: I can’t reconcile Andy Dick’s funniness with Jon Lovitz’s assessment of his personal worth. I don’t want someone that funny to be a drug-addled waste of carbon. It’s OK, but not nearly as funny as The Office. And although I can see some degradation over the past few seasons I don’t agree with the bandwagon consensus that it’s terrible now. It’s still funny. I just wish they hadn’t focused so much on the Pam & Jim storyline, since admittedly “Pam and Jim become responsible parents” just isn’t a funny premise to start with. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/63 "2010-03-28T14:02:45Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > _NewsRadio_ is a good show, IMHO. The US version of _The Office_ doesn’t really appeal to me. I don’t think the OP is out of line at all. OP, add in my support, too. If threads can be made about things one likes, then anti-thing threads are acceptable, too. Kind of like how there can be debate threads started on either side of an issue. Star Trek still beats Star Wars, btw. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/64 "2010-03-28T14:51:24Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > And Krasinski is not funny, neither is Jenna Fischer, but both of them are good straight men/women to the very weird rest of the characters. I don’t think he’s a very good actor either. He’s basically “Jim” in every other film I’ve seen him in. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/65 "2010-03-28T15:27:39Z")
I wish I could find it, but on this very board a year or two ago a poster wrote a really concise, totally spot-on summary of what’s wrong with the American _Office_ in comparison to its UK progenitor. The problem is mostly with the Michael Scott character, who at this point is basically a live-action Homer Simpson. The good episodes of the American _Office_ are the ones that treat Michael more like a real person than a cartoon. So when he’s a well-meaning but inept goofball who nevertheless manages to effortlessly land a huge account on a day when all he cared about was getting a free pretzel, that’s clever and fun to watch and gives us a reason for his co-workers and superiors putting up with him. Not so much when he’s driving into a lake because his GPS told him to (which is literally something Homer Simpson just did). Something like what happened on this week’s episode (Michael is initially charming toward a woman who Jim and Pam set him up with, but turns into a buffoon once he realizes it’s a “date”) could have worked had it been more subtle and less ridiculous. In addition, there has been very little worthwhile about the show following the end of season 3. Michael and Dwight have gotten progressively more absurd, Jim and Pam more and more annoying, and most of the secondary characters are in weird holding-patterns (Ryan in particular makes no sense). ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/66 "2010-03-28T16:23:50Z")
> [@Terraplane](#): > > Thanks for letting us know about the TV show you don’t like. Please keep us informed if there’s anything else out there that doesn’t entertain you. Do you also go to all the “X is teh rox0r” thread to say the same? Are you that involved in the series that my disent offends you? My thread is a non-earth-shattering one started by a stupid person with lousy taste for sitcoms. This has already been established. You can choose not to click on this threas again so that I won’t contaminate you. i apologise for deceiving you into thinkig this thread was a serious one about a really important topic. I will donate 10 dollar to a charity of my choice in your name. > [@Rigamarole](#): > > The Office isn’t funny and _News Radio_ is? OK, you can safely be discredited. I was discredited 78 threads ago. Didn’t you get the _“Ají de Gallina is discredited”_ memo? > [@Cardinal](#): > > So the difference between your thread and shouting off the roof is that you get black and white verification that you were heard? That’s a bit small-fry for me. You pointedly refute the idea that you are interested in what others think. > > I think it’s really well done embarrassment humor, overall, but I can’t stand embarrassment humor for the most part. My friends and I turned off the UK Office in the first episode because we had to turn on the subtitles to understand it, and when David made the secretary cry after accusing her of stealing, I thought it was one of the cruelest scenes I’d ever seen on tv. I don’t know how that’s funny. > > But I didn’t start a thread and then pointedly say that I didn’t want to hear anyone else. Black-and-white verification is key to the success of a board like this. Would you rather I shat a thread of Office fans? That is not polite. I clearly indicated my intentions. > [@shy\_guy](#): > > (snipped) > The problem is mostly with the Michael Scott character, who at this point is basically a live-action Homer Simpson. Spot on!!! ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/67 "2010-03-28T16:35:13Z")
