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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