British 2: Americans 0
So last night I watched the new americanized (re: sucky) version of The Office. Now that you know how I feel about it, I dare to wonder...what do people who haven't seen the original Office think of the remake? Maybe it only sucks to me b/c I know the brilliance of the British version. It wasn't just that the jokes weren't funny, the new characters were just completely sub par to the originals (and this is me going in with really low expectations). I suppose this is how people felt after watching Coupling...if they saw the original. Me, having never watched the original, still found it very un-funny. Maybe I just answered my own question. But I have this feeling that if I felt like asking my co-workers their opinion, their response would be something along the lines of "hilarious" or "so funny". But for a frame of reference, they thought "Hitch" was a riot.
I'm not coming up with very many adjectives today. So far I have "sucks" "funny" and "unfunny". I will most likely reuse them in the next paragraph.
Tonight I'm hitting up the Brass Monkey for Katie O's birthday festivities. I already know what I'm going to sing...it's a little duet w/ Ashley, something we've had in the works since the last karaoke party. We joked about practicing but as the night grows closer, I'm thinking that wouldn't have been a bad idea. The Brass Monkey is a tough crowd....my last performance of "girl you know it's true" was met with yawns/complete disregard rather than the applause/cheers/signs touting "I Heart Reagan" I was hoping for. Yes, I find validation in the acceptance/praise of strangers. So tonight, it's on...Ray Lo and Mix Master Ash will debut their karaoke performance of "total eclipse of the heart". Watch your back, Bonnie Tyler.
I'm ready to go home...word on the street (by street I mean office corridor) is that we're leaving early. Good Friday, indeed. How's that for unfunny?
R.
4 Comments:
British version of Coupling, hilarious.. American version, stunk. Never having seen the British version of The Office, but knowing the American media ability to ruin a good thing, was not surprised to find that the American version fell on its face. Blah. Our local PBS station is finishing its yearly pledge drive, and they spend extra money each year for Brit coms, and they mentioned they were in talks to buy the British version... I will wait to see that, and not waste my time on the American version. British humor is subtle and intelligent... I love it, and wish more Americans did.
British humor is, with a few very notable exceptions, stupid. Don't kid yourself into thinking you are more urbane or cultured because you laugh at Fawlty Towers.
Wait for the British version...with all respect to Steve Carrell, he's no Ricky Gervais. And as for Fawlty Towers, never seen it. The most I know of British humor is The Office and a couple of Benny Hill skits.
Would it be fair to say that the Brittish cope with their narcisim by making light of it, and that is why shows like The Office occur there? And we don't cope with ours, we just gloss over it with glitter and laugh tracks? So yeah, the show was kinda humorous, but it really was the culture barrier. We're just not like them, and their jokes are just funnier in their context than in ours. Still, it was nice to see a network try something different on a sitcom. Yeah different!
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