The Office, on NBC and CNBC, very nearly out-Dilberts Dilbert as an exploration of the absurdity of work without soul.
Steve Carell (The Daily Show, Anchor Man) is by turns hilariously understated and wildly over the top as the regional manager of a paper products company whose business unit is the subject of a documentary film. The film crew does double duty, giving the cast someone to play to as well as catching them in private moments of despair.
The documentary style offers blessed relief from the intrusion of a laugh track, which extends the funniest moments and lets us feel the painful silence between people who really don’t like working together.
The Office was a mid-season replacement with only half a dozen episodes (the last of which is Tuesday April 26). CNBC ran an Office Marathon over the weekend and seems likely to do so again, so check your local listings.
Comments (6)
The Office
I caught an episode of this and enjoyed it. The lead guy is very funny, especially his role in Anchorman. I have yet to see it, but apparently the original British show on which this is based is even better. My brother got it via Netflix and has raved about it encouraging me to watch it several times. One of the actors in it is playing the lead in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie and another is in Shaun of the Dead.
The Office
You can get the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002W4P98/qid=1114544818">complete set</a> of the British show on Amazon.com (four DVDs).
The Office
I left out the part about the BBC series from which this American version is drawn. I find myself strung between belly-laughs and seat-skirming in every episode. I certainly hope we get a whole season of The Office out of NBC. Anybody know anybody who can turn up the heat in Burbank?
What?
What does skirming mean?
seat-skirming
you know, skirming, from the verb ‘to skirm’ as: ‘The writer skirmed uncomfortably when Ted pointed to his spelling error."
The Office
Hey Jim,
Good stuff. I love The Office.