I don’t like _any_ of the “cringe and wince sitcoms”. Watching someone act like a jerk doesn’t amuse me in the slightest, nor does watching other people react to someone acting like a jerk. ETA: > [@](#): > > embarrassment humor Yeah, that. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/68 "2010-03-28T16:59:50Z")
I’ve always thought both the UK and US versions of The Office were horror shows. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/69 "2010-03-28T18:16:27Z")
I tried watching the first episode of the U.K. version. I got about halfway through and turned it off. There wasn’t anything even remotely resembling humor in the first 10 minutes of that show. I decided not to even bother with the U.S. version. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/70 "2010-03-28T18:44:00Z")
I watched some and thought the early episodes were fine. But I think the main problem with the US version of the Office is the same thing that plagues most American shows…too much for too long. I loved the first series of 24, by the second you start to think … OK, this is familiar territory and by the third I just lost interest. there was no intention of having any meaningful conclusion to it, is just turned into a cash-cow and you could tell. The first time I noticed this was with V, it morphed into a soap-opera when it should have remained a mini-series. The same with Lost…deus ex after deus ex until the ratings drop then end it with an unholy mess. There is only so far you can stretch a concept. I prefer a proper story, a beginning, middle and end. That is what made the UK version so brilliant. 12 episodes, two specials and nothing left to say. Quit while you are ahead. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/71 "2010-03-28T19:05:41Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I also don’t like either version, so I’ve never understood the “which is funnier” argument: neither is at all funny. Maybe if they’d added Dawn French or Ben Miller to either version of the show… Totally agree. My well meaning brother bought me the season one from Britain way back when, thinking I would like it - and it is gather dust on my DVD shelf. Didn’t find it at all funny. Comes as no surprise that I didn’t find the US version funny either. Even though I like Curb Your Enthusiasm - starring a character who is not exactly warm and fuzzy - I just find Office sort of painful; reminds me too much of real office experience that I didn’t find funny in real life and doesn’t amuse me on screen. And regarding the point of this thread - why not ask other people to join in why they don’t like the show? I purposely avoid going onto other Office threads as I don’t like the show, so why should I mention the reasons why? On this thread, I can explain why I too dislike the show, without pissing on someone’s thread about how great it is. Then again, if someone wishes to defend it - more power to ya. Humor is subjective - and as far as I am concerned, neither the British nor US version are even slightly funny. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/72 "2010-03-28T19:12:40Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > Start from the beginning and call us back. Finish at least seasons 1 and 2. I would say skip season 1 (where at times it seems like a poor copy of the UK’s The Office) and head straight to seasons 2-4. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/73 "2010-03-28T19:23:01Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I don’t think he’s a very good actor either. He’s basically “Jim” in every other film I’ve seen him in. John Wayne was successful playing himself. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/74 "2010-03-28T21:14:28Z")
> [@shy\_guy](#): > > IThe problem is mostly with the Michael Scott character, who at this point is basically a live-action Homer Simpson. The good episodes of the American _Office_ are the ones that treat Michael more like a real person than a cartoon. So when he’s a well-meaning but inept goofball who nevertheless manages to effortlessly land a huge account on a day when all he cared about was getting a free pretzel, that’s clever and fun to watch and gives us a reason for his co-workers and superiors putting up with him. Not so much when he’s driving into a lake because his GPS told him to (which is literally something Homer Simpson just did). Something like what happened on this week’s episode (Michael is initially charming toward a woman who Jim and Pam set him up with, but turns into a buffoon once he realizes it’s a “date”) could have worked had it been more subtle and less ridiculous. Yeah but the Office GPS incident _pre-dated_ the Simpsons episode. And for the record, I thought the GPS scene with Michael and Dwight was funny. I don’t really get the criticism, which has been repeated before, that Michael Scott’s character is _too_ ridiculous to be funny. So what if he’s occasionally over the top? It’s television. It’s _supposed_ to be a caricature of reality. If people on TV acted exactly as they do in reality, that would be incredibly boring and not at all funny. