Why is there a US-version of "The Office"?

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haha 'THAT AIN'T NO TV SHOW, THAT'S MY LIFE!', yeah i somehow mixed them up.

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 12 March 2005 19:28 (nineteen years ago) link

Gareth is right - there haven't been any good British comedy shows since Bolam and Bewes went their separate ways. El Hadji Diouf is also good for the English game.

― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Saturday, 12 March 2005 19:30 (nineteen years ago) link

it feels weird to call any showtime show a 'hit', nothing's really stuck to the wall for them (i'm guessing the l word is their biggest hit since garry shandling and whatever back in the eighties), still 'queers as folk us' made it to dvd so i guess that does sorta count. what's the last network one?

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 12 March 2005 19:32 (nineteen years ago) link

Surely The Office is one instance where a US remake WOULD be warranted. The whole point of The Office is RECOGNITION, the comedy arises as much from seeing things as you see them every day in your own workplace as it does from the jokes themselves, and surely that's much reduced when you transport it over the Atlantic?

This new version will probably suck, though.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Saturday, 12 March 2005 19:59 (nineteen years ago) link

I think I posted about this last year - I wonder if I can find my post... Nope. But the gist of it was that the US remake of The Office was actually pretty well done. Watch it if you can.

― Markelby (Mark C), Saturday, 12 March 2005 20:13 (nineteen years ago) link

The actress who plays Dawn (from the original) was sitting next to us last weekend at the Ned birthday FAP!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Saturday, 12 March 2005 20:15 (nineteen years ago) link

The German version of The Office is really good.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 12 March 2005 20:16 (nineteen years ago) link

Also TS: Brighton Belles vs Days Like These

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 12 March 2005 20:22 (nineteen years ago) link

I am actually thinking this U.S. version will be better than expected if you can get past the first 2 episodes.

― S!monB!rch (Carey), Saturday, 12 March 2005 22:34 (nineteen years ago) link

office space the real us version of the office anyhow right?

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 12 March 2005 22:36 (nineteen years ago) link

i never saw office space. is it as good as everyone says it is or as bad as it looks or somewhere in between?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 13 March 2005 00:23 (nineteen years ago) link

it's pretty classic.

― Miss Misery (thatgirl), Sunday, 13 March 2005 00:25 (nineteen years ago) link

It's overrated as fuck but classic, yes.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 13 March 2005 00:30 (nineteen years ago) link

(If you want a good comparison point, Slocki, I know people who quote/obsess over the damn thing as much I would quote, say, Life of Brian at one point. You may take that under advisement.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 13 March 2005 00:32 (nineteen years ago) link

I've never seen the original. The long clip of the American version on myspace is so ALMOST good, so ALMOST funny. The acting is just a bit overdone, especially the boss. The dialogue is a HAIR to wacky.

― Hurting (Hurting), Friday, 18 March 2005 16:53 (nineteen years ago) link

First episode is on tonight at 9:30 - NBC.
....

we'll see....

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 24 March 2005 14:24 (nineteen years ago) link

Much as I enjoy Steve Carell and the original series, I don't see this taking off at all. Too bad, since Ricky Gervais is the executive producer on the U.S. version.

That said, I'll probably watch it tonight just so's I can definitively tell people "Just got rent the original, it's like a billion times better."

― sugarpants: the luscious ingenue (sugarpants), Thursday, 24 March 2005 15:17 (nineteen years ago) link

One question, seeing as no ones mentioned it: does/will the US version have a laugh track? If it does, I'm cringing for y'all.

You know, Australian TV rarely feels the need to remake overseas shows. We get original BBC stuff like Coupling, Sketch Show, the Office, LoG, QAF etc... we sometimes get the US versions too; we also get plenty of US shows un-changed.

The few times they've tried to translate an overseas show to australian it has bombed! Queer Eye is the latest hilarious example. It took them a very long time to find a cast they thoght'd work, and I think maybe 2 or 3 eps aired and it was canned... and now they're back to "the original" US version, haw.

Reality and pop-contest shows seem to be the only ones they'll remake here (Idol and the like) - and even THEN we still get the US versions of all that shoved down our gobs AS WELL.

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 25 March 2005 01:34 (nineteen years ago) link

Trayce are you trying to tell us that Joe Millionaire wasn't fantastic?

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Friday, 25 March 2005 01:37 (nineteen years ago) link

Your "Big Brother" is certainly more exciting than the U.S.'s.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 25 March 2005 01:43 (nineteen years ago) link

I dont think I ever watched Joe Millionare! ;P But it was shown here yeah.

Our Big Brother blows. All BB blows. And that cute feisty big woman who did the bum slap dance? She's now stick thin and black haired and looks weird.

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 25 March 2005 01:47 (nineteen years ago) link

The clip on myspace is very good. No laugh track.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 25 March 2005 01:54 (nineteen years ago) link

no laff track, all the press i've seen suggests that there's an actually quite funny episode coming up that has no connection to the brit version.

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 25 March 2005 01:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Egads. This is torturous (6 minutes in). May just take some getting used to but the jokes seem so stale and easy.

