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The first preview:

 

I haven't written anything in TV for a long time because I never see shows in advance like you do, except maybe for this time.

 

I mostly go to movie screenings, but the other night I was part of a recruited audience for the American version of the BBC masterpiece "The Office" that was held at a testing facility on Lankershim here in Hollywood.

 

People wonder if NBC's pilot of "The Office" is as bad as last year's bomb "Coupling."

 

The answer is no ... it's worse. The reason being that the original "Office" is a much better show. There's no way to improve upon it and to Americanize it doesn't do it justice.

 

Greg Daniels, who co-created the cartoon "King of the Hill," is behind this American version and they should have gotten his partner, Mike Judge, to do this as he clearly had more of a handle on the required low-key style as he showed in "Office Space."

 

Daniels makes the same mistake that "Coupling" did by basically copying the original so much that you might as well just ignore this and buy the DVDs from BBC Video.

 

The acting lacks the masterful underplaying of Ricky Gervais and company. A guy from "The Daily Show" tries to fill Ricky's shoes and can't. The American dude comes off as bland, uninteresting and really irritating.

 

I don't think all that many of the test group I sat with was as familiar with the original British series as I was. Still, it was painfully clear that nobody was liking this much. The lady next to me said she found it "depressing."

 

Another said it was like a worse version of "Andy Richter Controls The Universe" without the eye candy and dream sequences.

 

I say leave well enough alone. Since most critics, as well as smart viewers, know the original "Office," the reviews will be scathing.

 

I hope the American version of "The Office" stays closed.

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Good quote:

 

Either way Gervais has made it clear he is happy to let go. "This isn't our baby," he told the Los Angeles Times. "We sold the rights. It's like selling a house and then you keep turning up, saying 'Why are you changing the fireplace?' I've done my bit."

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  • 4 months later...
  • 6 months later...

Just read this.

 

More than 11 million viewers tuned in to the first episode of the US version of UK sitcom The Office on Thursday.

Despite mixed reviews from the critics the show was watched by 11.2 million viewers, with strong support among the key 18- to 49-year-old demographic.

 

Life on a Stick - another new sitcom debuting on Thursday on the Fox network - attracted just 9.25 million viewers.

 

The second episode of The Office was aired on Tuesday. The series will be shown on BBC Three later this year.

 

The original Office was shown on the US cable channel BBC America, winning high praise and two Golden Globe awards.

 

Co-writers Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are executive producers on the US version.

 

In the US remake, Gervais' character David Brent has become Michael Scott and is played by US comedian Steve Carell. The action is still set in a paper company, though the location has been moved from Slough to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

 

The show received mixed reviews from American critics ahead of its premiere, with the New York Daily News declaring it "neither daring or funny".

 

"Compared to the BBC version... NBC's version is so diluted there's little left than muddy water," its critic continued.

 

Time magazine called the show "a daring, unflinching take on very American workplace tensions".

 

But the Washington Post said Carell "overdoes it at times" and was "no match for the wonderful Ricky Gervais".

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i just wonder why they remake already successful shows and movies for american audiences? it seems so weird to me.

it's not like american audiences wouldn't 'get' the humour of the original version, would they?

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I haven't seen it, but I too think it was a bad idea from the start. The British version is a masterpiece for a sitcom and I don't see how it could be improved on.

 

I do want to mention, however, that Steve Carell is one funny mofo. I really don't see him in this role though. The comedy is supposed to be understated when Carell is anything but. Oh well, I don't even have TV anyway.

 

I was watching 'Finding Neverland' with Johnny Depp (great movie) the other night and did notice that 'Gareth' from the BBC version has a part as an usher at a theater. He looked totally different from his character on the The Office - he looked normal for once :p

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Well I have now seen some of this and it is poor. I didn't like it at all, when I loved the original UK one. It just doesn't work the same even though they seem to have gone for recreating The Office. Bad idea.

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