March 25, 2005The Office Sucks!
Filed Under: Content is King
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I feel really strongly about this one...and it's with mixed feelings that I say, I hope the Office fails miserably. Even though, Initiative's PropheSEE (which uses Internet chat/buzz to predict future success/failure of TV programming) has predicted a hit for this show...I'm hoping to be one lone voice that swims against the current on this one...
Here's why...
First of all, I really like Steve Carell. He's really funny and original and for no other reason than him/he...I won't be gutted if I'm proven wrong.
The style of the program ala Arrested Development is definitely another plus in favor of the program...and of course the fact it's based on the hit British based series The Office (and Ricky Gervais is exective producer) doesn't hurt either...but that's where it stops.
The real reason my gut tells me that this won't last is it's absolutely lack of originality. I am flabbergasted at the lengths that they have taken to literally imitate/copy the original incarnation. I understand from a pure math perspective that they're banking on the fact that a drop in the ocean gets/watches BBC-America and using their Prime Time/Network advantage, they can reach a massively unduplicatd audience (with essentially the same product)
My concern is that I think they overlooked the following:
1) the same people who watched the show on BBC-A are still the ideal target audience for this show...now we're just giving them a diluted repeat
2) the audience in 1) are also more likely to be influencers and therefore will impact the mainstream viewership for the NBC version
3) Even though the reach hypothesis of NBC > BBC-A applies, what about the DVD sales to people who didn't receive BBC-A...
4) the humor (british...enough said) is somewhat esoteric and questionable in an American context. Scranton is not Slough.
Why not just purchase the original BBC-A series and re-broadcast it? And assuming it is successful, purchase another heap? Surely American viewers are smart enough to see beyond the accent?
What are your thoughts? Am I on a puritanical binge?
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Comments
NO, I just think you didn't read up on the series before watching.
The coverage I read indicated that the Pilot episode WAS in fact a complete re-do of a specific British episode, but SUPPOSEDLY all future episodes are original story-lines.
So, if you are a fan I'd give it one more try.
For me this series (well, mostly British version of course) is like "Curb Your Enthusiasm"...the lead guy is so pathetic and so awkward that the cringing and pain outweighs the humor.
Posted by: Elisa Camahort
Elisa,
Good points. I didn't read up on it...all I had to go on were the promos. That being said, there's the saying, "you don't get a second chance to make a good first impression."
At the very minimum (and it's a valuable one), I am squarely putting on the hat of the consumer (ignorant or otherwise), so let's see the ratings for show #1 and then #2 (different night...which is always a risk I think)
I don't mind being proven wrong on this one :)
jJ
Posted by: jJ
So far I agree but I've only seen promos too. The lead character seems way too pathetic to me. Remember the movie "Office Space"? I think that movie had the right balance for the boss.
Thanks for the warning on the first episode, I'll skip it and wait for #2.
Posted by: Bruce DeBoer
The Office Premiere drew 11.2 Million viewers and a 5.0 rating in NBC's favored demographic of adults 18-49 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Break open the bubbly! :)
Posted by: jJ
The American version of The Office sucks big time. I mean the whole concept is totally stupid. Why couldn't they show the original and much funnier BBC one. If we have can have American shows in Australia and England why couldn't they have the original British show.Is the cultural shock too much to bear? Anyway the show is awful,it just doesn't have the all important cringe factor without Ricky Gervais, this American guy is just plain annoying.
Posted by: naomi
Ok, I did a broad search for "The Office Sucks" and I found this blog. I have given it an honest try. I have not seen the British version, but I feel I would have liked it better. I am a fan of British humor, so I believe I would have enjoyed the Brit version. But honestly, if the british version is ANYTHING like this steaming pile of crap, I would loath it. This is quite possibly the most un-funny show I have ever seen, and I have seen some DAMN un-funny stuff in my time (I was alive when "Full House" was on). I mean seriously, I don't get it. I compare it to "Joey" in the sense that there are only so many "I'm Joey. I'm good looking, but not bright." jokes that one can take. There are only so many "I'm a completely clueless boss." jokes one can make before it bores me. I realize probably nobody will read this post because the original thread is almost a year old, but still. Is there a petition to sign to get this show cancelled? I wouldn't mind if everyone on the show was raped by wild boars and died of syphilis, Steve Carell included. Even though Steve Carell IS funny, if we have to lose him to get rid of this show, it would be WELL worth it. BTW, from what I can tell, this show gets about a 50/50 mix of people who love it and people who hate it. and I've found that there isn't a middle ground. People don't just "like" this show. They either think it is the greatest show that ever was, or they think NBC would be better off broadcasting 30 minutes of color bars. I am DEFINATLY in the latter category
Posted by: Jason Kaul
I THINK THIS SHOW IS ABSOLUTLY AWFUL! I HAVE TRIED TO WATCH BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE STEVE CARELL. THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST SHOW I HAVE EVER SEEN. IT IS IDIOTIC.
