Just wondering, besides the pilots, what episodes of the US series are copies of the UK series?

NBC has gotten very, very lucky with The Office, since it can draw both on the strengths of its comedic value and its relationship angles (who doesn't cringe a little when you see a promo geared specifically for the JAM hausfraus?). It may not translate to CSI numbers, but the show has a solid fanbase that isn't going to go anywhere, which you can't say for 95% of all other TV shows. And, to give NBC credit, they've made damn sure to foster that fanbase, between the Webisodes and the deleted scenes online and (here's the important part) keeping the show relatively stable in terms of its timeslot.

Only the first episode/pilot is an exact copy.

My Name is Earl is NBC's flagship comedy since it has the 8 pm eastern time slot.

Couldn't agree more. By comparison, I've watched the season 1 dvd once and season 2 multiple times. Season 3 has been brilliant and will warrant repeated viewings also.

And I genuinely feel like Office will be the flag ship comedy by this time next year. I like Earl fine, but it definitely feels like it lost steam as the season rolled on rather than gaining it. Honestly, I think the COPS/Tim Stack episode was pretty much the peak of the whole series. If it runs for 100 seasons, I'm not sure they can touch that. It was just incredible.

Let's see... British episodes and American episodes that incorporated parts of 'em...

Series 1:
-Episode 1 (UK) = Pilot (US): Essentially a shot-for-shot remake.
-Episode 2 (UK) = Health Care (US), Drug Testing (US), Sexual Harassment (US) & The Carpet (US): Dwight gets an office and investigates a joint he found in the parking lot. Sexual harassment stuff. Michael freaks out about a prank until he discovers that Todd Packer did it.
-Episode 4 (UK) = Diversity Day (US), Boys and Girls (US) & Safety Training (US): Training days of various kinds.
-Episode 6 (UK) = Branch Closing (US): One of the branches is made redundant.

Series 2:
-Episode 1 (UK) = The Merger (US): Branches merge.
-Episode 2 (UK) = Performance Review (US): Performance reviews.
-Episode 3 (UK) = The Alliance (US) & Michael's Birthday (US): Office birthday parties.
-Episode 5 (UK) = Halloween (US): Office folks dress up.

I see far more commercials for the Office and it's a lot stronger in the ratings than Earl is from what I know. Though, I feel like the two make a good pairing.

Just read in that paper that The Office gets the 9 pm slot so that pretty much puts it on par with Earl as the flagship show sorta like when The Cosby Show was on at 8 pm and Cheers was on at 9 pm back in the day.

Season 1 of the US show is criminally underrated. Season 2 is incredible, and 3 has been great too, but people shit on the first season a lot and I just don't see why. There's a lot of great stuff in those first six episodes, specifically "Diversity Day" which is probably my favorite show thus far.

While I'm talking about the office, I just have to mention my favorite exchange of all time. No matter how many times I see it I break up.

Stanley: This little trip wouldn't have anything to do with your birthday, would it?
Michael: How dare you sir. You are gross.

Offspring:

I wonder, did you watch the BBC version of the show? It seems most of us turned off by season one were big fans of the original, and saw just how much they lifted from it. I watched the entire BBC run, then watched season one of the NBC version and disliked it a great deal. I even made a thread in this forum about it, and was urged to watch seson two when it hit dvd. I've rented season 2 from Netflix THREE times now, and only missed a few episodes from season 3. I think the shows are beyond comparison at this point, seeing as how the US version is now it's own entity, and has had so many more episodes to get it's story across.

I'll go ahead and say aside from that first episode, the rest of season 1 was pretty great. Every episode beyond the first was really good in fact. Diversity Day, Healthcare, Hot Girl ("The Schrutes produce very thirsty babies"), and the Basketball episode are tremendous. Even The Alliance episode was pretty good and started out pretty funny with Jim's offer to Dwight. The only notable things from the BBC run, and mind you I liked it enough, were Quiz Night and pretty much any time Chris Finch was around. I prefer Dwight over Gareth any day because at least at times, Dwight can be endearing while Gareth is just a mammoth twat. Although, I will also say that I prefer David Brent over Michael Scott just because of how much of a dick Michael was that first season. I don't know, season 1 of the US version is incredibly solid and there's a lot of forgotten gems from that season that have since been overshadowed by the much more ballyhooed episodes of the second half of the second season.

