The Office vs. The Office

two versions of the same irksome

normie everymen for the masses

krasinski significantly worse imho

this may be an Atlantic divide, cos I've never seen Krasinski outside of the Office, so this is quite clearly Freeman

tbf i haven't seen Krasinski in a series of brutally smug mobile phone adverts

I like how the british office is more realistic yet aomehow even more unprofessional than the zany US office. There was one scene where Martin Freeman was just openly making out with the girl he is dating (not Dawn). Do they not have stairwells and storage rooms in the UK?

binge watched the US version's first three seasons and it's interesting to see them in quick succession, as opposed to watching it on broadcast...but there is a pretty clear break from season 2 to 3, where it quickly moves to a wacky boss sitcom. I honestly don't think the US version (esp season 1) is all that less bleak or uncomfortable than the UK version, but obviously that isn't something you could keep up

UK office bleak as fuk

Welcome to British comedy. The bleakest part is it launched Ricky Gervais' career and we've never been able to get rid of the fucker since.

I mean there wasn't much early evidence (that I saw) of just how odious he'd become

Gervais?

What odious stuff has he done?

I was kinda familiar with the bleakness of uk comedy from watching peep show etc but even then....there are some harrowing moments in this uk office. David Brent is just a horroshow of a human—selfish, vain, manipulative, dishonest

Right, but the series suggests (to me, anyway) a level of self-awareness and maybe even humility.

His recent-ish decline is chronicled here:

https://thebaffler.com/latest/what-happened-to-ricky-gervais-james

my kid got hooked on this at the end of last year and I wound up wathing the last few seasons which I hadn't seen while broadcast and I agree this series went out pretty strong even though it certainly wavered at times.

His stand-up comedy is excruciating, his movies are instantly forgettable, and his smug, dorm-room atheism makes any self-respecting unbeliever want to convert to Wahhabi Islam just as a personal fuck you.

lol

Agree with people about US Office getting worse and then better again. Robert California and Catherine Tate’s character were later season highlights, but it really peaked around the fourth season.

The bleakness of the UK version was too uncomfortably real and the sentimentality was difficult to stomach. Gervais is definitely someone to culturally forget outside of this role. I preferred the US Office for its hysterical melodrama. That episode where Michael and Jan throw a dinner party is one of my favourite moments of 00s TV.

Little fat man who sold his soul
Little fat man who sold his dream

Pathetic little fat man
No one's bloody laughing
The clown that no one laughs at
They all just wish he'd die

He's so depressed at being hated
Fatso takes his own life
He blows his stupid brains out
But the twat would probably miss

A weird case where naming some of the cast executive producers with story responsibility late in the game fixed rather than caused a lot of the show's problem

There were writers in the cast from the first episode - I don't think any of the non-writing actors got added to the writing staff late on?

the Baffler piece doesn't even go near odious things like Gervais relentlessly physically bullying his employees, or hiring a one-man PR firm to create a fansite and twitter account for him and then retweeting that site's tweets daily with notes about how they're thoughtful appreciations of his art

No, I mean the stars who weren't writers got added as producers, and Jenna Fischer (for one) was reportedly extremely hands-on in wanting to get away from silly sit-commy stuff and get back into the character-driven tension.

I honestly don't think the US version (esp season 1) is all that less bleak or uncomfortable than the UK version

Tbf, a lot of s1 is a direct remake. The US show already gets way softer by s2 imo: for a start, Jim is a pretty-boy romantic underdog hero, less of a bullied sad sack whose crush on the receptionist is an object of mockery for the entire office.

Tbh I just rewatched the dinner party ep and it's not as good/funny as I remembered

"Gervais is definitely someone to culturally forget outside of this role."

I give him Extras too

I missed this the first time round, but binged seasons 2-4 without coming up for air - they're pretty great on a comedy and soap opera level, but no specific individual episode sticks out. I kinda lost interest after Michael breaks up with Holly.

I'd tell you when to dive back toward the end of the series, but I don't remember when or what specifically happened to make it stop sucking.

The selling of Dunder MIfflin and introduction of Catherine Tate, IMO.

Gareth, are all these questions going to be about war?

Starting to become very "WATCH ANOTHER SHOW" about this one, you guys.

about which one

the american office

yeah, they should cancel this already

"the american office" always sounds like a grim frontline documentary

even more so with the Season One title

yeah, they should cancel this already

― We were never Breeting Borting (President Keyes), Monday, April 22, 2019 1:05 PM (eleven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

they should cancel the memes!

I like how in the UK version they portray true contempt. Like in “New Girl,” the new girl is not bemusedly frustrated with David and Gareth, she fucking despises them.

otm, one of the best elements of this show.

also Gareth is pathetic in a way that Dwight doesn't manage to achieve. Dwight's irritating and OTT obnoxious, Gareth however could make you murder him if you had to spend 10 minutes with him.

The look of murder in her eyes is never broken. I imagine it took several takes to get it that intense—it’s a definite directorial choice.

Yeah good point neanderthal. Gareth is repulsive.

I've never like intentionally watched US The Office for long periods of time, but every time it's on, it feels like someone is running a cheese grater across my head. the further the show went on, the characters didn't feel lived in, they just tack on more awkward quirks on them as if this is a Kids in the Hall sketch.

I was a much bigger fan of UK The Office Series 1 than Series 2, but give me Gareth and Tim over Dwight and Jim anyday.