Posted by: LAURA WHETSTINE
I find The Office hilarious and painful to watch at the same time, because it rings true to some bad bosses we've all had. We watch it regularly. Don't get BBC so I've never seen the original. There are plenty of unfunny sitcoms out there that imho have stayed on the air too long and insult the public's intelligence. This is not one of them. And I'm not British but still get the humor. There.
Posted by: Isabella
Wow, is everyone so wrong. Firstly, the NBC office is supirior to the brit one (and as a fan, I don't take that lightly) It's well written, funny, and full of heart. Now that arrested development is cancelled, its the best show on tv. Plus don't plan on seeing it cancelled any time soon, as its a suprise hit and NBC has already ordered 22 episodes for season 3
Posted by: kasey
YOU ARE AN IDIOT IF YOU DONT LIKE THIS SHOW I GET SO SICK OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO TASTE AT ALL FOR ANYTHING GOOD I LOVE IT I THINK IT IS ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS IN A LONG TIME YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE SMALL MINDS THATS WHY YOU DONT LIKE IT
Posted by: kim
Kim - at least we can use punctuation, and we've learned how to type in lower case as well as capital letters.
I concur with the majority of posters here. I find this show to be banal and ridiculously redundant. I'm slightly dismayed because my boyfriend LOVES it and up until this point we have had remarkably similar tastes in comedy (we both LOVED Seinfeld). Could this be the beginning of the demise of our relationship? Possibly - I don't know that I can continue with someone who not only loves this show, but insists on TiVoing it. Blech.
By the way, I also found this site by googling "the office sucks". Tee hee.
Posted by: Anne
I agree completely. The original BBC was funny mainly because Gervais is a genius. His supposed carbon copy in Steve Carrell is not funny at all. The new office is people trying to be funny. They only succeed with the mostly slow witted viewers.
Posted by: adam
I have watched both the British and the American Office' series. I own both seasons and the Christmas specials of the British Office, and have decided not to waste any more time, let alone bother purchasing any of the American episodes. I agree with Naomi, in that why can't America handle a successful British TV show without seeing the need to copy it? The British version, in my opinion, is genius. When I first started watching it, I was pretty turned off. The first episode made me say out loud, "What is this shit?" But after watching a few episodes (I was bought the first season as a gift from an Uncle), I began to love its genius. Frustrating at times, but still amazingly captivating. Not overly comedic, just the right mix of frustration and humour. Much love to the British version, and go die to the American version. Make something original.
Posted by: Zach
FINALLY! I now know I'm not alone in my belief that the American Office is crap!
Everything that made Gervais' Office so unsettling, endearing and believable is washed away with the excessiveness of the American Office. The actors play their characters so deliberately and over the top. Every scene that Dwight is in just screams "This is Dwight, this is the WEIRD guy, as if you didn't already know". The UK original had subtlety and having worked in a similar office atmosphere I was able to relate to it much more.
The worst thing about the US Office, both in it's initial creation and the huge success it's had, is that it is a prime example of American cultural arrogance. I currently live in New Zealand, and as previous person said, there are plenty of American shows which are exported here and to other countries which do quite well. The Simpsons and South Park have huge followings here. Now don't think I'm some American ex-pat who is just here to throw stones at his country of origin, I'm generally concerned about this issue. Whenever there is a massively successful TV series or movie overseas, you can bet that out there somewhere there is a lofty business room full of executives who say "Well.....American viewers will never understand this....so let's just remake it." In my mind we are selling ourselves short. Kids in the Hall, for example, enjoyed wildly popular success in the States. Canadian humor isn't all that different from American humor, but there were several nuances that are distinctly Canadian(or perhaps British in origin). Was there an American Kids in the Hall? Of course not.
