The Office

Although it is not really known in our country, "The Office" is a quite appreciated series in US and UK. This idea of a series taking place in an office was firstly done by UK - the series is quite wry and bitter as all the English are. Afterwards US tried to implement it and have done a better job that one might have excepted.

I would've compared and commented on these two versions of the show in detail but, personally, I couldn't watch any of the UK episodes as i couldn't understand a word they were saying, nevermind the jokes. If I had watched these episodes before the US series i might've given up, thinking that it is stupid and boring. However, I got familiar with the US "The Office" before knowing the UK version therefore I could enjoy it exhaustively without having any prejudices that it could be boring.

The two versions have the same mark on imdb, although the US one has thrice as many votes than the first - UK - one.


The Office US

The series is filmed as if it was a documentary thus it has an unique approach. "The Office" shows us real life, seen from the outside. In this way, we can see that everyone has its flaws and its follies and - maybe - we can even understand outselves and the people around us better.

All the characters have different personalities and most of them have serious problems, hence creating good laughs for the viewers. Considering the place where the action unfolds - a boring place where you go only because it's your duty - the show reveals some characters' desires to make it a funnier and a better place to work at, while the others only want to do their job.

Besides the real life facts, the show has a script and the lines are so amusing that i've laughed my head off at times. Only thing is that you have to know the movies, the actors, the songs, the historical facts, the news, etc, that they are referring to, in order to understand the jokes properly. I'm sure that I have missed some of the jokes just by not seeing a movie beforehand. For example, you can't understand Michael's impressions of Yoda and Chewbacca or the William Hung joke if you have no idea who they are.

There are, as in all series, some jokes that derive from the typologies that were created thoughout the episodes. For example, one of my favourite characters, the boss, lacks the appreciation of the people around him therefore he always tries to satisfy them all. As he can't manage to do that - being obviously impossible - he only makes the matters worse and that's why the others don't appreciate him. It's a cycle impossible not to laugh at, when outlined with good lines and great acting. This happens in almost all episodes, being molded with each episode's own story. Another character-drawing that was created is the girl that constantly tells you useless things in an incredibly loud voice, being very annoying. I find it really interesting and amusing seeing how people from the office cope with that.

PS. The boss i was talking about is Steve Carell, a comedian who can be seen playing in The 40 Year Old Virgin, Bewitched, Bruce Almighty, Little Miss Sunshine, Evan Almighty and Dan In Real Life - a movie i want to see for a while now, but don't quite find the time.

Most may find it too dry and hard to digest although it is neither boring nor difficult. Nonetheless, you can not catch the humour of a whole series by watching only one episode; you have to get used to their way of putting things and to enter the atmosphere.

Enough with the talking, you'll understand it better if you see for yourself!


PS: If you liked Office Space, you can't miss this series!