I've honestly only seen bits and pieces of the BBC show. It's one of those "man I need to watch that" and then never getting around to it things.

I can understand some people who were big fans of the original not enjoying season 1 for that reason.

It isn't so much that Season 1 is bad, as much as the show hadn't quite found its legs yet and fully worked out all the office dynamics that have made the show as interesting and absorbing as it has become. They're funny, don't get me wrong (I especially like Diversity Day, although maybe that's because I was so disappointed by the pilot that the 2nd episode being worth a damn got me excited and ensured I stuck around - the Abraham Lincoln line still kills me), but the Office universe doesn't seem as fully formed as it would become. Which obviously isn't their fault, seeing as they didn't even get a full season, but what can you do.

What was so great about the BBC Office is that, IMO, the BBC Office Universe seemed fully formed right out of the gate. Maybe it's because Gervais and Merchant knew they only had a few episodes per series to get everything right, but they managed to nail everything - Brent's mammoth insecurities, the interplay (or lack thereof) between the employees, Dawn and Tim's friendship, and Gareth's general dickishness. There are a few US episodes that don't live up to the heights of the series. Every BBC episode was a height.

As far as comparing characters - at this point, it's almost apples and oranges. Gareth never got any character development, which was okay because his character was so great to begin with, but it obviously means that Dwight can leapfrog him in terms of growth and become more interesting. I don't think Gareth would ever have comforted Dawn the way Dwight comforted Pam in that one episode. Brent vs Scott is an odd one - Brent also never really developed, but, again, his character was very fully formed to begin with. He always balanced on the edge of parody, but never toppled over. What makes the Comic Relief episode so incredibly poignant, when Brent breaks down and begs for his job (which obviously means the world to him), is the fact that he's never really changed. You knew he was a lonely man all throughout the series, but it was never shoved in your face. On the other hand, you never really got the sense that he was worth a damn as an employee, ever. On the other hand, Michael Scott has been shown numerous times as at least a capable employee, and certainly a great salesman, so you can believe that he could rise to his position even while being an obnoxious ass. But his character is a little less consistent from time to time - compare his empathy with Jim in Booze Cruise to his aggravating asshole behavior in The Injury. At gunpoint, I'd say that Brent's the better character, but it's such a coin flip. They're both great.

I thought we were past all of this.

I've been watching a bunch of season 2 lately, and it struck me that as good as this season has been...it really hasn't been as happy of a show as it used to be. One of the most fun things on the show used to be Pam and Jim working together to pull pranks on dwight. That's pretty much over now, and I hope they get back to it a bit next season, rather than rushing in way too fast with the romance stuff.

I would definately admit one of the things about season three that I haven't cared for is the "depressing" feel of it. Several episodes have left you feeling a bit gloomy, and I like to think of it as more of a happy and goofy show. Not to say season three hasn't been great, it's just that there have been a few episodes that I didn't care too much for. That being said, I feel like they've made Michael entirely too over the top (the whole jumping off the roof thing for example), the absurdity of it makes it less funny.

That's basically what Pam just cut a promo on last week, so I think it was at least somewhat intentional.

I just imagine Pam giving her speech, except in the old WWF Superstars studio (complete with a Pam logo blue screen) with Mene Gene holding his mike up with that stern look on his face... and it made my day.

ENewsOnline:



I was wondering why she wasn't on Conan, as advertised, last night.

Four places? Holy fuck! I hope she can make a full recovery from that.

This is going to get creepy.

This has been an awesome ep so far. Jan/Michael has been great, Karen vs. Pam rules, and Michael quoted Kim Possible!
One Man Gang -

YES YES YES YES YES!

This is the best show on Earth, and this has been the best episode of the season.

Hot damn -

Okay, this season can't possibly get any better... and yet there's still one episode left. YAY!