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/75 "2010-03-28T21:30:44Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I don’t really get the criticism, which has been repeated before, that Michael Scott’s character is _too_ ridiculous to be funny. So what if he’s occasionally over the top? It’s television. It’s _supposed_ to be a caricature of reality. If people on TV acted exactly as they do in reality, that would be incredibly boring and not at all funny. I think the criticism is rooted in the fact that the entire point of the Office was that opposed to typically farcical sitcoms it _was_ realistic. The humor in the original is (not always, but usually) subtle (or at least not ludicrous), and it derives its trademark awkwardness and discomfort from the fact that the situations the characters find themselves in are ones to which the audience can relate; in many cases, probably situations members of the audience have found themselves in. That aspect of the show is blown to smithereens when Michael goes from being a well-intentioned bumbler with absolutely no sense of self-awareness to being simply a clown and a buffoon. At that point the show just becomes a typical goofy American sitcom and Michael might as well be Kramer or Homer Simpson. Regarding the specific scene with the GPS, I’m aware that the scene on The Office predated that on The Simpsons. I was remarking on the degree to which the character of Michael has changed that he and Homer Simpson are now engaged in identical antics. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/76 "2010-03-28T21:47:04Z")
I don’t watch The Office any more, but when I did it was usually pretty funny. I’m not sure what would compel you to start this thread when you have only seen 5 episodes (probably episodes from after the show’s prime, and without knowledge of the characters to get the jokes). Having said that, I agree that NewsRadio was much funnier. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/77 "2010-03-28T22:00:26Z")
I’ve watched parts of a couple episodes of the Office, and it just seemed like they wanted to make an entire show based on the premise of the Awkward Turtle. Steve Carrel just seemed obnoxious in this movie (although he was friggin hillarious in Get Smart. Someone should make that into a TV show or somethin!) That said, the girl on the show is hot. I wouldn’t cancel her show for eating crackers in bed, ifyaknowwhatImean. I do gotta say, I loved the SNL digital short about the [Japanese](http://www.hulu.com/watch/20337/saturday-night-live-digital-short-the-japanese-office) version of the show. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2010, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/78 "2010-03-28T22:12:09Z")
Arg, this movie, which is four or five seasons long. This show, you know what i mean. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/79 "2010-03-29T01:45:36Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > f threads can be made about things one likes, then anti-thing threads are acceptable, too. Kind of like how there can be debate threads started on either side of an issue. I agree… It’s interesting how going in to a “[Thing] Is The Bestest EVAR!!!” thread and saying “No, it isn’t” is “Threadshitting” but going into a “[Thing] Is The Worst EVAR!!!” thread and saying “No, it’s awesome and you’re doing it wrong if you don’t think it’s awesome!” _isn’t_ threadshitting for some reason. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2010, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961/80 "2010-03-29T11:18:52Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > There is only so far you can stretch a concept. > > I prefer a proper story, a beginning, middle and end. That is what made the UK version so brilliant. 12 episodes, two specials and nothing left to say. Quit while you are ahead. Yes, this is exactly what I came in to say. And it is what I both sort of enjoy and at the same time hate about American shows, they go on and on. The UK Office started in 2001 and went on for two seasons. It did what it came to do, it was smart and successful and the story was tied up nicely. A couple of years later on, the American version pops up, does a good job on making its own iteration, but then refuses to die. Here, we are, almost ten years after the UK Office started, and the American version is still at it. Three seasons of good material, three more seasons of filler. It just makes me cringe. It’s like taking a good-sized novel and adding 300 pages to it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-office-u-s-is-not-funny/533961.md?page=5)