BBC's The Office v. NBC's The Office

melidasaur · 03-24-2005, 09:45 PM

If you managed to catch The Office pilot on NBC tonight - what did you think?

I'm a huge fan of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and the British version of the show - which is absolutely hysterical. The American version is exactly the cheap knockoff that I thought it would be - but I think it would be likely to think that after seeing the original.

Why mess with a good thing?

Happy Monkey · 03-24-2005, 11:47 PM

I thought it was reasonably well done. Not as good as the original, but better than most American sitcoms. It will only be really possible to judge the quality when they run out of BBC scripts to follow and have to write their own.

glatt · 03-25-2005, 07:51 AM

I haven't seen any of the BBC episodes, although I would like to.
I enjoyed last night's NBC version. It was far better than most network TV.

jaguar · 03-25-2005, 11:41 AM

great, they're fucking the corpse of another great idea.

Happy Monkey · 03-25-2005, 11:55 AM

The question is whether the resulting zombie baby will be more like "All in the Family" or "Coupling [american]".

melidasaur · 03-25-2005, 12:46 PM

I had to watch my BBC The Office DVDs today... they really ruined the whole jello/stapler bit in the American one. It seemed awkward and forced.

Happy Monkey · 03-25-2005, 12:59 PM

Yeah, they didn't have the bit where the Gareth-equivalent mentioned that he didn't trust jello, which explains why the Tim-equivalent chose that particular prank. But the pun bit afterwards was handled well.

The bit that fell flattest for me was the Hitler impersonation.

Actually, the preview of next week looks like it has a funny diversity-training scene that's not copied from the BBC version. Could be good, could be over the top.

melidasaur · 03-29-2005, 10:09 PM

This week's episode - Diversity Training - was awkward and unfunny. I'm sorry, but you can't beat David Brent at the Customer Service training whipping out the guitar.

jaguar · 03-30-2005, 04:42 AM

Quote:

the preview of next week looks like it has a funny diversity-training scene that's not copied from the BBC version.

Quote:

This week's episode - Diversity Training - was awkward and unfunny.

Sums it up really.

Happy Monkey · 03-30-2005, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

I thought it was reasonably well done. Not as good as the original, but better than most American sitcoms.

I'll stick with this asessment for the time being. If I could only watch American sitcoms that were as good as the best of the BBC exports, I'd only watch Arrested Development and Scrubs. As it is, I watch Arrested Development, Scrubs, and the Office.

melidasaur · 03-30-2005, 08:18 AM

Arrested Development is great!

glatt · 03-30-2005, 08:46 AM

I agree, Arrested Development is great. I stopped watching Scrubs when they switched it from Tuesday nights, but I always enjoyed it.

Over the weekend, I reserved the public library's copy of BBC's The Office. I'm something like the 27th person on the wait list, but they have 5 copies, and you can only keep it for a week, so I should have it in a month or so. Then I'll have a marathon session of watching all the episodes in one week. I think I'll stop watching the NBC version until then.

Happy Monkey · 03-30-2005, 09:25 AM

Did you mean "switched to Tuesday nights"? Because, conveniently to me, Scrubs and the Office are now the Tuesday 9:00 hour on NBC.

Catwoman · 03-30-2005, 09:34 AM

We don't make English Friends. We don't make English Simpsons. Why oh why would they do such a thing? I refuse to believe that the American public at large (sorry) is more stupid than the fat football obsessed glued-to-the-sofa British masses, so what's going on? NBC want to claim tax returns on 'adaptation'? Ffs.

Happy Monkey · 03-30-2005, 10:16 AM

It is a fact that Hollywood executives don't think that Americans are willing to listen to a foreign accent unless the character is a villain or a "fish out of water". But there are some cash reasons for a remake:

It is better to sell syndication rights than to buy them.

Two seasons of the BBC Office and the Christmas special totalled just over half of a season of an American TV series.

03-24-2005, 09:45 PM	#1
melidasaur Traded your soul for pogs. Join Date: May 2004 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 646	BBC's The Office v. NBC's The Office If you managed to catch The Office pilot on NBC tonight - what did you think? I'm a huge fan of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and the British version of the show - which is absolutely hysterical. The American version is exactly the cheap knockoff that I thought it would be - but I think it would be likely to think that after seeing the original. Why mess with a good thing? __________________ I love England, what can I say?

03-24-2005, 11:47 PM	#2
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	I thought it was reasonably well done. Not as good as the original, but better than most American sitcoms. It will only be really possible to judge the quality when they run out of BBC scripts to follow and have to write their own. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

03-25-2005, 11:41 AM	#4
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	great, they're fucking the corpse of another great idea. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

03-25-2005, 11:55 AM	#5
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	The question is whether the resulting zombie baby will be more like "All in the Family" or "Coupling [american]". __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

03-25-2005, 12:46 PM	#6
melidasaur Traded your soul for pogs. Join Date: May 2004 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 646	I had to watch my BBC The Office DVDs today... they really ruined the whole jello/stapler bit in the American one. It seemed awkward and forced. __________________ I love England, what can I say?

03-25-2005, 07:51 AM	#3
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I haven't seen any of the BBC episodes, although I would like to. I enjoyed last night's NBC version. It was far better than most network TV.

03-25-2005, 12:59 PM	#7
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	Yeah, they didn't have the bit where the Gareth-equivalent mentioned that he didn't trust jello, which explains why the Tim-equivalent chose that particular prank. But the pun bit afterwards was handled well. The bit that fell flattest for me was the Hitler impersonation. Actually, the preview of next week looks like it has a funny diversity-training scene that's not copied from the BBC version. Could be good, could be over the top. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

03-29-2005, 10:09 PM	#8
melidasaur Traded your soul for pogs. Join Date: May 2004 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 646	This week's episode - Diversity Training - was awkward and unfunny. I'm sorry, but you can't beat David Brent at the Customer Service training whipping out the guitar. __________________ I love England, what can I say?

03-30-2005, 08:18 AM	#11
melidasaur Traded your soul for pogs. Join Date: May 2004 Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 646	Arrested Development is great! __________________ I love England, what can I say?

03-30-2005, 08:46 AM	#12
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I agree, Arrested Development is great. I stopped watching Scrubs when they switched it from Tuesday nights, but I always enjoyed it. Over the weekend, I reserved the public library's copy of BBC's The Office. I'm something like the 27th person on the wait list, but they have 5 copies, and you can only keep it for a week, so I should have it in a month or so. Then I'll have a marathon session of watching all the episodes in one week. I think I'll stop watching the NBC version until then.

03-30-2005, 09:25 AM	#13
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	Did you mean "switched to Tuesday nights"? Because, conveniently to me, Scrubs and the Office are now the Tuesday 9:00 hour on NBC. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

03-30-2005, 09:34 AM	#14
Catwoman stalking a Tom Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: on the edge of the english channel Posts: 1,000	We don't make English Friends. We don't make English Simpsons. Why oh why would they do such a thing? I refuse to believe that the American public at large (sorry) is more stupid than the fat football obsessed glued-to-the-sofa British masses, so what's going on? NBC want to claim tax returns on 'adaptation'? Ffs. __________________ I've decided I'm not going to have a signature anymore.

03-30-2005, 10:16 AM	#15
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	It is a fact that Hollywood executives don't think that Americans are willing to listen to a foreign accent unless the character is a villain or a "fish out of water". But there are some cash reasons for a remake: It is better to sell syndication rights than to buy them. Two seasons of the BBC Office and the Christmas special totalled just over half of a season of an American TV series. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)