The Office: An American Workplace (US remake)

[Zaphod]

The second episode for free online here.

So... Anyone think there's any hope for this one? On it's own merits I thought it wasn't half bad, but I don't see it becoming a success in the US. It gave me a couple of laughs, but most of the strength of The Office (original) was that it manifested a very Eropean (British) tragi-comic sense of humour while showing awareness of current culture and sensibilities.

This rendition seemed a bit too much like the original to me, like it was catering to the same audience (wich can't be that big in the US to start with), and I don't see how that could work given the inevitable comparisons to the original - where this IMHO would come up short. For exaple; Steve Carell seemed too much like a comedian trying to portray a lousy boss, rather than Ricky Gervais who came across as a bad boss trying desperately to be a comedian. Too british, yet not brithish enough.

I would have thought that the best way for the US version to survive would be to attempt to tap into these same sorts of insecurities and personas only adjusted for its American audience. I might be mistaken, but in my experience these are different from the ones you would face over here.

Edit: There's also the official NBC promos that, to me, came across significantly worse than the complete episode. The humour doesn't lend itself well to snap promo editing when the funny part of the joke is the akwardness after the joke.

 

[Diplo]

Just watched some of the US version and.... it's just not funny. Sorry, but the original version is in another league all together. If you want to watch 'The Office' watch the proper version not the watered-down corporate re-make.

 

[MuFu]

Not as bad as I thought it'd be. I love lamp.

 

[digitalwanderer]

It's gonna be just as awful as the American version of "Coupling".

("Perhaps, perhaps.....perhaps.")

 

[MuFu]

Interesting watching one of the original episodes after that - I agree it's in a different league. There are so many elements missing from the US version and the things they've copied (characters, plotlines) almost seem insignificant in comparison.

A question... do US folk watching the original get a strong impression that it's all acted out? I can imagine that being the case. As a Brit that seems like the biggest difference, IMHO - the performances in the original are so believable. There's loads of small details absent - lingering close-ups, continual background noise, prolonged shots of people going about their business (not just the odd, random insertion), mumbled sentences, coughs etc - and the pacing's all screwed up to the point where it flows like a series of sketches instead of a documentary. Perhaps most predictably of all, a lot of the subtlety has been "signposted". The script is ok but the delivery just doesn't have that raw, realistic bite to it. You can almost hear the director shouting "action!" and "cut!".

I laughed out loud a couple of times, whereas I've always watched the original with a pained/amused grimace.

Thanks for the link, BTW.

 

[pocketmoon66]

Not bad

Certainly not as poor as many 'previews' made out.

I'll certainly watch this when it arrives on BBC3.

 

[Andy]

It's gonna be just as awful as the American version of "Coupling".

("Perhaps, perhaps.....perhaps.")

There's an american version of "Coupling"? I thought it was called "Friends"

 

[digitalwanderer]

There's an american version of "Coupling"?

Yup. An almost exact interpretation of the British version 'cept Jeff was a boring, middle-aged man who wasn't borderline insane.

Oh, and in the fact that it flat-out SUCKED BALLS! :? TERRIBLE stuff, just painful to watch.

It was cancelled after the second episode I think.

I loved "Coupling" (and I got into "Strange" when Jeff left) , but I could barely watch the American version.

 

[davefb]

It's gonna be just as awful as the American version of "Coupling".

("Perhaps, perhaps.....perhaps.")

There's an american version of "Coupling"? I thought it was called "Friends"

NO!!!!! . i avoided coupling coz people (probably tv PR idiots) had said it was like friends... it's NOTHING LIKE friends!!!!


for starters coupling is funny..

 

[Zaphod]

It's gonna be just as awful as the American version of "Coupling".

Damn you! I had almost purged that abomination from memory.

Did you watch this? If so, come on now... It wasn’t even half as bad as the US Coupling. While the US Office wasn’t up there with the original it wasn’t, as opposed to US Coupling, cringe-worthily unfunny, sans any comedic timing an horribly miscast. 'Not as good' does not, imo, equate 'horrible'; except when viewed in direct comparison to the original.

 

[silence]

NO!!!!! . i avoided coupling coz people (probably tv PR idiots) had said it was like friends... it's NOTHING LIKE friends!!!!


for starters coupling is funny..

only thing they have with Friends is 6 people, 3 male, 3 females....other then that, Coupling is ahead of Friend's league for couple light years....



