The Office - British TV comedy

I'm about to lend a German friend of mine "the office" on dvd. Am i going to be disappointed by their response. Personally i think it's genius but im worried shes gonna think im a British worshipping tosser for liking this strange program...

i know there's some kind of German version because they were going to get sued at some point for copying her. Gervais' concept, is it any good?

I thought it was pretty overrated to be honest

I just thought it was stupid...and so did my german gf (who happens to work in an office, too)...so probably, yeah.

I think it's fantastic, but it only appeals to certain humour. Painful to watch at times but in a fucking brilliant and funny way.

I lent it to a couple of German work colleagues and they both found it hillarious. Depends on the person I would say. There are some colleagues that I would definitely not lend it to be they German or whatever nationality.

Also tell them to persevere with it. The 2 people I lent it to both watched the first episode and were somewhat baffled by it. But by the end of the second episode they were hooked.

hmmm, maybe too subtle for some...:9

Anyone seen "extras" , you'll prob like that better, it got FAMOuS people in it...

It's just hillarious. One of my favourites.
Tears came out of my eyes from laughing listening him sing "Free love on the free love freeway..."

or,

"Fuck OFF, im trying to save some AFRICANS!"

genius,

his radio shows on XFM were also a highlight... u can download them for free from the xfm website...

www.xfm.co.uk

not really subtle, just tedious IMO. I think there are plenty of other British comedies that are much better - some subtle, some not

Maybe they'll like it, maybe they don't! Doesn't really matter if they're german or not... I do know enough english people who think the "the office" humor is rubbish and then there's a good few germans who love it...

"Stromberg" (on PRO7) is the german copy, it's got some charme to it's own, but can't reach the original...

to call the office tedious would seem to me to justify its existence anyway, i think thats the point! it's the little moments of brilliance set in bleak and desperate surrounding which really made it for me, especially as i was living in england at the time...

I agree - it appeals to a certain sense of humour (like most comedy.) Nothing to do with nationality.
I loved The Office and laugh out loud every time I watch an episode, the delivery of some of those lines are pure gold. I know lots of people who didn't like it though.

On the same note, I know lots of people who think Whoopie Goldberg is funny. brrrrr. *shudder* Comedy is obviously a very personal thing.

I´m not German, I´m Czech but I´m interested in what you colleague thinks of it. I hate the main character and find it painfull, but can´t stop myself watching it at the same time.

its because the office may make you squirm with unease is why it make its so great!

I watched this with my German wife and she loved it. But as you say, a specific sense of humour is needed to watch it... The christmas special always stands out to me as an exceptional piece of writing and acting...

It is, when all is said and done, an original TV serries. Original sometimes works, sometimes does not.

I showed it to my german girlfriend and she thought it was stupid.. same goes for Little Britain (although the episode shown was a pretty crappy one).. I think they are both pure gold..

I wouldn't lend it to anyone who's not British. The US version of the office appeals much more to me since 1) it's not *quite* so damn painful to watch and 2) i can identify more with the characters, since they don't use a bunch of British slang and jokes i don't get.

...And, that said I wouldn't lend the US version to anyone who's not American. Unless I really knew they liked that subtle kind of humor and didn't mind missing a dozen cultural references per show.

Only saw a small bit of the US version where the "Boss" was trying to find another name of Mexican. When the Mexican said "you know I don't mind you calling me Mexican because in fact I am Mexican" the boss said "yeah but the problem is the word Mexican has negative connotations" or words to that effect...

Seemed like it might be an interesting insight into work in America

Painfully funny stuff. Is Gervias acting or is he like that all the time?

I cringed at the scene in the Christmas special where David Brent, out on a blind date, tries to impress by explaining that breasts remind men of buttocks.

".. . its because when we were cavemen we used to do you from behind"

I think the US version is excellent too, in some ways better than the British version. Initially I thought it was going to be crap, but its really not.

Dammit. That rules out me and my lame non-British non-American nationality. Has anyone seen a NZ version?

"Stromberg" is great. Really funny - amazing for a German show.

The Office was pure comic genius and the success was due to the fact that we could all relate to an incident or two, or we all knew a boss like that. The timing and subtle humour was a delight to watch.

I showed it to a couple of Germans friends once and they did not understand that it was, in fact, comedy.. They actually believed it was a real documentary.. How surprising...

I showed the first series to my german girlfriend, who speaks perfect english, and who has grasped other weird british stuff like League of gentlemen and Alan Partridge. She didn't even smile once, and at the end her review was 'That was just stupid'.

OK, so after this post, I went and downloaded the shows and have been listening to it on the train. Absolutely fantastic.

Gervais is just one of those very funny guys.

dunno if u also got looked at funny, i have now laughed out loud like a man-mental on the tube, in the office, and at the bus stop...

Yep, was just commenting here in the office (no pun) that I am getting funny looks on the train as I cannot contain my laughter. That Karl is just pure class too lol.

yeh... did u get to the bit when he was saying about being at the back row at a wedding and he couldnt hear what was going on coz some woman was breastfeeding a baby...

hehe

not yet... Only on the first show so far. I got so frustrated with that site I gave up grabbing them.

Worm, I showed it to my German GF too (who speaks V good English) and pretty much got the same reaction to The Office. She liked Only fools & Horses and starts reading a book when I put any Peter Kay stuff on. Germans seem to get on best with Father Ted from what I've seen.

They did a German version of The Office here too. I watched it for a while and it was shit . . . . . but then, I'm not German