― Aaron A., Friday, 25 March 2005 02:37 (nineteen years ago) link

Is this the birthday party / redundancy episode?

― you make me feel like a tyrannosaurus rex (deangulberry), Friday, 25 March 2005 02:39 (nineteen years ago) link

Hitler?

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 25 March 2005 02:40 (nineteen years ago) link

So far The Office (US) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Coupling (US). It really makes a difference when you stay true to the original characters.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 25 March 2005 02:41 (nineteen years ago) link

xpost:
I think so. I saw William Demarest do the same broombrush gag in The Lady Eve

I'm liking it so far.

― Ken L (Ken L), Friday, 25 March 2005 02:42 (nineteen years ago) link

it could go either way at this point - bono joke a GOOD sign

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 25 March 2005 02:44 (nineteen years ago) link

That wasn't that bad.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 25 March 2005 02:56 (nineteen years ago) link

Carrell's no Gervais, but it's okay.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 25 March 2005 02:57 (nineteen years ago) link

Now it seems frantic and overwritten, but I guess you might expect that in episode 1. That girl is hawt.

― Aaron A., Friday, 25 March 2005 02:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Maybe that's it. It just seemed kinda forced.

I was wondering what they would use for the American Gareth's sidejob. Any other time, it would've been the National Guard probably, but not with brigades being sent to Iraq right now.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 25 March 2005 03:04 (nineteen years ago) link

bono joke a GOOD sign

"... and God would have to be number four on that list."

I'm still not convinced that this needed to be done, but I think it's as well-done as it could possibly be. I'm thinking that no one else but Carell could reprise the Gervais role and be anywhere close to as good. He's got it -- that terrible mix of asshole and... well, asshole that's so painful that sometimes you can't laugh until the show's over.

(I think that's why both versions tested so low -- people aren't used to watching a comedy on television where thy cringe through the whole thing.)

― sunburned and snowblind (kenan), Friday, 25 March 2005 03:42 (nineteen years ago) link

Too bad, since Ricky Gervais is the executive producer on the U.S. version.

Yeah, but only because he owns the rights and gave them his blessing. He doesn't want anything to do with it, really. There's an interview in Entertainment Weekly where he explains that it would be like David Bowie going into Beck's studio and being like, "You can't put a trumpet in there! This is my song!"

― sunburned and snowblind (kenan), Friday, 25 March 2005 03:55 (nineteen years ago) link

Shows like "The Office" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" are worse than horror films for me. The whole time I'm squeezing the wife's arm with my eyes clenched shut, murmuring "tell me that he's not really going to do that, is he?"

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Friday, 25 March 2005 03:55 (nineteen years ago) link

This wasn't too bad. I'll stick to Deadwood tho, thanks.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Friday, 25 March 2005 03:59 (nineteen years ago) link

oh my GOD the receptionist, PAM, is FUCKING AWFUL

― jill schoelen is the queen of my dreams! (Homosexual II), Friday, 25 March 2005 04:05 (nineteen years ago) link

Everyone is uglier than their English counterpart. I wonder if that was intentional.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 25 March 2005 05:40 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm watching this now. It's... very tepid. I can't put my finger on why it seems so mean-spirited, but it does. The UK Office allowed a certain amount of compassion to each character's portrayal. Here, it seems, the characters are just sort of lame people.

― Remy (x Jeremy), Friday, 25 March 2005 05:41 (nineteen years ago) link

The Pam girl is like Maggie Gyllenhaal with a personalityectomy.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 25 March 2005 05:44 (nineteen years ago) link

None of the actors are as good. None of the jokes they changed are as good.
"I'm Hitler" is the closest thing I got to a chuckle so far.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 25 March 2005 05:48 (nineteen years ago) link

None of the jokes they didn't change are as good. (the stapler in the jello thing).

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 25 March 2005 05:50 (nineteen years ago) link

the americanized gareth is the worst of 'em.
my mother informs me that beyond the pilot the show will deviate from the UK plotline. i don't know if that's good or bad.

― Ian John50n (orion), Friday, 25 March 2005 05:54 (nineteen years ago) link

"Pam" totally blew the pretend-firing crying thing. She sucks at acting.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 25 March 2005 05:54 (nineteen years ago) link

it's shit.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 25 March 2005 06:00 (nineteen years ago) link

I feel like ... much of the brilliance of the UK show is the staff's subversive recalcitrance toward David Brandt. And, culturally speaking, that works wonderfully. But as an American show the lack of any 'balls' makes the whole deal seem slapped-together. The script: poor.

― Remy (x Jeremy), Friday, 25 March 2005 06:02 (nineteen years ago) link

100% OTM

― Aaron A., Friday, 25 March 2005 06:03 (nineteen years ago) link

They just took the BBC script and rewrote anything funny or interesting.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 25 March 2005 06:06 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh, one more thing: Altman shoulda directed this. He's the only one that wouldn't've killed it dead. Fuck Ken Kwapis

― Remy (x Jeremy), Friday, 25 March 2005 06:06 (nineteen years ago) link

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