** THE OFFICE DISCUSSION THREAD - THE UK AND AMERICAN VERSIONS ***

[diebitter]

Okay, at least three of us decided we want to discuss the first seasons of the UK and American versions of 'The Office', for comparing characters and styles, for discussing how each series evolves, and to have a good laugh. Each season has 6 episodes.

Anyone interested give us a 'yo', and we'll discuss the first episodes (that is episode 1 of each series) on Friday 14th September.

As usual with the Lounge, no problem if you're late to the party, but it is more fun if more people make the effort to catch these and watch them if possible.


I just want to remind everyone that torr<font color="white"></font>ent/shareware talk on these message boards is unacceptable.

So Friday 14th
The Office Season 1 episode 1: 'Downsize'
+
The Office (American) Season 1 episode 1:'Pilot'

[katyseagull]

Yo! I'm in!

as is Kimball I hope (the guy with the very cool avatar [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]). I think we will get more people popping in to share their thoughts with us as we get rolling.




Sooo....


What do you guys think, Pam or Dawn? Who is more real to you?








(Pam, letting her hair down)

[Kimbell175113]

Before reading the question I was ready to say pampampampampam: she wins every contest between the two except 'who is more real?' I think. She seems (at least early in the series) incredibly awesome, but also a little too perfect. Or not perfect, really, but just a really awesome character as opposed to a really awesome person.

[diebitter]

Reminder: We're discussing the first episodes of both the UK and the US version of The Office tomorrow. Plz watch if you can and discuss tomorrow.

[diebitter]

And to answer Katy, they are both very real characters to me. Nothing I can recall in either series rings false about them, and I think for both series there was some awesome casting decisions made that really made these 2 series special.

Dawn I think is the slightly more complex character, but only a bit, and that doesn't make Pam any less real.

[R*R]

"Bears eat Beets"

[ematz]

[ QUOTE ]
Reminder: We're discussing the first episodes of both the UK and the US version of The Office tomorrow. Plz watch if you can and discuss tomorrow.

[/ QUOTE ]

Having seen the UK version 1st, I must say I thought the US ep #1 was terrible. 1, the UK version is just that much better and 2, it was a complete rip-off.

I nearly died at the end when Gervais talks about the Greek guy/baptism but thought it fell flat on the US.

[diebitter]

Okay, first things first, I thought I'd say something about the original UK version.

I see the Office as arising from a few strands of both British comedy, with some input by elements of cinema.

First, it's often a comedy of embarassment, pettiness and cringeworthiness. Ths comes I think in a direct line from Monty Python and their sketches where someone is deeply embarrassed or stilted, then filtered through TV shows like Fawlty Towers, The Young Ones, Blackadder, as well as early 'reality comedy' such as The Royle Family (you probably haven't heard of that). It also borrows quite heavily from the mockumentaries of Christopher Guest, most notably Spinal Tap.

That's my take on it, anyway.


Okay, I've seen both of these 2, 3 or maybe more times, so was familiar with both, and have seen all the episodes of the UK version, and the first 2 series of the US version, so am coming at it very familiar with the characters.

Okay, this time I watched the US version and then the UK version. Both made me laugh, but I found them interesting to watch back-to-back, as these two particular episodes are the only ones where the comparable episodes are so very similar. You have scenes, virtually word-for-word the same, in both, and it's interesting to see the different actors/nationalities' take on the script.

I laughed at both. I think they did an awesome job casting both series, and the actors are excellent. I remember the first time I saw the US episode, and I was thinking 'oh they've only picked this "Jim" guy because he's so similar to "Tim"', and I was very underwhelmed by the script parotting the UK version so closely, and didn't think it was actually going to be worth watching any more, but I'm glad to say the second episode, 'Diversity Day' exceeded my expectations by miles, and is in fact one of my favourite episodes of the US version. I wasn't entirely sure about 'Michael Scott' at first, but I loved both Pam and Dwight Schrute from the very beginning.


Overall, I liked both, but the UK one had the distinct edge here. The funniest bit, where Brent is talking to Dawn about his testicles whilst she's eating is priceless, and a scene they didn't have in the US version (shame).

I also forgot how attractive Jennifer was in the UK version, WOOOF!




One thing I love about the UK series is it's a shade more subtle than the US version. I'm sure people could switch this on and watch it for some time without realising it's a comedy not a documentary, but I think you'd catch on a lot faster watching the US version.


One thing I wanted to ask about the US version. Is office life like that for real in the US? (It sure is for the UK version).

[detruncate]

Great comedy is dangerous. Its essence is the discomfort and insecurity at the heart of the human condition, and it necessarily walks a fine line between insight and insult. An inherently difficult exercise made even more so given how widely the location of this line varies from person to person.

While there's a lot to like about the US version, what it boils down to for me is that the UK version bites while the US version too often barely nibbles. It lacks the depth and subtlety of the UK version, which leaves it feeling flat. Or flatter than I'd like, anyway. I still think it's a reasonably good show (primarily because of the Jim and Pam stuff), but I'm often distracted by the over-the-top delivery that Steve Carell in particular brings to the table to really get excited about it.

The first episode of the US version made me cringe in an entirely different and not nearly as interesting way as the UK one. I was ready to write the show off as another failed adaptation of a popular UK show. They managed to kill almost everything I liked about the UK version, and weren't able to add anything interesting of their own given that they were using the same script. Thank Jeebus they quickly set about finding their own way episode 2 onward because it would have been a trainwreck otherwise.

[21times20]

i think the only real question that can be debated is which character is better, gareth or dwight...i mean pam is obviously better (ok maybe just hotter) than dawn, tim is obviously better than jim, and while steve carrel has certainly had his moments, the longer the US version goes on the less he is able to measure up to gervais

but the amount of quality that both gareth and dwight have delivered just seems impossible to quantify to me, does anyone have insight that might shed some light on this issue? if i were to make an office all-star version this is the one choice i really don't think i could make