Quote: Michael Monkhouse @ 26th June 2021, 6:49 PMAbout 4 seasons in? Took yer f**king time.
I know!
It was torture
The Office Page 2
Quote: lofthouse @ 26th June 2021, 2:28 PMLots of people seem to like it
I went into watching it with an open mind - but I finally gave up about 4 seasons in
The main reason being that the characters were awful
Michael I.e. the David Brent is just an odious slime ball. Yes so was Brent in a way , but he was also funny and likeable- I just loathed this American version- he was just a dick
Also Dwight , their Gareth - just an annoying prat - not remotely as funny as Gareth
And their office romance - their Tim and Dawn? Just the most boring uninteresting pair of dullards you can imagine
It's just awful
IMO!
I didn't see enough of it to detest it but it sounds like I would have. I watched one early ep and thought it was a forced copy of the great sitcom, the whole jokey concept about it being a televised documentary was completely absent as it has in every US sitcom since. They just turn it into a product, any writers will do for any weekly ep because they all have to fit a template which is controlled by the producers. Any actors will do because they'll just bring someone else in to play the same character. Horrible way of making sitcoms which we ourselves have slipped into on occasion. >_
To be fair, the carbon copy element was more applicable to the first series. It developed more of its own personality in the follow-ups. Still can't be arsed though.
Quote: lofthouse @ 26th June 2021, 7:35 PMI know!
It was torture
No disrespect, but why didn't you just stop? I'd've thought that after the 60th episode you might've twigged it's not for you.
Cos the dvds were dirt cheap on Amazon and frankly I'm starting to run out of comedies to watch
I guess I was just waiting for it to improve so I stuck with it
I liked it and was sad when it ended but at the same time felt that it had well run its course.
Looking back I do think the two Christmas Specials that ended the British Office were quite a dip in quality and not up to standard of the first two series. And sadly Gervais and Merchant would never do anything again even half as good as those first twelve episodes of The Office.
I think it's because The Office was relatable, whereas Extras just isn't, at all. It's still funny but all the pieces weren't there like they were for The Office and its relevance, especially at the time. It was "perfick".
Quote: Lee @ 27th June 2021, 4:36 PMI think it's because The Office was relatable, whereas Extras just isn't, at all. It's still funny but all the pieces weren't there like they were for The Office and its relevance, especially at the time. It was "perfick".
Yeah, I'd enjoyed Series 1 and 2 but when I started full time work in an office in 2003 after those (but before the specials) I found how accurate it was to the office life. It got many things spot on. Pranks, an awkwardly jokey manager, the snivelling Gareth type, the joyless boor boyfriend that pops into the office.
There have been a couple of times when I've re-watched it in recent years and get transported back in time into my memories, particularly the parts that date it like the nightclub, and back when Christmas parties actually happened inside offices.
I sound like an old man, I'm 37, haha. But it really has this weird nostalgia to it.
I've never understood nostalgia for shit times.
Personally I thought the specials were awesome. More depth and plot resolution. Mind you, if you're one of those poofs who cried cos Tim finally gets to bonk Dawn...
I thought the specials were a bit too overly sentimental and contrived, and lost the edge of the series. Still fun, though.
Paradoxically, that's what I liked about them - deepening the characters and completing the story lines instead of going for obvious laughs. When he tells Dickhead to F**k Off it's a significant step in his growth. I'd apply your comments more to the Extras special.
Isn't the "rule" of sitcom that they're not allowed to grow as characters and when you do do that, it breaks them?
Quote: Michael Monkhouse @ 29th June 2021, 9:48 AMWhen he tells Dickhead to F**k Off it's a significant step in his growth. l.
That is a great cathartic moment (although I'm not necessarily sure I believed it), but I agree with Lee that sitcom characters don't necessarily do growth. As for the rest of the Specials. they did feel like a check list of personal growth/closure moments for the characters.
Quote: Lee @ 29th June 2021, 10:23 AMIsn't the "rule" of sitcom that they're not allowed to grow as characters and when you do do that, it breaks them?
I would suggest The Office isn't a sitcom in the classic sense.