The Office (US version)

I was a huge fan of The Office when it was first aired on television here in the UK, almost 12 years ago. It's hard to believe it was so long ago. It was a show that started out quite small with an alternative feel to it. It was a fresh way to produce a show and during the first minutes of the first episode I was watching and asking myself is it a real documentary? I guess this is because the characters are so well observed and you can say "I've had a boss or known someone at work like that!". There are times when I wince with embarrassment for the characters in The Office but they seem oblivious to it.

I can't remember when I first heard that a US version was going to be produced. It's not unusual these days for TV series to be remade for different audience tastes. But the style of humour in the office was something I thought could only be funny for British audiences. I expected it not to be funny (they wouldn't "get it") and for it to bomb with American audiences. Not sure why I held that prejudiced opinion, I can only think it was because my exposure to ordinary office settings in the US, junior grade office staff and middle managers has been very limited and practically non-existent. We see the high-flyers mostly on TV. Macho management "celebrities" like Donald Trump, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are who I normally think of when I think of US business, Wall Street and multi-nationals companies owned by rich Americans - or rich professionals like doctors (House, Grey's Anatomy, ER) and comedy shows that have wealthy families such as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Frasier. Other shows like Will & Grace and Friends are funny but their characters don't do subtle and are caricatures I enjoy for the farce but are less funny when thinking of them as individuals, like how boring it became when Joey fell in love with Rachel.

Now I must confess this: I have not yet watched the US version of The Office. But last night I watched a retrospective documentary that talked to the cast and showed clips. My wife was in bed asleep next to me and I was laughing so hard I woke her up shaking the bed. My prejudice has gone and I am totally going to watch the US version. The whole team and cast seem to have made something truly great. I think writing fresh material based on the characters has really seemed to work well. The astonishing thing is that the transition has worked so well, I think it seems like I'm going to find the US version funnier than the UK one.

US version

UK version