The Office

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dTheater
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The Office

Post by dTheater » Oct 20th 2003, 12:08 am

Thank you!

For the person or people who've been talking about The Office on this forum for the last year or two, it's always been in the back of my mind. Then my friend mentioned it briefly, and when I saw the DVD in the store and read the description that called it "in the vein of This Is Spinal Tap and The Larry Sander Show," my jaw dropped and I bought it blindly because I love that vein. And now I love The Office.

To those who aren't in the know, it's a brilliant BBC offering clearly inspired by Office Space but in the mockumentary style of The Larry Sanders Show or Spinal Tap, etc. Actually, it's uncannily similar to my favorite TV show ever, the Canadian series The Newsroom. So close that I have to think they were watching the Newsroom on the set, only the Newsroom is superior. For any fans of The Office, track down the Newsroom DVD set and you should love it.

So yeah, The Office = THE WIN. My favorite bit: "I think there's been a rape up there!" I had to spit my food out, I was laughing so hard. I guess I'll have to wait patiently for the season 2 DVD.
- Jim

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Post by Natasha (candygirl) » Oct 20th 2003, 1:17 am

The credit goes to fnordboy who brought The Office to our attention here.

:D
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Post by Double Espresso » Oct 20th 2003, 10:36 am

Season 2 came out in the UK today:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... 58-6286022

I guess that doesn't help though if you can only have the Region 1 version :cry:

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Post by fnordboy » Oct 20th 2003, 10:53 am

I may have been the most vocal about this show on here, but actually I got turned on to it by Calhoun07 in the "what tv shows on dvd do you own thread". I was instantly hooked though.

I am eagerly awaiting my Series 2 set, but I won't get it until the second week of november :( They are showing S2 on BBCAmerica now though I think.

S2 will most likely be the last series/season of this show sadly. There is talk of a movie in the works, I know the creator was approached to do a movie and he was interested in it. Hopefully it won't suck.

If you are into The Office you might like Spaced, it is another britcom that is IMO lightyears above most of what is out on American TV. There are 2 seasons of Spaced available on DVD (region 2 only).

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Post by Double Espresso » Oct 20th 2003, 11:46 am

Office Season 2 is on re-runs on the BBC for the zillionth time over here. It wins a few awards so they decide to bombard us with it...it is still funny though.

I have the first series of SPACED on DVD, though ironically I think it was a yank(?), probably Fnordboy who turned me onto that.

What else from the UK? Our version of ALIAS was called "Spooks", it's less "James Bond"-like (more realistic?), and the first season had Anthony Stewart Head in it. I quite liked it.

Teachers is quite popular too, though I think I've only ever seen one episode.

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Post by fnordboy » Oct 20th 2003, 12:10 pm

Double Espresso wrote:What else from the UK? Our version of ALIAS was called "Spooks", it's less "James Bond"-like (more realistic?), and the first season had Anthony Stewart Head in it. I quite liked it.

Teachers is quite popular too, though I think I've only ever seen one episode.
Spooks is airing over here on TV as MI-5, I have been tempted to order the Spooks DVD but have been putting it off. Maybe when I order my Futurama S4 I will tack on Spooks.

Teachers caught my eye the other day when I was going through Play.com. I might pick that up as well.

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Post by dTheater » Oct 20th 2003, 6:47 pm

FYI, the watered-down American version of The Office is in the works for NBC. I expect it to be either A) in front of a live studio audience, or B) have a laugh track, but they say it will be in a similar "mockumentary" style.

What is it about the 3 major American networks (or 4 if you count ABC :D ) that won't take a chance on any off-center show until some other network like HBO or BBC does it successfully, and then the imitations are all garbage. Why did this populus thinking start and when will it end?
- Jim

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Post by starbug » Oct 23rd 2003, 7:14 am

I love the Office! Season 2 has THE BEST scene ever so definitely pick it up... it is so cringeworthy.
I especially enjoy it because my boss is a sort of hybrid of David and Finchy... eugh. Roughly twice or three times an episode I would leap off the sofa screaming 'My boss says that!' or 'That's SO my boss!'... and have to be quietened down again by Mr. S.

