What was the name of that awful Fred Savage office-related sitcom? Working? Hopefully NBC can do better than that this time around.

Isn't one of The Office guys going to be in the Hitchiker's Guide to the Universe movie?

i bought the office s1 as a blind buy the week it came out and never regretted it. it's hilarious because i can relate to it (working in an office setting). i hope nbc does it right for american tv.


there are some shows that successfully made it over the pond to american tv like american idol (pop idol), who wants to be a millionaire, the weakest link and some other reality tv shows (survivor, bigbrother?) ...
but i can't recall any sitcoms successfully making the jump. anyone know of any?

I liked The Office DVD set but was appalled that there were only 6 episodes on the 2 DVD set.

brits prefer to do only 6. Their viewpoint is more "lets do 6 high quality episodes" then doing 24 episodes where only a few are true great episodes.

This is my new favorite show. I'm seriously considering getting the R2 version of the second series (I can get it for about $28). Don't know if I should wait for an R1 release...

28 bucks?! I was able to get it from Amazon UK for around $20 which is the same amount I paid for the R1 Season 1 set. Of course, I haven't checked their site lately, so maybe they jacked up the price.

I'd go ahead and get the R2 DVD if you can find it for a few bucks less. The extras on Season 1 were identical, so I'm guessing it'll be the same for Season 2. Then again, Coupling Season 2 had a bunch of commentaries added for the R1 release, so you never know. Damn, now I'm confused.

Oh, importing series 2 is definitely worth it, although $28 sounds awfully steep. Like Doughboy, I paid about $20US for mine and don't regret it for a second. The seasons are short, but they're also infinitely rewatchable and absurdly great in general.

I'll order the Christmas/special episodes the instant they're available.

I will second (third?) this. Definitely get the R2 S2. It is great.

I have been waiting on the news of when the two specials were coming out on DVD. I am very happy to hear this. I will be placing that preorder right away.

You know, I'd actually wait for the r1 release, if you haven't bought season two already. Other BBC releases have included specials as part of the season sets ("Father Ted", "Vicar Of Dibley") to pad them out a bit. It seems very likely to me that the r1 of season two will include the specials...

1) The Office Christmas 2003 Specials ...

Two 45-50 min episodes ... less obvious comedy, more drama, almost dark ... but still very very funny for fans who successfully tuned in (mentally) to the first two series ... when they come out on DVD (no news yet even in R2) they'll be effectively a feature-length closer to The Office.

I won't spoil what happens for those not lucky enough to see them yet, but I'll be buying the DVD on Day One . Like the soft bugger that I am, I had to get my hanky out ...

2) If you liked The Office, you will probably like ...

... the even MORE renowned British comedy series, the award-winning

Phoenix Nights

Again, two series, six episodes per, available separately or as a box set. LOADS of really good extras inc full Commentary on every episode and masses of Outtakes ...

PN is absolute diamond quality British humour, more laugh out loud funny than The Office but once again ...

... no laughter track
... deadpan humour
... very British
... fantastic attention to detail
... both rely on a single genius comic turn - Ricky Gervais in TO, Peter Kay in PN
... both main characters are downtrodden but defiant
... both series have fantastic, provincial, un-starry supporting casts

I just can't decide which I prefer - TO or PN - but they're both absolute legends now over here in the UK.

The most successful examples would easily be:
All In The Family (a remake of Till Death Us Do Part),
Sanford And Son (which was based on Steptoe And Son)
Three's Company (which was a remake of Man About The House).

Here's a website with a bunch of shows, including those mentioned by Numanoid, and some others:

(UK original:US remake)
Absolutely Fabulous:High Society(Also remade as Cybill)
Dear John:Dear John
George and Mildred:The Ropers
Keep It in the Family:Too Close For Comfort
Man About The House:Three's Company
Max Headroom:Max Headroom
Men Behaving Badly:Men Behaving Badly
One Foot In The Grave:Cosby
Robin's Nest:Three’s A Crowd
Steptoe and Son:Sanford and Son
Till Death Us Do Part:All In The Family