Does anyone else think that the american version of The Office has become about the best comedy on network tv? Now that Arrested Development is all but gone, it is the only show I make sure to watch every week. I thought last night's christmas party episode was especially good. For a network comedy, things got pretty dark near the end. I still don't know whether I like it as much as the British version though.
Yep. Definitely one of the smartest comedies on TV now, and probably the best thing on NBC. Since it's actually funny, and doesn't feature a fat or dumb guy with a hot wife (as seems to be the prerequisite for all successful network comedies), I'm sure it will be cancelled soon.
----- I’ll be Ben Gazzara, you’ll be Gena Rowlands.
Posts: 5155 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 19 June 2005
I've watched a few episodes, and while it is very good, it just doesn't have the charm of the British version. I agree it might be the best comedy on network TV right now sans Arrested Development (and if you count Desperate Housewives as a comedy), but that only means it will be canceled soon, so I don't see any point in scheduling my life to watch it. I'll just wait till the DVD comes out.
I *want* to watch My Name is Earl and The Office but there's always been something else on when I wanted to see them. Heck, they're moving them to Thursday now! I could have started watching them..
I saw the first episode of the Office. The first episode was really funny and smart but a bit dry. It struck me as 'Dilbert with a brain'.
Posts: 1783 | Location: Around Boston. | Registered: 24 February 2005
This show is great! Everyone on it is really good, even the secondary characters like Stanley and Kevin and Phyllis. Michael is hilariously mean and racist, and he doesn't realize how funny the staff doesn't find him. Pam is really pretty, and the sortof relationship with Jim is very cute. Dwight is an awesome character, and Rainn Wilson deserves to become famous.
Better than UK Office.
EDIT: I watched the show tonight. Michael burned his foot and Dwight had a concussion. Totally mad balls hilarious dawg. I very much encourage everyone to see this show. Best show on TV right now.
I hadn't watched the Office until recently. I recorded the 4-show block a few weeks back, and I've seen 2 eps each of the last Thursdays, and I'm hooked. It's hilarious, and it's one of the few live action shows I've watched that gets me laughing out loud.
Last night was the foot in the Foreman grill episode that Buck mentioned, and I was laughing so hard my sides hurt at one point.
Really, really good. Thanks for the heads-up, y'all.
Posts: 3875 | Location: ATL, GA | Registered: 25 May 2004
I like the more subtle, realistic approach to characterization in The Office. The only character who seems like a 'TV character' is Dwight, and he's a very good character regardless.
I'm in suspense over what they're going to do with Jim and Pam next year.
She reminds me very much of Maura Tierney from the early days of Newsradio, very much a 'girl next door' type.
I couldn't agree more. To me The Office fills the hole that Newsradio left when it ended. I think of Pam as Lisa, Jim as Dave, Michael as Bill, and Dwight as Matthew.. After that, the comparison kinda falls apart, and the shows do have different comedy styles.
Yes, Casino Night was the season finale.
Posts: 571 | Location: Detroit (suburbs) | Registered: 18 May 2004
She reminds me very much of Maura Tierney from the early days of Newsradio, very much a 'girl next door' type.
I couldn't agree more. To me The Office fills the hole that Newsradio left when it ended. I think of Pam as Lisa, Jim as Dave, Michael as Bill, and Dwight as Matthew.. After that, the comparison kinda falls apart, and the shows do have different comedy styles.
They do have a lot in common. I think Newsradio had slightly more 'sitcommy' characters (Matthew's super-geekyness, Joe's conspiracy theories, Bill's self-obsessivenss). While the characters on the Office are played up for TV, they're pretty damn realistic. But Newsradio was a funny, underrated show and the Office feels the same way.
I really like some of the secondary characters on the Office. I'm not good with their names yet, but the stoic black guy cracks me up, and the guy (Toby?) in charge of the employee complaint files is deadpan hilarious.
Posts: 3875 | Location: ATL, GA | Registered: 25 May 2004
I would agree with the Newsradio comparison to an extent. Dave Foley and Phil Hartman bring the same sorts of attitudes to the show as Jim and Michael.
A big difference between The Office and Newsradio, though, is that Newsradio (Especially toward the end) built the humor mostly out of the characters' idiosyncracies. Whereas The Office uses every dimension of the characters' personalities instead of just their TV-weirdness.
So, the new season is ending in a few weeks. What did everyone think. Was it as good as the first one? Is everyone still sure that the show is getting cancelled any day or might it have a better chance?
I personally think that the season has been great, and am cautiously optimistic as to continued seasons of glorious Office episodes.
