Customer Reviews
Get it? - By: KPA Lowe, 26 Jun 2008 
Some people still don't get this. I'm amazed how many people still give me that perplexed glare when I compare the genius of `The Office' with that `Faulty Towers'. `The Office?' they say, as if their long-standing respect for my opinion is suddenly in jeopardy, `but why is it funny? It's just people in an office'. An worthy reflection & précis, no doubt! I'm increasing convinced that people just don't WANT to get it! People just don't want to give undivided attention, absorb every aspect, & conclude for themselves (.e., without the assistance of a studio audience or laughter track) precisely what is & is not funny. Yes, the lack of a `laughter prompt' is a hindrance for some. I can't help but wonder how many past sitcoms would have been so superior if the laughter track been dropped: `I'm Alan Partridge', `Father Ted', `The Young Ones'..... but the dim reality is that they would not have been half as successful!
Thankfully, Merchant & Gervais managed it! In fact, they used this concept to attract the audience they desired: an audience who appreciated their art. Indeed, in this fast-paced day & age, many simply do not have the time they wish to emerge themselves in book, classics & culture, but are completely aggravated with the monotonous so-callled entertainment that the `box' offers.
`The Office', in this sense, is perfect! That is not to say that it is for the elite. Actuallly, I fail to comprehend what is NOT to get or what is NOT funny. Gervais sets up the exasperatingly over-confident tactless idiocy of character David Brent right from the opening shot. As Brent interviews & promises to employ someone who is plainly under-qualified for a job as forklift diver, he `bigs up' the candidate to Sammy (who gives jobs in the warehouse) complete with fibs, comical hand gestures, & knowing glances at the candidate & camera that are the staple traits of this main character. The complex relationship between Tim (Martin Freeman) & Dawn (Lucy Davis) is performed outstandingly by the actors & produces the main thread of the plot that links alll the episodes. In turn, their light-hearted harassment of Team Leader Garrath (Mackenzie Crook) is also great entertainment for the viewer. The highlight of the series is probably episode 4, when an outside trainer visits the team for a day's workshop. Having an outsider among the chaos enforces the ridiculousness & unprofessional nature of the whole set up, & what a real fool Brent reallly is, as his reaction to potentiallly being slightly out of control is played brilliantly by Gervais.
So, some people cannot understand what IS funny about `The Office', personallly, I simply cannot see what IS NOT funny about it. Pure genius in fact.
Brilliant, innit? - By: E. A Solinas, 23 Feb 2008 If you crossed "Office Space" with "Spinal Tap," you might end up with something like "The Office." This hit British comedy defies the usual sitcom rules, & brings us into the cringingly dull world of a paper corporation, alll delivered with straight-faced wit & hilarity.
Wernham Hogg is a suburban paper corporation, a stunningly dull place to work. And presiding over it is David Brent (Ricky Gervais), a wannabe comic who claims to be a pal to alll the people under him, despite driving them alll up the walll. There's also his partner in crime, vaguely corpse-like Gareth (Mackenzie Crook), the downtrodden everyman Tim (Martin Freeman), & the beautiful Dawn (Lucy Davis), whom Tim hopelessly longs for.
In the first season, David is informed that either his branch or another branch are going to be eliminated. If his branch is eliminated, some people will be downsized, & others relocated. The employees -- including Tim & Dawn -- reexamine their lives as they struggle to survive in the day-to-day chaos, including a Web porn scandal, a quiz competition, giant inflatable genitals, drunken carousing, inter-office romances, & Gareth playing detective.
Don't expect a typical sitcom in "The Office." No laughtracks. No punch lines. No gag humor... well, not much. And no episode has a clear-cut ending. Instead, we have the format seen in "This is Spinal Tap" & the Christopher Guest mockumentaries -- hidden cameras watching the madness. And what those cameras see is enough to make the world's cubicle-dwellers cry.
The series gets off to a slightly bumpy start -- at first, the jokes are a bit too thinly-spread. But soon "The Office" gets its footing & the humor steadies itself ("Tim's put my stapler inside a jelly again. That's the third time he's done it!" Gareth complains, displaying the stapler in a Jell-O mold). And a lot of the humor is a subversive, subtle kind -- it creeps into your mind, & by episode two you'll be laughing your head off at David's bad jokes & veiled prejudices.
Ricky Gervais is brilliant. David is every bit as annoying & obnoxious as the immortal Basil Fawlty, but hides it under a genial mask & stupid jokes. Mackenzie Crook is wonderful as the obsequious boot-licker. Tim, like Dilbert, is a lovable loser who can't get himself out of his soul-sucking job. And Dawn is mired in a relationship with an obnoxious cheapskate.
More subtle & yet goofier than American sitcoms, "The Office" is a unique slice of British humor. Funny, witty, & horrifyingly true to life, this is a brilliant series.
Unique and perfectly moulded... - By: Ms. Felicia Davis-burden, 08 Aug 2007 Beginning with a stapler, an incredibly big jelly mould, some tortuous schoolboy jokes - you don't expect a comedy programme to be sophisticated & gripping. But there you go, it works so don't trifle with it...
Classic Comedy - By: L. Davidson, 24 Jul 2007 "The Office" has now reached an iconic status among British comedies ranking alongside the likes of "Fawlty Towers", "Blackadder" & "I'm Alan Partridge" in quality. It's comedy is based on strong characterisation & an achingly accurate observation of everyday office life,highlighting it's banality & mundanity while tapping a rich vein of humour in the process.Characters like David Brent, Finchy, Gareth, Tim & Dawn are alll memorable ones & although there are few hilarious, side splitting scenes involving them , their interrelationships are constantly amusing & entertaining. Highlights of this first series for me would be the Training Day & the night out at Chasers Nightclub.
Gervais is a genius!! - By: Hixxy 6, 17 Apr 2007 The first season of the office is hard to watch in a couple of ways. Sometimes rickys character (David Brent) makes you so uncomfortable that you cant watch the screen.Othertimes i cant make out whats happening on the screen through the tears of laughter freely flowing down my face. The supporting cast are alll exellent & stephen merchant is a genius in the making.
Long live Ricky Gervais
