The Office is my second choice for good entertaining TV so far this season.
The U.S. version of The Office is based on a BBC show of the same name. Steve Carrell the guy who plays the boss in The Office is the star of the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) which I have to see one of these days. The previews look funny.
The Office is uneven, although generally pretty funny and occasionally "oh my God" funny. Last nights episode about sexual harassment in the workplace had some scenes that moved beyond the usual TV blandness onto the edge of what mainstream TV shows might attempt for smart humor. The show works are a variety of levels, combining uncomfortable pauses made possible because there's no laugh track, and camera-work showing the expressions on the office workers faces, when Michael or Dwight say or do something idiotic, into an entertainingly dry look at life under the fluorescents.
After an H.R. mandated lecture and video on sexual harassment, Dwight, the misguided suck-up, asks the H.R. guy to describe various parts of the female anatomy to him. The bit is that Dwight knows nothing about women and thinks the H.R. representative's job is to educate him. He has just given them a lecture on sexual harassement, he must be the person to ask about sex in general?...it's funny.
The other scene that tickled me was when the boss Michael is trying to make up for an insensitive comment about a woman being physically unattractive. He says she's attractive in a "grandmotherly" sort of way. She replies that they are the same age. He puts his arm around her and starts talking about how attractive he finds her (in front of the office staff) and then says, in his version of a compliment, that he's afraid of what might happen if he got too close to her. There's a pause and he says he's afraid he might get a "boner".
The looks on the office workers faces are classic. Confused, hurt, disbelieving...it's wonderful.
One other funny bit is where the boss Michael is trying to make a case for sexually inappropriate behaviour in the office. He tells one of the office workers that he can understand his fascination with young women in school clothes. He has that picture of a young woman in a school uniform beside his desk right? Michael says it turns him on a little too. The man tells Michael it's a picture of his daughter.
I could go on...but I recommend checking out either show for a little break.
IMDB has some Memorable Quotes from "The Office" (2005). A few samples -
Dwight Schrute: Someone forged medical information, and that's a felony.
Jim Halpert: OK, Whoa, alright 'cause that's a pretty intense accusation. How do you know that they're fake?
Dwight Schrute: [reading from a sheet] Uh, Leprosy, Flesh Eating Bacteria, Hot Dog Fingers, Government Created Killer Nano Robot Infection.________________________________
Jim Halpert: Because right now, this is a job. If I advance any higher, this would be my career. And if this were my career, I'd have to throw myself in front of a train.________________________________
Michael Scott: This is our receptionist, Pam. If you think she's cute now, you should have seen her a couple years ago.