BTW :: i would love to see american version of "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister" or "Scum"

 

[MuFu]

Quite interesting to read a couple of commentaries on the series:

Back at "The Office,"' the central problem is the star of the show -- Steve Carell as boss Michael Scott is simply not as good as was Ricky Gervais as the boss in the British prototype. The differences are subtle. Both men are fatuous boobs with a nearly flawless ability to behave with stupefying insensitivity even when, say, delivering a lecture about sensitivity -- but Gervais would invest such a situation with his own whiny irony, whereas Carell tends to start over the top and stay there.

Scott's fat foot is permanently mounted in his mouth, but in the British version, as Gervais (a co-creator of the show) played him, the leader of the little band had a definite streak of pathos that made him something other than a fool for all seasons. Carell plays the boss as genuinely mean, not just a hapless scoundrel but a dirty rat.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61846-2005Mar23.html

And though it grates to admit it, the American version of ''The Office'' is very funny -- for viewers who never saw the original series on BBC America.

Luckily for NBC, which bought the rights to the British comedy, only a relatively small number of viewers in the United States have seen the BBC version. Those happy few should try to erase every trace from their brains -- Eternal Sunshine of the Digital Cable Mind -- because the NBC series, though it pales in comparison, is still funnier than any other new network sitcom.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E3DB163FF937A15750C0A9639C8B63

 

[digitalwanderer]

I did watch the first one and I really did like it, but I'm a Steve Carell fan and he can slay me just tying his shoes.

The secretary also kept me laughing, I'll give the show a chance.

 

[MuFu]

I did watch the first one and I really did like it, but I'm a Steve Carell fan and he can slay me just tying his shoes.

Me too. After that Bruce Almighty scene who couldn't be?! Man, I've never laughed so hard in my life.

 

[digitalwanderer]

It was his Daily Show stuff and the scene in Anchorman when he said, "I stabbed a guy in the heart!" all excited!

I haven't watched the second one yet, I just got Green Wing and wanna check it out.

 

[sytaylor]

The original office worked because it had that "it's like a documentary but its all recorded and they're actors" thing... It never appeared anything other than a documentary of real people. The grittyness left you gasping for water.

 

[GwymWeepa]

The Original Office is the greatest comedy ever heh heh. The remake is garbage. This is the difference between most brit humor and american stuff. The american humor slaps you in the face with the punchline, screams and kicks until you understand the joke, while british humor let's you figure it out. Its usually more subtle, assumes you have some intelligence. Most of the funniest jokes in the original Office were said nearly under someone's breath.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

A lot of British comedy has pathos, tragedy, and a certain sadness. The Office was a success because it was so painful to watch, and I'm not sure the US audience would go for something so lacking the feelgood factor. If they did, they simply would have broadcast the UK versions as is.

 

[poopypoo]

a year later -- as the second season takes a brief break before releasing last-minute-commissioned new episodes -- I'm wondering what people are thinking of the US Office series now. After the first few episodes I felt much the same as most people in this thread; the UK version was so powerful and the early US episodes so similar -- that it really came as a disappointment. A year or so later I can't wait every week for the next episode.

I think that the rest of the US cast may be stronger, as the series pans out. Admittedly, this is an unfair comparison to make, with the UK series being so short, but in particular Dwight -- you have to admit Dwight is a cunning ringer for someone you know. In fact, I could unkindly draw parallels to more than a coupl foum members along those lines -- but I think even the Dwights in here probably can get a good laugh out of all the Dwights they now "out there". The most amazing thing, is (much as with Ricky Gervais's David Brent (sp?)) Rainn Wilson's humor in Dwight -- his sensitivity, and understanding of the character really. Gareth was great, but trulydespicable. Dwight is pretty awful, but sort of more human, and more of a complex character.

Anyone still interested in this one?

 

[MuFu]

I've heard it's a lot better now. There are already twice as many US Office editions as there are British ones.


Watch Extras. Superb, especially on the 10th viewing.


Edit - from the HBO Extras page...

What's your favorite examples of the wit and wisdom of Andy Millman, Maggie Jacobs and the Agent.

ARGHHHHH.