Product Description

No Description Available.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 16-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #160 in DVD
• Brand: CARELL,STEVE
• Released on: 2005-08-16
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 135 minutes

Amazon.com
The British sitcom The Office has the most devoted following this side of Monty Python, so an American remake seemed doomed. Amazingly, the remake actually finds its own enjoyable version of the original's uncanny comedy of embarrassment. Office manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell, The Daily Show, The 40 Year-Old Virgin) believes he's the beloved leader of the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of a paper products company--but his relentless and painfully forced efforts at comedy creep out everyone around him, including paranoid Dwight (Rainn Wilson, who had a memorable recurring role on Six Feet Under), nervous receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer, LolliLove), and aimless salesman Jim (John Krasinski, A New Wave), who's smitten with the already engaged Pam. The pilot episode suffers from closely replicating the British pilot, but after that The Office finds its own footing, turning diversity training, an office birthday party, and a basketball game into excruciating yet hypnotically funny rituals of humiliation. Carell, though clearly talented, can't match Ricky Gervais' unique performance as the aggressively needy British manager (it's hard to imagine that anyone could); as a result, the supporting roles become more prominent, and Wilson, Fischer, and Krasinski quickly create a rapport that matches and may even exceed that of their British counterparts. Be sure to watch the deleted scenes; remarkably, they're as good as the material that made it on the air in this six-episode season. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Starting Over : The American Office
I started off as a huge fan of the British series...Ricky Gervais and friends created this entire new way of filming and television show that you have to give him an enormous amount of credit. I was slightly hesitant to watch the American Office based on principle. How could you improve upon Gervais' perfect formula, and why would I want to "start over" with the love story of Tim and Dawn? These speculations stemmed from ignorance. I just simply did not give it a shot for a while.

I went on a week-long Office spree, cramming three seasons on DVD and NBC's website broadcasts of the fourth season. The show is fantastic simply for the fact that it stands alone in its own unique way from the UK version. It pays homage to its predecessor but does not rely on the formula as a crutch. Each episode, filmed from Ex-Survivor cameramen captures the awkward office tensions of Jim and receptionist Pam, hilarious pranks on Dwight, and the absurd boss that is Michael Scott. Steve Carell's Scott is NOT just another representation of Gervais' David Brent. None of the characters are carbon copies of their British counterparts.

What the show accomplishes most is expanding upon all the characters. Though not as apparent in the first season, the next few seasons develop everyone much better. Season One on DVD has plenty of extras, but you will definitely feel like you need to see more episodes. So buy the other seasons on DVD as well!

Good if you like the office
I really liked the office when I bought this season. It was very funny, and I enjoyed it very much. The only problem that I had was that it only had a few episodes, actually less than I had expected. It's still great if you like the office.

Clever, clever comedy
I got hooked into this series after my wife and daughter were reduced to hysterics on a plane flight while watching one episode. I had seen the Brit version, but never quite got into it, I found the couple of times I watched Ricky Gervias' version that it was a little too caustic with an almost grating edge. The US version seems just a little softer.

The writing is really very clever, and interestingly, many of the cast: BJ Novak (Ryan the temp), Mindy Kaling (Kelly the ditz) and Paul Lieberstein (Toby, the hang-dog HR guy) are writers and occasional producers of the show. Clearly a very talented cast.
The first series takes a little while to get the characters in place, though it is well worth buying, even though the later series are better.

The aspect I most like is the rounding out that the writers do of the characters, particularly in the later series. Even Dwight gets an occasional win and occasionally gets to act like a human being. This softening of the characters makes them less one-dimensional and the pathos makes the humor even more humorous when it happens. There are even occasions where they stand up for each other, where Jim says to Michael, like he really means it, "You're a good boss,... a very good boss..." Well, he's not, but what Jim means is something like "...you're a terrible boss,... but you're *my* terrible boss...".

This is sometimes like your family, eh? They may be a weird and perhaps obnoxious set of relatives, but they're YOUR weird and obnoxious set of relatives. This humanizing of the characters lends the sometimes abrasive humor just the right amount of lighter touch that saves it from being acidic.

Perhaps the US version is a little less edgy than the UK version, but me, I like that. Anyway, you don't have to have one flavor, you can get both. They are both good and they don't need to be compared to give really good value.