let's compare the UK and US versions of the office

[Bob]

i've been watching both a lot recently, and i figured out one of the main reasons why i like the UK one more; it's the tim/jim character.

the US version did a pretty good job of casting jim, he looks and acts...pretty much like an american version of martin freeman, i can't fault them there. but there's something about tim that makes him ultimately more endearing.

both of them are more or less the only likeable characters on the show (except for dawn/pam and maybe ricky/ryan), but i think the difference between them is that tim is simultaneously likeable and pathetic, while jim is just straight up charming. there's a quote at the end of the UK one which i find particularly moving, tim says,

"The people you work with are people you were just thrown together with. You know, you don't know them, it wasn't your choice, and yet you spend more time with them then you do your friends or your family. But probably all you've got in common is the fact that you walk around on the same bit of carpet for 8 hours a day."

both of them embody that pretty well, but i think tim is more sympathetic. jim is more like the office cool guy, you know, he likes pam especially, but when it comes down to it, everyone in the office seems to like him quite a bit, he's won them over.

tim, though, for him, dawn's pretty much the only thing in his life that's at all interesting. it's not that everyone in the office hates him or anything like that, but he's just pretty generally ignorable. in the episodes where everyone's in a social setting, tim's just kind of awkwardly sitting off on the sidelines somewhere by himself. he lives with his parents, he has no friends, he's over 30, he's never been to college, he's really a pretty pitiful guy. which, as a pitiful guy myself, makes me relate to him more.

as opposed to jim, who hosts house parties and stuff. as much as i like him, i just don't buy him as a guy who's down on his luck.

i just realized i've spent way too much time on a friday night comparing the empathetic qualities of television characters, but i dunno, what do you think? preferably from people who are fairly familiar with both versions, but any responses will do

[Extra Cheese]

The U.S. one is funny, the U.K. one is crap.

[Bob]

not quite the discussion i was hoping for

[korn_phr33k]

The U.S. one is funny, the U.K. one is crap.

ive only watched a couple episodes of both versions and really dissagree with that, i like the UK one much better.

[zorra_chiflada]

haven't seen the american one, but i know the UK one is way better. american humour is too obvious for me.

[Jitters]

The U.S version is one of my favorites shows but I've never had the chance to see the U.K one. I've heard that it has the same style but has more of those trademark akward silences between characters.

[Waus]

I kind of agree with your assessment of Jim. The problem is, you see it, you see that he's a pretty intelligent, capable guy, and you wonder why he doesn't have a different job.

He said in the US version that he was deliberately avoiding promotion because he doesn't want that to be his career...but really, it seems like he doesn't belong there.

[Drederick Tatum]

Gareth: All right then, Einstein, if you're so clever, what am I thinking about now?
Tim: You're thinking how could I kill a tiger armed only with a biro?
Gareth: No.
Tim: You're thinking if I crash land in the jungle can I survive by eating my own shoes?
Gareth: No, and no you can't.
Tim: What are you thinking Gareth?
Gareth: I was thinking will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster then a shark?

lol for days

[icy manipulator]

american humour is too obvious for me.
what she said (y)

the plain and simple fact is that yanks cant make their own versions of uk shows

[Bob]

what she said (y)

the plain and simple fact is that yanks cant make their own versions of uk shows

you missed the part where she said she hasn't seen the US one

it's like

"i've never tasted australian beer, but yeah american beer's way better"

"yeah i agree"

[zorra_chiflada]

see that was the funny part of what i said. jeez you guys

[jabumbo]

you can't compare anything to gareth



but i sort of agree with you bob, now that i think of it

[Bob]

y'all niggaz is prejudice jesus

i'll admit whole-heartedly, i saw every episode of the UK series before i even saw one second of the US version. and i was all "WHAT?! what the fuck is this bullshit?! that's not gareth?! that's not david brent?!"

then i actually, you know, watched two full seasons of the show, and i realized "hey wait a second, this show's hilarious on its own merits"

grow up

i still think the UK version's better but i do not deny that the US version's worth watching, by any means

[Bob]

you can't compare anything to gareth



but i sort of agree with you bob, now that i think of it


that was initially my main objecition to the US version, is the gareth/dwight thing. gareth was annoying, but still at least relatively believable, you know? dwight's too...unreal

[Documad]

The US version is better. I'm sorry but it's true. I never dreamed it would be true, but there you have it.

