Has anybody else watched this? BBC America started reruns of the (I think) 1st season. I'm usually not big on British humor, and I have to concentrate really hard with the accents, but I really like this show.
I know an American version is in development, and I can't help but think it'll be awful. The premise itself isn't high-concept enough to just translate - this show's quality is in the performances and the subtlety of the humor. Opinions?
I LOVE season one and own it in dvd- I watched most of Season 2 and didn't enjoy it nearly as much but intend to buy it Tuesday? when it comes out and tru to see how well I like it all in order.
I have a question for out British friends-
is there a season 3 yet? If not will there be?
If so how many seasons are there?
Good stuff-
If you ever watch that show "dead ringers" pay attention for the guy who dies the PERFECT impression of the Office's Ricky-
it is, to use a word, uncanny!
I know an American version is in development, and I can't help but think it'll be awful. The premise itself isn't high-concept enough to just translate - this show's quality is in the performances and the subtlety of the humor. Opinions?
I think it's FANTASTIC!! One of the best shows on television. Pick up the first season on DVD, Brian. It's only $25, has a great second disk of extras, and there are so many things you miss when you only watch the episodes once. Suffice it to say, every episode makes me laugh out loud and many times throughout. Currently only FRIENDS, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND and ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT do that for me.
BTW, Season 2 on DVD will be released in the US at the end of this month. Still only $25 and it's a steal.
No season three unfortunately - although there were two 45-minute Christmas episodes which are set around one year after the end of season two, and these episodes finish the series off for good. Creator Ricky Gervais wanted to stop before he ran out of ideas, fearing that the show could end up stale if it were milked too much.
No season three unfortunately - although there were two 45-minute Christmas episodes which are set around one year after the end of season two, and these episodes finish the series off for good. Creator Ricky Gervais wanted to stop before he ran out of ideas, fearing that the show could end up stale if it were milked too much.
Understood, but sad all the same. Season 1 was six episodes and I assume Season 2 is the same, bringing the total to 12 plus two 45 minute specials. Funny, but that's half the pickup of most American sitcoms for one year. Better to go the way of THE OFFICE, I think, that to create 100 episodes of LIFE WITH JIM or SUDDENLY SUSAN. ::shudder::
I sure hope the two specials get a US Region 1 release shortly after Season 2 debuts here. I'd hate to miss them. BTW, what was the British reaction to Gervais winning the Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy (TV)?
Matt Reed
This message has been edited by MattReed on Apr 9, 2004 2:39 PM
I'd say it's a safe bet that the Christmas episodes will be released. They've not even made it on R2 DVD yet so I'd imagine that's some way off yet. Rest assured, they're every bit as hilarious as the episodes which preceded them!
The reaction to Gervais winning a Golden Globe award... well, most people were stunned and proud, and pleased for Ricky because he's very popular over here. Then there were the ignorant few who didn't even know what a Golden Globe award was...
The strangest one was how you made (are making?) an american version of Coupling - which in itself was a ripoff of friends.
Weird, isn't it? I'm not a fan of COUPLING because I am such a fan of FRIENDS. That said, the American version (touted as "Everyone's Talking About It!" when it was only a couple of network execs) lasted all of about four episodes before being canceled. PAYNE, John Larroquette's HORRIFIC remake of FAWLTY TOWERS, only lasted a short six episodes. Wow! Talk about bastardizing a British classic! Couldn't watch but 10 minutes of the pilot episode before I rushed to make sure my FAWLTY TOWERS DVDs hadn't spontaneously combusted.
We do get a few adaptations right, the most notable and successful being ALL IN THE FAMILY based on the British sitcom TIL DEATH DO US PART.
In the early to mid 70s there was a British miniseries of which I am reminded by everything I read about "The Office". I cannot remember what this one was called, or who was in it (all were unfamiliar to me) but I would enjoy a chance to see it again.
Any of our resident Brits have a clue what it might have been?
Reggie Perrin... one of my all-time favourite shows. Funny in many aspects, yet somewhat tragic at the same time. Actor Leonard Rossiter was taken from us way too soon.
