I guess it's inescapable in US media.
I've reviewed seasons one and two. Not bad. Not bad. I'm halfway into season three now and it's becoming increasingly obvious that the backbone of the story is the whole Pam & Jim thing, which I think is a cheap backbone to have. It's the only strong link from episode to episode I can find. Other themes, such as the threat of downsizing and that ongoing thing with Michael and Jan, well, they're not really all that interesting, not enough to make or keep fans. In the UK version, my viewership was contingent upon hilarious or intensely awkward situation after hilarious or intensely awkward situation. The Dawn & Tim thing was an extra side-story that the audience became invested in over time. It was by no means fuel. I feel as though that makes a significant difference. I've ended up shaking my head at the credits a few times now, complaining to my boyfriend and fellow review panelist that the episodes are too "watery".
Don't get me wrong. I want this show to be good. I do. Because then I get to laugh. But I simply feel that this version of The Office simply can't "go there" in terms of scratching that horrible itch the UK version could. Situations in the UK version were more realistic and therefore more insulting and vice versa. Michael Scott is hell of unappealing, yes, but he's no David Brent. You hate David Brent when thinking of him as a superior. He's very much a realistic asshole of a boss, and his lackey, Gareth Keenan is all too believable. Michael Scott is simply a caricature of some watered down, would-be deluded, narcissistic sociopath we may have had to put up with at some point in our lives, but likely not in management. Seriously, that guy would have been fired eons ago, rendering the character invalid. I do appreciate the overall translated relationship of the boss/lackey co-dependent enabling. But the UK version was far, far more believable and therefore annoying and vice versa.
I know it seems I'm scrutinizing this a bit too much, but as a person who has had to put up with assholes, the corporate office workplace, and assholes in the corporate office workplace, I feel I'm licensed-nay, obligated to do so.
Right now, the most disappointing and almost infuriating thing about the US version, for me (and Bill agrees) is the way they stitched together that whole Michael & Jan thing. In the UK version, Michael's (well, David Brent's) immediate superior was a woman, like Jan. Yes. All good so far. But she was strong, reasonable, realistic, and saw him for the jackass that he was without sleeping with him for no reason whatsoever. What you see in the US version, it's the same outrageous bullshit you see on every other American sitcom: an attractive, likable, and/or empowered woman paired up with a slob, a chauvinist, a loser, or all three and more. Someone very flawed. It's all over. The Honeymooners. King of Queens. Family Guy. American Dad. The Flintstones. The Simpsons (Look how many of them are cartoons). Scrubs. Cheers. Bewitched. I could go on. You look at the screen, wincing and cringing and go "No, Jan! Why??" And it makes no sense, except against the backdrop of American entertainment.
Honestly. Rosanne is looking good.
Anyway, despite all of that, I'm still going to watch the rest of the episodes, and I'm happy to do so (I really feel as though I'm coming off as completely trashing the US version). The show makes me laugh, I just hate that what I’m cringing at in thisversion is a sexist flaw in writing, whereas in the UK version, itwould be a sexist flaw in a character.
...Seriously though. This shit is infuriating. Michael's only superior, and it's a woman who sleeps with him...
I miss me some fuckin Arrested Development, I'll tell you that.
Don't get me wrong. I want this show to be good. I do. Because then I get to laugh. But I simply feel that this version of The Office simply can't "go there" in terms of scratching that horrible itch the UK version could. Situations in the UK version were more realistic and therefore more insulting and vice versa. Michael Scott is hell of unappealing, yes, but he's no David Brent. You hate David Brent when thinking of him as a superior. He's very much a realistic asshole of a boss, and his lackey, Gareth Keenan is all too believable. Michael Scott is simply a caricature of some watered down, would-be deluded, narcissistic sociopath we may have had to put up with at some point in our lives, but likely not in management. Seriously, that guy would have been fired eons ago, rendering the character invalid. I do appreciate the overall translated relationship of the boss/lackey co-dependent enabling. But the UK version was far, far more believable and therefore annoying and vice versa.
I know it seems I'm scrutinizing this a bit too much, but as a person who has had to put up with assholes, the corporate office workplace, and assholes in the corporate office workplace, I feel I'm licensed-nay, obligated to do so.
Right now, the most disappointing and almost infuriating thing about the US version, for me (and Bill agrees) is the way they stitched together that whole Michael & Jan thing. In the UK version, Michael's (well, David Brent's) immediate superior was a woman, like Jan. Yes. All good so far. But she was strong, reasonable, realistic, and saw him for the jackass that he was without sleeping with him for no reason whatsoever. What you see in the US version, it's the same outrageous bullshit you see on every other American sitcom: an attractive, likable, and/or empowered woman paired up with a slob, a chauvinist, a loser, or all three and more. Someone very flawed. It's all over. The Honeymooners. King of Queens. Family Guy. American Dad. The Flintstones. The Simpsons (Look how many of them are cartoons). Scrubs. Cheers. Bewitched. I could go on. You look at the screen, wincing and cringing and go "No, Jan! Why??" And it makes no sense, except against the backdrop of American entertainment.
Honestly. Rosanne is looking good.
Anyway, despite all of that, I'm still going to watch the rest of the episodes, and I'm happy to do so (I really feel as though I'm coming off as completely trashing the US version). The show makes me laugh, I just hate that what I’m cringing at in thisversion is a sexist flaw in writing, whereas in the UK version, itwould be a sexist flaw in a character.
...Seriously though. This shit is infuriating. Michael's only superior, and it's a woman who sleeps with him...
I miss me some fuckin Arrested Development, I'll tell you that.