I love American comedy. I love the Simpsons, South Park, My Name is Earl, the State, Upright Citizens Brigade, etc. I think we owe to ourselves to come up with our own ideas, and for once, try to enjoy what other countries have to offer.
Posted by: Rob
Looks like you guys are all right on about the office, America hates it and NBC has dropped it like hot coals. Good call guys. LOL! Hope you didn't quit your day jobs.
Posted by: Scoobii
Scoobii - first of all, this post was written 2 year's ago! Second, the show must have gotten better since it's embarrassing pilot (who knows, perhaps posts like this helped) Third, it's a sad state of the quality of sitcoms nowadays
but thanks for your 2c nonetheless :)
Posted by: jJ
Just another person who found this by searching "the office sucks"...It finally pushed me to the breaking point. I felt alone and hopeless and nothing made sense to me any more. I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Posted by: riz
The BBC version is unwatchable. I have to have close caption on just to understand what they are saying. One of the most unfunny shows ever. Jim and Pam are much better.
Posted by: JBL
LMAO, I did a google search for "the American The Office sucks" and found this.
The American version of The Office is certainly a raging abomination to its brilliant British counterpart.
Posted by: Petter Nerman
I also did a google search for "The Office Sucks" and found this. I loathe this show. A couple of my friends from work watch this every Thursday and always talk about how hilarious it is. I have never laughed watching this show. It is boring, slow, and just pathetic. I can't even believe my friends truely find it funny. I think they just want to be part of a group of people who say they like it. I have no idea why.
Posted by: courtney
I did the same search. The Office does suck. Steve Carrell should go back to the Daily Show where he was funny and had good writers.
Posted by: Jarred
So to recap:
1) The Office sucks.
2) The Office is great.
3) People who don't enjoy The Office are fools.
4) People who do enjoy The Office are fools.
5) Steve Carrell is funny.
6) Ending a relationship is a reasonable response to differing tastes in TV shows.
Posted by: Anon
Pretty much :)
Posted by: jJ
For what it's worth, I think the show could have gone horribly awry if they had continued what they did the first season, which was to essentially copy the tone and major plot points of the first BBC series. The problem with that approach is that Carrell is an altogether different kind of presence than Gervais, in that he lacks subtlety. They also weren't quite able to capture that documentary feel of the British counterpart. The attention to detail in the British series was impressive, down to characters removing mics and hiding from the cameras at especially personal moments. They simply didn't pull it off on the NBC version.
What they did in the second season was lighten the tone and combine the cinema verite of Arrested Development with the faux-documentary sensibilities of the BBC show and somehow managed to pull it off. It allowed us (well, me anyway) to accept the cartoonish nature of Michael and Dwight without affecting some of the more mundane realism. I certainly understand why some people wouldn't like it, but I think they basically created their own show, that while not quite as good as the original, is still wildly entertaining.
Posted by: Anon
Eh well tbh I've watched very little of it simply because it wasn't funny. At all. Period. It just doesn't touch the original. It was the quirkiness of the dialogue/characters and utter cringeworthiness of Ricky Gervais character that made it compelling viewing. Sorry but the US version has none of those qualities. It's just watered down tripe and not even remotely entertaining. I'm Irish btw so it's not an English "thang". It's simply a lame attempt to capitalise on a perfectly good product by sticking the same title on it, imitating the material, badly, and throwing some well known names in the mix. And Ricky Gervais (who has had his good and bad moments in comedy history) simply should have not touched that project with a 10 foot barge pole.
"The humor (british...enough said)"?? The humour (notice the U) stateside sucks balls.
Posted by: methodinsane
Well you were very wrong. Now weren't ya :)
Posted by: Kathryn
It does suck. Reason being; it's not even the office anymore! It should be titled "The personal lives of people who happen to work in an office". The last episode, Night Out, had probably 2 minutes tops of office footage. It's not an office comedy anymore, and without the office setting, it's not creed, kevin malone, michael scott and dwight shrute. It's creed bratton, Brian Baumgartner, Steve Carell, and Rainn Wilson. I used to be a diehard office fan, now I don't even bother to watch the episodes. I say, off with the head.
Posted by: Runnerup
I think the problem with the Office is that it is never completely free of its own stigmas? What I mean is that some people like it and others don't. It appears as though it's bound to at least be on TV for a while? If I were the editors of the producing management directors team I might put money into the show for a while? I think watching it can be a use of time, but you won't realize it until later? I just think we all need to think about why?
Posted by: Greg Formager
