I hate 99% of T.V. shows, yet I love the U.S. version of "The Office"

[StrongBad]

Great concept, great writing, great acting.

I realize it was originally a British sitcom and have seen some of those episodes. I must say I have to go against popular consensus and say I like the U.S. version better. It could simply be because I work at a menial white collar job in America and thus identify more with all the cultural specificity.

This is a surprising thing for me to admit. I usually hate everything that's on T.V.

Damn cognitive dissonance.

[MrCoffee]

1. I'm the exact opposite...love the original, loathe the remake

Steve Carrell is funny, but he's nowhere close to Ricky Gervais' league.

[Critters2]

6. Ditto that. nt

[AlCzervik]

2. i like The Office a lot but the original version, so good and cringe inducing.

[Quantess]

3. I love The Office.

I've never seen the British original. I don't care if people say the original is better (the peanut gallery always says that). I'd like to see the British version, but I bet it's not actually better, just different.
:shrug:

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. I rented the first season of the British version and there are some real hoots to be had.

Recommended.

[Digit]

5. For some reason, I find it difficult to understand British accents.

I might be somewhat hard of hearing, and as you know, their lips do not move as much as they speak.

I do LOVE our American version.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. The British "Office" DVD comes with closed captioning

It can make all the difference.

[Digit]

8. Thanks, that would be a fantastic help!

I do love the accents tho...just a difficult time understanding them.

[Rambis]

9. your jokin

closed captioning? The Office, Men Behaving Badly, Coupling and I am reasonably sure Life on Mars will follow that the UK versions were superior. A show is about characters and without Ricky Gervais there is no office. Without Martin Clunes there is no men behaving badly. Without Richard Coyle there is no Coupling! Closed captioning WTF I thought that was a joke on BBC America.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. There IS closed captioning on the DVDs

I use it, not because I have trouble with accents, but because I have a slight hearing loss and can completely lose anything that's mumbled or spoken in a high-noise environment.

But it also works for people who aren't used to unfamiliar accents.

I agree that the British originals of programs are typically superior, and I don't understand the compulsion to remake them. After all, The Sopranos was shown as is in the UK. BBC or ITV didn't remake it turning Tony and the gang into Kray Brothers-type British mobsters.

[Rambis]

11. Sorry

I thought it was an option on BBC America were you could switch in on while watching. No offense intended!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. Actually, almost all programming shown in the U.S.

no matter what the origin, has closed captioning. Even live broadcasts have slightly delayed captions, although sometimes the person doing the captioning doesn't quite get all the words, with amusing results.

I think it's some provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you have a stereo TV, you can also hear a second audio track in which the action is narrated for blind people.

[Richardo]

12. I'm one of the few that likes both.

[mainegreen]

13. I much prefer the American version.

[vi5]

15. Love the original, love the Us version..

I think the US version has become it's own entity and as a result of having more episodes at this point has a larger backlog of good jokes in it's repertoire.