Andy - From henceforth, you will not be known as big tuna, you will be big haircut.
Pam - For the record, I’m not embarrassed… and it only took me three to summon the courage.
Karen - Pam is… kind of a bitch.
Michael - Convoys are really fun, we could pull aside each other… flip each other off… moon each other…
Stanley - I’ve never heard you talk so much… I thought it was Kelly.
Kelly - Pam, don’t worry, we were all so drunk that no one even remembers what you said.
Creed - I blogged the whole thing.
Ryan - Last year, Creed asked me to set up a blog. I opened up a Word file and typed in a web address to save the world from Creed‘s brain. I’ve read some of it, and even for the internet, it’s pretty shocking.
Dwight - Welcome to the Hotel Hell - check in time is now and check out time is never.
Jim - You’re not even the manager in your own dream?
Jim - So your biggest fantasy is to co-manage bed and breakfast in Hell… with the devil.
Dwight - Yes, but I haven’t told you my salary - $80,000.
Michael - DEFCON 20!
Michael - She made me do a lot of things I didn’t want to do.
Michael - Jan is in a different place right now, and it is a sign of maturity to give people second chances.
Pam - I’m sure that Jim was uncomfortable when Roy and I joked around… that one time.
Meredith - In my experience, men care more about the back than the front.
Michael - This is the opposite of shallow… this is emotionally magnificent.
Pam - I am what I am… that’s Popeye.
Michael - Here’s the sitch - two weeks ago, I was in the worst relationship of my life. Now, I’m in the best relationship of my life… with the same woman.
Pam - You will be your own assistant?
Dwight - Yes, I need someone I can trust.
Dwight - Do you accept?
Pam - Absolutely I do.
Pam - I learned from Jim that whenever Jim asks you to do something secret, say absolutely I do.
Oscar - Do you think he’ll get that job?
Phyllis - No, but he isn’t qualified for the one he has now.
Dwight - This is a Schrute buck - one thousand of these equals an extra five minutes for lunch.
Pam - What is the cash value of a Schrute buck?
Dwight - One-one hundredth of a dollar.
Pam - I literally cannot wait to see what Dwight has planned for us.
Dwight - Stanley, you have earned a Schrute buck.
Stanley - I don’t want it.
Dwight - You don’t want a Schrute buck?
Stanley - I’ll give you a Stanley nickel if you never talk to me again.
Dwight - What’s the ratio of Stanley nickels to Schrute bucks?
Stanley - The same as Unicorns to Leprechauns
David - This is off the record.
Karen - He would be a disaster.
Jan - YOU SON OF A BITCH, WHERE DO YOU GET OFF FIRING ME!?
Michael - David, I didn’t tell her…
Jan - So long, asshole!
David - We’re not giving you the job.
Karen - Wow, that was some serious, hardcore self destruction.
Jan - It’s just these painkillers I’ve been taking since the surgery…
Michael - Why is my office black?
Michael - Ryan, coffee.
Ryan - I don’t do that anymore.
Michael - I am never going to leave… I am going nowhere. This place is like my home, my hospital, and my old age home.
Pam - We never got the timing down. I shot him down, then he shot me down. If he’s gone for good, then… okay…
Jim - Excuse me, are you free for dinner tonight?
Pam - ..yes…
Jim - Great, it’s a date.
Kelly - Who was that?
Ryan - Nobody. We’re done!

Ohhh, twist ending. So good.

Yeah... that's my favorite episode ever.

EDIT: One episode left? That wasn't the finale?

Rob

Ryan executed that with all the efficiency of a contract killer. Well done, temp.

What an awesome finale.

Hmm... I thought there was one more ep left, but since this counted as two episodes, I guess it is the finale. Awesome finale if that's the case. I loved Pam's little note, and the Office Olympics gold medal in his honor. Season 4 is going to rule.

I honestly didn't stop laughing through the entire first 30 minutes. Especially the part about Creed's blog. The Pam/Jim stuff in the second half was amazing. At first I thought he let Karen go so she wouldn't see him not applying for the job.

Rob

I had a bitch of a time keeping up with this while watching The Price is Right at the same time. But I did catch the ending and I just loved every bit of it. It just felt like the right way to close the episode. And Ryan ruled it at the end.

And I guess Jan's going to be written off in early season 4? A shame, I started to like her character recently.

I think that as much as there was the not-so-happy elements this season had, it will be made up for in spades next season. This is where it can pick up tremendously assuming they go through a lot of season with this new (and well-deserved) twist in the Jim and Pam story. I love it.

So I assume that Karen won't continue to work at Dunder Mifflin Scranton with her basically being dumped.