To narrow this down -- I was living in London, Ontatio, when I saw this show. That means it was on Canadian TV in 1975. Since this was a University Access channel that also showed Jon Pertwee "Doctor Who" episodes, I do not imagine the show was very close to first run.
The Pertwee "Who" episodes running at the same time, for instance, included "Day of the Daleks", which was made in 1972.
Serier creator Ricky Gervais recently made a very good dramatic appearance on what was probably the best episode of ALIAS this season. His character was one of those typically stereotyped diabolical masterminds, but he gave the role some humanity and life that made him stand out. His character has a backstory which makes it likely he'll recur in future episodes.
"Steptoe and son" was what we ripped off when "Sanford and son" was made. It's interesting the way some things we take from them are hits "Sanford" , while other things really bomb. Case in point, "Snidely" starring Harvey Korman and Betty White. It was our attempt at "Fawlty Towers.
I also think there's something else to be considered here. Fawlty towers was excellent, as was the Office but their "seasons" only last 6 weeks. FT did 6 eppisodes then came back FOUR YEARS LATER and did 6 more. I'm not sure that the show would have had as many gems if they stretched it into 5, 26 episode seasons ala American TV. I think we get a little spoiled seeing these great shows like theOffice and FT, etc. come over in small packages and the instant gratification lovers here really love the stuff. (I'm one of 'em). -Rick
I dig The Office, and am glad that Ricky decided to quit while he was ahead. I have heard that he's doing a Blake's 7 parody (~!) that'll air in England later this year, apparently with some or all of The Office cast.
Charles- We never got a full-blown Red Dwarf US series. What there was was a pilot (which actually wasn't too bad, apart from tall, handsome, white Craig Bierko as Lister. Bierko's generally an easygoing and likable actor, but seeing Lister as a Han Solo/Starbuck type was just so wrong. Jane Leeves was also in it as Holly, which was fun, and the startlingly underrated Chris Eigeman was Rimmer) that was more-or-less "The End" with some bits from the books and later seasons thrown in (including Kryten, played by the only holdover from the British cast, Robert Llewellyn). There was also a "second pilot"- a 15-minute extended trailer thing with half the US cast replaced- including, bafflingly enough, Terry Farrell of Deep Space Nine fame as the Cat (the role was played by Hinton Battle in the original US pilot- IIRC, Battle appeared in the musical episode of Buffy). It was seven shades of awful, and Danny John-Jules (the original Cat) derisively referred to it as "White Dwarf" for changing all the minorities in the show into white people.
Back to the US Office: as far as I understand it, it's just going to have the same basic premise and documentary style of the UK version. I'm hoping for a Steptoe and Son/Sanford and Son situation, where we get two very wonderful and very unique shows from the same premise. Of course, TV history is littered with the corpses of things like Coupling US, so sadly, that's the more likely outcome...
It's interesting to find you all talking about British sitcoms, because I was just thinking that the forum's Easter banner reminds me of the rabbit-infested episode of Father Ted.
Have our American friends seen Father Ted, I wonder?
Definitely one of my favourite sitcoms ever, especially the episode with all the rabbits.
Re JB's query concerning a 70s/80s UK sitcom based in an office, the only one which springs to mind (and it doesn't so much spring as lumber creakingly up out of its armchair) starred Ken Jones, a slender balding Welsh gentleman whose name escapes me from the moment, and the series was so unmemorable that I can't call the name to mind either.
The Office is very clever, astonishingly well obsereved, and brilliantly acted but, personally, I find it far too close to reality to actually be funny - it's more genuine embarrassment than comedy embarrassment.
But keep your eye out in the US for two series which are up and coming. Little Britain is a sketch show which is hugely politically correct and (if you're up for that sort of thing) very funny - many of the sketches build, week by week. And the other one is Nighty Night, a completely black comedy about a manipulative hairdresser who (literally) can't wait for her husband to die of cancer before she can take up with the doctor who lives next door. With his wife who suffers from multiple sclerosis. Laugh out loud stuff, if you have the stomach for it.
