Quote:
The initial quote is from the US version of "The Office", which, by the way, is actually pretty good.


I think it's fantastic!

Imagine! A U.S. comedy that doesn't have a laugh track, relies for much of its humor on interactions between personalities rather than simply cheap gags, and gets a lot of mileage out of uncomfortable silences.

Whodathunkit?

Even better, other people think so, too. (Meaning it won't be instantly cancelled like many good shows.)

I believe it has received a few Emmys (at least it was nominated for a boatload of them).

Now to contradict myself a bit, one of the "cheap gags" that I kind of liked was the fake Public Service Announcements they did on some commercial breaks.

It looked exactly like the standard "the more you know..." announcements featuring famous stars, except that it would be a description of how to defend yourself during a wolf attack, or an admonishment that "Videotaping yourself having sex is never a good idea. You think you'll erase it, but you never do."

Anyway, I haven't managed to catch a full episode of the British original yet, but I'll have to make a point of tracking those down. I assume they'll be as good or better. Though, I really like Steve Carell's portrayal of the ultimate American-style incompetent and self-absorbed boss, thoroughly unaware of his own incompetence.