Usually when we get sent a series to review, im only able to watch a few episodes before writing my review as time is always an issue. I’ve loved the UK version of The Office ever since I saw them on TV nearly 10 years ago. I’d never seen the US version of The Office before but when I had the opportunity to review season 4 of the series which stars Steve Carell, I jumped at the chance.
I’d heard wonderful things about the US version of The Office and was keen to see what the fuss was about,. In my opinion, it was never going to top the UK version and although I still love it, I have to say this version is fantastic. If you’re unaware of what the series is about, it’s a mocumentary following a pretend camera crew around a random office in the US. In this case they have chosen Dunder Mifflin, a fictitious paper company where Michael Scott (Steve Carell) as the irritating office manager. Joined by an office full of unique individuals (played by Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, Melora Hardin, David Denman, Leslie David Baker and Brian Baumgartner) the show goes from the bizarre, to the sincere to the darn right sad and emotional! I started watching the show thinking I would only be able to watch a couple of episodes but after a couple, I simply had to carry on! The Office is clever, funny and very original and will have you hooked after a couple of epsiodes.
I’d not seen the first 3 seasons of the show but I quickly caught up with the character traits and felt like I’d been watching the show for years. Carell leads his cast in a terrific and hilarious performance and although I still love the UK Office, this version is different enough to be loved as a separate show and cannot be compared to the original.
If you’ve never seen The Office before, I highly recommend you do. I’m not off to buy the previous 3 seasons!
The Office: An American Workplace – Season Four is released 14th June on DVD.