I am truly dismayed that the US would take this series and americanise it. I have a problem with that approach generally (don't you, as Americans, find it rather patronising that you're not permitted to find non-american series' formally good - they have to be re-done to appeal to you). not only is it total rubbish that it needs to be done at all, but it takes away from the achievement of the original, in so many ways. I wish the practice would stop.

I hear that there are 2 hour-long episodes planned for Christmas on the BBC, and then that will be it. I hadn't heard anything about a movie... but am definitely looking forward to Christmas specials :D

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Post by fnordboy » Oct 23rd 2003, 10:59 am

starbug wrote:I am truly dismayed that the US would take this series and americanise it. I have a problem with that approach generally (don't you, as Americans, find it rather patronising that you're not permitted to find non-american series' formally good - they have to be re-done to appeal to you). not only is it total rubbish that it needs to be done at all, but it takes away from the achievement of the original, in so many ways. I wish the practice would stop.
I also find it horrible that the series will be remade in the US. It makes no sense to take something that obviously is hilarious and near perfect and make it amercanized. I guess middle america can't get past the "gee, they talk funny" part of it. Hell, on another forum I heard that they even subtitled it in parts because these dumbasses couldn't understand the accent. :roll:

I am guessing though that Coupling (US remake version) is doing well here and most likely we will see an influx in remade shows. I can just imagine Black Books remade here. :shock: :roll: Or Randall & Hopkirk: Deceased :?

In a similar vein, this problem comes up a lot in japanese anime and manga. There is a new manga (comic) that came out in the US called Azumanga Daioh one of the main characters is a girl from Osaka who moves to Tokyo. A lot of the humor of her character is when the others make fun of her Osakan accent and the stereotypes associated with Osakans. In the US release of the manga they changed her accent to a Brooklyn accent yet still say she is from Osaka, but she says things like "fuhgedaboutit". It is absolutely horrible. I really don't care what they do to the dub in the anime because I do not watch dubs...ever. I think it is disrespectful to the original maker. If I didn't need subtitles I would watch it raw, for now atleast I need the subs.

Why every company that brings something in from a foreign market feels that it has to be cleansed of all cultural references is beyond me. It is a practice I wish they would give up, but as long as there are stupid people in this country who need everything hand-fed to them it will go on. :evil:

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Post by Sammi » Oct 23rd 2003, 6:45 pm

fnordboy wrote: I am guessing though that Coupling (US remake version) is doing well here and most likely we will see an influx in remade shows. I can just imagine Black Books remade here. :shock: :roll: Or Randall & Hopkirk: Deceased :?
Actually it is not doing as good as NBC hoped! I'm hoping the American version of Coupling will be axed soon because it sucks in comparison to the UK version. My dream is that NBC will start airing the UK version and maybe this will increase the longevity of the UK version. Probably won't ever happen, but I can dream can't I.

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Post by starbug » Oct 27th 2003, 12:52 pm

fnordboy wrote: Why every company that brings something in from a foreign market feels that it has to be cleansed of all cultural references is beyond me. It is a practice I wish they would give up, but as long as there are stupid people in this country who need everything hand-fed to them it will go on. :evil:
I have been thinking about this quite a lot over the weekend... I think it is sort of the other way round: people in the US (and I talk of the majority here - I know not everybody is like this) will not wake up to cultural differences between nations until bodies like TV companies stop dumbing stuff down for them. I don't think it is that most Americans are stupid, it's that they are just ignorant (something I've said before and got flamed for, so please don't take this the wrong way - it's not meant to be offensive).

In the UK we are bombarded with American culture, day in and day out. Some people think it is too much (i'm not sure yet)... but anyway, US programming isn't dumbed down for UK viewers, though by rational deduction it must be true that the same cultural differences exist, no matter which way you send programming. we're expected to know (and we do) all about American culture so it just doesn't pop into anyone's head to 'British-ize' anything. This is the result of a much more global viewpoint that the UK takes on a number of levels (not just TV) and a reflection of global US dominance. I think it is insulting to the American people that they are consistently handed everything on a plate without being forced to confront the fact that other nations have (very) different ways of expressing themselves and to actually deal with it rather than just sit there and go 'ok, won't watch that'.