Neil, I have the same problem with The Office. It makes me cringe. It's too accurate, and I find it difficult to watch.
So nobody's got anything to add about Father Ted? Does this mean Father Ted never made its way across the water? If that's the case, the Americans are missing out.
I think Spooks is just brilliant. I'm glad I have the DVDs of series 1, and got s2 in the original BBC version off the 'net, because A&E cuts 15 minutes off each episode to make room for ads. I think what impresses me most about the show is Tom Quinn's complete emotional detachment in his personal life, which seems like a perfectly reasonable outcome given what's happened to him over the years.
The way he ended things with the doctor was completely cold. When Ellie asked him if Matthew (his alias) was his real name, he laughed as he said, "No."
As much as I like 24, Spooks is superior to it in every way.
"It's too accurate, and I find it difficult to watch."
That's the reaction I had to watching (and re-watching, now that it's on DVD) Freaks & Geeks. All the awful humiliating stuff the geeks go through, I can see coming a mile away, and I find it tough to watch, because I lived through it. Like with The Office, it makes for a compelling view.
<<So nobody's got anything to add about Father Ted? Does this mean Father Ted never made its way across the water? If that's the case, the Americans are missing out.>>
Father Ted has indeed appeared on BBC America, and is available on DVD. I own the first season myself, and expect to pick up the other two shortly. Hilarious stuff.
..are there any more clues you can give that might help identify this series. I've been wracking my brain trying to think what it could be.
Neil Welch - the sitcom you're thinking of is Squirrels (1975-77). It was set in the Accounts Dept. of a TV hire firm. Starred Ken Jones, Bernard Hepton & Patsy Rowlands. Written by Eric (Rising Damp) Chappell.
On the other end of the spectrum from The Office...
April 12 2004, 6:17 PM
I'm curious as to what the Brits here think of Bo'Selecta. I've seen a couple of episodes, and it's...well...interesting. If nothing else, it totally explodes the American notion that all British humor is derived from Monty Python. As long as he's playing Avid Merrion, Leigh Francis is a funny guy, but his masked celebrity impersonations are just too weird. Bedtime with Bear is pretty funny, even if it's predictable.
Why hasn't Harry Enfield ever been pushed over here on us? I used to work at a video store that would import and convert foreign tapes, and Enfield's stuff was some of the funniest stuff I've ever seen - and he's totally unknown here. A dirty shame!!
And... there was another show that made me laugh till I was sick...uh... it was called... the Brittas Empire? Something like that? With the guy from Red Dwarf running a community center? God Damn, but that was funny - when he was chasing that bird around the gymnasium? I got sick from laughing so hard. Wonderful stuff!
I have to thank PBS for introducing me to Rowan Atkinson and Blackadder, along with The Young Ones and Red Dwarf. Yes, even a guy, who grew up in The Bronx like myself, can appreciated these shows.
..are there any more clues you can give that might help identify this series. I've been wracking my brain trying to think what it could be.
*************
It was about the people who worked in some kind of big business office. I recall there was a New Young Turk and an Attractive Older Woman, and at one point it seemed like he was making moves on her, almost successfully. That was only a subplot, tho, not the major thrust of the series. It was not a comedy, per se, tho it did have that wry Brit wit. I saw it in 1976, which means it probably predates that by at least a couple of years.
Since I would have been in my mid-20s then, I suspect most of the people who post to this board are too young to have seen this show, at least first run.
JB, from what you're saying it may be that you're thinking of a six part series called The Organisation which starred Donald Sinden and Peter Egan (and, coincidentally, Bernard Hepton, who was also in Squirrels, the sitcom referred to above). It was a drama series, but deeply amusing, mainly because of the ease with which the Donald Sinden character manipulated everyone else so that, although they were doing the office politicking and thinking they were outmanouevering each other, really they were just doing what he wanted them to do all the time. I have the novelisation of it kicking around somewhere. Great stuff, but very near the bottom of my extensive pile (ie. at the bottom of a tea chest in the loft somewhere).