Bob, I understand what you're saying about Jim. He is too good at everything to play the sad sack, but I would have gotten really really tired of Tim and Dawn if the UK version had continued. And I just love Jim so much. I never liked Dawn at all, so it was easy getting used to a new receptionist. I don't care at all about whether Jim will ever get together with Pam, in fact it's a weakness of the show the same way that relationship was the biggest weakness of the original.

I never dreamed that I could like the show without Gareth, but Dwight is perfect. And his girlfriend is such a good match. The main reason the US version is better is because of all the supporting characters. It's a function of there being more episodes so that we get to explore their characters more thoroughly.

What I like about the US version is that there are tiny moments of sweetness amongst the humor. Like when Dwight got hurt and Pam knew that Angela was dying to know how he was doing, but Angela isn't supposed to care about Dwight because their relationship is a secret, so Pam calls out to someone sitting next to Angela and tells him that Dwight is at the hospital and doing fine so that Angela can hear it and be relieved. The show is so well written.

[jabumbo]

^ well i guess it depends on how you look at it


i thought the UK version was perfect for what they did with it. but obviously NBC wouldnt run it the same way, so they couldnt have it set the same.

so even though they are supposed ot be the same show, they really arent

[Bob]

i dunno...the thing with the US version (i really want to clarify, i DO enjoy the US version, it's just that i still prefer the UK one), it's just it gets too unreal at too many points. the charm of the UK version, it's like, you can relate to tim (or dawn) and as ridiculous as gareth and david are, you can still sort of imagine them existing in real world scenarios...michael and dwight, not so much. the UK version really perfects the balance between reality and absurdity. the US version, in my opinion (i stress, in my opinion) leans too far in the absurd direction (my least favorite scene in the UK series was david brent's music video, i always skip past it, i wish it wasn't there, to give you an idea of my taste)

for me, personally, it really just boils down to me empathizing with tim as a pitiful character, and jim, eh, not so much

[Documad]

Yeah, but the lead character is more believable in the US version. He has a more human side. And he's more pitiful because at his core he knows that he's a loser.

[Bob]

Yeah, but the lead character is more believable in the US version. He has a more human side. And he's more pitiful because at his core he knows that he's a loser.

mmm, i dunno that i agree. maybe i'm just predisposed to empathise with tim because i relate to him more (he's hilarious yet self-defeating), but it's just, jim is ultimately more likeable. i mean, he hosts the house party and everyone from the office shows up. and have you seen the last two episodes? he transfers to the new branch and fairly immediatley hits it off with the girl from there.

as opposed to tim, it's just...all he has is dawn pretty much. it's not that he's unlikeable, it's just that he has this sense of self-loathing and he just kind of sits off by himself. if i were writing a legal memorandum i could cite episodes, but i'm drunk and i don't want to. it's just these subtle little touches that are put into the character, i dunno. maybe it's just me, maybe it's my own sense of self-loathing that makes me like tim more, but eh, when, in the end, he finally comes out on top, it just feels like that much more of a victory

[Documad]

Sorry, I meant the lead character as Ricky Gervais vs. Steve Carell. I love Ricky Gervais to death, but he's a cartoon. So if you're talking about believability, the UK version definitely loses.

And I loved the UK version.

