Any love for the original UK The Office?*

Watched the UK office, then the US version. Both are great, IMHO, with memorable characters, although the US version is a bit more variable in quality.

'There's been a rape up there!"

--Geoff

 

Love the UK version.

 

Anybody own up to seeing just a little bit of Brent/Scott in themselves? I certainly didn't. Honestly.

 

I've seen it at the cinema. I really enjoyed it, it's not perfect but there are plenty of very funny moments. Brent hasn't evolved massively from where he was, but he's determined to have one last crack at making it in the music business.

I would say he perhaps, one too many times, copied a scenario from Alan Partridge, but if you're going to steal, steal from the best!

I would really recommend checking out the soundtrack album to the film. Gervais has made several genuinely very good songs here, and with a great band behind him (that unlikely scenario is easily explained in the film). Some of these songs also have lovely nods back to The Office, such as full versions of Spaceman and Paris Nights (we get to hear the 2nd verse of this song that was originally sung to Dawn, and it is beyond horrific, but very funny!)

 

I enjoyed the film. What I will say - and I think this is a compliment to the film - is that watching it didn't actually make me want to revisit The Office. If anything, Ricky Gervais has done a good job in placing a legendary character in an entirely new scenario, to the point that it doesn't retract, or even communicate, with the original work at all.

 

Love both versions for different reasons. I think the Christmas special has one of the greatest endings in tv history. I wonder had that special not been produced to tie up loose ends, would the show be held in such high esteem?

 

I love the UK version. Every 2 or 3 years I watch every episode in order and the Christmas Special never fails to bring to a tear to my eye at the end.

 

I watched 3 episodes of the US office at the weekend, just to see if I'd overlooked it.
I hadn't, its terrible. Not funny & badly acted...ugh.

 

The Office changed American TV sitcoms forever. But Gervais got the documentary-look idea from The Larry Sanders Show. Is this another example of the British taking a US thing and Americans embracing it not knowing it was ours from the beginning? Like how the British bands took on American blues and put their own spin on it in the sixties?

 

gervais got the idea for the office from 'operation goodguys'- a british fly on the wall comedy about the police..
a lot of the cringe worthy racial and minorities jokes in the office are quite similar to operation good guys..
Jokes about midgets, wheelchair users etc ...

 

Yeah, whatever...

 

What season? It gets better as it goes on, then it's a slow decline unfortunately

 

One episode had Catherine Tate in it so it must have been a later series.

 

Oh boy, by the time she shows the series was way past its prime unfortunately. Season 1 was very good, season 2 it starts to come into its own and breaks away more from the u.k. and actually does something with its supporting cast, and season 3 is where the show peaked and managed to stay as good until season 5. All my opinion, you might still hate it of course.

 

Catherine Tate?! Sht, the show was past its prime like a month-old banana by then. It's like listening to few songs off Voodoo Lounge or whatever and saying "boy, do the Stones suck!"

I just checked IMDb and she appeared in 34 episodes (God, no WONDER the show sucked at the end!) starting in the S7 finale. By then, the show was running on fumes. Still doesn't diminish one bit the greatness of the first five seasons.

 

I have seen some of the first series way back.
I just think the UK office is in a different league.

 

Hey everyone, just started watching the office after reading a wacky article about how much trouble the characters from the office would've gotten in had they gotten caught for their actions in real life

6 Personal Injury Lessons From The Office | The Slocum Firm, P.C. »

Loving the show so far, only on season 3. Hopefully it gets better and better, whats your favorite episodes?!

 

Anyone here seen the recent David Brent movie?

 

Yes, saw it in the cinema back in August, then again at Christmas when I got the Blu Ray.

 

I'd have to think on it, but two of my favorite episodes that you haven't seen yet are "Dinner Party" (about as uncomfortable as the U.S. version got) and "Launch Party", both from S4.

Not sure which story I liked better from the latter episode: Dwight trying to outsell the website and Jim & Pam messing with him, or Michael and the pizza-delivery guy.

 

Hated it, really hated it. I was disappointed when I heard he was making it. If any series didn't need a new ending it was The Office.

The world Brent exists in LOTR (life on the road not Tolkien) is completely changed and unrealistic. The reactions to his racism/idiocy are unrealistic and unlike the original series. Even the character to me is unrecognisable with his wheezes and giggles. The supporting characters are sketches (receptionist/office bully boy) all shades of existing The Office characters (Dawn/Finchy). Even down to the sub-Gareth "loser" in the office.

SPOILER BELOW

Iconic scenes mimicked like the office bully being stood up to echoing Brents "Chris, why don't you just **** Off" cathartic moment. The only problem being this so called big moment came between two characters we have zero interest in or background story for.

The band/sound guy accepting Brent at the end (why? Whats changed his behaviour seems to peak in terms of offensiveness) coupled with his co-worker being romantically interested in him. Isn't this just exactly what happened at the end of the Xmas Special only without the massive Dawn/Tim pay off we had all being waiting on (the true heart of the original series).

Probably the thing that annoyed me most, why would Dom the rapper hang around with this fool? Its not properly explained, nice guy or not why would any young/talented/popular young black man hang around with a racist buffoon who parades him about like a prize and involves him in public humiliation.

Suspension of disbelief or an allowance to let things go for comedy effect is all well and good but that wasn't necessary in The Office. It was beautifully observed. Even the silly bits (the dance/"go get the guitar") were not that silly and somewhat plausible and more importantly the other characters reaction to them were realistic.

This was a film written by the man behind "Derek" not the team behind The Office.

Ahhhh I could go on and on...

Massive disappointment..really missed Stephen Merchant

 

Ricky Gervais really just isn't the same anymore. At first he seemed like a real middle finger to Hollywood and celebrity culture but sadly he seems to have joined the dark side since the start of this decade.

 

Yeah he's not able to self edit his work. Merchant kept him grounded in his writing to some extent..

 

they should really stop arsing around and just reunite already. Nothing they have done individually has been any good.

 

Well I don't know about that. Despite a premature cancellation, I really loved Merchant's Hello Ladies.