If you haven't watched in a while, give The Office another chance

The BBC version of The Office was amazing. It was so different, so smart, so hilarious and so completely irreplaceable. Even though the creators (Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant) were behind the American version, I was scared to death when it started midseason last year on NBC. It was funny -- after all, the brilliant Steve Carell stars in it -- but just not the same. It was good they didn't try to copy the original exactly, and the shows were better when they veered into original storylines rather than rehashing BBC episodes. But still, it was just okay.

This season, though, the show has really hit its stride. The Office is getting better every week. The office Olympics episode a few weeks ago was terrific, but this week's show hit a whole new level. The fire alarms go off about 10 minutes in and the rest of the episode takes place in the parking lot, with the staff entertaining themselves. The Dwight character, which to me was always a poor copy of Gareth in the BBC original, came into his own in this episode and absolutely stole the show. That's tough to do when you're working with Carell.

If you stopped watching last year, or never bothered to start, The Office is worth a try. And if you're not already watching it, check out Extras, the new show Gervais and Merchant are doing on HBO. Gervais stars as a sarcastic (but slightly more sympathetic than David Brent) movie extra alongside the adorable and charming Ashley Jensen, whose character is as dumb as a box of hair but completely endearing. It's terrific.

Posted by tivogirl at 12:27 AM