Office romance
I keep wantin' to post about The Office but somehow, don't. I was one of those UK Office snobs there for a good long time, sucks to the US version, because really the original is so much more dour and sorry and cruel, as offices are known to be, and the sunny political correctness of US television could not possibly do the original justice, plus that hunky dude with the big teeth is an insult to Tim, my perfect imaginary TV dreamboat boyfriend. Why are men, generally, not more like Tim? Note to men: be more like Tim. I guess it was The Dundies that won me over, which I just saw for the first time the other night. Now I am not the hugest Michael Scott fan, and Emmys aside, I think he is actually the weak spot of the Office. Imagine having to go toe to toe with David Brent, the most excruciating character in the history of TV. You're going to fail, I don't care if you are friends with Jon Stewart. And yet, Michael Scott kind of pulls it out with his version of O.P.P. I admit it, I laughed.
Update I guess I'll be reading this site since I am such a nerd. Also? O.P.P. was on the radio when I drove to work this morning. Awesome.
posted by Strikethru at
9:27 PM
5 Comments:
as a fan of both series... i guess i should say something here.
I would say this. The American Office is good. And if you didn't know it was based on a British show, it would still be good. And let's face it, there really is a dearth of good television out there (especially comedies without laugh tracks).
An example: I love the song "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzales. It is a quietly beautiful and emotional song. I was listening to KEXP the other day and heard this cheesy Top 40 sounding version of the song and I was all "That is so lame. I can't believe they would make such a cheesy version of that great song". Well, turns out that was in fact the original, and the Jose Gonzales version was the cover. So I guess what I am saying is, that even though the American Office is a copy, it doesn't mean that it is any less good for it.
I have lots more to say since I think The Offices are great, but I will let others chat about it.
As theonlyfreakwithoutcableleftinAmerica I hadn't experienced the UK version, so thanks for bringing that to my attention. I've always found the American version pretty funny (and the hunky guy is hunky enough in my opinion, except after watching this interviewit became clear this is a situation of "the hair makes the man." I'll need to do further research on the UK-version hunk obviously. But from just watching the US version, I have to admit Michael Scott totally cracks me up. Also, it seems like the hallmark of the show that both versions share is the blank look they all get on their faces when one of the dorkbutt characters is doing something idiotic, like an impromptu dance performance. That look is great.
omg OPP totally reminds me of high school. My friends and I were called the blonde bimbo posse (BBP), sung to the tune of OPP. God. That's kind of horrific.
But I secretly dig the song.
Who's down with OPP?
Every last la-dy.
Having lived in England and worked in an office there, the UK version of the office was too painful for me to watch. Although, setting it in Slough was a master-stroke.
The US office is sometimes guilty of that as well, but overall I find it more watchable, and especially love the characters' expressions - I laugh more when people aren't talking on that show than I do when people are talking in most other comedies.
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