Is it me or do Jim and Pam ruin The Office?

[Chris L]

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.   

[jamesp]

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.

[Gilly]

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.

[Bryan]

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.

[AaronC]

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.

[mokin]

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.

[John Junk 2.0]

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.

[jamesp]

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.