[icy manipulator]

you missed the part where she said she hasn't seen the US one

it's like

"i've never tasted australian beer, but yeah american beer's way better"

"yeah i agree"
no i agreed that american humour is too obvious


and of course australian beer is shit

[Bob]

i'm being pretty belligerent in this thread, i'm sorry everyone

i'm also sorry for saying "niggaz", really shouldn't have said that, i blame alcohol

what it comes down to is that i just really relate to tim at this point in my life, god bless ricky gervais for writing the show etc

[Documad]

It should be noted that My Name is Earl is better than both versions of The Office.

[zorra_chiflada]

It should be noted that My Name is Earl is better than both versions of The Office.

oh man, i was so surprised at how good my name is earl is. i was totally expecting it to be shit.
and it's the characters that makes it so good, they're very well rounded and genuine.

[Bob]

It should be noted that My Name is Earl is better than both versions of The Office.

i saw the first episode and liked it, but i've never seen any other episode

but i'm just going to decide as a matter of law that you're wrong here, i'm sorry

motion not withstanding the verdict etc etc legal humo(u)r is hilarous

[Bob]

truth be told though i really ought to watch some other episodes

because to me it's "that show that's on before the office"

i ought to give it a fair chance, really

[zorra_chiflada]

that shitty show "how i met your mother" is on before "my name is earl"
it's shit. the only sort of redeeming thing is alyson hannigan, and that's pushing it.

[Documad]

oh man, i was so surprised at how good my name is earl is. i was totally expecting it to be shit.
and it's the characters that makes it so good, they're very well rounded and genuine.
Exactly.

And I have a thing for Jason Lee.

[Drederick Tatum]

there is no way that My Name is Earl is better than The Office. what a thing to suggest...ridiculous.

[Gareth]

my name is earl?
that show about that guy who tries to correct all the bad stuff he did in his past?
that show sucks...not even on the same level as UK office [havent seen US, so i dunno]
my s/n is from the office.

[Bob]

my name is earl?
that show about that guy who tries to correct all the bad stuff he did in his past?
that show sucks...not even on the same level as UK office [havent seen US, so i dunno]
my s/n is from the office.

is it?! i was wondering but never bothered to directly ask

fucking gareth, i love that guy

[Ally Al]

Sorry, I meant the lead character as Ricky Gervais vs. Steve Carell. I love Ricky Gervais to death, but he's a cartoon. So if you're talking about believability, the UK version definitely loses.

.



see this is were i have to totally disagree. Brent is totally a believable character and thats why the show was/ is such a success. Ask anyone who has worked in an office. sales enviroment in the UK, they've all met a Brent.

[Freebasser]

I've watched three episodes of my Name Is Earl and I'm still waiting to hear back from Channel 4 about them wasting an hour of my life.

[Big Gus]

I like My Name Is Earl... *hides*

I much prefer the UK Office. Gervais is totally believable as the Boss. Come do 13 years admin work in the UK - you'll meet a lot of Brents...

[Ally Al]

I much prefer the UK Office. Gervais is totally believable as the Boss. Come do 13 years admin work in the UK - you'll meet a lot of Brents...



exactly, and finchy's

[Planetary]

The U.S. one is funny, the U.K. one is crap.

i didn't realise this thread was called stupid subjective views on the office.

i think they're both good, but i'd rather watch the uk version just because i think gareth is better suited by a weedy looking character, and i prefer ricky gervais as david brent just because of the way he acts the awkward cringy parts. i don't think the american version pulls that off as well.

[paul jones]

UK has FINCHY

[Ally Al]

UK has FINCHY


i know at least 30 fincheys

[Bob]

you know, i'm watching the US episodes (i signed up for netflix) and i'm kind of getting drawn back to jim. he's got this kind of schadenfreude (spelled it right on the first try, i rule) thing going on, where he kind of not-so-subtly revels all of roy's fuck-ups. he plays up the "i'm in love with a girl who's engaged" vibe more than tim did. i mean, it was always there for tim, but it's much more emphasized with jim, and i dunno, i'm a pretty schadenfreudey kind of guy myself, so i'm sort of starting to enjoy that

[Kid Presentable]

Video Days>>>My Name is Earl.