FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: emdasher on July 17, 2008, 07:08:59 PM
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For whatever reason I never got on board with the U.S. edition of "The Office." I keep going back to it because of its continued success, but I can't make it through all of the constant Jim/Pam will-they-won't-they posturing.
I really WANT to like this show because at times it's hilarious. Most of the time, though, I feel like the producers of the show want me to be laughing at that "how did I end up with these idiots?" face that Jim constantly makes, or pining for Jim and Pam to be whisked away to some Italian villa where they can both enjoy not being funny together.
And Dwight? Tone it down a notch.
I could be wrong on this. Someone help me out?
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They don't ruin it but they are featured way too much. I don't agree with you on Dwight at all.
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I don't agree with you on Dwight at all.
Dwight's character in the pilot was the main factor in my decision to not watch the show on a regular basis.
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Most of the time, though, I feel like the producers of the show want me to be laughing at that "how did I end up with these idiots?" face that Jim constantly makes, or pining for Jim and Pam to be whisked away to some Italian villa where they can both enjoy not being funny together.
And Dwight? Tone it down a notch.
Agreed on all points.
Then again I'm embarrassingly devoted to the UK version and I thought even they overplayed Tim's little glances at the camera. Overall the US version is too buffoonish and cartoonish and broad for me. I'd always thought Steve Carell oversold his lines in other roles, and he seems to go way over the top in his Office role. Ricky Gervais was supposed to be a buffoon but he also had all these little sad subtleties that made the show much more than a stock comedy. I don't feel anything for Carell's character than annoyance.
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I don't agree with you on Dwight at all.
Dwight's character in the pilot was the main factor in my decision to not watch the show on a regular basis.
I don't think you can judge the entire show just by the pilot, or even the entire first season. The US version didn't really gain it's own voice until season 2.
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I'd always thought Steve Carell oversold his lines in other roles, and he seems to go way over the top in his Office role. Ricky Gervais was supposed to be a buffoon but he also had all these little sad subtleties that made the show much more than a stock comedy. I don't feel anything for Carell's character than annoyance.
People I know who love the show enjoy hating Carell's every move as Michael, which seems off to me.
By the way, if they made a spin-off for all of the show's characters not including the Big 4 of Michael, Dwight, Jim and Pam, I'd be the first in line to watch.
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People I know who love the show enjoy hating Carell's every move as Michael, which seems off to me.
You mean 'hating', as in, cringing at the un-PC things he says, or hating, as in, he's not funny in that role? I'm for the latter.
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I don't agree with you on Dwight at all.
Dwight's character in the pilot was the main factor in my decision to not watch the show on a regular basis.
I don't think you can judge the entire show just by the pilot, or even the entire first season. The US version didn't really gain it's own voice until season 2.
I think that's the key. Every time I hear somebody say something bad about the Office US they haven't watched more than season 1. Season one wasn't very good and it was just trying to mimic the Brit version and most of the time I felt uncomfortable watching the show. Season 2 and beyond is much different.
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I'm with Gilly. It's a different show than the British version, and good in its own right as a different show.
I like the secondary characters a lot, as well, especially Creed, who doesn't have a full parallel in the British version, as Keith doesn't have a full on parallel in the American version.
Watch the second season and see if you feel the same.
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I'd agree the show has been a bit funnier since the first season, esp for a mainstream/network comedy.
I thought Kevin was the parallel for Keith?
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I'd agree the show has been a bit funnier since the first season, esp for a mainstream/network comedy.
I thought Kevin was the parallel for Keith?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is.
I love Creed and agree with a lot of everybody's points. I keep thinking that when I'm watching the show that none of the cast (aside from Mindy Kaling and Steve Carrell) will have any success outside the series. Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Rainn Wilson are all mediocre actors or very annoying, both on the show and in outside projects. They'll just be typecasted but never successful.
The show has run its course at this point and should work towards concluding it soon. The original was so great with only 12 episodes because it never got boring and didn't have to give us 36 episodes of Pam & Jim looking at each other and giggling.
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I think that's the key. Every time I hear somebody say something bad about the Office US they haven't watched more than season 1. Season one wasn't very good and it was just trying to mimic the Brit version and most of the time I felt uncomfortable watching the show. Season 2 and beyond is much different.
Like I said, I keep coming back to the show, and I find it a lot funnier than my initial experience with the pilot and other early episodes. My problems with the show in its present form are mostly unrelated to any I had about season 1.
People I know who love the show enjoy hating Carell's every move as Michael, which seems off to me.
You mean 'hating', as in, cringing at the un-PC things he says, or hating, as in, he's not funny in that role? I'm for the latter.
i mean that they mostly view Michael as nothing more than a totally obnoxious character, in relation to Pam and Jim. In the UK version of the show, I didn't feel like I was being forced to ground myself in the Tim-Dawn relationship.
