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Product Description ------------------- American version of the accled BBC sitcom, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. At the Dunder Mifflin paper company, a documentary crew are making a programme looking behind the scenes at modern working practice. Clueless manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) considers himself a business genius and an all-round entertainer - unaware that, to his workers, he's an insufferable idiot. In this series, a consultant is hired to teach the staff about racial diversity, Michael tries to organise a morale-boosting party, and Jim (John Krasinski) upstages Pam's (Jenna Fischer) fiance Dwight (Rainn Wilson) during an office basketball game. Episodes are: 'Pilot'; 'Diversity Day'; ' Care'; 'The Alliance'; 'Basketball'; and 'Hot Girl'. .co.uk Review ------------- Office manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell ( /gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Steve%20Carell+-ntsc ), The Daily Show, The 40 Year-Old Virgin) believes he's the beloved leader of the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of a paper products company--but his relentless and painfully forced efforts at comedy creep out everyone around him, including paranoid Dwight (Rainn Wilson ( /gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Rainn%20Wilson+-ntsc ), who had a memorable recurring role on Six Feet Under), nervous receptionist Pam (Jenna Fischer ( /gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=Jenna%20Fischer+-ntsc ), LolliLove), and less salesman Jim (John Krasinski ( /gp/search?search-alias=dvd&field-keywords=John%20Krasinski+-ntsc ), A New Wave), who's smitten with the already engaged Pam. The pilot episode suffers from closely replicating the British pilot, but after that The Office finds its own footing, turning diversity training, an office birthday party, and a basketball game into excruciating yet hypnotically funny rituals of humiliation. Carell, though clearly talented, can't match Ricky Gervais' unique performance as the aggressively needy British manager (it's hard to imagine that anyone could); as a result, the supporting roles become more prominent, and Wilson, Fischer, and Krasinski quickly create a rapport that matches and may even exceed that of their British counterparts. Be sure to watch the deleted scenes; remarkably, they're as good as the material that made it on the air in this six-episode season. --Bret Fetzer