Leigh and I recently finished watching the complete DVD series of the British show “The Office.”
I’m not sure, but it may very well be one of the best shows ever broadcast. It was hilarious in a way that American shows are not (The American Office comes close but never quite gets there), but at the same time it portrayed relationships and idiosyncratic behavior so truthfully that many times the show became unbelievably uncomfortable to watch.
Ricky Gervais plays David Brent, an office manager that desperately wants his office mates to find him funny, but wants even more for them to admire and envy him. He’s a complete ass, but not an unsympathetic one because you eventually realize that the man actually has no real friends. All he has is his job, and when that becomes threatened in the second season all of his defenses drop and just for a moment you catch a glimpse of David’s fears, and it is a heartbreaking moment.
The office romance between Dawn and Tim”¦hell, I can’t really do it justice. Suffice to say that I’m not sure I’ve ever been so emotionally drained after watching a television show as I was after finishing the final episode of “The Office,” and it was due mainly to what transpires between those two.
The rest of the cast is also quite brilliant. There really isn’t a weak aspect of this show.
Through the course of the second and third DVD I was brought to tears several times. It’s that damn good. I highly, highly recommend picking up this DVD set.
In fact, I demand that you buy it so we can all discuss it. Click on the image below to purchase it from Amazon.