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I love Creed and agree with a lot of everybody's points. I keep thinking that when I'm watching the show that none of the cast (aside from Mindy Kaling and Steve Carrell) will have any success outside the series. Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Rainn Wilson are all mediocre actors or very annoying, both on the show and in outside projects. They'll just be typecasted but never successful.
I think Jenna Fischer and Rainn Wilson are pretty talented. At the moment they're not choosing the right projects, although Fischer held her own in Walk Hard. Wilson has proven himself to be a good dramatic actor in lots of projects, although I especially liked him in Six Feet Under and Baadasssss!
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I was/am pretty devoted to the UK series, and didn't get around to the US remake until the last few months. I've been powering through the DVDs. I just skipped the first season, as I understood it was a straight, line-for-line remake of the UK episodes.
Dwight was also a sore spot for me. He seemed too sitcommy and broad. By now though, I'm totally won over. At some point in the second season the character finds the right tone and just clicks into place.
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The episode where he kidnaps the pizza boy is great.
The one where Michael and Dwight drive to NYC for a conference they're not invited to was awesome too.
The one where Michael does a survival thing in the woods = not-so-hot.
I think the american Office is a good show, but the original series blows it out of the water as far as I'm concerned.
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I was/am pretty devoted to the UK series, and didn't get around to the US remake until the last few months. I've been powering through the DVDs. I just skipped the first season, as I understood it was a straight, line-for-line remake of the UK episodes.
Only the pilot was a straight remake. It didn't really come into its own until season 2 though, so you didn't miss much.
The only time I can stand Jim is when he humiliates himself, like that episode where he got everyone locked in overnight. Jim and Pam are pretty awful as a snarky power couple, but Tim and Dawn probably would have become just as unbearable had that storyline been stretched out to fill American-length TV seasons. As for the actors, Fischer was terrible early on but improved, while Krasinski has never been particularly authentic as an office schlub, annoying floppy haircut aside.
I like pretty much all the supporting characters, especially Angela. Creed is great but obviously limited so they've managed to use him perfectly. Also, I like the way Dunder-Mifflin is shown to be fraught with incompetence at all levels rather than just the Scranton branch.
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I love Creed and agree with a lot of everybody's points. I keep thinking that when I'm watching the show that none of the cast (aside from Mindy Kaling and Steve Carrell) will have any success outside the series. Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, and Rainn Wilson are all mediocre actors or very annoying, both on the show and in outside projects. They'll just be typecasted but never successful.
I think Jenna Fischer and Rainn Wilson are pretty talented. At the moment they're not choosing the right projects, although Fischer held her own in Walk Hard. Wilson has proven himself to be a good dramatic actor in lots of projects, although I especially liked him in Six Feet Under and Baadasssss!
I forgot that Rainn Wilson used to do lots of drama and stagework.
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Also, I like the way Dunder-Mifflin is shown to be fraught with incompetence at all levels rather than just the Scranton branch.
Yes, I think that's one of the reasons it's been able to stay fresh and funny.
I wonder what the show would have been like if Paul Giamatti accepted the Michael Scott part. I bet it would have been really good but I doubt it would have received good ratings.
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I also heard that Bob Odenkirk was trying for that role. He coulda done a good job, but I think Steve Carell is a better choice. He brings some pathos to the role - Giamatti would have been able to do that, too.
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By the way, if they made a spin-off for all of the show's characters not including the Big 4 of Michael, Dwight, Jim and Pam, I'd be the first in line to watch.
There is a spin-off in the works. So far, Aziz Ansari and Amy Poeler have been cast.
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By the way, if they made a spin-off for all of the show's characters not including the Big 4 of Michael, Dwight, Jim and Pam, I'd be the first in line to watch.
There is a spin-off in the works. So far, Aziz Ansari and Amy Poeler have been cast.
Also, the daily show's only female writer has been snagged for it.
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By the way, if they made a spin-off for all of the show's characters not including the Big 4 of Michael, Dwight, Jim and Pam, I'd be the first in line to watch.
There is a spin-off in the works. So far, Aziz Ansari and Amy Poeler have been cast.
Also, the daily show's only female writer has been snagged for it.
Say no more! I can envision this thing already in my head and...
wait, no I can't.
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By the way, if they made a spin-off for all of the show's characters not including the Big 4 of Michael, Dwight, Jim and Pam, I'd be the first in line to watch.
There is a spin-off in the works. So far, Aziz Ansari and Amy Poeler have been cast.
After Pohler got cast, I read that the show is changing from the spin-off and is pretty much becoming an entirely new series but by the creators of the Office.