I am supposed to feel so uncomfortable watching this? I mean, is that the artistic vision here? Carell may be acting TOO well!
- Yes.
- Yes.
- Or just well enough.
Yeah, the company party was excruciating, particularly Ping. Bravo.
H.
Actually, Carrell is playing the role surprisingly well. I didn’t think he would capture Gervais, but he kind of does. Carrell comes off as a bit less likable, but the first season of the BBC Office was the same. Only in the second season did I start to kind of pity the guy.
So is this actually worth watching? I’m a huge fan of the British version, but after watching the US pilot my impression at the time was that it seemed like a dumbed-down and inferior version of the original. Has it gotten better?
I liked the US pilot. Took me a while to get the gervais et al out of my head while watching it but I didn’t think it was as bad as a lot of people made out.
I really like the US version, and I was a really huge fan of the British version. This is going to sound kind of stupid but I feel they are different enough in their similarities to make it feel like a different show to me. The US cast is really good and Carrell makes for a great boss to hang the show on.
The humor is very oriented at pushing some uniquely American buttons, particularly blind prejudices. Honestly, I could see how people from other countries wouldn’t be able to get the humor. (Yay, we finally have an ivory tower!)
H.
Pretty funny ep this week except it was a bit lame that the dramatic moment ended with a nobody getting the axe. Dwight did an awsome Sith Lord though. :)
I’ve never seen the original version, and I LOVE the US show. Most of the complaints I’ve read about the US version have been about how it doesn’t measure up to the original.
Most weeks it vies with Arrested Development for best comedy on t.v. in my house.
I’ve only caught a couple of episodes (so I might have missed some heinous act of baby-eating evil) but I actually find Carrell to be more likeable than Gervais. He seems more of an outright ass, but more genuine, and less smug. Sure I cringed during the BBC office, but I never really felt sorry for the guy.
If you’re not watching this because you think it’s an insult to the British version…
it’s not. In some ways, it’s better. And regardless of how you might think about that, it’s damn funny. This week’s was hysterical. And it may seem heretical for me to say so, but it’s way better than Arrested Development.
When Dwight answered the phone at his desk… IN THE WASHROOM, I knew I was watching a tremendous show.
You know, you should be more careful about bringing your purple belt to work.
I just watched the BBC version (birthday episode) and the American version (purple belt) back to back and I enjoyed the american one more. Dwight just kicks all kinds of ass.
In many respects that doesn’t surprise me half as much as the fact that the Office was a hit outside of the UK to begin with.
Maybe the underlying horror of spotting bits of yourself in any one of the characters is pretty universal but it is one of those programmes that I’d figured was particularly British in what it covered.
I haven’t seen much of the US version other than the Pilot, but for a remake I was pretty impressed with it, it seemed to “Americanise” the bits that needed to be redone without ruining the underlying premise of the show as a whole.
THe show is definitely gaining steam. THere’s a sense of confidence about what they’re doing that’s really nice to see.
EDIT:
It just got picked up for the full season.
That shared look at the end of this week’s episode was absolutely brilliant. An a great example of what other shows (even shows I love) can’t pull off.