The Office

Since getting to a point where I enjoy the NBC series The Office, I decided that I'd check out the British version. So far I've seen two episodes, and so far I'm hatin' it. I don't like the cast at all. So far, I feel that the American equivalent of each of the characters is absolutely better, across the board. Also, the first two episodes had the same plot as episodes in the American version that I'd already seen, so that made it easier to compare the episodes more directly.

So, from the British to the American version, the plot and jokes are mostly the same, the actors are better, the production quality is better, the theme song is better, and the American version doesn't feature so many unpleasant British accents.

I like some British accents, but not these. I don't really know how to tell apart British accents. Michael Caine has a good accent. Ricky Gervais (the boss from BBC's The Office) does not.

Not being in "my" English hurts the show a bit, though I expected that, of course. Comedy just doesn't work as well with a language barrier, even if it's... the same language. I can't even imagine how hilarious Amélie would have been if I was fluent in French; it's a very, very funny movie reading the subtitles, but so much of the humor in the NBC version of The Office is dealt in facial expressions and tones of voices. Tones of voices are lost for me in the British version.

But oh well. I bought the DVDs, and it's not like I'm stopping after two episodes...