Ryan will still be on but probably not on a weekly basis like he was before. It'll be interesting how it plays out with Ryan now being Michael's boss.

Ryan getting payback for years of dealing with Michael's bullshit will be glorious to see.

Did Jim just drive home from NYC alone and leave Karen there? That's what it looked like. I liked Karen's talk with Jim. "I would totally move for you!" Well, I guess she sort of did that once already, but in this ep it struck me as a desperate attempt to stick her claws into Jim. I hope she enjoyed lunch with her friends.

The only more glorious payback would be that of Toby. Poor poor Toby.

"who was that?"
"nobody. You and I are done"
"WHAT?!"


I fucking love Ryan. I hope hes still around quite a bit. This was an incredible finale

That was quite possibly the greatest episode in the series thus far. So many pay-offs, and now the uncharted territory of Jim and Pam as a couple for Season 4.

Perfectly booked Big Event episode. You gotta start a few new angles for the coming year, but you have to blow off a few other ones, and they did both well.

Creed's Thoughts

So awesome.

For some reason, my favorite line of the night was, "Goodbye ... Kelly Kapur!" Not a good night for Kelly, I love how when she says "What?", it's not out of shock or hurt or heartbreak, it sounds like she found something hairy in her Cobb salad.

I loved how creeped-out Michael was at the end when he was driving Jan home and she admitted she was on pain killers. That and Kelly getting totally dissed by Angela and Ryan jobbing her out in the finale.

Revelation of the night ... Ryan has an MBA. As my wife said, "Hence, the bitterness."

I like how we're all assuming they're going to be a couple come season four.

Yeah, I'm guessing we'll see Pam & Jim when we come back from their summer fling and they are on a break. Shit, how about they go totally fucked up and have the first episode of the season shown be them breaking up, but have the season play out backwards to show how things fell apart. It's too early in the morning.

This is still my favorite show, but it's hard to hold on to after this past episode. I know you guys all loved it, but I couldn't get behind it at all (that's what she said?) I can't stand the way they butchered Jan's character this season (though the boobs are nice), and Dwight is just getting too lovable as an over-the-top sitcom guy. I'm alone here, but I've found Pam pretty despicable all season and really don't want her with Jim at all at this point.

I was pissed when I thought they were conveniently shipping off Karen, but the ending kind of relieved me and reminded me why I need to keep with next season's big thirty episodes.

There was plenty of funny stuff, like Creed's thoughts, but the major plot arcs were what was pissing me off.

Fixed

Would it be possible that Karen got "THE" job that Michael & Jim were interviewing for, while Ryan got some other job that was never mentioned before?
In other words, is it just a double-swerve to make us think that Karen will still be in the office when she's really leaving?

Just curious because I thought Rashida Jones had new show coming out next Fall.

ML

Yeah, it was a beautiful moment, almost teenage girl-esque in the markdom it brought but I'm not sure it's going to last. We didn't see Karen quitting or her and Jim breaking up so we've gotta assume she'll be around in season four.

Prediction: Karen starts nailing Ryan as a way to climb the corporate ladder/get revenge on Jim.

I don't know how many times it needs to be said but on this show what you see is what you get. They don't trick the viewers often, and if they do they explain it all at the end of the episode..like Ryan in this season finale.

question on last night's show: did anyone else notice the weird walk on during the scene when Jim is being interviewed in front of i believe either a hot dog or magazine stand?

Karen is behind him and he is swearing that had had a celeb sighting (Karen immeadiately gives the "no it wasn't him" face after Jim swears it was) and then a 1/2 second before that segment ends someone walks into the scene, almost right behind jim and they cut away.

i know i cannot be the only one who saw this.

FUCKING AWESOME~!

I had to watch it again, but other than the Jim and Pam moment, the best part was Ryan looking off camera saying "You and I are done." then Kelly going "What?!?" and then Ryan looks at the camera and smiles. Fucking beautiful. MGFanJay, if you can screen cap that, you're a God.

Yeah, I saw it. Jim/Karen were talking about Lorne Michaels, so I thought it might have been him (like the Conan sighting from season 2), but it wasn't. Just some random guy.

BankHoldup, here you go.

Ryan being happy for the first time in forever -


Pam being super-happy after Jim finally asked her out -


Pam's note to Jim -


Dwight's door -


Michael grabbing titties -