The Office

[Graeme*Kustom*]

Why is there no thread about Slough's number one paper merchant in here? It's fantastic , really good show :)

[master baits]

I hate that series with a vengence , for two reasons its over-rated and I worked under at least 3 managers that were that guy.

I know how some can find it funny , once .

Overall there is better humour out there on tv(bravo's max -x is too funny and shouldnt even be in the same sentence as cough- the orrifice) , you may need to search for it though , situation comedy from the uk is so weak now that they tout what they have on supposedly critical merit like sheep.

Could be worse though just about every comedy series that comes on our tv is american and usually african american based.

At times i think that the good writers have all went to corrie ,or maybe its just the ability of the actors that make it seem like a comedy.

Or could it be that I have had a humourectomy , that is up to you to decide.....

[Big Adam]

You definitely have a humourectomy and I shant dignify your pop at afro-american comedy with a response.

The Office is some of the finest scripted comedy to hit the screens in years.

It's right up there with Steptoe and Son in terms of pathos and timing.

Just superb.

BA

[master baits]

Steptoe and son was a hit because they were great ACTORS not comedians and their writers were geniuses.Add to this that there was at that time only 3 tv stations (which were only broadcasting non educational content 12 hrs a day), so the choice was limited as to what you HAD to watch or watch nothing.

The uk has no real entertainment other than imported shows and home grown soaps/quiz shows , and thats the cheapest and nastiest tv there is.Thats probably the reason why the critics love the office so much , that and the fact the middle class 30 somethings still living with parents have never worked under inepts that are the manager , that or indeed they are the manager.

Afro american tv programming is lets face it crap , fresh prince was a breath of fresh bel air (pardon the pun) , since then everyone is trying to make another , presently my favourite american sitcom is probably frasier and has been for a long time , with its english type farce and psudeo french humour.Some series just cant last the pace though , friends just isnt funny anymore , so take it out back and shoot it like the lame dog it is .Speaking of french humour though may i suggest The taxi movie series , if you dont like that maybe I am not the only one with a humourectomy , or maybe most sheep follows what the critics say , could be worse though could be enterprise.

spock out.

[Big Adam]

Ok, I took your original comments the wrong way. I thought you were implying that afro-US comedy must naturally be worse than caucasian-US comedy.

I agree with you, it's all garbage!

It used to have a few highlights (Frasier, Friends, Cheers, etc etc) but all these series started great and then by series 2/3/4 completely ran out of ideas and settled for easy laughs. Moonlighting and M*A*S*H were fantastic and exceptions to this rule.

It's still okay for unplug your brain mindless viewing though.

There's no investment in UK comedy anymore which is why when something like The Office comes along it is applauded. Okay, so it does not float your boat but for a nearly-30 something who hasn't lived with his parents for 12 years and has worked in an office for over 5, I can identify with it exactly.

It's the sublime nature of the whole thing which works so well. Just like Marion and Jeff which I guess you don't like either? It celebrates desperation.

The Royle Family is along the same lines but is far more mainstream. There's no punchlines, no real plot, just a situation that everyone can identify with.........and it works.

BBC2 still has the lion's share of half decent comedy although I don't know when we'll get something as fresh and original as the best series of Red Dwarf (when Norman Lovett was Holly).

Apart from disagreeing over The Office, I think we kinda agree?

Oh and US-TV ain't all bad. ER is still currently the best program on TV. Period.

BA

[abe]

What I will say is that American "Comedy" in its entirety sucks big time. Stuff like Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace. The canned laughter just puts it ott.

Modern British comedy is ok in some respecs, but to a degree. Things like The Office are only too true, but face it after stuff like that most of it has already been done much better in the past.

Thats why my favourite comedy and programming in general is classic brittish comedy. Stuff like Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, Open all Hours and much more. It's been around for many years and will be around for many years to come whereas the more modern stuff will simply evaporate more in time - because its simply not as good as the original stuff.

[ross]

v good and amusing program :).

[master baits]

99 percent agree with both of you cept i will never like the office for reasons given, on the best of british comedies some lesser sketch type comedy hardly ever merits a mention ..... stuff like chewing the fat , naked video and its predecessor were great , merton before his breakdown was excellent as writer and character.

And canned laughter , I hate that with a bloody grind of my teeth , cant say i notice it much on frasier , but the rest yeah.

Mash on british tv originally never had the "APPLAUD NOW" track , another one you forgot was porridge , that would take a whole episode to get to the punchline , pure class , david jason was in that as well basically he has carried The BEEBS comedy for twenty years , by being a strong actor.

Possibly the funniest writer the beeb had was ronnie barker , he hid the fact he was a sketch writer(when writers were paid per sketch) for 30 yrs , he done the fork handles and most of the so not politically correct speech impediment sketches , without anyone knowing it was him.

I have seen marion and jeff , but i find it cringworthy laughs , mostly because we know people that are them , possibly even us ourselves.Thats why I dont rate it.

The last great comedy series that has worked was father ted ,I own all episodes . I agree on the red dwarf , the writers got it too easy though , thats were it wains a little in some series'.

ER is one of thosre programs that cant really be described as unique neither , you had st elswhere and general hospital before that (though that was more of a soap), st elsewhere is probably as close to it , I liked that it had just the right mix of humour and drama.

I like the first series of 6ft that was quite funny in a necro ghoulish sort of way , but series two got too heavy so i stopped watching it.

As for the royles that was funny as a sketch maybe even one series , but it will end up being despised and cast to the recesses of forgottendom , much like most critic flavour of the month type sitcoms , most of which we all thought were great when we seen series one.

But overall we agree on the classics , cant say i liked them growing up , maybe its because when your younger you dont understand the severity of life , or the fact it needs a laugh to get you through it without going postal.

end transmission

[Graeme*Kustom*]

i hate canned laughter too , it's as if they're trying to say to the viewer ' hey, this bit's funny - you want to laugh here!'

The Office though , really is clever - it doesn't try to be funny with sharp punchlines, it's a little deeper than that. It's a tongue in cheek take on the recent trend of 'fly on the wall' documentaries - once you get to notice the habits of some of the characters, their squabbling becomes all the more easier to relate to.

But, hey - you can't expect everyone to like one thing , if the world worked like that it would be really boring ! :)

[Olicg]

it seemed a lot more funny to me when i watched the repeats. I thought it was complete rubbish but once id seen it again i enjoyed it much more. cant help feeling embarrassed for him though.

I agree the older comedy (by and large) is the best. fools and horses and fawlty towers r my favs of the older stuff.

[Scott*Kustom*]

I like The office, it's funny!

[wizard_uk]

I just can't watch this show, about 5 minutes in I just have to turn it off, reminds me too much of the department I work in. :D

[Kynoch]

i leached four episodes off a friend last night, might watch one later to see what all the fuss is about. :)