Also, I was wondering whether money comes into it anywhere. i can't imagine that it is cheaper to reproduce the show in a US format than it is to get the rights to show it from the UK producer. But is it true that much more money would be made from the corresponding success of an Americanised version of the show that could appeal to more voluminous mainstream audiences, rather than the minimal money that would be made by showing it to a vastly reduced audience? this assumes that significantly fewer people would watch the show if it remained in its original format. Is this not more to do with marketing? Surely the networks could market british shows up to the eyeballs and they would be more accepted (acknowledge that this could take time). Why don't they?

Or is it that the powers that be in the media have a vested interest in maintaining the cultural isolationism of the American people?

I think this issue throws up many interesting points... I'm intrigued by the whole thing, now I think of it...

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Post by Sammi » Oct 27th 2003, 1:45 pm

So true Starbug, I remember the last time I was visiting my family in England that there were a lot of US television shows being shown in England. I still don't understand why we don't see the same with UK shows in the United States. So many of the UK shows are 10 times better than the shows currently on US television stations.

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no more coupling-copy

Post by Sascha » Nov 2nd 2003, 3:47 pm

Sammi wrote:Actually it is not doing as good as NBC hoped! I'm hoping the American version of Coupling will be axed soon because it sucks in comparison to the UK version.
As of today, US-Coupling is officially canceled:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=newswire&id=6230 wrote:CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- NBC has formally canceled its freshman comedy "Coupling" as production was shut down on the series Friday and the show's producers were told no additional episodes will be ordered. The series had been on broadcast hiatus since its October 23 airing.

"Coupling" was NBC's most publicized new project of the 2003-04 season but went on to premiere to 15.3 million viewers, well below the disappointing start of last year's Thursday, 9:30/8:30c time slot holder "Good Morning, Miami" (17.5 million, 9/26/02). "Coupling's" final broadcast was seen by just 9.6 million viewers, the Peacock's worst first-run performance in the half-hour in over three seasons.

It's not clear how many episodes of "Coupling" were produced beyond the four that aired or if NBC will burn off the remaining installments. The series was created by Steven Moffat and executive produced by Phoef Sutton, Ben Silverman, Beryl Vertue, Sue Vertue and Moffat for NBC Studios in association with Reveille and Universal Television.

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Post by Debs » Nov 3rd 2003, 8:32 am

Hi -

I’d like to add my own little gem to the afore mentioned topic regarding the US viewing public and the general assumption to accept anything foreign. This example does illustrate the point quite nicely.

Several years ago I shared a house with a 50-something American male and his family. This man was articulate, intelligent, and the head of two small but flourishing businesses.

As a young imported employee, my circumstances were suddenly vastly different from the life I knew in England, and because of this, I learned how valuable it was to travel and experience new countries.

This 50-something male and I would often muse over this and that and my exciting new life would sometimes work its way into the conversation. As a newcomer to the US I was in the possession of a newly stamped passport. This, as far as I was concerned, was my golden ticket, my key to The Road – yet this articulate, intelligent businessman would proudly proclaim of never setting foot outside of his native America.

In all of his intelligent 50-something years this man had never owned, nor did he foresee a time when he'd want to own, a passport. He would puff up his chest and boast that everything he could possibly wish to see was available to him right where he was.

I found that a most peculiar way to spend 50-something years on this planet. I guess this is the way-of-life equivalent to remaking imported shows.

Note to producers: If a show is successful you should import and leave be! Remade shows should stay unmade. The example I give to this is the Brit remake of 'The Golden Girls' called 'The Brighton Belles'. Uuuurrgh.

Deb x

A fan of British shows: 'The Office' and 'Teachers'
A fan of US shows: 'My So-Called Life', Six Feet Under' and 'Sex and the City'
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Post by fnordboy » Nov 12th 2003, 1:58 am

I marathoned Office S2 yesterday, what an unbelievable show. Just as good (maybe better) than the first season! I was very sad to see it end though :(

[spoiler] So it definitely seems that there will not be a s3 with Brent being given a redundancy package. I was also very sad to see Dawn and Tim not get together. I was rooting for them since ep1 of s1 [/spoiler]

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